Fade Out - Fade In

Fade Out – Fade In
Original cast recording
Music	Jule Styne
Lyrics	Betty Comden Adolph Green
Book	Betty Comden Adolph Green
Productions	1964 Broadway

Fade Out – Fade In is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story involves the movie industry in the 1930s. It starred Carol Burnett, returning to the Broadway stage for the first time in four years.

Comden and Green, who tackled the problems Hollywood players faced when the film industry transitioned from silent movies to talkies in the classic Singin' in the Rain, now turn to Hollywood in the 1930s. The show spoofs some of the great film stars of the era, such as Shirley Temple and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Governor is based on MGM honcho Louis B. Mayer, known for his roving eye for pretty starlets and deep-seated nepotism.

The musical opened on Broadway on May 26, 1964 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, and closed on April 17, 1965, after 274 performances and six previews. Directed by George Abbott and choreographed by Ernest Flatt, the cast included Carol Burnett as Hope Springfield, Dick Patterson as Rudolf, Lou Jacobi as Lionel Z. Governor, Jack Cassidy as Byron Prong, and Tina Louise. Cassidy was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Dick Shawn replaced Cassidy in February 1965.

Excellent reviews led to a box office bonanza, and in its early weeks the show consistently outgrossed other current musicals Hello, Dolly! and Funny Girl. Howard Taubman, in his review for The New York Times, for example, praised the direction ("gusto"), the performers (exuberant), some production numbers ("vivacious") and an occasional bright line, concluding that " Fade Out-Fade In spreads enough good cheer to suggest that it will be around for quite a while". He also praised Burnett's "amiable zest" and "genial comic impudence".