VINTAGE PLAYBILL: Play It Again, Sam by Woody Allen, 1969

By Brynn Cox
February 12, 2013

On this date in 1969, Woody Allen premiered his comedy Play It Again, Sam, his first Broadway production since his successful debut with 1966's Don't Drink the Water.

The production marked Woody Allen's Broadway acting debut and his first of many collaborations with Diane Keaton.

"The play is so nearly so very good," wrote Clive Barnes in his mixed review for the New York Times. "Mr. Allen has the heart of a comedian and the tongue of a comic," he wrote, adding the comedy was "audaciously brilliant."

The production garnered Tony nominations for Keaton, Tony Roberts and director Joseph Hardy and went on to play 453 performances.

Read the opening night Playbill, including early-career bios from Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in the Who's Who.