Say Goodnight, Gracie Say Goodnight, Gracie Say Goodnight Gracie is a one-man play by Rupert Holmes. Adapted from the reminiscences of George Burns, the multimedia presentation traces the comedian-raconteur's life from his childhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to his early career in vaudeville to his momentous meeting and subsequent personal and professional relationships with wife Gracie Allen. After 27 previews, the Broadway production, directed by John Tillinger, opened on October 10, 2002, at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for 364 performances. It is the third-longest-running solo show in Broadway history. Frank Gorshin starred as Burns, and Didi Conn
Variety show viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose late night talk shows and NBC's variety series "Saturday Night Live" (which originally premiered in 1975) have remained popular fixtures of North American television. The live entertainment style known as music hall in the United Kingdom and vaudeville in the United States can be considered a direct predecessor of the "variety show" format. Variety in the UK evolved in theatres and music halls, and later in Working Men's Clubs. British performers who