RARE “FIORELLO!” Pre-Broadway Philadelphia Preview Program Tom Bosley

Description

This is a rare program of the pre-Broadway opening of what would become a Pulitzer Prize winning musical.
Prior to its Broadway opening, Fiorello! starring Tom Bosley played at the Erlanger Theatre in Philadelphia where the writers "tried out the show" and made changes based on audience response. This program is notable for not listing the song "Little Tin Box" because the song had not yet been written. In fact, it was added during the Philadelphia run.
The Erlanger Theatre was one of Philadelphia's most elaborate live-performance theatres and considered one of the most magnificent ever built in the United States. Philadelphia was well-known for hosting many Broadway shows during their tryout periods, and the Erlanger was most famous for hosting the pre-Broadway runs of Guys and Dolls, West Side, Story, Man of La Mancha, My Fair Lady, and others. The Erlanger opened on October 23, 1927 and was demolished in 1978.
The program is in good condition for a sixty-year-old booklet. No tears and the staple binding and pages are in tact. Many theatre goers roll their programs or fold them in their hands as they watch a show, and this program has a faint length-wise fold line, probably made by the audience member who held it in his or hand hands during that evening's performance in 1959, which makes it even more special.
If you collect Playbills of classic musicals, you'll want to add this to your collection.
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