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by Michael Portantiere

Fade Out - Fade In

  • Fade Out - Fade In has a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by the great Jule Styne, and the original production was directed by George Abbott and starred Carol Burnett. The show opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 1964 but had a short run because the box office plummeted when Burnett began to miss performances after suffering whiplash in a taxi. (It's a sad, fascinating story, too long to recount here but definitely worth researching.)

    A hilarious tale of Hollywood in the 1930s, the show is almost never revived, but now audiences have a chance to sample its delights in the current Musicals Tonight! production at Theatre Row. Vanessa Lemonides as the plucky Hope Springfield (the Burnett role) and Bill Coyne as the vain actor Byron Prong (!) head a cast that also includes Joan Barber, Oakley Boycott, Terrence Clowe, Matthew Couti, Christie Dabreau, Peter Davenport, Matt DuMont, Preston Ellis, Jeanette Fitzpatrick, Judah Gavrah, Robin Haynes, Steel Jo Johnston, Vanessa Lemonides, Rob Lorey, Allison Maldanado, Peter Mills, Aaron Ricciardi, Jacob L. Smith, Jeffrey Arnold Wolf, and Chris Woods. Thomas Sabella-Mills is the show's director/choreographer, and David H. Bishop is the musical director. For more information, visit www.musicalstonight.org. Here are my photos of the production.

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    Published on Tuesday, October 16, 2012


    Michael Portantiere has more than 30 years' experience as an editor and writer for TheaterMania.com, InTHEATER magazine, and BACK STAGE. He has interviewed theater notables for NPR.org, PLAYBILL, STAGEBILL, and OPERA NEWS, and has written notes for several cast albums. Michael is co-author of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: BEHIND THE MYLAR CURTAIN, published in 2008 by Hal Leonard/Applause. Additionally, he is a professional photographer whose pictures have been published by THE NEW YORK TIMES, the DAILY NEWS, and several major websites. (Visit www.followspotphoto.com for more information.) He can be reached at [email protected]


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