(1) February 27, 1976: Leonard Bernstein & Alan Jay Lerner's musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" had just begun its pre-Broadway tryout at the Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia.
During a dress rehearsal a few days earlier, Bernstein told a reporter he had a "good feeling" about the production.
During a dress rehearsal a few days earlier, Bernstein told a reporter he had a "good feeling" about the production.
Comments
Ken Howard played all the presidents, Patricia Routledge all the First Ladies.
It began with a meta-theatrical prologue, as the opening number "Rehearse" - utilizing the entire multiracial cast - set the scene.
“Episodic. Too long,” decreed the Wilmington News-Journal. “Stars and Gripes,” was the headline in the Philadelphia Daily News.
The Camden Courier-Post snarked that, like a half-addressed envelope, “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” should be marked “Return to Sender.”