MOLLY from 1973
MOLLY from 1973
#1MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 4:02pmDid anyone see this show based on the TV / radio hit The Goldbergs? It starred Kaye Ballard and featured Swen Swensen apparently.
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Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#2MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 5:16pmI saw it. It was fine and not the disaster it's been made out to be. Kaye was polished and a pro. I remember the show went through a huge overhaul out of town - new director, new songs, new book, new plot, new cast members. One song stood out - 'In Your Eyes.' I don't think it's a show Encores would tackle but it's perfect for the Mufti series.
Up In One
Broadway Star Joined: 5/27/04
#2MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 7:32pm
Those were the days we lined up for blocks early in the morning the day the box office opened. I remember they had a beauty pageant winner handing out bottles of Yoohoo! Playing on the "Yoohoo! Moly Goldberg " catch phrase from the TV series. I remember my mom being excited about resurrecting Molly and I was excited to see one of The Mothers In Laws.
It was a boring mess not worth waiting on line for. Completely forgettable.
It was around the same time we did the line thing for Sugar, another drag of a musical which at least had some production values some nice star turns and a classic story to tell. I swore off waiting in line for tickets after those two shows.
In those years 72/73 we had A Little Night Music, Pippin, Raisin, Seesaw, Purlie, Irene, Grease, Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope amongst which Molly and Sugar both seemed to be throw backs in style to an earlier time.
Up In One
#3MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 7:37pmWow, were there a lot of great shows that year! Too bad MOLLY apparently wasn't one of them.
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Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#4MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 7:39pm
I remember seeing this at the than Alvin
Mildly enjoyable. Daniel Fortus who played Harpo Marx was in it . I still have the tri color Playbill from it. It was not a Fiddler but it did have a pleasant score as I recall
Missed the free Yoo Hoo
Poster Emeritus
Updated On: 8/23/14 at 07:39 PM
#5MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/23/14 at 8:47pmKaye Ballard discusses the show at length in her autobiography. Its failure was heartbreaking for her.
#6MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/24/14 at 1:51am
^^^^^^
That's so sad to hear. I'm sure she was great despite the mediocre material. It was her only true starring role onstage though (how did she not have more???).
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Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#7MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/24/14 at 2:39pmGreat show curtain: the curtains in her kitchen window, which she opened at the top of the show for her first appearance high above the stage.
#8MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/24/14 at 2:49pm
Here's some information and mp3 songs from Dennis Livingston's website:
MOLLY: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL (1973)
BOOK by Louis Garfinkle and Leonard Adelson
MUSIC by Jerry Livingston
LYRICS by Leonard Adelson and Mack David
DIRECTOR: Alan Arkin (replacing Paul Aaron)
CHOREOGRAPHER: Grover Dale (replacing Bert Michaels)
PRODUCERS: Don Saxon, Don Kaufman, George Daley
Based on characters from THE GOLDBERGS by Gertrude Berg
Original cast:
Kaye Ballard (as Kay Ballard): Molly Goldberg
Lee Wallace: Jake Goldberg
Daniel Fortus: Sammy Goldberg
Lisa Rochelle: Rosie Goldberg
Swen Swenson: Michael Stone
Eli Mintz: Uncle David
Information and MP3's from Molly's score.
Updated On: 8/24/14 at 02:49 PM
#9MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 8/24/14 at 2:58pmI saw it and the main problem with it was that they based it off of the radio show instead of the play called Me and Molly. Ms. Ballard gave it her all, but the show lacked focus and was kind of a mess and would have been quite a bit better if they had another out-of-town tryout to fix it. The music was decent if I recall, but totally forgettable and I have no desire to seek out the demo recording. It was certainly a lot better than Raisin, Purlie, Seesaw, and Grease, but came nowhere near as good as Sugar or Irene that year.
#10MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 4/6/15 at 10:34pm
Just stumbled on some great photos from this show. Thought I'd share them.
Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated
#11MOLLY from 1973
Posted: 4/7/15 at 12:18am
I remember there was a full page ad in the Times with the calender year spread out showing the next 12 months. Many dates were blacked out as Sold Out. I thought, wow this is gonna be a hit. A couple of months later it was gone.
