Ep 196 The Last Waltz — In Search of Lost Broadway, part 4

This is the fourth and final episode in which Albert Evans and I go in search of the 1934 smash-hit musical The Great Waltz, one of the longest-running shows of the 1930s. The goal of this occasional series of podcasts, In Search of Lost Broadway, is to try to rediscover big hit Broadway musicals from the past, which today are almost entirely unknown to us and forgotten. This week, we explore several high-profile reincarnations of The Great Waltz in the 1960s and 70s, all of which stem from a heavily revised version, with new lyrics by the team Robert Wright and George Forrest, that was first produced by impresario Irwin Lester at his Los Angeles Civic Light Opera company in 1949 and then was revived and revised in 1953 and 1965. The highly acclaimed 1965 version was announced several times for Broadway but never materialized there. It did, however, open in London in 1970, where it became a major hit, running more than 600 performances. Then, in 1972, in the wake of the massive success of The Sound of Music film, The Great Waltz became a major motion picture starring Horst Buchholz and Mary Costa, again with new lyrics by Wright & Forrest. Finally, we discuss the Walt Disney TV-movie version of the Johann Strauss story, titled The Waltz King, which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney in 1963. If you missed the previous episodes in the series, you may want to catch up with those before listening to this one. Become A PATRON of Broadway Nation! This episode is made possible in part by the generous support of our Patron Club Members, including our newest patron, Ann Drourr. If you are a fan of Broadway Nation, I invite you to become a PATRON! For as little as $7.00 a month, you can receive exclusive access to never-before-heard, unedited versions of many of the discussions that I have with my guests — in fact, I often record nearly twice as much conversation as ends up in the edited versions. You will also have access to additional, in-depth conversations with my frequent co-host, Albert Evans, that have not been featured on the podcast. And all patrons receive special “on-air” shout-outs and acknowledgement of your vital support of this podcast. And if you are very enthusiastic about Broadway Nation, there are additional PATRON levels that come with even more benefits. If you would like to support the work of Broadway Nation and receive these exclusive member benefits, please click on this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://broadwaynationpodcast.supercast.tech/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Thank you in advance for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices