Kismet

... Director	Albert Marre
... Dances and Musical Numbers	Jack Cole

Cast

... Omar	Philip Coolidge
... A Public Poet, later called Hajj	Alfred Drake (i)
... Marsinah, his daughter	Doretta Morrow
... Jawan	Truman Gaige
... The Wazir of Police	Henry Calvin
... Lalume	Joan Diener
... The Caliph	Richard Kiley
... Princess Zubbediya of Damascus	Florence Lessing
... Princess Samaris of Bangalore	Beatrice Kraft
... Imam of the Mosque	Richard Oneto

Act One

Act Two

Additional Musical Numbers Lists

These song lists document any changes that the production went through aside from the opening night song list.

• Pre-Broadway, Los Angeles

See More

In the Oct. 5, 1953, edition of the New York Times, it was reported that Charles Lederer, co-author of the book, was replacing Edwin Lester as the show's producer. The production had just concluded its tryout engagement in San Francisco, having played in Los Angeles before that. The reason for the change was that the production was proving more expensive than Lester had anticipated, and Lederer had taken charge of raising the necessary addtional funds. 

At the time, it wasn\'t clear whether Lester would be co-credited as producer with his name next to Lederer's in the billing. It was said that Lester had "an option to exercise that privilege."

The solution, which was in place by the start of the tryout run in Boston that started two weeks later, was this:

CHARLES LEDERER

presents

ALFRED DRAKE

in EDWIN LESTER'S production of

A MUSICAL ARABIAN NIGHT

KISMET

One of the investors who helped out, apparently with a substantial sum, was the retired actress Marion Davies, who was Lederer's aunt. The published script was dedicated to her.

Main Run

• Ziegfeld Theatre (New York, NY)
  December 3, 1953 - April 23, 1955

Tryout

• Philharmonic Auditorium (Los Angeles, CA)
  August 17, 1953 - September 5, 1953
• Curran Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
  September 8, 1953 - October 3, 1953
• Colonial Theatre (Boston, MA)
  October 19, 1953 - October 31, 1955
• Shubert Theatre (Philadelphia, PA)
  November 3, 1953 - November 28, 1953

Commercial Recordings

• Original Broadway Cast (1953)
  Richard Oneto , Gerald Cardoni , Kirby Smith , Ralph Strane , Louis Polacek

Private Recordings

• No private audio listed yet.

Broadcast Recordings

• No broadcast audio listed yet.

Archival Recordings

• No archival audio listed yet.