A Broadway Musical the black-themed musical itself. "The Wiz" proved to be Brown's only success. Following a dismal October–November tryout with Helen Gallagher and Julius LaRosa at the theatre in the Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, the producers fired most of the cast and creative personnel, including director/choreographer George Faison. Gower Champion was called in to rescue the Broadway-bound production with only a month to go, but he feared that the show's defects were too serious to remedy and insisted on receiving a "Production supervised by" credit only. After 14 previews, the Broadway production opened and closed the same night at the Lunt-Fontanne
What Makes Sammy Run? (musical) Steve Lawrence starred as Sammy Glick, with Robert Alda as Al Manheim and Sally Ann Howes as Kit Sargent. Graciela Daniele played Rio Rita. A 1966 production on the West Coast starred Frank Gorshin, and an off-Broadway revival was staged in 2006 at the West End Theater with rewrites by its director Robert Armin. What Makes Sammy Run? (musical) What Makes Sammy Run? is a musical with music and lyrics written by Ervin Drake and a book by Budd Schulberg and Stuart Schulberg. The story, based on Budd Schulberg's 1941 novel of the same name, centers on a ruthlessly ambitious