The run closed September 2, 1979
- Opened
- May 31, 1979
- Closed
- September 2, 1979
- Performances
- 108
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- Majestic Theatre
Of the 589 productions we hold that opened in the 1970s and record a performance count, this is the 162nd longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
Other stagings of I Remember Mama 1 more that season
| 1944 | Music Box Theatre Original | 713 perf. |
Who was in it31 named
Dick Ensslen
Mickey Gunnersen
Daniel Harnett
Sigrid Heath
Carrie Horner
Elizabeth Hubbard
Myvanwy Jenn
Danny Joel
Jan Kasni
Tara Kennedy
Kevin Marcum
Richard Maxon
Janet Mccall
Marisa Morell
Stan Page
Frank Pietri
Cathy Rice
Armin Shimerman
Maureen Silliman
Kristen Vigard
Arthur Whitfield
Dolores Wilson
Elissa Wolfe
Ian Ziering
7 of these 31 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 24 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
- Cy Feuer
- Choreographer
- Danny Daniels
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
It took 323 investors to come up with the necessary $1.25 million, half of which was supplied by Universal Pictures, which had recently dropped $700,000 when the musical Alice closed in Philadelphia the year before.
The show played forty previews, postponing its opening twice. In New York, Graciela Daniele was succeeded as choreographer by Danny Daniels, one more child was replaced, the role of Mama’s boarder, Mr. Hyde, was cut, and more songs came and went. Mama opened to only one good review (Clive Barnes in the New York Post ) but stayed open, at a loss, until Labor Day. Not Since Carrie Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops Ken Mandelbaum, p. 100
- I Remember Mama (10/19/44; 714 performances) was one of the best-loved comedies of the 1940s. The play, written and directed by John Van Druten, starred Mady Christians, Oscar Homolka, Frances Heflin, and, making his Broadway debut, Marlon Brando. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 386
- I Remember Mama (1979), with lyrics by Charnin and Raymond Jessel and starring Liv Ullmann and George Hearn (108 performances).33 Less than four months after his fortieth and final musical closed, Rodgers died on December 30, 1979. Enchanted Evenings the Broadway Musical From Show Boat Block Geoffrey Oxford New, p. 260
- I Remember Mama was based on the first play that Rodgers and Hammerstein produced on Broadway, John Van Druten’s hit play of the same title, which opened its long run of 714 performances in 1944. Enchanted Evenings the Broadway Musical From Show Boat Block Geoffrey Oxford New, p. 666
- Cohen responded with a statement to the press, complaining that Eder “has provoked outrage in the theatrical community, particularly because he continues the savage nature of his attack on great artists who work in our theatre.” Which, of course, only went to publicize the fact that Mama was—well, a tedious failure. More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 489
- [with 5 pans] Ambassador Ari Billy A Broadway Musical Coco Good News Goodtime Charley Her First Roman Here’s Where I Belong I Remember Mama La Strada Mack & Mabel Merrily We Roll Along Molly Music Is Oh, Brother! Rainbow Jones Rex So Long, 174th Street Timbuktu! A Time for Singing The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall Via… More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 1075
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 I Remember Mama at all.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.