 the will rogers follies is a musical with a book by peter stone, lyrics by betty comden and adolph green, and music by cy coleman. it focuses on the life and career of famed humorist and performer will rogers, using as a backdrop the ziegfeld follies, which he often headlined, and describes every episode in his life in the form of a big production number. the rogers character also performs rope tricks in between scenes. the revue contains snippets of rogers' famous homespun style of wisdom and common sense and tries to convey the personality of this quintessentially american figure whose most famous quote was "i never met a man i didn't like." ==productions== after thirty-three previews, the broadway production opened on may 1, 1991 at the palace theatre, and closed on september 5, 1993, after 981 performances and 33 previews. directed and choreographed by tommy tune, the original cast included keith carradine as rogers, dee hoty as betty blake, dick latessa as will's father clem, and cady huffman as ziegfeld's favorite chorus girl. replacements later in the run included mac davis and larry gatlin as rogers, mickey rooney as clem, and susan anton and marla maples as ziegfeld's favorite chorus girl. the recorded voice of gregory peck was heard as ziegfeld. the original choice of the authors to play will rogers was john denver, but, due to a perceived insult from librettist peter stone, john bowed out of consideration for casting. the show also enjoyed a number of national tours, with carradine, davis, and gatlin in the first national tour in 1993 and 1994.(no author). "people in the news, domestic news", the associated press, september 4, 1993 (no page number):"the national tour, now in los angeles, will continue its 96-week run through june 26. mac davis has replaced keith carradine as will rogers in the touring show. gatlin, now the lead on broadway, is expected to replace davis early next year." pat boone starred in the musical in branson, missouri in 1994. the role of betty (his wife) was played by marylee graffeo(fa
1991_musicals Broadway_musicals Musicals_inspired_by_real-life_events Tony_Award_for_Best_Musical