Description
I'm currently listing a large number of playbills from out-of-town tryouts prior to the Broadway runs. Many are from early performances when revisions were common and include song titles that were cut before opening in New York. (See cut songs below.) ....... This is a rare autographed March 1st, 1948 "Playtime" playbill from the Pre-Broadway tryout of the DENES AGAY and ROWLAND LEIGH musical "MY ROMANCE" at the Shubert Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. (The production would open October 19th, 1948 at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in New York City and run for only 95 performances.) ..... The musical starred ANNE JEFFREYS and CHARLES FREDERICKS (who would be replaced out-of-town by LAWRENCE BROOKS) and featured MELVILLE RUICK, HAZEL DAWN, Jr., ROBERT ECKELS (who would be replaced out-of-town by REX EVANS), JEAN McBRIDE (who would be replaced out-of-town by DORIS PATSTON), JUDY SEARLES (who would be replaced out-of-town by PATRICIA BOYER, who would later be replaced by JOAN SHEPARD), ALLEGRA VARRON, NAT BURNS, TOM BATE, HILDEGARDE HALLIDAY, MADELEINE HOLMES, BARBARA PATTON, TITO CORAL, GAIL ADAMS, WARDE DONOVAN (who would be replaced out-of-town by MELTON MOORE), MARION MASON, LORRAINE CARROLL (who would be replaced out-of-town by NATALIE NORMAN), RUTH THOMAS (whose role would be eliminated), MONA BRADFORD (whose role would be eliminated), NORVAL TORMSEN (who would be replaced out-of-town by LAWRENCE WEBER), JUNE ST.CLAIR (whose role was eliminated out-of-town), MARY JANE SLOAN and WILLIAM BERRIAN ..... Note: The playbill's cover has been signed by cast members HAZEL DAWN, Jr., JEAN McBRIDE, JUDY SEARLES, ALLEGRA VARRON, NAT BURNS, BARBARA PATTON, TITO CORAL, LORRAINE CARROLL, RUTH THOMAS, MARY JANE SLOAN and WILLIAM BERRIAN and the title page by MONA BRADFORD ..... Additional Note: The Pre-Broadway tour included stops in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago, where the show closed and composer SIGMUND ROMBERG ("Maytime", "Sinbad", "Poor Little Ritz Girl", "Blossom Time", "The Student Prince", "The Desert Song", "Rosalie", "Up in Central Park", "The Girl in Pink Tights") was hired to provide a new score. There would be one additional tryout in Boston in October prior to opening in New York ..... CREDITS: Music by DENES AGAY; Additional Music by PHILIP REDOWSKI; Book and Lyrics by ROWLAND LEIGH adapted from EDWARD SHELDON's "Romance"; Sets designed by WATSON BARRATT; Costumes designed by LOU EISELE; Choreographed by FREDRIC N. KELLY; Directed by ROWLAND LEIGH; Produced by the Messrs. LEE and J. J. SHUBERT ..... DETAILS: The sixteen page playbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors, but no cast photos ..... CUT SONGS: The list of musical numbers includes "Entre Nous", "Ev'ry Time I Dance the Polka", "First Bouquet", "Food For Thought", "Laugh At Life", "Magic Moment", "Romance", "The Vision" and "You're Near and Yet So Far" which were cut following the Chicago engagement ..... CONDITION: This rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
