21 year-old Bernadette Peters in "LA STRADA" Lionel Bart 1969 FLOP Press Photo

Description

This is a rare glossy press photograph of BERNADETTE PETERS used in a 1969 article on the already prolific career of the 21 year-old actress during tryouts of the LIONEL BART and CHARLES K. PECK, Jr. musical flop "LA STRADA"
at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, Michigan
. (The production would eventually open December 14th, 1969 at New York's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre and close the same night after only one performance.) ..... The musical starred BERNADETTE PETERS, VINCENT BECK (replaced out-of-town by STEPHEN PEARLMAN), LARRY KERT and PATRICIA MARAND and featured LYNN LIPTON, LEE WILSON (replaced out-of-town by MARY ANN ROBBINS), SUSAN GOEPPINGER, LISA BELLERAN, MIRIAM PHILLIPS (replaced out-of-town by ANNE HEGIRA), LUCILLE PATTON, JACK FLETCHER, PEGGY COOPER, JOHN COE, STAN PAGE, NINO GALANTI, MICKEY GUNNERSEN, CONNIE BURNETT, HENRY BRUNJES and ANNA MARIA FANIZZI ..... Side Note: Despite the huge success of Lionel Bart's "OLIVER!", his personal demons (drug and alcohol abuse) haunted the remainder of his life and career and by the time "LA STRADA" opened on Broadway, the score only included three of Bart's songs. An insert in the Broadway opening night playbill would note "Additional Music and Lyrics by MARTIN CHARNIN and ELLIOTT LAWRENCE" ..... CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by LIONEL BART ("Oliver!", "Blitz", "Lock Up Your Daughters", "Maggie May", "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T' Be", "Twang", "La Strada"); Book by CHARLES K. PECK, Jr. based on the FEDERICO FELLINI film; Sets designed by MING CHO LEE; Costumes designed by NANCY POTTS; Choreographed by ALVIN AILEY; Directed by ALAN SCHNEIDER; Produced by CHARLES K. PECK, Jr. and CANYON PRODUCTIONS, INC. ..... DETAILS: This rare glossy press photo measures 11 1/8" X 8 1/8" inches and includes a caption strip on the backside. The photograph was part of the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" archives ..... CONDITION: With the exception of two small nicks in the outside margins and light creasing at the corners, this rare photograph is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.