# Los Angeles Civic Light Opera

The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera (LACLO) was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty seasons of theatre before closing due to financial reasons in 1987. Typically the LACLO presented four to six productions during an annual season. The company produced or co-produced several of their own shows in addition to bringing in shows from Broadway to California, often with their original casts. Productions that originated at the LACLO and then went on to wider success, included Song of Norway (1944), Magdalena (1948), Kismet (1953), Peter Pan (1954) and Gigi (1973). Initially the organization mainly presented American operettas, but by the 1960s the company was presenting mostly musical theatre; although the company never completely left its roots.

## History

The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera opened its first season in 1938 with the operetta Blossom Time, based on works by Franz Schubert, presented in English with stars John Charles Thomas and Francia White. The production was both a critical and financial success, and the company went on to have three more sold out productions that season with Sigmund Romberg's The Student Prince, Romberg's The New Moon, and Jerome Kern's Roberta.
At the time the LACLO opened, Broadway touring productions out of New York City did not travel further west than the Rocky Mountains. However, the success of the LACLO's first season drew the attention of the theatre community in New York City; seeing for the first time the financial potential of theatre in Los Angeles. Lester further encouraged this interest by partnering with San Francisco theatre impresario Homer Curran who founded the San Francisco Light Opera Company (SFLOC) in 1939. The LACLO and SFLOC joined forces and were able to offer New York producers the ability to book their shows in both L.A. and San Francisco. The Broadway producers took advantage of this opportunity and began extending their touring productions into California.
While including touring productions from NYC in their annual season, the LACLO still continued to mount their own locally produced productions under the artistic leadership of Lester. One major triumph for the company was the 1944 operetta Song of Norway which Lester commissioned Milton Lazarus, Robert Wright, and George Forrest to create using the music of Edvard Grieg. The production later went on to have a successful Broadway run. Wright and Forrest created several more original works for the LACLO, most notably the 1953 musical Kismet, which had an even greater success in New York. Perhaps the most successful original work to be produced at the LACLO was the 1954 musical version of Peter Pan which Lester orchestrated as a star vehicle for Mary Martin. After opening in Los Angeles, the production moved to Broadway, winning Martin a Tony Award. The LACLO also exported a number of revivals to Broadway during its history, including a 1945 revival of Victor Herbert's The Red Mill which ran for more than a year in New York.
During the 1950s and 1960s the LACLO was the most financially successful musical theatre subscription organization of its kind. However, in the 1970s the organization's audience size began to decrease and by the 1980s the company was experiencing serious financial difficulties. The company's last production was of John Kander's Cabaret in 1987. The production starred Joel Grey, Alyson Reed, Regina Resnik, Werner Klemperer, Gregg Edelman, and David Staller. Composer, conductor, and pianist Harper MacKay was the LACLO's music director from 1962 through 1980.

## Performance history

| Year | Productions | Cast list |
| 1938 | Blossom Time (Franz Schubert) | John Charles Thomas, Francia White, Melville Cooper |
| | The Student Prince (Sigmund Romberg) | Dennis Morgan, Della Lind |
| | The New Moon (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | George Houston, Francia White, Sterling Holloway, |
| | Roberta (Jerome Kern) | Bob Hope, Tamara Drasin, Ray Middleton, Donald Novis, Carole Landis |
| 1939 | The Cat and the Fiddle (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Helen Gahagan, George F. Houston, Odette Myrtil |
| | The Desert Song (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Allan Jones, Margarete Carlisle, Sterling Holloway |
| | Waltz Dream (Oscar Straus) | John Garrick, Francia White |
| | The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) | John Charles Thomas, Vivian Della Chiesa, Irene Manning, Billy Gilbert |
| 1940 | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | John Boles, Norma Terris, Paul Robeson, Guy Kibbee, Helen Morgan |
| | H.M.S. Pinafore (Gilbert and Sullivan)/ Savoy Serenade | John Charles Thomas, Alice Gentle, Irene Manning, Melville Cooper, Jerome Hines, John Raitt |
| | The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Jarmila Novotná, Walter Woolf King |
| | The Red Mill (Victor Herbert) | Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Stone, Charles Collins, Gwen Verdon |
| 1941 | Rio Rita (Harry Tierney) | Joe E. Brown, Peter Lind Hayes, Walter Cassel, Mary Healy, Maria Tallchief, Roy Fitzell |
| | Naughty Marietta (Victor Herbert) | Francia White, Wilbur Evans, Sterlig Holloway |
| | The Chocolate Soldier (Oscar Straus) | John Charles Thomas, Irene Manning, Irra Petina, Billy Gilbert |
| | Cabin in the Sky (Vernon Duke, John Latouche) | Ethel Waters, Todd Duncan, Katherine Dunham, Dooley Wilson |
| 1942 | The Vagabond King (Rudolf Friml) | Bob Lawrence, Dorothy Sandlin, John Carradine, Marthe Errolle, Felix Knight |
| | Bitter Sweet (Noël Coward) | Muriel Angelus, John Howard, Corrina Mura |
| | Music in the Air (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | John Charles Thomas, Irra Petina, Francis Lederer, Jan Clayton, Al Shean |
| | Hit the Deck (Vincent Youmans) | Eddie Foy Jr., Joan Roberts, Frank Albertson, Jack Durant |
| 1943 | Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin) | Todd Duncan, Etta Moten, Ruby Elzy, Avon Long |
| | The Gypsy Baron (Johann Strauss II) | Irra Petina, John Tyers, Billy Gilbert, Sig Arno |
| | The Firefly (Rudolf Friml) | Francia White, John Tyers, Melville Cooper, Odette Myrtil, Al Shean |
| | Lady in the Dark (Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin, Moss Hart) | Gertrude Lawrence, Eric Brotherson, Gugh Marlowe, Willard Parker, Richard Hale |
| 1944 | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Gene Lockhart, Marthe Errolle, Lansing Hatfield, Carol Bruce, Todd Duncan |
| | The New Moon (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Helena Bliss, Walter Cassel, Sterling Holloway, Kenny Bowers, Mary Ganly, Eric Mattson, Thelma White, John Shafer, and Wilton Graff |
| | Song of Norway (Robert Wright) | Irra Petina, Walter Cassel, Helena Bliss, Robert Shafer, Sig Arno, Walter Kingsford, Kent Edwards, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo |
| | Sally (Jerome Kern) | Billy Gilbert, Jane Deering |
| 1945 | The Desert Song (Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Walter Cassel, Dorothy Sarnoff, Sterling Holloway, George London |
| | The Red Mill (Victor Herbert) | Eddie Foy Jr., Dorothy Stone, Charles Collins, Odette Myrtil, Lee Dixon |
| | Carmen Jones (Georges Bizet) | Muriel Smith, Inez Matthews, Lavern Hutcherson, Napoleon Reed |
| | Rose-Marie (Rudolf Friml) | Irene Manning, Walter Cassel, Eddie Foy Jr., Frances McCann |
| 1946 | The Vagabond King (Rudolf Friml) | John Tyers, Dorothy Sarnoff, Marguerite Piazza, Eduardo Ciannelli |
| | Roberta (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach) | Luba Malina, George Britton, Nana Bryant, Gilbert Russell, Tom Ewell, Mitzi Gaynor |
| | Bloomer Girl (E.Y. Harburg, Harold Arlen) | Nanette Fabray, Dick Smart, Dooley Wilson |
| | Gypsy Lady (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Helena Bliss, John Tyers, Walter Catlett, Gene Lockhart, Mitzi Gaynor |
| 1947 | Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Irra Petina, Lawrence Brooks, Robert Shafer, Nana Bryant, Sig Arno, Walter Kingsford, Mitzi Gaynor |
| | Rosalinda (Johann Strauss II) | Wilbur Evans, Irene Manning, Hugh Herbert, Rosemarie Brancato, Oscar Karlweis |
| | The Three Musketeers (Rudolf Friml) | John Tyers, Polyna Stoska, Frances McCann, Marthe Erolle, Carol Haney |
| | Louisiana Purchase (Irving Berlin) | William Gaxton, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, Irène Bordoni, Harold Mattox, Mitzi Gaynor |
| 1948 | Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | Mary Martin |
| | Naughty Marietta (Victor Herbert) | Susanna Foster, Wilbru Evans, Edward Everett Horton, Mitzi Gaynor |
| | Sweethearts (Victor Herbert) | Bobby Clark |
| | Magdalena (Heitor Villa-Lobos) | Irra Petina, John Raitt, Dorothy Sarnoff, Hugo Haas, Jack Cole Dancers |
| 1949 | The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | Walter Slezak, Dorothy Sarnoff, Melva Niles, Charles Fredericks, Mitzi Gaynor, Sig Arno, Eric Brotherson |
| | Brigadoon (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | David Brooks, Priscilla Gillette, Pamela Britton, Robert Smith |
| | Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | Anne Jeffreys, Keith Andes, Marc Platt, Julie Wilson |
| | High Button Shoes (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) | Eddie Foy Jr., Jack Whiting, Audrey Meadows |
| | Finian's Rainbow (E.Y. Harburg, Burton Lane) | Joe Yule, Charles Davis |
| 1950 | The Chocolate Soldier (Oscar Straus) | Wilbur Evans, Marion Bell, Salvatore Baccaloni, Ralph Dumke |
| | South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Janet Blair, Richard Eastham, Ray Walston |
| | Rose-Marie (Rudolf Friml) | Patrice Munsel, Walter Cassel, Muriel O'Malley, Jack Goode, Ollie Franks, George Britton, Jean Fenn |
| | Lost in the Stars (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) | Todd Duncan |
| | Sadler's Wells Ballet (now The Royal Ballet) | Margot Fonteyn, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann |
| 1951 | Where's Charley? (Frank Loesser) | Ray Bolger |
| | The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Paul Henreid, Carl Brisson, Jane Pickens, Robert Rounseville, Jean Fenn |
| | Three Wishes for Jamie (Ralph Blane) | Ralph Dumke, Sig Arno |
| | Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | John Raitt, Marion Bell, Cecil Kellaway, Allan Jones, Jan Clayton, Pamela Britton, Julie Oshins |
| 1952 | The Judy Garland Show | Judy Garland |
| | Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Helena Bliss, John Tyers, Jean Fenn, Sig Arno, Robert Rounseville, Walter Kingsford |
| | Call Me Madam (Irving Berlin) | Elaine Stritch, Kent Smith |
| | South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Janet Blair, Webb Tilton, Irene Bordoni |
| | Jollyanna (a revamp of E.Y. Harburg and Sammy Fain's Flahooley) | Bobby Clark, Mitzi Gaynor, John Beal, Bil Baird's Marionettes |
| | Don Juan in Hell (George Bernard Shaw) | Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Agnes Moorehead |
| | The Danny Kaye Show | Danny Kaye |
| 1953 | Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | William Johnson, Jan Clayton, Betta St. John, Murvyn Vye |
| | The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | Dorothy Kirsten, John Charles Thomas, Bill Shirley, Sig Arno, Florence Henderson, Eric Brotherson, Fred Essler, Ralph Morgan, Virginia Gibson, John Banner |
| | Carnival in Flanders (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) | Dolores Gray, John Raitt, Matt Mattox |
| | Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | Alfred Drake, Doretta Morrow, Joan Diener, Henry Calvin |
| | John Brown's Body (Stephen Vincent Benét) | Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Raymond Massey |
| 1954 | Brigadoon (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | William Johnson, Dorothy MacNeil, Pamela Britton, Robert Smith, Matt Mattox |
| | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Yul Brynner, Patricia Morison, Terry Saunders |
| | Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin) | Cab Calloway |
| | Peter Pan (Mark Charlap, Carolyn Leigh, Comden & Green, Jule Styne) | Mary Martin, Cyril Ritchard |
| | A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Shakespeare) | Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Stanley Holloway |
| 1955 | Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | Jean Fenn, Bob Wright, Harold Lang, Pat Crowley |
| | The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) | Fran Warren, Larry Douglas, Buster West, Pat Stanley |
| | Kismet (Robert Wright) | William Johnson, Julie Wilson, Henry Calvin, Beatrice Kraft |
| | Plain and Fancy (Albert Hague) | Alexis Smith, Craig Stevens, Barbara Cook |
| 1956 | Rosalinda (Johann Strauss II) | Cyril Ritchard, The Wiere Brothers, Jean Fenn, Lois Hunt, Bob Wright, Sig Arno |
| | Silk Stockings (Cole Porter) | Don Ameche, Jan Sherwood, Gretchen Wyler, George Tobias |
| | Damn Yankees (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) | Bobby Clark, Sherry O’Neil, Allen Case |
| | The Boy Friend (Sandy Wilson) | Jo Ann Bayless, John Hewer |
| 1957 | My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | Brian Aherne, Anne Rogers, Charles Victor, Hugh Dempster |
| | South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Mary Martin, Giorgio Tozzi, Myron McCormick, Richard Banke |
| | Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | Mary Martin, John Raitt, Reta Shaw |
| | Fanny (Harold Rome) | Italo Tajo, Claude Dauphin, Doretta Morrow, Sig Arno |
| 1958 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Gisele MacKenzie, Cameron Mitchell, Richard Banke |
| | The Most Happy Fella (Frank Loesser) | Robert Weede, Jo Sullivan, Art Lund |
| | At The Grand (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Paul Muni, Joan Diener, Cesare Danova, Neile Adams, John Banner |
| | The Music Man (Meredith Willson) | Forrest Tucker, Joan Weldon, Cliff Hall, Benny Baker |
| 1959 | Bells are Ringing (Comden & Green, Jule Styne) | Judy Holliday, Hal Linden, Alice Pearce |
| | My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | Michael Evans, Diane Todd, Charles Victor, Hugh Dempster |
| | West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) | Larry Kert, Sonya Wilde, Devra Korwin |
| | Oklahoma (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Jacquelyn McKeever, James Hurst, Bobby Van, Jules Munshin, Helen Gallagher, Murvyn Vye, Reta Shaw, Don Beddoe |
| 1960 | Redhead (Albert Hague, Dorothy Fields) | Gwen Verdon, Richard Kiley |
| | Flower Drum Song (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Elaine Dunn, Juanita Hall, Keye Luke, Ed Kenney, Jack Soo, Cely Carrillo |
| | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Joe E. Brown, Andy Devine, Julie Wilson, Lawrence Winters, Eddie Foy Jr., Jacquelyn McKeever, Richard Banke, Ruta Lee |
| | Destry Rides Again (Harold Rome) | John Raitt, Anne Jeffreys, Tom Tully, Phillip Reed |
| 1961 | The Merry Widow (Franz Lehár) | Patrice Munsel, Bob Wright, Jean Fenn, Gale Gordon, Sig Arno |
| | Bye Bye Birdie (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams) | Elaine Dunn, Bill Hayes, Joan Blondell |
| | The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Florence Henderson |
| | Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | Dan Dailey, Janis Paige, Shelley Berman, Constance Towers, Allen Jenkins, Joey Faye, Maxie Rosenbloom |
| | Gypsy (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim) | Ethel Merman, Julienne Marie, Alfred Sander |
| 1962 | Song of Norway (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Patrice Munsel, John Reardon, Dorothy Coulter, Frank Porretta, Sig Arno, Jerome Cowan, Maralin Niska |
| | Carnival! (Bob Merrill) | Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ed Ames, James Mitchell, Jo Anne Worley, Johnny Haymer |
| | Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | Alfred Drake, Lee Venora, Anne Jeffreys |
| | Oliver! (Lionel Bart) | Georgia Brown, Clive Revill |
| 1963 | Camelot (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) | Kathryn Grayson, Louis Hayward, Arthur Treacher |
| | Carousel (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | John Raitt, Jan Clayton, Claramae Turner, Frank Porretta |
| | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Frank Loesser) | Dick Kallman, Dyan Cannon, Willard Waterman |
| | Zenda (Vernon Duke) | Alfred Drake, Anne Rogers, Chita Rivera |
| 1964 | Kiss Me, Kate (Cole Porter) | Patrice Munsel, Robert Wright, Elizabeth Allen, Allen Jenkins, Lennie Weinrib, Roy Fizell, Lyle Talbot, Don Beddoe, Virginia Capers, Avon Long |
| | Little Me (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, Neil Simon) | Sid Caesar, Virginia Martin, Nancy Andrews |
| | Here's Love (Meredith Willson) | John Payne, Lisa Kirk, Laurence Naismith |
| | 110 in the Shade (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones) | Inga Swenson, Ray Danton, Stephen Douglass, Will Geer, Lesley Ann Warren |
| 1965 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Ricardo Montalbán, Florence Henderson, Lee Venora, Frank Porretta, Jean Sanders, Terence Monk |
| | Pickwick (Cyril Ornadel) | Harry Secombe, David Jones |
| | The Great Waltz (Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II) | Giorgio Tozzi, Jean Fenn, Frank Porretta, Anita Gillette, Leo Fuchs, Wilbur Evans, Eric Brotherson |
| | Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | Carol Channing |
| 1966 | Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | Luther Adler |
| | Funny Girl (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill) | Marilyn Michaels, Anthony George |
| | The Student Prince (Sigmund Romberg) | Frank Porretta, Eileen Christy, Hans Conried, Walter Cassel, Murray Matheson, Irra Petina |
| | Half a Sixpence (David Heneker) | Dick Kallman, Anne Rogers |
| 1967 | Man of La Mancha (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, Dale Wasserman) | Richard Kiley, Joan Diener |
| | Walking Happy (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) | Norman Wisdom, Anne Rogers, George Rose |
| | Dumas and Son! (Robert Wright, George Forrest) | Inla TeWiata, Frank Porretta, Constance Towers, Hermione Gingold, Edward Everett Horton |
| | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Pat O'Brien, Eddie Foy Jr., Eileen Christy, John Tyers, Gale Sherwood, Audrey Christie, Robert Mosley |
| | Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | Ginger Rogers, David Burns |
| 1968 | Cabaret (John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Masteroff) | Signe Hasso, Leo Fuchs, Melissa Hart |
| | Mame (Jerry Herman) | Angela Lansbury |
| | Rosalinda (adapted from Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus) | Jean Fenn, Cyril Ritchard, Hans Conried, The Wiere Brothers, Barbara Meister |
| | I Do! I Do! (Harvey Schmidt, Tom Jones) | Mary Martin, Robert Preston |
| 1969 | My Fair Lady (Lerner and Loewe) | Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margot Moser, Douglas Campbell, Reginald Gardiner, Cathleen Nesbitt, Terence Monk |
| | George M! (George M. Cohan) | Joel Grey |
| | 1491 (Meredith Willson) | John Cullum, Jean Fenn, Chita Rivera, Gino Conforti |
| | Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | Harry Goz |
| | Man of La Mancha (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion, Dale Wasserman) | José Ferrer, Maura K. Wedge |
| | Joffrey Ballet | Luis Fuente, Erika Goodman, Gary Chryst |
| 1970 | Zorba (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | John Raitt, Barbara Baxley, Chita Rivera |
| | Promises, Promises (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Neil Simon) | Tony Roberts, Melissa Hart |
| | 1776 (Sherman Edwards) | Patrick Bedford, Rex Everhart, Jon Cypher |
| | Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen (Stan Freeman) | Kenneth Nelson, Ron Husmann, Bernie West, David Burns, Eleanor Calbes |
| | Musical Theater Cavalcade | Juliet Prowse, Bob Wright, Jean Fenn, Frank Porretta, John Reardon, Gilbert Price, Joyce Bryant, William Friml, Sterling Holloway, John Green |
| 1971 | Coco (Alan Jay Lerner, Andre Previn) | Katharine Hepburn |
| | Company (Stephen Sondheim) | George Chakiris, Elaine Stritch |
| | Knickerbocker Holiday (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) | Burt Lancaster, David Holliday, Anita Gillette |
| | Candide (Leonard Bernstein) | Frank Porretta, Mary Costa, Douglas Campbell |
| 1972 | Applause (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams) | Lauren Bacall, Don Chastain, Penny Fuller |
| | No, No, Nanette (Vincent Youmans) | June Allyson, Dennis Day, Sandra Deel, Judy Canova, Jerry Antes |
| | The Rothschilds (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick) | Hal Linden, C. David Colson |
| | The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Sally Ann Howes, Bob Wright, Werner Klemperer, Patricia Morison, Jean Sanders |
| 1973 | Oliver! (Lionel Bart) | Ron Moody, Karen Morrow, David Jones, Colin Duffy, Jon Cypher |
| | Two Gentlemen of Verona (Galt MacDermot, John Guare) | Jonelle Allen, Clifton Davis, Stockard Channing, Larry Kert |
| | Gigi (Lerner and Loewe) | Alfred Drake, Agnes Moorehead, Maria Karnilova, Daniel Massey, Terese Stevens |
| | Gone With The Wind (Harold Rome) | Lesley Ann Warren, Pernell Roberts, Terence Monk, Udana Power |
| 1974 | The King and I (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Ricardo Montalbán, Sally Ann Howes, Emily Yancy, Helen Bliss/Jean Sanders, David Cryer |
| | Porgy and Bess | Clamma Dale, Leona Mitchell, LaVerne Williams, Robert Mosley, Thomas Carey, Ralph Wilcox, Robert Monroe, James Randolph, Carol Brice, Ruby Jones |
| | Mack & Mabel (Jerry Herman) | Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters, Lisa Kirk, James Mitchell |
| | Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | Robert Merrill, Peg Murray, Michael Kermoyan, Helen Verbit, Richard Balin, Larry Ross, Helena Grenot, Judy Kaye, Elizabeth Hale, Fred Weiss, Fyvush Finkel, Baruch Lumet |
| | Sugar (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, Peter Stone) | Robert Morse, Larry Kert, Gale Gordon, Leland Palmer, Steve Condos, Virginia Martin, Joe Ross |
| 1975 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Frank Loesser) | Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee, Penny Worth, Joy Claussen, Christian Grey, Sammy Smith, John Myhers, Ruth Kobart, Mary Jo Catlett, Bill Mullikin |
| | Odyssey (Mitch Leigh, Erich Segal) | Yul Brynner, Joan Diener, Russ Thacker, Diana Davila, Martin Vidnovic, Shev Rodgers |
| | Wonderful Town (Leonard Bernstein, Comden and Green) | Nanette Fabray, George Gaynes, Marti Rolph, Jack Kruschen, Mary Wickes/Fran Ryan, Joseph Burke, Fredd Wayne |
| | Camelot (Lerner and Loewe) | Robert Goulet/Edward Mulhare, Carol Lawrence/Anne Rogers, Ron Husmann, Victor Buono/Gale Gordon |
| 1976 | The Baker's Wife (Stephen Schwartz) | Topol, Carole Demas/Patti LuPone, Keene Curtis, Kurt Peterson, David Rounds, Timothy Jerome |
| | The Wiz (Charlie Smalls) | Renn Woods/Renee Harris, Ben Harney, Valentino, Ted Ross/Ken Prymus, Andre DeShields, Dee Dee Bridgewater/Roz Clark, Vivian Bonnell, Ella Mitchell |
| | Kismet (Robert Wright, George Forrest, Luther Davis) | John Reardon, Rhonda Fleming, Victoria Mallory, George Gaynes, Martin Vidnovic, Jack Manning |
| | Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim) | Mako, Soon-Teck Oh, Sab Shimono, Haruki Fujimoto/Kenneth S. Eiland, Isao Sato |
| 1977 | Irma La Douce (Marguerite Monnot) | Larry Kert, Priscilla Lopez, George S. Irving, H.F. Green, Mickey Morton |
| | Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) | Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Gavin MacLeod, Bibi Osterwald, Art Lund, Manu Tupou, Don Potter, Peter Bruni |
| | The Wiz (Charlie Smalls) | Renee Harris, Ben Harney, Ken Prymus, Charles Valentino, Kamal, Vivian Bonnell, Roz Clark, Carolyn Miller |
| | Shine It On (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | Liza Minnelli, Barry Nelson |
| 1978 | Chicago (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, Jerry Orbach, Mary McCarty |
| | Pippin (Stephen Schwartz) | Michael Rupert, Larry Riley, Eric Berry, Thelma Carpenter |
| | Pal Joey (Rodgers and Hart, John O'Hara) | Lena Horne, Clifton Davis, Josephine Premice |
| | The Sound of Music (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Florence Henderson, Edward Mulhare, Jean Fenn |
| 1979 | Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) | Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Bob Gunton |
| | Dancin' | The National Company |
| | On The Twentieth Century (Cy Coleman, Comden and Green) | Rock Hudson, Judy Kaye, Imogene Coca |
| | Bells Are Ringing (Jule Styne, Comden and Green) | Florence Henderson, Dean Jones |
| 1980 | Guys and Dolls (Frank Loesser) | Milton Berle, Jed Allan, Maureen Arthur, Elizabeth Hansen, Taylor Reed |
| | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Michel Legrand, Jacques Demy) | Louis Valenzi, Indira Stefanianna, Stuart Baker-Bergen, Mace Barrett, Donna Bullock, Shirley Chester |
| | On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Alan Jay Lerner, Burton Lane) | Robert Goulet, Joanna Gleason, Sally Kemp, Bill Biskup, Rod Loomis, Elizabeth Savage |
| 1981 | Little Johnny Jones (George M. Cohan) | David Cassidy, Jack Bittner, Maureen Brennan, Randall Easterbrook, Jane Galloway |
| | The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan) | Barry Bostwick, Pam Dawber, Andy Gibb, Clive Revill, Jo Ann Worley |
| | Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim) | Angela Lansbury, George Hearn, Ken Jennings, Edmund Lyndeck, Cris Groenendaal |
| | Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein) | Herschel Bernardi, Chevi Colton, Ruth Jaroslow, Paul Lipson |
| 1982 | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Johnny Mercer, Gene de Paul) | Debby Boone, David James Carroll, Craig Peralta, Nancy Fox, Jeff Calhoun |
| | A Doll's Life (Comden and Green, Larry Grossman) | George Hearn, Betsy Joslyn, Peter Gallagher, Edmund Lyndeck, Barbara Lang |
| | Show Boat (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) | Donald O’Connor, Lonette McKee, Jacque Trussel, Sheryl Woods, Karla Burns |
| | Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) | Carol Channing, Tom Batten, Pamela Kalt, Jan Neuberger, John Gallogly, P.J.Nelson |
| | Don Quixote | Boston Ballet, Rudolph Nureyev |
| 1983 | Zorba (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | Anthony Quinn, Lila Kedrova, Robert Westenberg, Taro Meyer, Charles Karel |
| | Woman of the Year (John Kander, Fred Ebb) | Lauren Bacall, Harry Guardino, Emory Bass, Marilyn Cooper, Kathleen Freeman |
| | Chaplin | Anthony Newley, Andrea Marcovicci, Jim MacGeorge, Scott Grimes, John Allee |
| | Nine | Sergio Franchi, Leigh Beery, Jacqueline Douguet, Diane M. Hurley, Lauren Mitchell |
| 1984 | Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice) | Florence Lacey, Tim Bowman, John Leslie Wolfe, Donna Marie Elio, Michael Licata |
| | Doug Henning's World of Magic | Doug Henning, Debbie Henning, Victor Heineman, D.J. Mergenthaler, Gina Rose |
| | La Cage aux Folles (Jerry Herman) | Gene Barry, Walter Charles, Carol Teitel, Joseph Breen, Robert Burr, Mollie Smith |
| | Sugar (Jule Styne, Bob Merrill, Peter Stone) | Joe Namath, Robert Morse, Jack Carter, Mary Ann O’Reilly, Steve Condos, Kelly Britt |
| 1985 | Sweet Charity (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, Neil Simon) | Debbie Allen, Michael Rupert, Bebe Neuwirth, Allison Williams, Mark Jacoby, Carol Alt |
| | South Pacific (Rodgers and Hammerstein) | Richard Kiley, Meg Bussert, Novella Nelson, Brent Barrett, Al Mancini, Jade Go |
| 1986 | Me and My Girl (Noel Gay) | Robert Lindsay, Maryann Plunkett, George S. Irving, Jane Summerhays |
| | On Your Toes (Rodgers and Hart) | Natalia Makarova, Dina Merrill, Lara Teeter, George de la Pena, Michael Kermoyan |
| 1987 | Cabaret (John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Masteroff) | Joel Grey, Alyson Reed, Regina Resnick, Werner Klemperer, Gregg Edelman, David Staller |