1950 - 1959

This is a rare December 30th, 1957 playbill from the Original Broadway production of the HAROLD ARLEN, E. Y. HARBURG and FRED SAIDY musical comedy “JAMAICA” which played the Imperial Theatre in New York City. (The production opened October 31st, 1957 and ran for 555 performances.) ….. The musical starred LENA HORNE and RICARDO MONTALBAN and featured JOSEPHINE PREMISE, JOE ADAMS, ERIK RHODES, OSSIE DAVIS and ADELAIDE HALL. The lead dancers were ALVIN AILEY and CHRISTYNE LAWSON ….. CREDITS: Book by E. Y. HARBURG and FRED SAIDY; Music by HAROLD ARLEN (composer of “You Said It”, “Cotton Club Parade”, “Life Begins at 8:40”, “Hooray for What”, “Bloomer Girl”, “St. Louis Woman”, “House of Flowers”, “Jamaica”, “Saratoga” and the classic film “The Wizard of Oz”); Lyrics by E. Y. “Yip” HARBURG (“Ziegfeld Follies of 1931”, “Ballyhoo of 1932”, “The Show Is On”, “Hooray for What!”, “Bloomer Girl”, “Finian’s Rainbow”, “Flahooley”, “Jamaica”, “Darling of the Day” and the classic film score “The Wizard of Oz”); Sets designed by OLIVER SMITH; Costumes designed by MILES WHITE; Choreographed by JACK COLE; Directed by ROBERT LEWIS; Produced by DAVID MERRICK ….. DETAILS: The 44 page playbill measures 6 1/2″ X 9″ inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team but with the exception of the following ad, no cast photos. Includes a half page ad for the Original Broadway Cast recording of “JAMAICA” on RCA Victor Records (third scanned image). Also includes an article on composer HAROLD ARLEN (last scanned image) by Edward Jablonski ….. CONDITION: With the exception of light soiling to the front cover and minor edge wear, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.