Officially, this week's Notable Opening Nights spotlight is on Nov. 12, 1989, when Grand Hotel opened at what is now the Al Hirschfeld.
Notable Nov. 12 openings include:
Paint Your Wagon, which opened in 1951 at the Shubert. No Tony nominations went to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical about an interracial romance and the desperation for women in a California Gold Rush town. Paint Your Wagon ran only a season, and was more successful in London. Still, it turned out a couple of standards, and, of course, will never be completely forgotten thanks to The Simpsons.
Courtesy YouTube.
Time Remembered, which opened at the now-demolished Morosco in 1957. Helen Hayes won the Tony for her work in Jean Anouilh's romantic comedy (translated by Patricia Moyes) about a duchess who goes to great lengths to help her prince nephew (Richard Burton, a Tony nominee) relive what was his then-most romantic experience. Ultimately, the prince moves on with a new love (Susan Strasberg).
Sleuth, which opened at the Music Box in 1970. Playwright Anthony Shaffer won the Tony while leading men Keith Baxter and Anthony Quayle shared the Drama Desk Award for this mystery about the revenges taken by a cuckold husband (Quayle) and his wife's lover (Baxter). Sleuth probably loses something if you remember all of the twists, but it could make for a fun revival. The play was adapted in 1972, with Oscar nominations for Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, then in 2007, with Caine opposite Jude Law.
Sherlock Holmes, which opened at the Broadhurst in 1974. John Wood and Philip Locke were each Tony nominees for their performances as Holmes and Moriarty in this revival of Arthur Conan Doyle and William Gillette's play about "The Strange Case of Miss Faulkner." The production had previously been a hit in London and ran for a season-and-a-half on Broadway. Again, it could probably be easily revived.
Platinum, which opened at the Mark Hellinger in 1978. This was a short-lived show (less than a month), but it makes the history books for Alexis Smith and Richard Cox's Tony-nominated performances. It's the one book musical that Bruce Vilanch is credited for, alongside Will Holt (The Me Nobody Knows). Alexis played a Golden Age movie musicals star who seeks a comeback and also gets involved with rocker "Dan Danger."
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Lunch Hour, which opened at the Ethel Barrymore in 1980. Gilda Radner and Sam Waterston headlined Jean Kerr's last play, directed by Mike Nichols and running for the length of the 1980-81 season. Gilda tells Sam that her husband (David Rasche) is having an affair with Sam's wife (Susan Kellermann), and the two cucks decide to claim their own affair. Fantasy might just become reality. Costarring Max Wright as the gay best friend. Lunch Hour wasn't adapted into a film, which is kind of a shame. I remember reading the play, which includes Gilda and Sam having come back from swimming together, and thinking how that could have been a fine film sequence (with an Oscar bait song) for those two falling in love.
Mass Appeal, which opened at the Booth in 1981. Previously a success off-Broadway, this play directed by Geraldine Fitzgerald concerns an old priest (Milo O'Shea) and a seminarian (Michael O'Keefe) learning from one another. Bill C. Davis updated his play in later years, like including references to cell phones in churches. It's a shame he died in 2021. It could have been interesting to get his point of view on Pope Leo.
Grand Hotel, which opened at the then-Martin Beck in 1989, stayed there for more than two years, and spent the winter and early spring of 1992 at the Gershwin. Five Tonys, including for Tommy Tune's direction and choreography, Santo Loquasto's costumes, Jules Fisher's lighting, and Michael Jeter's featured performance as Kringelein, who is indeed living each day like his last, went to this musical. The cast also included Tony nominees Jane Krakowski as ambitious secretary Flaemmchen, Lilliane Monteveechi as aging ballerina Elizaveta, and David Carroll as the ill-fated Baron Felix. This is another show that can bring out the tears.
Little Me, which opened at the now-closed Criterion Center Stage Right in 1998. Martin Short won the Tony for this revival of Cy Coleman & Carolyn Leigh's 1962 musical based on Patrick Dennis' book about the untalented actress Belle Poitrine (Faith Prince, playing the role from youth to middle age, unlike in the OBC).
Courtesy YouTube.
A View From the Bridge, which opened at the Lyceum in 2015. Mark Strong made his Broadway debut and was a Tony nominee for this winning revival of Arthur Miller's tragedy about a longshoreman who's a little too close to his niece (Phoebe Fox). The cast also included Nicola Walker and Russell Tovey, under the Tony-winning direction of Ivo van Hove.
Maybe Happy Ending, which opened at the Belasco in 2024 and is currently playing there. Six Tonys, including Best Musical, went to this Will Aronson and Hue Park show about the romance between two robots (originally played by Darren Criss, who won the Tony, and Helen J Shen, who was sadly snubbed).
Courtesy YouTube.
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