Do I Hear A Waltz? - Background

Background

Laurents originally conceived the production as a small chamber musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, and Mary Martin in the lead role of spinster Leona Samish. By the time the project began to jell, however, Hammerstein had died, and Stephen Sondheim was asked by Laurents and Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers' daughter, to write the lyrics. Although he felt the original play did not lend itself to musicalization, Sondheim agreed. Rodgers, who was producing the Broadway production, rejected Martin as too old for Leona.

Franco Zeffirelli was the first choice for director, and he met with Laurents, Sondheim, and Rodgers, who fell asleep during their discussion. Laurents suspected Rodgers had been drinking, and when he discovered a bottle of vodka secreted in the toilet tank during a later visit to the Rodgers apartment, he realized he had been correct. The composer's chronic drinking proved to be a major problem throughout the rehearsal period and pre-Broadway run at the Colonial Theatre in Boston and the Shubert Theatre in New Haven.

Laurents suggested that John Dexter direct the show, but later regretted the choice. Dexter insisted on giving the lead role of Leona to Elizabeth Allen, who Laurents felt could manage the acting and singing but had a cold personality too contrary to that of the character. Rodgers' mistreatment of Sondheim left the composer feeling apathetic if not outright sour about the project, but he maintained his professionalism. The first run-through was disastrous, and Dexter immediately lost interest, leaving most of the work to his assistant-chum-choreographer Wakefield Poole. Herbert Ross was called in to work on the dance routines and brought with him his wife Nora Kaye, who served as a mediator among the warring factions. She was faced with an arduous task, given Rodgers open dismissal of Sondheim's lyrics as "shit" and eventually banned Laurents from rehearsals completely.