Oh! Thursday Headlines!

 

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This week's Notable Opening Night is Sept. 24, 1976, when the revival of Oh! Calcutta! opened at the no longer a theatre Edison.

"A theatrical production doesn't run off and on for twenty years at Broadway ticket prices, well into the era of video porn, simply by exposing a few breasts, buttocks, and penises," Frank Rich wrote when Oh! Calcutta! closed for good in August 1989. "Following the Maplethorpe uproar and the erosion of Roe v. Wade, there is reason to wonder whether the clock may yet be turned back until the social climate is hospitable again for Oh! Calcutta!, with its celebration of strict erotic orthodoxy and unchallenged male supremacy."

Thirty-seven years later, and Oh! Calcutta! still has the potential to gain new admirers or be seen as little more than "mild and schoolboyish silly." Put me in the latter camp. It's just not a good show, even taking in account that the sketches were written from a less enlightened era. As is often the case, I'd have some enthusiasm for a spiritual remake about today's sexual scene rather than an out-and-out revival.

Neither Oh! Calcutta!'s original 1969-72 run or the 1976-89 revival were nominated for Tonys. It looks like the show steadily increased the amount of sex appeal in its cast as time went by. Too bad they couldn't have done a complete overhaul or two.

Other notable Sept. 24 openings include:

The Red Mill, which opened at the now-demolished Knickerbocker in 1906 and closed there the following June. This was the first production of Victor Herbert and Henry Blossom's musical about two American vaudevillians stranded abroad who ensure that two couples live happily ever after.

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Lombardi, Ltd., which opened at the now-demolished Morosco in 1917 and closed there the following June. Husband and wife Frederic and Fanny Hatton co-wrote this comedy about a fashion designer (Leo Carrillo) who falls for a showgirl (Sue MacManamy) but soon realizes his true love is his assistant (Janet Dunbar). This received a one-month revival in 1927 at the now-demolished George M. Cohan's.

Subway Express, which opened at the no longer a theatre Liberty in 1929 and closed there the following May. Eva Kay Flint and Martha Madison wrote this whodunit involving a stockbroker's electrocution with the subway's third rail.

Once in a Lifetime, which opened at the Music Box in 1930 and closed nearly a year later at what is now the Gerald Schoenfeld. Kaufman & Hart's first play together was about three vaudevillians (Grant Mills, Jean Dixon, and Hugh O'Connell) making a go at a new and surprisingly successful life in Hollywood.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which was revived at what is now the August Wilson in 1974. Elizabeth Ashley was a Tony and Drama Desk nominee for her work as Maggie opposite Keir Dullea and Fred Gwynne. In both cases, Elizabeth lost to Ellen Burstyn for Same Time, Next Year.

You can vote on next week's essay topic. Either Look Back in Anger or Moon Over Buffalo.