engagement, replaced by Paul Sorvino, which turned out to be the finish when Schwartz and book writer Joseph Stein (of Fiddler on the Roof fame), requested/begged that producer David Merrick not bring the show to Broadway. Topol (a pain in the ass if there ever was one) was sent packing at the end of its Washington, D.C. Despite a fine score, the show never coalesced during its grueling six months on the road that saw two directors, two choreographers and three leading ladies come and go (its last one a pre- Evita Patti LuPone, who continues to this day to sing Schwartz’s glorious “Meadowlark” at concerts). It was to star Topol (the forever Tevye due to his casting in the 1970 film of Fiddler on the Roof) and Carole Demas, who had originated the role of Sandy in Grease. Earlier in the season, there had been high hopes for The Baker’s Wife, composer Stephen Schwartz’s follow up to his first three hits Godspell, Pippin and The Magic Show. Music Is, yet another adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, had been panned by five of the six major newspapers and closed in a week about as likely a nominee for Best Musical in 1977 as The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical in 2020. Due to a series of circumstances, only one eligible show had opened. Photo by Martha Swope.Īs the 1976–77 Tony Award season drew to a close, the gossip on the Rialto was that it might mark the first year there would be no nominees for Best Musical. Andrea McArdle (Annie), Reid Shelton (Oliver Warbucks) and Sandy (Sandy) in “Annie” (1977).
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