Buttrio Square, 1952

The run closed October 18, 1952

Opened

October 14, 1952

Closed

October 18, 1952

Performances

7

Previews

—

Theatre

New Century Theatre

Of the 705 productions we hold that opened in the 1950s and record a performance count, this is the 602nd longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.

Who was in it56 named

George Foster
Robert Gilson
Jane Harven
Loren Hightower
Ferdinand Hilt
Gene Holman
Lois Hunt
Susan Johnson
Charlotte Jones
Barbara Karen
Michael King
David Kurlan
Henry Lawrence
Vera Lee
Zoya Leporsky
James MacCracken
Joe Mantell
Rudy Mattise
Joan Morton
Ann Needham
Iona Noble
Greg O Brien
Ann Olchoff
Noella Pelloquin
George Reeder
Darryl Richards
Beatrice Ruth
Ernest Sarracino
Lewis Schaw
Jan Scott
Orville Sherman
Joanne Spiller
Marti Stevens
James Tarbutton
Ted Thurston
Joseph Tocci
Babs Wood
Sandra Zell

33 of these 56 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 23 are set from the identifier in the cast list, which is a slug of the name — so hyphens and full stops are lost and a few come out wrong. We hold nothing else about them. Nobody here is matched to a character: the cast list records who was in the company and not what they played.

Creative team

Director

Lawrence Brooks, George Reeder, Al Checco, Ann Needham, Billy Gilbert, Charlotte Jones, Ernest Sarracino, Ferdinand Hilt, Henry Hamilton, James MacCracken, James Tarbutton, Jane Harven, Joan Morton, Joe Mantell, John, Leon Daniels, Lionel Ames, Lois Hunt, Marie Gibson, Marti Stevens, Maurice Levine Cast: David Kurlan, Orville Sherman, Rina Falcone, Susan Johnson, Ted Thurston, Vincent Barbi, Walter Black

Choreographer

Eugene Loring

Producer

Gen Genovese and Edward Woods

A producer is one string on this record, however many people or companies it names. Directors and choreographers are held both as text and as identifiers; where an identifier exists the name links to a page.

Around this production

14, '52; 7), the first of our "four worst," was about a village in 1946 Italy seeking to qualify as a town.

Buttrio Square had a terribly troubled history. During rehearsals, a postdated check written to cover the Equity bond bounced, and Equity stepped in and halted rehearsals. Both Boston and Philadelphia tryouts were scratched when a major backer withdrew funding. Not Since Carrie Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops Ken Mandelbaum, p. 25

• There have been a few exceptions, such as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) and Nine (1982), but the odds are against success: over three dozen musicals set wholly (or partially) in Italy have floundered on Broadway, Off-Broadway, or on the road. Seven alone opened during the 1950s; besides The Liar… Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 61
• The Broadway dancer was seen in a number of the era’s musicals, including the notorious Buttrio Square and Hit the Trail, and in 1968 made his mark as the author of the book Your Own Thing, which won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical of the 1967–1968 season and played for 933 performances. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 154
• He also mentioned that after this scene, there was no stopping My Fair Lady , even if the authors of Buttrio Square , Hit the Trail , and Carnival in Flanders had been invited to “work over” the second act. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 524
• Musicals such as Hairpin Harmony, Louisiana Lady, Buttrio Square, Hit the Trail, and Portofino have become legendary for their stultifying mediocrity. Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 690
• Seven alone opened during the 1950s; besides The Liar, there were Shuffle Along of 1952 (1952), Buttrio Square (1952), Ankles Aweigh (1955), Candide (1956), Portofino (1958), and At the Grand (1958). The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals Dan Dietz Hardcover 2014 Rowman Lit, p. 62

Passages naming this production, found by keyword across 178 books. Where it turns up in the literature, not curated notes about it.

What this page does not know

• No photograph of this staging. 48 of 13,459 productions hold one.
• No character names. We can say who was in the company and not who they played.
• No recording is held for Buttrio Square at all.
• Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.