I Had a Ball

Cast Highlights

Act One

Act Two

Additional Musical Numbers Lists

In his memoir, They All Sang My Songs, Jack Lawrence (credited jointly with Stan Freeman for the music and the lyrics) wrote that the show was doing well at the box office but they closed it when star Buddy Hackett demanded two weeks off and refused to allow the producers to hire a replacement to take over for those two weeks. He had already demanded a week off, during which the show closed.

Whatever truth there may have been in some of this, the show was not doing well at the box office when it closed. Box office had been going downhill for since mid-April, and the grosses were not good for the several weeks preceding the decision to chose.

When Hackett was a guest on The Merv Griffin Show on June 10, 1965 (two days before the closing), he claimed that the show as doing well when it closed . According to Variety, he claimed "we're grossing this week over $60,000." When aked by Griffin why the show was closing, Hackett replied, "I have no idea, That's one of the mysteries of all time, to close a hit show."

That week, the show grossed $47,179. Perhaps because the closing had been been announced, this was an improvement over the previous week, when the show grossed just $39,547. 

Main Run

• Martin Beck Theatre (New York, NY)
  12/15/1964 - 6/12/1965 [On hiatus April 12-17, 1965]

Tryout Dates

• Fisher Theatre (Detroit, MI)
  10/26/1964 - 11/21/1964
• Forrest Theatre (Philadelphia, PA)
  11/24/1964 - 12/5/1964

Commercial Recordings

• I
  Promotional Album (1964)
• Original Broadway Cast (1964)