"Thieves" from 1974 - anyone recall this show?

[David10086]

I was reading an old interview with actress Valerie Harper from 1974, when she launched 'Rhoda' on CBS that Fall. In the interview she clarifies what happened with the play 'Thieves' which she starred in on the out-of-town-tryout in Boston in late 1973 /early 1974, but left the show before it made it to Broadway in the Spring of 1974. 

Harper said the rumors that she 'walked off' in the middle of the run due to conflicts with the rest of the cast were totally untrue. She said she was fired from the show by writer Herb Gardner, who wanted to give the role to his then-new girlfriend, Marlo Thomas. (Harper has explained this a few times since then, including in her memoir from 2013). Thomas eventually replaced Harper on Broadway in April, 1974. 

Thomas has always told a different story - that her 'friend' Gardner was having trouble with the leading lady (who was not getting along with anyone during the Boston run) and the (unnamed) leading lady decided to quit the show during it's run. Thomas offered to step into the show so her friend wouldn't take a loss, and then she eventually went with it to New York (where the show ran from April 1974 - January 1975). Thomas also starred in the 1977 movie.

Does anyone here remember all the drama surrounding this show back then? Anyone know which actress is telling the truth? Anyone here with inside information?  Did anyone see this play in Boston or in NY? Any reviews or memories you would like to share? 

[Capeguy]

I saw it in Boston. I don't remember much except it was slow and boring. It was a preview so it may have been improved by the time it got to NY. It was so long ago, I'm not sure if Valerie finished the Boston run or left early. The gossip at the time was that she didn't get along with Gardner.

[Dollypop]

Saw it in New York and hardly remember it. Thomas was cute and there was a female character who nothing but a towel.

[AADA81]

The director of 3 of the plays I was in during college was connected to this show.  I can't remember if he was an intern, a stand-by or a stagehand but he was definitely around the backstage dynamics when the show was on Bway.  Anyway, I remember two things he said: that there was a lot of tension between certain cast members throughout the run and that Marlo Thomas was among them, and that Richard Mulligan (who wasn't involved in those tensions) was so devastated when the closing notice went up that he said he thought that this was his last chance and that his career was finished - this was pre-'Soap' and pre-'Empty Nest'.

The vagaries of show business.

[EthelMae]

I saw it in NY and don’t remember liking it except for Ms. Ann Wedgeworth. She was very funny. I remember the set was all these towering buildings with terraces and Ms. Wedgeworth was out on one and said something like, “I come out here every night and just start thinkin’ of all the people out there in the city doin’ it...”

I couldn’t believe how long it ran.

 

 

[Esther Blodgett]

Oy, talk about in trouble on the road. In addition to losing the leading lady, Thieves said bye-bye to its original director, a man named Michael Bennet (Yes, that Michael Bennett.), and I think Charles Grodin took over. Also lost in the trouble road were the original producers who I cannot remember, but I think Azenberg & Wolsk took over. I've never heard of replacing your producers , but there you have it.

The show limped into town and got mixed but not awful reviews. However there was no advance and the notice went up. As told to me by a stagehand, Marlo came in to do the show and read the notice and took it down saying, "This show is not closing." and that was kind of that. She worked for scale and the royalty people waived royalties. Everybody knew that Thieves would never even begin to pay off, but they soldiered on. Some weeks they made a little money and some weeks they lost a little and eventually got about 8 months out of it.

Thieves was an expensive show. In addition to the multi-level set, there were peripheral actors who did not come for cheap like Professor Irwin Corey ( a noted comic) in a small role and William Hickey in an equally small role. In the middle of the run it was booked out of the Broadhurst and moved to the Longacre. At the time the Longacre was the desert. Shows did not want to play there. It had been dark about 2 1/2 years when Thieves moved in.

[GavestonPS]

I never worked with Miss Harper except that I was a 17-year-old usher at a theater where she was appearing in STORY THEATRE. Even though the theater management had forbidden it, she gave me a lengthy (at least an hour) interview for my high school newspaper.

One of the nicest celebrities I have ever met.

[Jarethan]

I saw it in NYC; I seem to think it was at the Broadhurst. I barely remember it to, just that the theatre was no more than half-filled, and the people who didn’t come were the smart ones. The only thing I really remember is that it was the first time I ever saw William Hickey...I seem to remember that he played a bum...and his speeking voice drove me crazy. I assumed it was a voice he chose for the role. Only when i saw Prizzi’s Honor did I realize that that was his real voice.

[David10086]

Thank You all for sharing your memories.

 

For some reason, I came across this reference in the old Harper interview I was reading from 1974  and became intrigued by this - and what I 'googled' afterwards. The problems with the production, and Harper being accused of 'difficult' to work with - and then 'walking out on the production' in Boston. 

I'm surprised that it was so bad yet it became a movie a few years later - with Marlo Thomas! 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

^ And Bob Fosse, in one of his few acting roles.

[CarlosAlberto]

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "^ And Bob Fosse, in one of his few acting roles."

Bob Fosse played a bum as a favor to his friend Herb Gardner, who wrote the play. Charles Grodin, who replaced Michael Bennett as director would go on to co-star with Marlo Thomas in the 1977 film adaptation. Ann Wedgeworth also reprised her Broadway role in the film version. Interesting tid-bit: Ann Wedgeworth won a Tony Award for her performance in Neil Simon's "Chapter Two", when the film version was made her role went to......Valerie Harper.