George Abbott "BROADWAY" Teri Garr (Signed) William Atherton '78 Tryout Playbill

Description

This is a rare autographed May 1978 playbill from the out-of-town tryout of the PHILIP DUNNING and GEORGE ABBOTT play "BROADWAY" at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. (The production opened April 15th, 1978 in Boston and closed May 14th, 1978, canceling the scheduled Broadway opening.) ..... The play starred WILLIAM ATHERTON, TERI GARR and CHRIS SARANDON and featured JILL O'HARA, ROY POOLE, NANCY ANDREWS, JOSEPH LEON, LAURA COPLAND, ROBERT D'AVI, JEAN DE BAER, DAVID J. FORSYTH, JAMES HARDER, MARION McCORRY, TIMOTHY MEYERS, LESLEY ROGERS, ROBERT SEVRA and ARMIN SHIMERMAN ..... Note: The front cover was signed by cast members WILLIAM ATHERTON, TERI GARR (inscribed, "Love") and TIMOTHY MEYERS ..... Biography: After completing his studies at Harvard University, GEORGE ABBOTT (1887-1995) made his first appearance as an actor on Broadway in "The Misleading Lady" in 1913. While acting in several plays in New York City, he began to write, with this first successful play being 1925's "The Fall Guy". He moved on to work in Hollywood as a writer and director, while continuing with his theatre work. During his amazing career, he was associated with 119 Broadway productions as a performer, author, director or producer. His most notable directorial efforts were "Jumbo", "On Your Toes", "The Boys from Syracuse", "Pal Joey" (all Rodgers and Hart shows), "On the Town" (with Comden and Green, Leonard Bernstein), "High Button Shoes", "Where's Charley?", "Call Me Madam", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", "Wonderful Town", "The Pajama Game" (in which Bob Fosse got his break as a choreographer), "Damn Yankees", "Fiorello!", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (Stephen Sondheim's first musical as both composer and lyricist), "Flora the Red Menace" (Kander and Ebb's first musical together, and Liza Minnelli's Broadway debut at age 19). In addition to his other activities, Abbott acquired a reputation as an astute (and ruthless)
show doctor
: when a show was having difficulties in tryouts or previews, he would be called in to supervise changes. In 1965 the 54th St. Theatre (previously the Adelphi Theatre) was named the George Abbott Theatre in his honor. The theatre was demolished in 1970. Abbott died of a stroke in Miami Beach, Florida at the age of 107. He remains one of the most admired men in Broadway history ..... CREDITS: Book by PHILIP DUNNING and GEORGE ABBOTT; Sets designed by KAREN R. SCHULZ; Costumes designed by CARRIE F. ROBBINS; Directed by ROBERT ALLAN ACKERMAN; Produced by ROGER BERLIND, STEVEN BECKLER and THOMAS C. SMITH ..... DETAILS: The 32 page playbill measures 5 5/8" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes and bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team, but no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light edge wear, this rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
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