Come Summer
''Come Summer'' is a Broadway musical with a book and lyrics by Will Holt and music by David Baker, based on '' Rainbow on the Road'' by Esther Forbes and vocal arrangements by Trude Rittmann. The original Broadway production opened on March 18, 1969 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre starring, Ray Bolger, Leonard John Crofoot, David Cryer, Cathryn Damon, Margaret Hamilton, and Barbara Sharma. Directed by Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ... it closed after 7 performances on March 22, 1969. Despite its short run, David Cryer won the 1969 Theatre World Award. The story tells of an itinerant peddlar in 19th century New England, and the people whose lives he affects. Behind the scenes, the musical was a disaster. Ray Bolger demanded that the producers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in the 1930s and beyond. He is best known for his roles in ''The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) as the Scarecrow and in Walt Disney's holiday musical fantasy '' Babes in Toyland'' as the villainous Barnaby. Bolger was the host of ''The Ray Bolger Show'' on TV from 1953 to 1955, originally titled ''Where's Raymond?'' Early life Bolger was born at 598 Second St., South Boston, Massachusetts, into a Catholic family of Irish descent, the son of James Edward Bolger and Anne C. née Wallace. His father James was first-generation Irish, and was born in Fall River, Massachusetts; his mother "Annie" who had a large Irish family, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He grew up and attended school in the Codman Square section of Dorchester neighborhood ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
David Cryer
Donald David Cryer Jr. (born March 8, 1936) is an American stage, television and film actor and singer and one of the founders of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater which began in Pittsburgh and New York's Mirror Repertory Theatre. In recent years, he is best known for the role of Firmin in '' The Phantom of the Opera'', which he has played for nearly 19 years on the road and on Broadway. He has also played more performances of the Bernstein Mass, as The Celebrant (including at the Metropolitan Opera and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) and more performances as Juan Peron in '' Evita'' than any other actor. Cryer and his first wife, the songwriter Gretchen Cryer, are the parents of the actor Jon Cryer and his sister Robin Cryer Hyland. With his second wife, the dancer and actress Britt Swanson, he is the father of four children: Rachel, Daniel, Carolyn, and Bill. He has eleven grandchildren. Early life Cryer was born Donald David Cryer Jr. in Eva ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1969 Musicals
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to London's Gatwick Airport, killing 50 of the 62 people on board and two of the home's occupants. * January 14 – An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' near Hawaii kills 27 and injures 314. * January 19 – End of the siege of the University of Tokyo, marking the beginning of the end for the 1968–69 Japanese university protests. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President of the United States. * January 22 – An assassination attempt is carried out on Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev by deserter Viktor Ilyin. One person is killed, several are injured. Brezhnev escaped unharmed. * January 27 ** Fourteen men, 9 of them Jews, are executed in Baghdad for spying for Israel. ** Revere ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell (February 29, 1920 – January 22, 2010) was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera ''All My Children'' (1979–2010), theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers. Mitchell's skill at combining dance and acting was considered something of a novelty; in 1959, the critic Olga Maynard singled him out as "an important example of the new dancer-actor-singer in American ballet", pointing to his interpretive abilities and "masculine" technique. Early life Mitchell was born on Leap Day, 1920 in Sacramento, California. His parents emigrated from England to Northern California, where they operated a fruit farm in Turlock. In 1923, Mitchell's mother, Edith, left his father and returned to England with Mitchell's brother and sister; she and Mitchell had no further contact. Unable to run a farm while single-handedly raising his remaining son, Mitchel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Burt Shevelove
Burt Shevelove (September 19, 1915 – April 8, 1982) was an American musical theater playwright, lyricist, librettist, and director. Biography Born in Newark, New Jersey, he graduated from Brown University and Yale (Master's degree). At Brown in 1935, he acted in the first ever Brownbrokers musical titled ''Something Bruin''. After serving as a volunteer ambulance driver in World War II, he began working as a writer, director and producer for radio and television. At the time of his death he had lived in London for many years. His Broadway career started in 1948 with writing material, co-producing and directing for the revue ''Small Wonder.'' Among his successes were ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' and '' No, No, Nanette'', for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. He died at his apartment in London, where he had been living for about 15 years, on April 8. 1982. He was survived by his mother and a sister. Work Libr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre season. History In 1944, the Theatre World Awards were founded by Daniel Blum, Norman McDonald, and John Willis, recognizing "Promising Personalities", actors and actresses, in debut performances, in Broadway or Off-Broadway productions. In the first year Blum presented the awards in his apartment, at a cocktail party, to Betty Comden, Judy Holliday and John Raitt, and the second year to Barbara Bel Geddes, Marlon Brando, and Burt Lancaster. At Blum's 1949 party, Carol Channing won. The ''Theatre World'' editorial staff administered the Awards, under the supervision of Daniel Blum. In 1964, after Daniel Blum's death, John Willis supervised the Awards. In 1969, the award was renamed the ''Theatre World Award''. The early awards were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Agnes De Mille
Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors. Her mother, Anna Angela George, was the daughter of Henry George, the economist. On her father's side, Agnes was the granddaughter of playwrights Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice deMille. Her paternal grandmother was of German-Jewish descent. She had a love for acting and originally wanted to be an actress, but was told that she was "not pretty enough", so she turned her attention to dance. As a child, she had longed to dance, but dance at this time was considered more of an activity, rather than a viable career option, so her parents refused to allow her to dance. She did not seriously consider dancing as a career until after she graduated from college. When ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Barbara Sharma
Barbara Sharma (born September 14, 1938, Dallas) is an American actress and dancer of the night clubs, stage, television, and film. She began dancing at age 4 and professionally at age 9, dancing in nightclubs in Miami and Havana, Cuba. As a dancer she had a close working relationship with Bob Fosse, working as a lead dancer in his company for five seasons. She is best known for creating roles in the Original Broadway productions of several prominent musicals during the 1960s, including Rosie in ''Sweet Charity'' and Mary in ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', and as a regular performer on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1970-1972. She also portrayed Shelley Sealy as a main cast member of the short lived TV series ''Glitter'' in 1984-1985, and performed the recurring roles of Mrs. Recinos on '' Becker'', Mrs. Douglas on ''Frasier'', Amanda Wilkerson on ''Chico and the Man'', and Myrna Morgenstein in ''Rhoda''. She frequently appeared in commercials from the 1950s to the 2000s, including comme ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cathryn Damon
Cathryn Lee Damon (September 11, 1930 – May 4, 1987) was an American actress, best known for her roles on television sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s. She is best known as Mary Campbell in ''Soap'' (1977-1981). Early years Damon was the elder daughter of Lee Frank Damon and Mary Cathryn Atwood. Her parents divorced and her mother married Walter A. Springer. Damon was born in Seattle and raised in Tacoma and graduated from Stadium High School."Some famous and notable graduates", ''The News Tribune'' (Tacoma, Washington), September 9, 2006. As a child, she felt insecure, saying: "I never thought I was attractive enough. I never thought I was good enough." She also felt as a child she was responsible for her parents' divorce. She moved to New York City at age 16 to pursue ballet. Career Damon began her career as a ballerina, dancing in the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Lee, Massachusetts, and performing with the Metropolitan Opera's dance company. Off-Broadway plays ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Leonard John Crofoot
Leonard John Crofoot (born September 20, 1948 in Utica, New York) is an actor, singer, dancer, writer and choreographer. Crofoot has performed extensively on Broadway. His appearances include his Drama-League Critics Award-winning role of "Tom Thumb" in '' Barnum'' (1980) and in the original Broadway shows ''The Happy Time'' (1968), ''Come Summer'' (1969), '' Grind'' (1985) and '' Gigi'' (1973) and as replacement in '' American Dance Machine'' (1978). Crofoot toured with Carol Channing in '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1978) in the role of "Barnaby" and played the role of "Benjamin" in ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' in its American debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He can be heard singing "Bigger Isn't Better" on the original cast album of '' Barnum'' and on the CD '' Broadway Scene Stealers: The Men'' a compilation of performances, edited by ''Playbill''. Crofoot wrote and performed his one-person show '' Nijinsky Speaks'' from 1996 to 2006. The show originated a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Margaret Hamilton (actress)
Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's film ''The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education. Early life Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio and practiced her craft doing children's theater while she was a Junior League of Cleveland member. Hamilton made her debut as a "professional entertainer" on December 9, 1929, in a "program of 'heart rending songs'" in the Charles S. Brooks Theater at the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style for Charles Dillingham. The theater is named after theatrical couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne; its original name was inspired by that of the Globe Theatre, London's Shakespearean playhouse. The current configuration of the interior, dating to 1958, has about 1,519 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. The facade is a New York City landmark. The theater's only surviving facade is on 46th Street and was once the carriage entrance. The ground level contains the theater's entrance on the east, as well as exits from the auditorium and stage house. On the upper stories, the facade contains a five-bay-wide central pavilion with arches, flanked by simpler pavilions on either ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |