Show GirlOpening Date: Jan 12, 1961
Closing Date: April 8, 1961 Air date: April 2, 1961 Medium: TV Where to watch: not officially available (see below) |
Stage Production Notes
A star vehicle for Carol Channing with music and lyrics by Charles Gaynor. The revue loosely chronicled the history of comedy and theatre in the first half of the twentieth century.
Carol Channing first worked on Broadway in 1941 as an understudy in Let’s Face It!, a musical starring Danny Kaye and Eve Arden. She established her name in Charles Gaynor’s 1948 Lend an Ear, a much lauded revue with choreography by Gower Champion, that opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in December 1948.
A year later, Channing became a household name with the role of Lorelei Lee in Gentleman Prefer Blondes with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin, and book by Anita Loos. It featured the song “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend”, which became Channing’s signature tune.
After appearing on the George Burns Show in January 1959, Channing shared she was developing a new Broadway-bound act and noted, “An act is a great thing for a TV guest. It gives you lots of polished new material which can be conveniently divided into short segments.” Channing also recognized that one night on television could give a performer as much exposure as a long running Broadway show.
Originally titled Show Business, the revue offered Channing the chance to show off her comedic prowess, with spoofs of contemporary and 1920s theatre, and imitations of a wide range of performers, including Lynn Fontanne, Sophie Tucker, Marlene Dietrich, Al Jolson, George M. Cohan, and Judy Garland.
In addition to Channing, the cast included George Spelvin, a French quartet, Les Quat Jeudis, which was comprised of Raoul Curet, George Denis, André Fuma, Roger Lagier, and an orchestra of 15 players. Channing reportedly saw Les Quat Jeudis performing in Paris whilst she herself was on tour, and invited the quartet to the United States to appear in her show.
Although the revue had a minimal set, it featured 11 costume changes for Channing alone.
Show Business premiered at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on October 19, 1959. Channing reportedly gave eight curtain calls, and received rave reviews. Ed Rees of the Valley Times gushingly described Channing as “irresistible… irrepressible… totally inimitable…[and] just the girl for the job!” Rees also gave high praise to Gaynor’s score and “expert” staging, and made mention of the unique work of Les Quat Jeudis.
Following its Los Angeles run, Show Business embarked on a national tour of the United States where it continued to garner positive notices, particularly for Channing.
Wally Griffin replaced George Spelvin early on during the tour, and Jules Munshin replaced Griffin in June 1960.
Around a year into the tour, the title of the revue was changed to Show Girl.
Following two previews, Show Girl opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre on January 12, 1961. Channing was joined by Jules Munshin and Les Quat Jeudis.
Channing had last appeared on Broadway in 1955, in the short-lived The Vamp, and her return was highly celebrated. Critics praised her versatility, charm, and brilliant impersonations. Daily News reviewer John Chapmen enthused Channing was “an entertainer of great versatility, wit and endurance.”
The revue overall was well received, though several critics noted that some of the numbers were repetitive, and even tedious. New York Times critic Howard Taubman stated it was only likely to appeal to those who loved show business, while Jack MacDuff from New Jersey’s The Record wrote that Show Girl was most elevated in the mind’s of Channing’s “devoted following.”
Jules Munshin also received positive reviews, and Charles Gaynor was acknowledged for his work on the music and lyrics, with Taubman noting the score was “just the right sort of fresh.”
Carol Channing was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
In the final week of the Broadway run, Show Girl became the first Broadway musical to be broadcast live in its entirety on an early form of pay-TV in Etobicoke, Canada (see Filmed Production Notes below).
After 100 performances, Show Girl closed on April 8, 1961.
Following the Broadway run, Show Girl was performed in various cities along the east coast of the United States. The show continued to garner glowing reviews. Writing for the The Pittsburgh Press, Michael Holmberg enthused that the show was “a two-hour delight” and that “Miss Channing is a marvel, with an apparently limitless supply of impressions and parodies of the foibles of the theater and its people.” Holmberg also praised Les Quat Jeudis, noting the quartet “act as well as they sing, pantomime excellently and have an infection spirit of wit and good cheer.”
Roulette Records released an original cast recording on LP in 1961. It was re-released by Forum Records in 1963, and Kritzerland released the recording on CD in 2009.
Three years after Show Girl, Channing originated the role of Dolly Levi in Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!, for which she won a Tony Award. She reprised the role numerous times, including on Broadway in 1978, and again in 1995 at the age of 74. On Broadway, and on tours around the United States, Channing played the role nearly 5,000 times, missing only a single performance in order to accept her Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. She continued to perform into her 80s.
Carol Channing died at the age of 97 in 2019.
A star vehicle for Carol Channing with music and lyrics by Charles Gaynor. The revue loosely chronicled the history of comedy and theatre in the first half of the twentieth century.
Carol Channing first worked on Broadway in 1941 as an understudy in Let’s Face It!, a musical starring Danny Kaye and Eve Arden. She established her name in Charles Gaynor’s 1948 Lend an Ear, a much lauded revue with choreography by Gower Champion, that opened at the Broadhurst Theatre in December 1948.
A year later, Channing became a household name with the role of Lorelei Lee in Gentleman Prefer Blondes with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin, and book by Anita Loos. It featured the song “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend”, which became Channing’s signature tune.
After appearing on the George Burns Show in January 1959, Channing shared she was developing a new Broadway-bound act and noted, “An act is a great thing for a TV guest. It gives you lots of polished new material which can be conveniently divided into short segments.” Channing also recognized that one night on television could give a performer as much exposure as a long running Broadway show.
Originally titled Show Business, the revue offered Channing the chance to show off her comedic prowess, with spoofs of contemporary and 1920s theatre, and imitations of a wide range of performers, including Lynn Fontanne, Sophie Tucker, Marlene Dietrich, Al Jolson, George M. Cohan, and Judy Garland.
In addition to Channing, the cast included George Spelvin, a French quartet, Les Quat Jeudis, which was comprised of Raoul Curet, George Denis, André Fuma, Roger Lagier, and an orchestra of 15 players. Channing reportedly saw Les Quat Jeudis performing in Paris whilst she herself was on tour, and invited the quartet to the United States to appear in her show.
Although the revue had a minimal set, it featured 11 costume changes for Channing alone.
Show Business premiered at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on October 19, 1959. Channing reportedly gave eight curtain calls, and received rave reviews. Ed Rees of the Valley Times gushingly described Channing as “irresistible… irrepressible… totally inimitable…[and] just the girl for the job!” Rees also gave high praise to Gaynor’s score and “expert” staging, and made mention of the unique work of Les Quat Jeudis.
Following its Los Angeles run, Show Business embarked on a national tour of the United States where it continued to garner positive notices, particularly for Channing.
Wally Griffin replaced George Spelvin early on during the tour, and Jules Munshin replaced Griffin in June 1960.
Around a year into the tour, the title of the revue was changed to Show Girl.
Following two previews, Show Girl opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre on January 12, 1961. Channing was joined by Jules Munshin and Les Quat Jeudis.
Channing had last appeared on Broadway in 1955, in the short-lived The Vamp, and her return was highly celebrated. Critics praised her versatility, charm, and brilliant impersonations. Daily News reviewer John Chapmen enthused Channing was “an entertainer of great versatility, wit and endurance.”
The revue overall was well received, though several critics noted that some of the numbers were repetitive, and even tedious. New York Times critic Howard Taubman stated it was only likely to appeal to those who loved show business, while Jack MacDuff from New Jersey’s The Record wrote that Show Girl was most elevated in the mind’s of Channing’s “devoted following.”
Jules Munshin also received positive reviews, and Charles Gaynor was acknowledged for his work on the music and lyrics, with Taubman noting the score was “just the right sort of fresh.”
Carol Channing was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
In the final week of the Broadway run, Show Girl became the first Broadway musical to be broadcast live in its entirety on an early form of pay-TV in Etobicoke, Canada (see Filmed Production Notes below).
After 100 performances, Show Girl closed on April 8, 1961.
Following the Broadway run, Show Girl was performed in various cities along the east coast of the United States. The show continued to garner glowing reviews. Writing for the The Pittsburgh Press, Michael Holmberg enthused that the show was “a two-hour delight” and that “Miss Channing is a marvel, with an apparently limitless supply of impressions and parodies of the foibles of the theater and its people.” Holmberg also praised Les Quat Jeudis, noting the quartet “act as well as they sing, pantomime excellently and have an infection spirit of wit and good cheer.”
Roulette Records released an original cast recording on LP in 1961. It was re-released by Forum Records in 1963, and Kritzerland released the recording on CD in 2009.
Three years after Show Girl, Channing originated the role of Dolly Levi in Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!, for which she won a Tony Award. She reprised the role numerous times, including on Broadway in 1978, and again in 1995 at the age of 74. On Broadway, and on tours around the United States, Channing played the role nearly 5,000 times, missing only a single performance in order to accept her Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. She continued to perform into her 80s.
Carol Channing died at the age of 97 in 2019.
Filmed Production Notes
Show Girl was filmed live in the last week of its Broadway run for distribution on Trans-Canada Telemeter, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, and one of the first experimental coin-operated pay-tv channels that ran in the suburb of Etobicoke in Toronto, Canada from 1960 until 1965.
The broadcast was the second part of Telemeter’s experimental roll-out, and was part of a live entertainment line-up that included highlights from Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul, An Evening with Edith Piaf in Paris taped at the Olympia Theatre, and an off-Broadway production of Hedda Gabler. The extraordinarily multifaceted Jean Dalrymple, who had previously overseen the founding of New York City Center, served as Executive Producer.
Val Adams reported in the New York Times that Show Girl was broadcast on a Sunday night (which also happened to be Easter) when the show did not usually run. The in-person audience was made up of specially invited guests.
According to Harold Stern in the Syracuse The Post-Standard, Carol Channing stated of the broadcast “When they told me I was making history, all I could think of was, ‘So did the Titanic!’”
The production was filmed with five cameras — two in the front orchestra aisles, one in the rear orchestra, one in the upper box, and one in the mezzanine. Monitors were also placed at either side of the proscenium so in-person audience members could see what was being broadcast. A sixth camera “filmed audience members milling around the lobby before the show and during intermission, in order to simulate the live theatre experience for Etobicoke viewers.”
As reported in The Post-Standard, the performance was not adjusted for the cameras and was played as normal, although Channing noted she had to add in a hidden moment to wipe away her perspiration during a particularly lengthy number.
Contract details for the broadcast were not made public, though it was shared that “key participants” would be paid a week’s salary plus a percentage of the residuals. The New York Times article reporting the broadcast also noted that the Actors Equity Association and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) disagreed as to which union had jurisdiction over the broadcast. Local 802, American Federation of Musicians had yet to finalize their negotiations with the production at the time of the article.
In a report for the Evening Herald in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, reviewer Jack Gaver claimed the broadcast “might just barely satisfy viewers who never get to the theater, but that it would be tremendously disappointing to regular playgoers.” While Gaver felt that the lack of scenery and costumes contributed to a “lack of visual appeal…”, he noted that closeups were a plus “which you can’t get in the theater.”
A total of 5800 homes in Etobicoke were wired for coin-operated pay-tv at the time of the broadcast, all of whom were sent a Show Girl program in advance. As noted by Kevin Plummer, 38% of the potential audience paid the $1.50 to watch the show (tickets at the actual theatre ran between $3.45 - $7.50). Show Girl proved popular enough to be given 12 re-runs in the following weeks, and the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto was added to the Show Girl tour schedule.
Despite only being available in Etobicoke, Canada, the broadcast was reported in newspapers across the United States. Commentators were skeptical, though curious, about the future of pay-TV and if live theatre on screen was a good drawcard to lure subscribers. Some felt telecasts would stimulate greater interest in theatre, others were concerned telecasts would affect ticket sales. There was also a belief that specially made-for-TV programs would better serve the medium.
Show Girl has not officially been released since airing on Telemeter, though it is currently available on YouTube.
Show Girl was filmed live in the last week of its Broadway run for distribution on Trans-Canada Telemeter, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, and one of the first experimental coin-operated pay-tv channels that ran in the suburb of Etobicoke in Toronto, Canada from 1960 until 1965.
The broadcast was the second part of Telemeter’s experimental roll-out, and was part of a live entertainment line-up that included highlights from Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul, An Evening with Edith Piaf in Paris taped at the Olympia Theatre, and an off-Broadway production of Hedda Gabler. The extraordinarily multifaceted Jean Dalrymple, who had previously overseen the founding of New York City Center, served as Executive Producer.
Val Adams reported in the New York Times that Show Girl was broadcast on a Sunday night (which also happened to be Easter) when the show did not usually run. The in-person audience was made up of specially invited guests.
According to Harold Stern in the Syracuse The Post-Standard, Carol Channing stated of the broadcast “When they told me I was making history, all I could think of was, ‘So did the Titanic!’”
The production was filmed with five cameras — two in the front orchestra aisles, one in the rear orchestra, one in the upper box, and one in the mezzanine. Monitors were also placed at either side of the proscenium so in-person audience members could see what was being broadcast. A sixth camera “filmed audience members milling around the lobby before the show and during intermission, in order to simulate the live theatre experience for Etobicoke viewers.”
As reported in The Post-Standard, the performance was not adjusted for the cameras and was played as normal, although Channing noted she had to add in a hidden moment to wipe away her perspiration during a particularly lengthy number.
Contract details for the broadcast were not made public, though it was shared that “key participants” would be paid a week’s salary plus a percentage of the residuals. The New York Times article reporting the broadcast also noted that the Actors Equity Association and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) disagreed as to which union had jurisdiction over the broadcast. Local 802, American Federation of Musicians had yet to finalize their negotiations with the production at the time of the article.
In a report for the Evening Herald in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, reviewer Jack Gaver claimed the broadcast “might just barely satisfy viewers who never get to the theater, but that it would be tremendously disappointing to regular playgoers.” While Gaver felt that the lack of scenery and costumes contributed to a “lack of visual appeal…”, he noted that closeups were a plus “which you can’t get in the theater.”
A total of 5800 homes in Etobicoke were wired for coin-operated pay-tv at the time of the broadcast, all of whom were sent a Show Girl program in advance. As noted by Kevin Plummer, 38% of the potential audience paid the $1.50 to watch the show (tickets at the actual theatre ran between $3.45 - $7.50). Show Girl proved popular enough to be given 12 re-runs in the following weeks, and the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto was added to the Show Girl tour schedule.
Despite only being available in Etobicoke, Canada, the broadcast was reported in newspapers across the United States. Commentators were skeptical, though curious, about the future of pay-TV and if live theatre on screen was a good drawcard to lure subscribers. Some felt telecasts would stimulate greater interest in theatre, others were concerned telecasts would affect ticket sales. There was also a belief that specially made-for-TV programs would better serve the medium.
Show Girl has not officially been released since airing on Telemeter, though it is currently available on YouTube.
Show Girl PRODUCTION CREDITS
Theatre: Eugene O’Neill Theatre, New York
Producer: Charles Lowe, Oliver Smith, James A. Doolittle, Film Producer: Jean Dalrymple
Music, Lyrics, and Book: Charles Gaynor
Additional Sketches: Ernest Chambers
Director: Charles Gaynor, Film Director: Wilham A. Graham
Musical Director & Orchestrations: Robert Hunter
Additional Orchestrations: Clare Grundman
Scenic Design: Oliver Smith
Costume Design: Miles White
Lighting Design: Peggy Clark
Stage Manager: Ed Loessin
Cast:
Carol Channing, Jules Munshin, Les Quat Jeudis — Raoul Curet, George Denis, André Fuma, Roger Lagier
Theatre: Eugene O’Neill Theatre, New York
Producer: Charles Lowe, Oliver Smith, James A. Doolittle, Film Producer: Jean Dalrymple
Music, Lyrics, and Book: Charles Gaynor
Additional Sketches: Ernest Chambers
Director: Charles Gaynor, Film Director: Wilham A. Graham
Musical Director & Orchestrations: Robert Hunter
Additional Orchestrations: Clare Grundman
Scenic Design: Oliver Smith
Costume Design: Miles White
Lighting Design: Peggy Clark
Stage Manager: Ed Loessin
Cast:
Carol Channing, Jules Munshin, Les Quat Jeudis — Raoul Curet, George Denis, André Fuma, Roger Lagier
Sources
Books
Articles
Websites
Other
- Gerald Bordman, American Musical Theater: A Chronicle, 3rd Ed, Oxford University Press (2001)
- Ed. Bud Coleman & Judith A. Sebesta, Women in American Musical Theatre: Essays on Composers, Lyricists, Librettists, Arrangers, Choreographers, Designers, Directors, Producers, and Performance Artists, McFarland & Company Inc (2008)
- Dan Dietz, The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals, Rowman & Littlefield (2014)
Articles
- Val Adams, “TORONTO PAY-TV LISTS LIVE REVUE,” New York Times (March 2, 1961) p.55
- Elston Brooks, “Carol Channing Tops in One-Woman Show,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (June 30, 1960) p.9
- John Chapman, “Carol Channing’s ‘Show Girl’ Small in Size, Big in Laughter,” Daily News (Jan 14, 1961) p.127
- Michael Holmberg, “Carol Channing Right on Target in ‘Show Girl’” The Pittsburgh Press (July 11, 1961)
- Mary Kimbrough, “She Made ‘Em Giggle in the Fourth Grade,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 20, 1959) p.69
- Jack MacDuff, “Carol Channing Devotees Whoop It Up For Debut of Her Revue,” The Record (Jan 13, 1961) p.62
- Enid Nemy, “Carol Channing Dies at 97; a Larger-Than-Life Broadway Star,” New York Times (Jan 15, 2019)
- Lewis Nichols, “Back to the Broadway That Made Her Famous,” New York Times (Jan 8, 1961) p.373
- Kevin Plummer, “Historicist: The World’s First Pay-Per-View TV Show,” Torontoist (June 15, 2013)
- Ed Rees, “Channing Great In ‘Business’,” Valley Times (Nov 4, 1959) p.8
- Steven H. Scheuer, “Carol Channing Is An ‘Unusual Type’,” The Hammond Times (Jan 6, 1959) p.3
- Howard Stern, “Carol Channing a Big Hit In Pay TV Performance,” The Post-Standard (May 11, 1961), p.34
- Howard Taubman, “Theatre: Carol Channing in Revue: Appears with Munshin in ‘Show Girl,” New York Times (Jan 13, 1961) p.37
- Marie Torre, “Pay-TV People Not Talking About First Broadway Show,” St. Petersburg Times (April 25, 1961) p.39
- Uncredited, “Carol Channing to Play Shubert,” The Cincinnati Enquirer (May 8, 1960) p.98
- Uncredited, “Music Slated for Big Role in Int. Telemeter Pay-TV,” Billboard (March 6, 1961)
- Uncredited, “Broadway Show is Tested on Pay TV,” The Franklin (Indiana) Evening Star (April 3, 1961)
- Uncredited, “March Up for ‘Gideon’; Theatre vs Pay-TV,” Daily News (April 11, 1961) p.49
Websites
- OvrTur, “Show Girl,” Accessed via: https://ovrtur.com/production/2889130
- Playbill, “Show Girl,” Accessed via: https://www.playbill.com/production/show-girl-eugene-oneill-theatre-vault-0000004740
Other
- Dir. Dori Berinstein, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life (2011)
Written by Luisa Lyons (May, 2021)