The run closed July 1, 1978
- Opened
- October 29, 1977
- Closed
- July 1, 1978
- Performances
- 233
- Previews
- —
- Theatre
- Majestic Theatre
Of the 589 productions we hold that opened in the 1970s and record a performance count, this is the 97th longest. That is a rank within what we hold, not within everything that was staged.
Who was in it17 named
Claudia Asbury
Christopher Barrett
Gayle Crofoot
Carol Estey
Mark Goddard
Michael Leeds
Roger Minami
Laurie Dawn Skinner
Albert Stephenson
Brad Witsger
Steve Anthony
Mace Barrett
Danny Buraczeski
Karen Dibianco
3 of these 17 names have a person record behind them and link to one. The other 14 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
- Martin Scorsese
- Choreographer
- Ron Lewis
- Orchestrations
- Ralph Burns
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
The Act is a musical with a book by George Furth, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. It was written to showcase the talents of Kander and Ebb favorite Liza Minnelli, who portrayed Michelle Craig, a fading film star attempting a comeback as a Las Vegas singer. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1977.
And so The Act finally came to town. “Don't blame us for the shape the show is in,” asserted librettist Furth, “it’s all Scorsese’s fault.” More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 57
Liza Minnelli in “The Act” (a 1977 premiere) received a Tony as best musical actress.
Speaker not recorded. A Pictorial History of the American Theatre 1860 1985 Blum, p. 437- For “The Act,” the following songs were also used: “Dearest” (lyric by Benny Davis, music by Harry Akst) and “Liza” (Show Girl, 1929; lyric by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, music by George Gershwin). Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals the Dan Dietz, p. 529
- John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the Liza Minnelli vehicle, The Act (10/29/77; 233 performances), but it failed to catch on with audiences or critics. Broadway Its History People and Places An Encyclopedia Bloom Ken 1949 2nd Ed New, p. 352
- She built her reputation singing the work of Kander and Ebb, substituting for Gwen Verdon in Chicago (1975), then starring in The Act (1977) and subsequently winning a second Tony. Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical Volume 22 William A Everett Paul R, p. 261
- As the Girls Go, Seventh Heaven, Goldilocks, On a Clear Day, Zorba, The Act, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and Kiss of the Spider Woman—each of which saw fit to raise the prevailing price plateau—all floundered and flopped. That’s show biz. More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 35
- The Act was dealt a severe blow when the star started missing performances—twenty-six in all, a full ten percent of the New York run. More Opening Nights On Broadway A Critical Quotebook of Compiled By Steven Suski, p. 58
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 The Act at all.
- Reviews, box office, running order, understudies and designers: none of it is held for any production.