42nd Street The Kennedy Center Theatre June 1980 Stagebill Tammy Grimes 1st Perf

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42nd Street The Kennedy Center Theatre June 1980 Stagebill Tammy Grimes Jerry Orbach
From the first performance of the first out of town try out run of the show.
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In June 1980, the musical premiered in out-of-town tryouts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The musical opened on Broadway on August 25, 1980, at the Winter Garden Theatre,
and then moved to the Majestic and finally to the St. James, closing on January 8, 1989, after 3,486 performances and 6 previews. The production was directed by Gower Champion. It was produced by David Merrick and featured orchestrations by Phillip J. Lang.
The original cast included Jerry Orbach as Julian Marsh, Tammy Grimes as Dorothy Brock, Wanda Richert as Peggy Sawyer, and Lee Roy Reams as Billy Lawlor.
Replacements later in the run included Barry Nelson and Don Chastain and Jamie Ross who played Julian for the last three years of its Broadway run,
Elizabeth Allen, Dolores Gray and Millicent Martin as Dorothy,
and Lisa Brown and Karen Ziemba as Peggy. (Karen Prunzik, who originated the role of Anytime Annie, briefly played the role of Peggy when Wanda Richert became ill and her understudy abruptly quit the show.)
The show's designers, Robin Wagner (sets), Theoni V. Aldredge (costumes), and Tharon Musser (lights) were the same team who had designed the original Broadway production of
A Chorus Line
.
The original Broadway production is the 15th longest running show in Broadway history, as of July 28, 2019.
However, the opening night triumph was overshadowed by tragedy. Following a lengthy standing ovation, Merrick went onstage and stated, "This is tragic...Gower Champion died this afternoon." He went on to explain that Champion died hours before the performance, "when he said that Mr. Champion had died, there were gasps and screams."
The producer had told only Bramble of Champion's death and managed to keep the news a secret from the cast (including Richert, the director's girlfriend), crew, and the public prior to his announcement.
42nd Street
proved to be not only Champion's last show but Merrick's final success. Merrick lived until 2000, but, as described by Anthony Bianco,
42nd Street
"was his last big hit, his swan song."
This Tony–nominated wardrobe, designed by Theoni V. Aldredge, is on rotating display at the Wick Theatre and Costume Museum in Boca Raton, Florida.