Quote of the Day, Critical Edition

“Ella Logan was written out of Kelly before it reached the Broadhurst Theatre Saturday night. Congratulations, Ms. Logan.”

Howard Taubman, chief critic of the New York Times, leading off his opening night review of the one performance disaster Kelly on February 7, 1965.

For an informative and fascinating look at the creation of this musical, check out Lewis Lapham’s article “Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?” for the Saturday Evening Post. The article is reprinted as the final chapter “The Nadir” in Second Act Trouble: Behind the Scenes at Broadway’s Big Musical Bombs, a compilation of first hand accounts of various troubled musicals with annotation by Steven Suskin.