February 6 marks the 50th anniversary of Dear World, the musical by Jerry Herman, Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee, which opened at Broadway's Mark Hellinger Theatre (currently home to the Times Square Church) in 1969. The production starred Angela Lansbury, whose performance as Countess Aurelia earned her the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical—her second, after her 1966 win for Mame.
READ: Tour Broadway's Mark Hellinger Theatre
Dear World, an adaptation of Jean Giraudoux's play The Madwoman of Chaillot, concerns a countess (Lansbury) who schemes with her associates to stop businessmen from drilling for oil under the streets of their Parisian neighborhood. The production ran for 132 performances and 45 previews, but would go on to be revised by its creators and has since been revived numerous times, including a 2017 Off-Broadway staging by York Theatre Company, which featured Tyne Daly as Countess Aurelia.
Look Back: Angela Lansbury in Dear World, 50 Years Later
