Happy 50th Anniversary to I HAD A BALL

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:13pm

It opened 50 years ago today, at the Martin Beck theater, running 199 performances.

It starred Buddy Hackett as a con-man fortune teller who discovers his crystal ball can actually foretell the future. Also in the cast was the great Karen Morrow, who is the real star of the cast album, and the lovely Richard Kiley just before his breakout in MAN OF LA MANCHA.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:14pm

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:15pm

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:15pm

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:15pm

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:15pm

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:15pm

[gcal]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:31pm

The fantastic (and bizarre) title number:

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 12/15/14 at 7:40pm

Could she have a more perfect voice??

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:25pm

One of my all time favorite flop scores. Would love to hear all the cut songs from this. According to the composers in the liner notes, they wrote enough material for 3 shows. Unfortunately, we never heard from the team again.

It got fairly good reviews out of town in Detroit but Hacketts antics in NY doomed the show. Would love to see it revived with Lane in the Hackett role & Stokes in the Kiley role. Many songs were cut from the original because Hackett could not hack it vocally . Having Lane would allow them to go back in.

Updated On: 12/16/14 at 04:25 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:29pm

Is it me or was Richard Kiley really *hot* back-in-the-day?

[tazber]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 4:32pm

I adore this score. No one ever talks about it but it's chock full of great songs and of course Buddy Hackett.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 5:01pm

It has a brassy Broadway sound to it. The Other Half Of Me is a great song and I have an old Sammy Davis Jr album on Broadway and it has his rendition of it. Another good number is "The Fickle Finger Of Fate". Karen Morrow shines with "Almost" which was almost cut from the score but alledgedly saved when Hackett intervened . This stayed and one of his was cut.This is the only good thing he did on it as everything else he did on it was detrimental to the production.

Updated On: 12/16/14 at 05:01 PM

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 7:41pm

The Times review was mixed, not a pan, leading one to wonder if it had opened in 1963 instead of 1964, might it have done better.

By December 1964, DOLLY, FUNNY GIRL, and FIDDLER were monster hits, HIGH SPIRITS was doing respectable business, GOLDEN BOY, and BAJOUR had just opened, and even HOW TO SUCCEED was still running. Perhaps I HAD A BALL just got lost in the crowd.

In the fall of '63, the competition from new shows would've been HERES LOVE, THE GIRL WHO CAME TO SUPPER, SHE LOVES ME, and JENNIE, (all flops) with FORUM, OLIVER!, and HOW TO SUCCEED holding over, a much weaker field, IMHO.

(Of course, the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963 pretty much took the air out of the country's taste for light entertainment until DOLLY opened in January '64 and gave us a much needed collective shot in the arm, so who knows if it would've made a difference.)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 9:27pm

Yes, Richard Kiley was often cast as a handsome, leading man until he became established as a character actor in LA MANCHA.

What a shame that Karen never had the right part in the right show to make her a true star! Her talent certainly warranted it. I taught with her at UCLA and, while eccentric, she was a lovely person, greatly beloved by her students. Her CALL ME MADAM for Reprise was excellent!

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 9:55pm

Thanks for posting this! Not familiar with this show, but Karen Morrow is fantastic! Did she replace Carol in MATTRESS? She should have!

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 10:01pm

Per IBDB, Burnett was replaced by Ann B. Davis of BRADY BUNCH fame.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 12/16/14 at 10:05pm

Well, I could certainly see Morrow playing Winifred back in the day.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 1:24am

I have a ball every time I play this video.

[NoName3]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 1:29am

Thanks, Mr. Nowack!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/17/14 at 11:46am

I love the score dearly and was just listening to it yesterday. I think it would be an excellent entry for Encores.

[The Other One]

Posted: 12/18/14 at 8:29am

One of my favorite OBCRs. A fun score, a terrific cast and a title song that can not be topped.