Fade Out – Fade In

The musical opened on Broadway on May 26, 1964 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, and closed on April 17, 1965, after 274 performances and six previews. Directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Ernest Flatt, the cast included Carol Burnett as Hope Springfield, Dick Patterson as Rudolf, Lou Jacobi as Lionel Z. Governor, Jack Cassidy as Byron Prong, and Tina Louise. Cassidy was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Dick Shawn replaced Cassidy in February 1965.

Excellent reviews led to a box-office bonanza, and in its early weeks the show consistently out-grossed other current musicals Hello, Dolly! and Funny Girl. Howard Taubman, in his review for The New York Times, praised the direction ("gusto"), the performers ("exuberant"), some production numbers ("vivacious") and an occasional bright line, concluding that "Fade Out-Fade In spreads enough good cheer to suggest that it will be around for quite a while." He also praised Burnett's "amiable zest" and "genial comic impudence."[1]

The production faced its first Opening Night Cast change when Tina Louise left the production in June 1964. CBS bought out her contract so she could appear in the television show Gilligan's Island.

Then Burnett was sidelined due to a serious neck injury sustained in a taxi accident in July 1964.[2] The production temporarily shut down for one week starting on July 27, 1964, then reopened with Betty Hutton in the lead.[3] After recuperating, Burnett returned to the show, but left shortly afterwards to participate in The Entertainers, a television variety show that her husband Joe Hamilton was producing. Burnett announced in October 1964 that she was leaving the show to have therapy, and the producers announced that they would try to find a replacement.[4] Mitzie Welch went on for Burnett, but in November 1964, the producers announced that the show would close until Burnett was able to return.[5] When the show's producers threatened a breach-of-contract lawsuit, Burnett returned on February 15, 1965.[6] According to Steven Suskin, the show was then "a hard sell" and during the hiatus, several other musicals had opened (Fiddler on the Roof and Golden Boy), and the show did not regain its momentum.[7] Finally, the financial losses sustained during Burnett's two absences proved to be insurmountable, and the production closed.[8] An original cast recording was released by ABC Records (then known as ABC Paramount), whose parent company, The American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., co-produced the show. Universal Music Group, ABC Records' eventual successor, re-released the cast album on CD in 2003 on its Decca Broadway imprint.

When Burnett created her variety series in 1967, she hired Fade Out – Fade In choreographer Flatt and lead dancer Don Crichton to join the creative team.

Chorus girl Hope Springfield, full of hope but not much talent, is inadvertently given the starring role in a new movie. When the error is discovered, heads roll and the completed film is shelved. But Rudolf, the nephew of studio head Lionel Z. Governor, takes a liking to the girl and arranges for a sneak preview. The movie is a success, Hope becomes a star ("Lila Tremaine"), and in true Hollywood happily-ever-after fashion she and Rudolf walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand.

Note: The plot was revised after a hiatus, and Hope becomes an usherette in a movie house.[6]

The score for "Call Me Savage" was used two years later as "Witches Brew" in the musical Hallelujah, Baby!

• Fade Out – Fade In Original Broadway Cast Recording, compact disc released by Decca USA, May 2003, liner notes by Peter Filichia

• Fade Out – Fade In at the Internet Broadway Database
• The Guide to Musical Theatre