Hermione Gingold was asked to appear in a revue on Broadway by millionaires (and producers) Carroll Masterson and Harris Masterson and she asked her friend, Christopher Hewett to direct. Hewitt in turn recruited some of the cast and crew from Tamiment (an entertainment camp run in the summer), including the young Jonathan Tunick, then a Juilliard student, as co-orchestrator with Jay Brower.[1]
Although a critical and commercial failure, the show is notable in that it marked the Broadway debuts of writer Allen, lyricist Ebb, composer Herman, ("Also making their mainstream debuts: Fred Ebb and Woody Allen.")[3] and performer Virginia Vestoff.
Brooks Atkinson in his The New York Times review noted that "There is no official writer; there is no house composer. Perhaps this is the reason the revue represents no point of view... Gingold is a comic of vast self-assurance who has very little variety." Atkinson praised the scenery and costumes ("Mr. Voelpel's costumes are also superb") and the performances of Alvin Epstein and Paula Stewart.[2]
In its review roundup, The New York Times reported that "Only John McClain of the Journal-American gave hearty support to this new revue starring Hermione Gingold."[5]
The Billboard reviewer noted that Gingold "displayed much keen sense of comedy; but one bright artist cannot make the production .... the scenes were not very titillating .... Musically, the individual songs were not distinctive."[6]
^ abSuskin, Steven. " 'From A to Z' "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations (2009)(books.google.com), Oxford University Press, ISBN0199831076, p.393
^ abAtkinson, Brooks. "Hermione Gingold Seen in Revue at Plymouth", The New York Times, April 21, 1960, p. 23
