On this date 33 years ago, the original Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along closed after 52 previews and 16 performances. The Playbill Vault highlights vintage Playbills from the show's troubled preview period and notoriously short run.

On this date 32 years ago, the original Broadway production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along closed after 52 previews and 16 performances. The Playbill Vault highlights vintage Playbills from the show's troubled preview period and notoriously short run.

The busy Mark Brokaw (A Little Night Music at the Kennedy Center, Lobby Hero) will pilot a Feb. 5 NYC reading of Marty — the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams-Rupert Holmes musical of the Oscar-winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who wins a new lease on life through an unexpected romance.

What may be the last pre-production reading of Marty — the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar-winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who wins a new lease on life through an unexpected romance — will take place in New York City on Feb. 5. John C. Reilly, the True West star who headed a July 2001 reading, will again play the title role.

John C. Reilly will play the title role in a new reading of Marty, the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who wins a new lease on life through an unexpected romance. The private reading will take place July 19-20 at 890 Broadway. Robert Longbottom directs. No other cast members have been mentioned.

John C. Reilly will play the title role in a new reading of Marty, the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who wins a new lease on life through an unexpected romance. The private reading will take place July 19-20 at 890 Broadway. Robert Longbottom directs. No other cast members have been mentioned.

Marty, the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who gets a new lease on life through an unexpected romance, will get a closed-doors reading in New York City, Aug. 1. The new reading of the piece will take place at The Dramatist's Guild in New York City.

A full cast has been assembled for the Aug. 1 New York City reading of Marty, the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who gets a new lease on life through an unexpected romance. The new reading of the piece will take place at The Dramatist's Guild in New York City.

Marty, the Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical of the Oscar winning 1955 film about a homely, unassuming Bronx butcher who gets a new lease on life through an unexpected romance, is showing some signs of life after having fallen off the radar for over a year. A new reading of the piece will take place at The Dramatist's Guild in New York City on Aug. 1.

No matter when or how you do it, Miss Julie takes a while to get produced. After 16 frustrating years, August Strindberg finally had to create a theater in Copenhagen to see his 1888 masterpiece of shifting, almost feral class and gender warfare get produced. Mike Figgis has intermittently spent the last five years developing his own version of the play. He first read Helen Cooper's stage adaptation in 1994 and instantly wanted to direct it. "Originally he wanted to do a stage version," says Cooper, "but I said, `If you love it so much, why don't you do a film?'" But then came the Academy Award-winning "Leaving Las Vegas," followed by various other projects.

No matter when or how you do it, Miss Julie takes a while to get produced. After 16 frustrating years, August Strindberg finally had to create a theater in Copenhagen to see his 1888 masterpiece of shifting, almost feral class and gender warfare get produced. Mike Figgis has intermittently spent the last five years developing his own version of the play. He first read Helen Cooper's stage adaptation in 1994 and instantly wanted to direct it. "Originally he wanted to do a stage version," says Cooper, "but I said, `If you love it so much, why don't you do a film?'" But then came the Academy Award-winning "Leaving Las Vegas," followed by various other projects.

The Jason Alexander musical vehicle, Marty, will probably not reach Broadway this coming season. "We've all agreed this is not a race," producer James Weissenbach told Playbill On-Line (July 2). "It's possible we might get there, but there is no reason to."

The popular TV show "Seinfeld" may have signed off for the last time May 14, but two of the sitcom's stars, Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld himself, are preparing shows for Broadway.

Seinfeld" star Jason Alexander confirmed to Playbill On-Line that he is planning to return to Broadway "in a very special way, with a very special project," the stage musical adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1955 film Marty.

What will Jason Alexander do if NBC does not meet his demand for $1 million per episode on a ninth season of "Seinfeld"?

From VivaLsVgs:
I saw "Annie" last night in Wallingford, CT and to be truthful, I was disappointed. All of the orphans were mediocre at best and Brittny Kissinger just didn't have the spark that I expected from Annie. I saw the Turning Point show and thought Joanna's voice seemed a lot stronger and better suited for the role. The way the entire firing was handled was cruel and seems like a media stunt that has indeed backfired. If I hadn't already paid for the tickets, I would have boycotted the show.
To those who criticize Andrea McArdle , keep in mind when she replaced Kristen Vigard in the original production, the show was in the workshop stage and had none of the publicity that has surrounded this revival. Also thought I'd mention the fact that Goodspeed Opera House also did an Annie revival this summer. It was superb !! Cassandra Kubinski was the quintessential Annie and while watching Turning Point I wondered if she had been given an audition for the Broadway revival?
The show definitely needs to be fine tuned to become a success on Broadway again, Brittny will improve but I still think Joanna deserved to play the part, she seemed to have that certain spark that makes Annie, "Annie". (3/1/97)

The year was 1981. A 21-year-old actor named Lonny Price was cast as playwright-lyricist Charley Kringas in the new Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along – the latest in a string of creative hits from director-producer Harold Prince and Sondheim, following Company, Follies and Sweeney Todd.