Production History
The initial presentation of Leader of the Pack: The Songs of Ellie Greenwich (as it originally was titled), with a cast of six, had a brief run at Greenwich Village's Bottom Line in the winter of 1984. After 53 previews, the much-expanded production, boasting a cast of nineteen directed and choreographed by Michael Peters, opened on April 8, 1985 at the Ambassador Theatre, where it ran for 120 performances. Frank Rich, reviewing the show in The New York Times, called it an "embarrassment" and later wrote that upon closing, the show's producers engaged each other in litigation that "entertained Broadway for far longer than their show had." The production was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical, but lost to Big River.
Leader of the Pack was unlike other shows on Broadway at the time. Though it ran in two acts, it was without an intermission and had a duration of 90 minutes.
Leader of the Pack is a popular choice for high school and amateur productions, which Ellie Greenwich frequent managed and oversaw until her death in August 2009.
Read more about this topic: Leader Of The Pack (musical)
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