Original Listing Description

This is a rare June 1st, 1965 playbill from the one-week, National Tour engagement of the JERRY HERMAN and MICHAEL STEWART musical comedy hit "HELLO, DOLLY!" at the Music Hall Auditorium in Memphis, Tennessee. (The Original Broadway production opened January 16th, 1964 at the St. James Theatre in New York City and ran for 2844 performances while simultaneously playing on the road.) ..... During the exceptionally long Broadway run, nine different actresses played the role of "Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi", created by the legendary CAROL CHANNING. Her first replacement was GINGER ROGERS (1966) followed by MARTHA RAYE (1967), BETTY GRABLE (1967), BIBI OSTERWALD (1967), PEARL BAILEY (1967), THELMA CARPENTER (1969), PHYLLIS DILLER (1969) and finally ETHEL MERMAN (1970). Several prominent actresses took the show on the road including MARY MARTIN, BETTY GRABLE, GINGER ROGERS, DOROTHY LAMOUR, EVE ARDEN and YVONNE DE CARLO ..... The Memphis engagement starred MARY MARTIN as "Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi" and featured LORING SMITH, MARILYNN LOVELL, COCO RAMIREZ, JOHNNY BEECHER, BEVERLEE WEIR, MARK ALDEN, ROBERT HOCKNELL, JUDITH DRAKE, SKEDGE MILLER and CARLETON CARPENTER ..... Side Note: Beginning in April of 1965, MARY MARTIN crisscrossed the U.S. and Canada in "Hello, Dolly!" for five months before taking the show across the Pacific. The production played briefly in Hawaii and then, starting on October 10th, 1965, played the war zone in South Vietnam before touring U.S. military installations in Japan. Martin then flew to London and opened the West End production on December 2nd, 1965 ..... CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by JERRY HERMAN ("Milk and Honey", "Mame", "Mack and Mabel", "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Dear World"); Book by MICHAEL STEWART based on the "Matchmaker" by THORNTON WILDER; Sets designed by OLIVER SMITH; Costumes designed by FREDDY WITTOP; Directed and Choreographed by GOWER CHAMPION; Produced by DAVID MERRICK ..... DETAILS: The eight page playbill measures 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors but with the exception of the front cover, no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of handwritten notations on the back cover and light edge wear, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.

Note: This item has been sold and is no longer available. This page serves as a historical price reference for Playbill collectors and appraisers.