Fact #113804
When:
Short story:
A new musical, The MAD Show, opens off-Broadway at the New Theatre, New York City, USA. With music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer it will run for 871 performances.Full article:
Mary Rodgers : Two days before rehearsals were to begin, Bill Gaines (publisher of MAD magazine) finally decides to exercise his option. He wants to hear the material.
Picture this: A nasty, hot little attic room above the New Theatre. Bill Gaines and his MAD Mag suits, Columbia Records execs (they had, sight unseen or heard, agreed to produce the album) and their suits, Steven Vinaver in his suit (tweedy) Stan, Larry and Mary, nondescriptly attired, huddled in a corner, Sam Pottle the musical director looking like your normal Yalie, which he was, poised to play the out-of-tune upright, and: Marshall wearing pointy boots, jeans, a shirt festooned with yesterday's tuna fish sandwich, and a fringed leather jacket.
He is foaming at the mouth from an overdose of Tums, squinting at his coffee-stained, unpaginated bunch of lyrics, putting on his distance glasses, taking off his distance glasses, losing his distance glasses (resting on his head). He stumbles through the entire score at the end of which SILENCE.
Bill Gaines rises. Reminds the room of his right to toss out any material he doesn't like. And what doesn't he like? Everything. He doesn't like everything. Couple of tunes, maybe, but otherwise, forget it. This is Friday, remember? And we start rehearsal on Monday. What me worry? You betcha!
Needless to say rewrites were done, presented and approved. The MAD Show opened on time "to some pretty terrific reviews" and ran for over two years.
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Picture this: A nasty, hot little attic room above the New Theatre. Bill Gaines and his MAD Mag suits, Columbia Records execs (they had, sight unseen or heard, agreed to produce the album) and their suits, Steven Vinaver in his suit (tweedy) Stan, Larry and Mary, nondescriptly attired, huddled in a corner, Sam Pottle the musical director looking like your normal Yalie, which he was, poised to play the out-of-tune upright, and: Marshall wearing pointy boots, jeans, a shirt festooned with yesterday's tuna fish sandwich, and a fringed leather jacket.
He is foaming at the mouth from an overdose of Tums, squinting at his coffee-stained, unpaginated bunch of lyrics, putting on his distance glasses, taking off his distance glasses, losing his distance glasses (resting on his head). He stumbles through the entire score at the end of which SILENCE.
Bill Gaines rises. Reminds the room of his right to toss out any material he doesn't like. And what doesn't he like? Everything. He doesn't like everything. Couple of tunes, maybe, but otherwise, forget it. This is Friday, remember? And we start rehearsal on Monday. What me worry? You betcha!
Needless to say rewrites were done, presented and approved. The MAD Show opened on time "to some pretty terrific reviews" and ran for over two years.