ABSTRACT
he pressure was on Jerry Herman to provide at least as great a score as Hello, Dolly! for his next outing, Mame. The show was based on Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's witty play Auntie Mame, which was based on Patrick Dennis's successful novel. The best idea producers Fryer, Carr, and Harris had was hiring Lawrence and Lee to adapt their own play. Their second good idea was casting Angela Lansbury in the lead despite her previous musical outing in the failure, Anyone Can Whistle. Director Gene Saks's wife, Beatrice Arthur, was cast in the star-making role of Vera at Jerry's suggestion. Jane Connell as Gooch, Jerry Lanning as Patrick, and Frankie Michaels as Young Patrick completed the leading roles. Onna White, a brilliant, under appreciated choreographer, lent the proceedings a wonderful fluidity, as well as her usual character-driven choreography.
