Jennie - Productions

Productions

Out-of-town tryouts

Jennie was plagued with problems from the start. In Boston, the major character of Jennie's second husband (J. Hartley Manners, who was to be played by Robin Bailey) was eliminated, and Carol Haney replaced Matt Mattox as choreographer. Schwartz sued the Boston Globe and its critic Kevin Kelly, on the basis that his review implied the composer had "stolen or plagiarized" from other composers. In summarizing the Boston reviews, The New York Times noted that while the critics unanimously praised Martin, they were "disappointed" in the show. It was "too long, too cultured, and sometimes even too solemn for its own good", according to Elliot Norton of The Record American.

In Detroit, the leading man was replaced (George Wallace replaced Dennis O'Keefe), and animosity developed between Schwartz and Dietz and the Hallidays, who decided not to bring the show to New York City. When the composers threatened to sue the couple for the $1.35 million advance sale, they agreed to open as scheduled.

Broadway

The musical opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre on October 17, 1963 and closed on December 28, 1963, after 82 performances and four previews. Directed by Vincent J. Donehue, choreographed by Matt Mattox (official IBDB credits) and with costumes by Irene Sharaff, the cast included George D. Wallace as O'Connor, Robin Bailey as Cromwell, Jack De Lon as Abe O'Shaughnessy, Jeremiah Morris as The Bear, Sydney Harris, and Indian Fakir, and Ethel Shutta as Nellie Malone.

The critics were delighted by the score and Martin's slapstick antics but found little else to praise. Howard Taubman, in The New York Times wrote: "Not that Miss Martin has lost her luster...she continues to be a game and resourceful trouper, willing to do an impossible backbend while being carried aloft and game enough to let herself be whirled head over heels on a torture rack and come up smiling and belting out a top note." Walter Kerr reviewing in the Herald Tribune wrote: "a woeful tale of some woeful people told in a woeful way." This was Martin's first Broadway flop (though she starred in "Nice Goin'" and "Dancing in the Streets" which closed out-of-town