While including touring productions from NYC in their annual season, the LACLO still continued to mount their own locally produced productions under the artistic leadership of Lester. One major triumph for the company was the 1944 operetta Song of Norway which Lester commissioned Milton Lazarus, Robert Wright, and George Forrest to create using the music of Edvard Grieg. The production later went on to have a successful Broadway run.[1] Wright and Forrest created several more original works for the LACLO, most notably the 1953 musical Kismet, which had an even greater success in New York. Perhaps the most successful original work to be produced at the LACLO was the 1954 musical version of Peter Pan which Lester orchestrated as a star vehicle for Mary Martin. After opening in Los Angeles, the production moved to Broadway, winning Martin a Tony Award. The LACLO also exported a number of revivals to Broadway during its history, including a 1945 revival of Victor Herbert's The Red Mill which ran for more than a year in New York.[2]
During the 1950s and 1960s the LACLO was the most financially successful musical theatre subscription organization of its kind. However, in the 1970s the organization's audience size began to decrease and by the 1980s the company was experiencing serious financial difficulties. The company's last production was of John Kander's Cabaret in 1987. The production starred Joel Grey, Alyson Reed, Regina Resnik, Werner Klemperer, Gregg Edelman, and David Staller.[1] Composer, conductor, and pianist Harper MacKay was the LACLO's music director from 1962 through 1980.[3]
| Year | Productions | Cast list |
|---|
| 1938 | Blossom Time (Franz Schubert) | |
| The Student Prince (Sigmund Romberg) | |
| The New Moon (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | George Houston, Francia White, Sterling Holloway, |
| Roberta (Jerome Kern) | |
| 1939 | The Cat and the Fiddle (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| The Desert Song (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Allan Jones, Margarete Carlisle, Sterling Holloway |
| Waltz Dream (Oscar Straus) | John Garrick, Francia White |
| The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) | |
| 1940 | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| H.M.S. Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan)/
Savoy Serenade | |
| The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Jarmila Novotná, Walter Woolf King |
| The Red Mill (Victor Herbert) | Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Stone, Charles Collins, Gwen Verdon |
| 1941 | Rio Rita (Harry Tierney) | Joe E. Brown, Peter Lind Hayes, Walter Cassel, Mary Healy, Maria Tallchief, Roy Fitzell |
| Naughty Marietta (Victor Herbert) | Francia White, Wilbur Evans, Sterlig Holloway |
| The Chocolate Soldier (Oscar Straus) | John Charles Thomas, Irene Manning, Irra Petina, Billy Gilbert |
| Cabin in the Sky (Vernon Duke, John Latouche) | |
| 1942 | The Vagabond King (Rudolf Friml) | |
| Bitter Sweet (Noël Coward) | Muriel Angelus, John Howard, Corrina Mura |
| Music in the Air (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| Hit the Deck (Vincent Youmans) | Eddie Foy Jr., Joan Roberts, Frank Albertson, Jack Durant |
| 1943 | Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin) | |
| The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) | |
| The Firefly (Rudolf Friml) | Francia White, John Tyers, Melville Cooper, Odette Myrtil, Al Shean |
| Lady in the Dark (Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, Moss Hart) | |
| 1944 | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| The New Moon (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| Song of Norway (Robert Wright) | |
| Sally (Jerome Kern) | Billy Gilbert, Jane Deering |
| 1945 | The Desert Song (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| The Red Mill (Victor Herbert) | |
| Carmen Jones (Georges Bizet) | Muriel Smith, Inez Matthews, Lavern Hutcherson, Napoleon Reed |
| Rose-Marie (Rudolf Friml) | Irene Manning, Walter Cassel, Eddie Foy Jr., Frances McCann |
| 1946 | The Vagabond King (Rudolf Friml) | |
| Roberta (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach) | |
| Bloomer Girl (E.Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen) | |
| Gypsy Lady (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | |
| 1947 | Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | |
| Rosalinda (Johann Strauss II) | |
| The Three Musketeers (Rudolf Friml) | |
| Louisiana Purchase (Irving Berlin) | |
| 1948 | Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | Mary Martin |
| Naughty Marietta (Victor Herbert) | |
| Sweethearts (Victor Herbert) | |
| Magdalena (Heitor Villa-Lobos) | Irra Petina, John Raitt, Dorothy Sarnoff, Hugo Haas, Jack Cole Dancers |
| 1949 | The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | Walter Slezak, Dorothy Sarnoff, Melva Niles, Charles Fredericks, Mitzi Gaynor, Sig Arno, Eric Brotherson |
| Brigadoon (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | |
| Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | |
| High Button Shoes (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) | |
| Finian's Rainbow (E.Y. Harburg, Burton Lane) | Joe Yule, Charles Davis |
| 1950 | The Chocolate Soldier (Oscar Straus) | |
| South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| Rose-Marie (Rudolf Friml) | |
| Lost in the Stars (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) | |
| Sadler's Wells Ballet (now The Royal Ballet) | |
| 1951 | Where's Charley? (Frank Loesser) | |
| The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Paul Henreid, Carl Brisson, Jane Pickens, Robert Rounseville, Jean Fenn |
| Three Wishes for Jamie (Ralph Blane) | Ralph Dumke, Sig Arno |
| Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | John Raitt, Marion Bell, Cecil Kellaway, Allan Jones, Jan Clayton, Pamela Britton, Julie Oshins |
| 1952 | The Judy Garland Show | Judy Garland |
| Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Helena Bliss, John Tyers, Jean Fenn, Sig Arno, Robert Rounseville, Walter Kingsford |
| Call Me Madam (Irving Berlin) | Elaine Stritch, Kent Smith |
| South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Janet Blair, Webb Tilton, Irene Bordoni |
| Jollyanna (a revamp of E.Y. Harburg and Sammy Fain's Flahooley) | Bobby Clark, Mitzi Gaynor, John Beal, Bil Baird's Marionettes |
| Don Juan in Hell (George Bernard Shaw) | |
| The Danny Kaye Show | |
| 1953 | Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | |
| Carnival in Flanders (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) | |
| Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | |
| John Brown's Body (Stephen Vincent Benét) | |
| 1954 | Brigadoon (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | William Johnson, Dorothy MacNeil, Pamela Britton, Robert Smith, Matt Mattox |
| The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin) | |
| Peter Pan (Mark Charlap, Carolyn Leigh, Comden & Green, Jule Styne) | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Shakespeare) | |
| 1955 | Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | |
| The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) | |
| Kismet (Robert Wright) | William Johnson, Julie Wilson, Henry Calvin, Beatrice Kraft |
| Plain and Fancy (Albert Hague) | |
| 1956 | Rosalinda (Johann Strauss II) | Cyril Ritchard, The Wiere Brothers, Jean Fenn, Lois Hunt, Bob Wright, Sig Arno |
| Silk Stockings (Cole Porter) | |
| Damn Yankees (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) | |
| The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson) | |
| 1957 | My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | |
| South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | |
| Fanny (Harold Rome) | Italo Tajo, Claude Dauphin, Doretta Morrow, Sig Arno |
| 1958 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Gisele MacKenzie, Cameron Mitchell, Richard Banke |
| The Most Happy Fella (Frank Loesser) | |
| At The Grand (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | |
| The Music Man (Meredith Willson) | Forrest Tucker, Joan Weldon, Cliff Hall, Benny Baker |
| 1959 | Bells are Ringing (Comden & Green, Jule Styne) | |
| My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | Michael Evans, Diane Todd, Charles Victor, Hugh Dempster |
| West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) | Larry Kert, Sonya Wilde, Devra Korwin |
| Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| 1960 | Redhead (Albert Hague, Dorothy Fields) | |
| Flower Drum Song (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Elaine Dunn, Juanita Hall, Keye Luke, Ed Kenney, Jack Soo, Cely Carrillo |
| Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | |
| Destry Rides Again (Harold Rome) | |
| 1961 | The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Patrice Munsel, Bob Wright, Jean Fenn, Gale Gordon, Sig Arno |
| Bye Bye Birdie (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams) | |
| The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | |
| Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | |
| Gypsy (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) | Ethel Merman, Julienne Marie, Alfred Sander |
| 1962 | Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Patrice Munsel, John Reardon, Dorothy Coulter, Frank Porretta, Sig Arno, Jerome Cowan, Maralin Niska |
| Carnival! (Bob Merrill) | |
| Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | Alfred Drake, Lee Venora, Anne Jeffreys |
| Oliver! (Lionel Bart) | |
| 1963 | Camelot (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | Kathryn Grayson, Louis Hayward, Arthur Treacher |
| Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | John Raitt, Jan Clayton, Claramae Turner, Frank Porretta |
| How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Frank Loesser) | |
| Zenda (Vernon Duke) | |
| 1964 | Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | |
| Little Me (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, Neil Simon) | Sid Caesar, Virginia Martin, Nancy Andrews |
| Here's Love (Meredith Willson) | |
| 110 in the Shade (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones) | Inga Swenson, Ray Danton, Stephen Douglass, Will Geer, Lesley Ann Warren |
| 1965 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Ricardo Montalbán, Florence Henderson, Lee Venora, Frank Porretta, Jean Sanders, Terence Monk |
| Pickwick (Cyril Ornadel) | Harry Secombe, David Jones |
| The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | Giorgio Tozzi, Jean Fenn, Frank Porretta, Anita Gillette, Leo Fuchs, Wilbur Evans, Eric Brotherson |
| Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | |
| 1966 | Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | |
| Funny Girl (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) | |
| The Student Prince (Sigmund Romberg) | Frank Porretta, Eileen Christy, Hans Conried, Walter Cassel, Murray Matheson, Irra Petina |
| Half a Sixpence (David Heneker) | Dick Kallman, Anne Rogers |
| 1967 | Man of La Mancha (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, Dale Wasserman) | |
| Walking Happy (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) | Norman Wisdom, Anne Rogers, George Rose |
| Dumas and Son! (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | |
| Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Pat O'Brien, Eddie Foy Jr., Eileen Christy, John Tyers, Gale Sherwood, Audrey Christie, Robert Mosley |
| Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | |
| 1968 | Cabaret (John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Masteroff) | |
| Mame (Jerry Herman) | Angela Lansbury |
| Rosalinda (adapted from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus) | Jean Fenn, Cyril Ritchard, Hans Conried, The Wiere Brothers, Barbara Meister |
| I Do! I Do! (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones) | |
| 1969 | My Fair Lady (Lerner and Loewe) | Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margot Moser, Douglas Campbell, Reginald Gardiner, Cathleen Nesbitt, Terence Monk |
| George M! (George M. Cohan) | Joel Grey |
| 1491 (Meredith Willson) | John Cullum, Jean Fenn, Chita Rivera, Gino Conforti |
| Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | |
| Man of La Mancha (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, Dale Wasserman) | José Ferrer, Maura K. Wedge |
| Joffrey Ballet | Luis Fuente, Erika Goodman, Gary Chryst |
| 1970 | Zorba (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | John Raitt, Barbara Baxley, Chita Rivera |
| Promises, Promises (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Neil Simon) | Tony Roberts, Melissa Hart |
| 1776 (Sherman Edwards) | |
| Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen (Stan Freeman) | |
| Musical Theater Cavalcade | Juliet Prowse, Bob Wright, Jean Fenn, Frank Porretta, John Reardon, Gilbert Price, Joyce Bryant, William Friml, Sterling Holloway, John Green |
| 1971 | Coco (Alan Jay Lerner, Andre Previn) | Katharine Hepburn |
| Company (Stephen Sondheim) | |
| Knickerbocker Holiday (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) | |
| Candide (Leonard Bernstein) | Frank Porretta, Mary Costa, Douglas Campbell |
| 1972 | Applause (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams) | Lauren Bacall, Don Chastain, Penny Fuller |
| No, No, Nanette (Vincent Youmans) | June Allyson, Dennis Day, Sandra Deel, Judy Canova, Jerry Antes |
| The Rothschilds (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick) | Hal Linden, C. David Colson |
| The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Sally Ann Howes, Bob Wright, Werner Klemperer, Patricia Morison, Jean Sanders |
| 1973 | Oliver! (Lionel Bart) | Ron Moody, Karen Morrow, David Jones, Colin Duffy, Jon Cypher |
| Two Gentlemen of Verona (Galt MacDermot, John Guare) | |
| Gigi (Lerner and Loewe) | Alfred Drake, Agnes Moorehead, Maria Karnilova, Daniel Massey, Terese Stevens |
| Gone With The Wind (Harold Rome) | Lesley Ann Warren, Pernell Roberts, Terence Monk, Udana Power |
| 1974 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Ricardo Montalbán, Sally Ann Howes, Emily Yancy, Helen Bliss/Jean Sanders, David Cryer |
| Porgy and Bess | Clamma Dale, Leona Mitchell, LaVerne Williams, Robert Mosley, Thomas Carey, Ralph Wilcox, Robert Monroe, James Randolph, Carol Brice, Ruby Jones |
| Mack & Mabel (Jerry Herman) | Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters, Lisa Kirk, James Mitchell |
| Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | |
| Sugar (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, Peter Stone) | Robert Morse, Larry Kert, Gale Gordon, Leland Palmer, Steve Condos, Virginia Martin, Joe Ross |
| 1975 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Frank Loesser) | Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee, Penny Worth, Joy Claussen, Christian Grey, Sammy Smith, John Myhers, Ruth Kobart, Mary Jo Catlett, Bill Mullikin |
| Odyssey (Mitch Leigh, Erich Segal) | Yul Brynner, Joan Diener, Russ Thacker, Diana Davila, Martin Vidnovic, Shev Rodgers |
| Wonderful Town (Leonard Bernstein, Comden and Green) | |
| Camelot (Lerner and Loewe) | |
| 1976 | The Baker's Wife (Stephen Schwartz) | Topol, Carole Demas/Patti LuPone, Keene Curtis, Kurt Peterson, David Rounds, Timothy Jerome |
| The Wiz (Charlie Smalls) | Renn Woods/Renee Harris, Ben Harney, Valentino, Ted Ross/Ken Prymus, Andre DeShields, Dee Dee Bridgewater/Roz Clark, Vivian Bonnell, Ella Mitchell |
| Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | John Reardon, Rhonda Fleming, Victoria Mallory, George Gaynes, Martin Vidnovic, Jack Manning |
| Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim) | Mako, Soon-Teck Oh, Sab Shimono, Haruki Fujimoto/Kenneth S. Eiland, Isao Sato |
| 1977 | Irma La Douce (Marguerite Monnot) | Larry Kert, Priscilla Lopez, George S. Irving, H.F. Green, Mickey Morton |
| Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Gavin MacLeod, Bibi Osterwald, Art Lund, Manu Tupou, Don Potter, Peter Bruni |
| The Wiz (Charlie Smalls) | Renee Harris, Ben Harney, Ken Prymus, Charles Valentino, Kamal, Vivian Bonnell, Roz Clark, Carolyn Miller |
| Shine It On (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | |
| 1978 | Chicago (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | |
| Pippin (Stephen Schwartz) | Michael Rupert, Larry Riley, Eric Berry, Thelma Carpenter |
| Pal Joey (Rodgers and Hart, John O'Hara) | |
| The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Florence Henderson, Edward Mulhare, Jean Fenn |
| 1979 | Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) | |
| Dancin' | The National Company |
| On The Twentieth Century (Cy Coleman, Comden and Green) | |
| Bells Are Ringing (Jule Styne, Comden and Green) | |
| 1980 | Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | Milton Berle, Jed Allan, Maureen Arthur, Elizabeth Hansen, Taylor Reed |
| The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Michel Legrand, Jacques Demy) | Louis Valenzi, Indira Stefanianna, Stuart Baker-Bergen, Mace Barrett, Donna Bullock, Shirley Chester |
| On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) | Robert Goulet, Joanna Gleason, Sally Kemp, Bill Biskup, Rod Loomis, Elizabeth Savage |
| 1981 | Little Johnny Jones (George M. Cohan) | David Cassidy, Jack Bittner, Maureen Brennan, Randall Easterbrook, Jane Galloway |
| The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan) | |
| Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim) | Angela Lansbury, George Hearn, Ken Jennings, Edmund Lyndeck, Cris Groenendaal |
| Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | |
| 1982 | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul) | Debby Boone, David James Carroll, Craig Peralta, Nancy Fox, Jeff Calhoun |
| A Doll's Life (Comden and Green, Larry Grossman) | George Hearn, Betsy Joslyn, Peter Gallagher, Edmund Lyndeck, Barbara Lang |
| Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Donald O’Connor, Lonette McKee, Jacque Trussel, Sheryl Woods, Karla Burns |
| Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | Carol Channing, Tom Batten, Pamela Kalt, Jan Neuberger, John Gallogly, P.J.Nelson |
| Don Quixote | |
| 1983 | Zorba (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | Anthony Quinn, Lila Kedrova, Robert Westenberg, Taro Meyer, Charles Karel |
| Woman of the Year (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | |
| Chaplin | |
| Nine | Sergio Franchi, Leigh Beery, Jacqueline Douguet, Diane M. Hurley, Lauren Mitchell |
| 1984 | Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) | Florence Lacey, Tim Bowman, John Leslie Wolfe, Donna Marie Elio, Michael Licata |
| Doug Henning's World of Magic | Doug Henning, Debbie Henning, Victor Heineman, D.J. Mergenthaler, Gina Rose |
| La Cage aux Folles (Jerry Herman) | Gene Barry, Walter Charles, Carol Teitel, Joseph Breen, Robert Burr, Mollie Smith |
| Sugar (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, Peter Stone) | Joe Namath, Robert Morse, Jack Carter, Mary Ann O’Reilly, Steve Condos, Kelly Britt |
| 1985 | Sweet Charity (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, Neil Simon) | |
| South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Richard Kiley, Meg Bussert, Novella Nelson, Brent Barrett, Al Mancini, Jade Go |
| 1986 | Me and My Girl (Noel Gay) | Robert Lindsay, Maryann Plunkett, George S. Irving, Jane Summerhays |
| On Your Toes (Rodgers and Hart) | Natalia Makarova, Dina Merrill, Lara Teeter, George de la Pena, Michael Kermoyan |
| 1987 | Cabaret (John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Masteroff) | Joel Grey, Alyson Reed, Regina Resnick, Werner Klemperer, Gregg Edelman, David Staller |
|
