Broadway history is littered with ups and downs. There’s little to match the high of an opening night, and not much to meet the low of a show’s final performance. But what about when both of those come on the same day?
Since Oklahoma! re-defined the modern musical in 1943, there have been 22 musicals that have closed on opening night, and we’re taking a look back at each one.
Flip through photos of the 22 shows below:
Glory Days
Andrew C. Call, Jesse JP Johnson, Adam Halpin, and Steven Booth in Glory Days
Scott Suchman
Take Me Along
Kurt Knudson and Beth Fowler
Dance a Little Closer
Len Cariou with Diane Pennington, Cheryl Howard, and Alyson Reed in Dance a Little Closer
Cleavage Playbill - Opening Night, June 1982
Daniel David, Tom Elias, and Mark File in Cleavage
Play Me a Country Song Playbill - Opening Night, June 1982
Kenneth Ames, Reed Jones, René Clemente, and Louisa Flaningam in Play Me a Country Song
Little Johnny Jones
The Moony Shapiro Songbook
Broadway Follies
Robert Shields and Lorene Yarnell in Broadway Follies
Onward Victoria
Beth Austin, Ted Thurston, and Jill Eikenberry in Onward Victoria
Martha Swope / New York Public Library
The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall Playbill - May 1979
A Broadway Musical
Tiger Haynes (center) and company in A Broadway Musical
Martha Swope / New York Public Library
Home Sweet Homer Playbill - Dec 1975
Rainbow Jones
The company of Rainbow Jones
Heathen!
Wild and Wonderful
The company of Wild and Wonderful in rehearsal
Frank Merriwell
The company of Frank Merriwell
Friedman-Abeles / New York Public Library
Blood Red Roses
Gantry
Rita Moreno and Robert Shaw in Gantry
Martha Swope / New York Public Library
La Strada
Bernadette Peters in La Strada
Friedman-Abeles / New York Public Library
Billy
The company of Billy
Friedman-Abeles / New York Public Library
Here's Where I Belong
The company of Here's Where I Belong
Friedman-Abeles / New York Public Library
Kelly
A scene from Kelly
Friedman-Abeles / New York Public Library
