I Had A Ball
OPENING: December 15, 1964
CLOSING: June 12, 1965
Seen: February 1965
LOCATION: Martin Beck
From what I have observed over the years the mid sixties was the last wave of the classic musical. Shows like Fade Out-Fade In followed by I Had A Ball spearheaded the argument to try something new. However, it took a few years for the culture to truly change. By the time the 70’s rolled around Broadway was a very different scene. Perhaps combined with the entry and rise of power house composers (Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, Schwartz), or the influence of the growing prevalence of psychedelic drugs propelling this new vision, these offbeat productions paved the way for cutting edge 70’s productions such as Hair and Pippin. And that leads up to our next show in question, I Had A Ball.
I Had A Ball is set in Coney Island and follows small time Con Man Garside, played by night club regular Buddy Hackett. It is the fourth of July and his pal Stan (Played by the not yet infamous Richard Kiley) has just been released from prison. Needing a gig for the summer, Garside decides to sell his services as a soothsayer because hey – tourists are gullible, right? He procures a crystal ball, names it Sam, and opens for business. However, after Garside invites his friend Jeannie over, Sam comes to life and begins making romantic matches of the eclectic cast of characters on the Boardwalk. The action then devolves into a complicated farce that would take a year to explain here; but take my word for it when I say that chaos ensues.
Buddy Hackett, like Zero Mostel, Barbra Streisand, and Carol Burnett, was a fixture in the New York club scene before being recruited for Broadway. However, this was not his first production post club scene. In his second tryst on Broadway, in a show called Viva Madison Avenue!, he was left with a sour taste in his mouth when the show closed after one performance. He swore he would never make an appearance on Broadway again. In most cases declarations such as these usually don’t last. If a choreographer says “One more time!” – expect to run the number at least three more; and when the director says “We won’t go late”, expect to stay at least an hour beyond; and when an actor says “I will not perform here again”, it is safe to assume —he or she will most likely be back.
I Had A Ball lasted six months. For a star vehicle with a flimsy plot and only one Tony nomination, this was pretty respectable. It even sold out on New Years Eve, 1964. It seems as though Hackett had his reservations about working on Broadway, because he only made one more appearance which was a limited engagement show with Eddie Fisher. The rest of his career was spent in clubs and film. His most well-known credits were Marcellus Washburn in the Music Man film and the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid.
Not much information about I Had A Ball is readily available, almost as though it has been wiped from memory. I also have no contacts that I could interview for it. While asking my dad about it, I had to point out that Richard Kiley was in it. He has no memory of it and even seemed a bit disappointed that he has absolutely no recollection of seeing one of his favorite actors before he became a household name. I don’t see this one being revived; the weak plot may be irredeemable in today’s culture. But the original remains a time capsule. A time capsule that takes us back to Broadway 1965.
CAST: ORIGINAL
GARSIDE: Buddy Hackett
STAN THE SHPIELER: Richard Kiley
JEANNIE: KAREN MORROW
THE ALLEY GANG
- GIMLET: Al Nessor
- JOE THE MUZZLER: Jack Wakefield
- MA MALONEY: Rosetta Le Noire
- GEORGE OSAKA: Conrad Yama
MOROCCO: Herself
LIFE GUARD: Marty Allen
JIMMY: Nathaniel Jones
OFFICER MILLHAUSER: Ted Thurston
BROOKS: Steve Roland
ADDIE: Luba Lisa
CHILDREN: Sheldon Golomb, Gina Kaye
SINGERS: Miriamne Burton, Jacqueline Carol, Jacque Dean, Marilyn Feder, Shirley Leinwand, Lipset Nelson, Eugene Edwards, Herbert Fields, Murray Goldkind, Marvin Goodis, Herb Surface, John Wheeler
DANCERS: Mary Ehara, Sandra Lein, Nancy Lynch, Patti Mariano, Alice Shanahan, June Eve Story, Patti Ann Watson, Mary Allen, Doria Avila, Bob Bernard, Ray Gilbert, Edward J Heim, Gary Hubler, Scott Hunter, John Sharpe
Bordman, Gerald. “American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle.” New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1978.
Broadway by Ghostlight. “I Had A Ball: Buddy Hackett’s Forgotten Broadway Flop.” March 23, 2021. Video, 35:04. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVm-WKbPBU0
Internet Broadway Database. “I Had A Ball”. Accessed September 2022. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/i-had-a-ball-2845#OpeningNightCast
Playbill. “Buddy Hackett.” Accessed September 2022. https://playbill.com/person/buddy-hackett-vault-0000111189
New York Times. “’I Had A Ball’ Nears Closing.”. June 2, 1965. https://www.nytimes.com/1965/06/02/archives/i-had-a-ball-nears-closing.html?searchResultPosition=1
New York Times. “Six Shows On Broadway Are Holiday Sell Outs”. December 22, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/22/archives/six-shows-on-broadway-are-holiday-sellouts.html?searchResultPosition=1
Taubman, Howard “Theater: ‘I Had A Ball’, A Musical With Buddy Hackett Opens” New York Times, December 16, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/16/archives/theater-i-had-a-ball-a-musical-with-buddy-hackett-opens-a-coney.html?searchResultPosition=1
The Guide To Musical Theatre. “I Had A Ball”. Accessed September 2022. http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_i/ihadaball.htm
Tony Awards. www.tonyawards.com. Accessed September 2022.
