[KANDER and EBB]

Cabaret. New York: circa November 1966. This is Stage Manager James Bronson's annotated script and extensive notebook of stage cues (together two items). The script with "Final version / November 20, 1966" to the title page which is numbered "36" in ink, not signed by Bronson but with his pencil annotation to many leaves, original tan brad-bound covers lettered in gilt. The notebook is spiral-bound and with notes to about 30 pages. The script with some wear to covers and a dampstain to the upper right corner; the notebook with wear from handling and use, old dampstaining, and several rusted staples throughout.

A box office hit, Kander & Ebb's Cabaret opened on Broadway on November 20, 1966 at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 1,166 performances through 1969. Starring Jill Haworth as Sally Bowles, Joel Grey as the Emcee, and Lotte Lenya as Fräulein Schneider, the musical won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Director for Hal Prince, and Best Actor for Grey among others. The musical inspired the 1972 film of the same name which won several Oscars. At first though, Boston previews for the show were mixed due a perception of the show's immoral content, but eventually audiences were won over by Grey's excellent performance as the Emcee. The annotations to the script here are mostly in the first act and include many changed lines and offers some stage direction. Bronson's notebook though offers much on the complicated staging of this musical which included the coming and going of trains, an intimately lit nightclub, and more. The musical was also unusual in other ways: the audience entered the theater to an open curtain revealing a large mirror on stage reflecting them and rather than an overture the first number of the musical simply opens with a drumroll and cymbal crash. Ultimately, Cabaret has had an enormous influence on both Broadway and Hollywood, having been revived and remade many times. Scripts and production notes from the Broadway premier are certainly scarce.

James Lord Bronson (1921-1988) was the production/stage manager for the opening run of many legendary Broadway shows including: Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy at the Broadway and Imperial Theatres, 1959 to 1962, with Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman; A Family Affair at the Billy Rose Theatre, 1962, with Shelley Berman; Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Alvin, Mark Hellinger and Majestic Theatres, 1962-1964, with Zero Mostel, David Burns and John Carradine; Fiddler on the Roof at the Imperial, Majestic and Broadway Theatres, 1964-1972; Zorba at the Imperial, 1968-1969; Cabaret with Zero Mostel and Beatrice Arthur at the Broadhurst, Imperial and Broadway Theatres, 1966-1969; and Stephen Sondheim’s Company at the Alvin Theatre, 1970.