Closing Night

In August 1986, the delightful British musical Me and My Girl made its grand entrance at the Marquis Theatre, starring the talented Robert Lindsay. A fusion of Pygmalion and Cinderella, the show revolves around Bill Snibson, a carefree Cockney man who unexpectedly discovers he is an Earl and must abandon his Lambeth girlfriend, Sally Smith, to claim his title and estate. Mark Robinson, a renowned theater historian, raves about the production, declaring it to be a source of pure joy, captivating audiences and critics alike.

However, behind the scenes, the Marquis Theatre faced significant challenges that affected the run of the musical. The original plans for the theater did not align with city regulations, leading to constant revisions during construction, which resulted in sewage, plumbing, and heating issues onstage and backstage. In this episode you'll learn about the history and tremendous success of Me and My Girl both in London and New York, and you'll find out why the theater owners, eyeing an even more profitable replacement, decided to end the run of this award-winning show prematurely.

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Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Blake Stadnik composed the theme music, and Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer. Much appreciation goes Mark Robinson for his insights as well as the voice talents of George Livings, Gabrielle Ruiz, and our very own Dan Delgado.

Click here for a transcript and full list of resources used in this episode (and there were a lot of them, believe me).

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Welcome back to Closing Night! Throughout this season and in between the main episodes, I’ll take you further behind the scenes by giving you bonus episodes like this of the interviews I’ve had with artists, creatives, and industry experts.

In the previous episode you learned about the contentious history of the Marquis Theatre, and heard from those who protested its construction and led efforts to stop five theater buildings from being demolished. One of those people was Joe Rosenberg, co-founder of Save the Theaters and someone who has been instrumental in landmarking historic Broadway venues throughout the New York City theater district. Along with his preservation work, he own and operates V.I.P. Tours of New York, through which he offers custom behind-the-scenes theatre/architecture tours in New York and other cities.

Joe was certainly a wealth of knowledge as I did research for that first episode about events that happened more than 40 years ago. And in this full interview, Joe shares his own background and interests that led him to Save the Theaters as well as the hard-fought battles and protests that surrounded the Portman hotel and theater complex.

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Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Blake Stadnik composed the theme music, and Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Throughout March of 1982, in often cold and wet conditions, thousands actors and demonstrators gathered at a portable stage in midtown Manhattan in the heart of the theater district. For weeks they shouted and sang and pleaded in front of an empty Morosco Theatre to protest its impending demolition along with other historic venues, which were to be replaced by a huge hotel and theater complex.

Along the way, some of the biggest names of the stage and screen offered their support as well like Tony Randall, Liza Minnelli, Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon, and Christopher Reeve. But one of the biggest voices in this protest was The Public Theater’s founder and producer Joseph Papp, who wanted to stop this destruction and actually preserve these beautiful and historical venues.

In this introductory episode, we’ll learn about the significance of five theaters (the Morosco, Bijou, Astor, Gaiety, and original Helen Hayes) that were all demolished to make way for what would become the Marriott Hotel and Marquis Theatre in what critics have called “The Great Theater Massacre of 1982.”

Listen on your favorite podcast app!

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Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media with Patrick Oliver Jones as host and executive producer. Dan Delgado is the editor and co-producer, not only for this podcast but also for his own movie podcast called The Industry. Blake Stadnik composed the theme music, and Maria Clara Ribeiro is co-producer.

Much appreciation goes to Joe Rosenberg and Mark Robinson for their insights, Tim Dolan for his support, Robert Armin who captured those street protests back in 1982, as well as the voice talents of our own Dan Delgado and Kate McClanaghan from Actors’ SOUND ADVICE.

Click here for a transcript and full list of resources used in this episode (and there were a lot of them, believe me).

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first season of Closing Night begins July 17th and takes a look at Broadway's Marquis Theater. It will chronicle the many troubled productions that have come and gone throughout this theater's young history.

Click here to follow and listen on your favorite podcast app!

This new theater history podcast is hosted by Patrick Oliver Jones, who also heads up another Broadway Podcast Network show, Why I’ll Never Make It. Co-producer is Dan Delgado of The Industry as well as Maria Clara Ribeiro from The Tonight Show

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