Chita Rivera

Jerry’s Girls
St. James Theatre

First Preview: November 26, 1985
Total Previews: 14
Opening: December 18, 1985
Closing: April 20, 1986

Total Performances:
141

Jerry’s Girls, a musical revue of Jerry Herman’s show tunes had toured the nation in 1984 with Carol Channing, Leslie Uggams and Andrea McArdle before arriving on Broadway with a somewhat altered cast featuring Leslie Uggams, Dorothy Loudon, and Chita Rivera!

Jerry’s Girls took Jerry Herman’s songs and reinterpreted them outside of the context of the shows from which they came. Among the highlights were a scene when Uggams, Loudon, and Rivera strut their stuff as competing Dolly Levis, and Chita dancing to a 1940's boogie-woogie treatment of ''That's How Young I Feel.''

The show had been plagued by misfortune on the road. Andrea McArdle underwent an emergency appendectomy in Toledo and had to be replaced by understudy Deborah Graham for the rest of the Ohio run. During the show's Palm Beach run, star Carol Channing, who is famous for never missing a performance, broke her arm in an offstage fall but continued to perform in a cast. Then the show moved on to New Haven, where Channing was hit with laryngitis and was forced to miss a show.

The Broadway cast was no luckier. During previews, Dorothy Loudon got her shoe caught on the stage and broke her foot - forcing producers to postpone the show's opening by nearly two weeks. Finally, on April 7, 1986, Chita suffered a broken a broken tibia and fibula of the left leg in a fateful automobile accident. Scrambling to rescue the show in the absence of Chita, her songs were reassigned among seven chorus girls!

Opening Night Production Credits

Theatre Owned / Operated by Jujamcyn Theaters (under the direction of Richard G. Wolff, President).

Produced by Zev Bufman and Kenneth-John Productions (Kenneth D. Greenblatt: President; John J. Pomerantz: Executive Vice President).

Music by Jerry Herman; Lyrics by Jerry Herman; Music orchestrated by Christopher Bankey, Joseph Gianono and Jim Tyler; Dance arrangements by Mark Hummel; Musical Director: Janet Glazener.

Staged and Directed by Larry Alford; Choreographed by Wayne Cilento; Assistant Choreographer: Sarah Miles; Conceived by Larry Alford, Wayne Cilento and Jerry Herman.

Scenic Design by Hal Tiné; Costume Design by Florence Klotz; Lighting Design by Tharon Musser; Sound Design by Peter Fitzgerald; Original costume design for "Hello, Dolly!" Harmonia Gardens gown by Freddy Wittop; Hair Design by Phyllis Della.

General Manager: Theatre Now, Inc.; Company Manager: Sally Campbell.

Production Stage Manager: Patrick Horrigan; Stage Manager: Larry Bussard, Brenna Krupa Holden and Barbara Schneider; Production Supervisor: Ethel R. Bayer; Technical Supervisor: Jeremiah J. Harris Associates.

Onstage Pianist: Sue Anderson; Musical Supervisor: Donald Pippin; Associate Conductor: Maida Libkin.

Dance Captain: Mark Hummel; Casting: Mark Reiner; General Press Representative: Shirley Herz Associates; Photographer: Martha Swope and Marc Raboy; Advertising: Fisher / Feld, Inc..

Opening Night Cast

Chita Rivera
Dorothy Loudon
Leslie Uggams
Ellyn Arons
Kirsten Childs
Kim Crosby
Anita Ehrler
Terri Homberg
Robin Kersey
Jacquey Maltby
Joni Masella
Deborah Phelan