#TBT: Playbill: Triumph of Love: October 1997

As I mourn the loss of Head Over Heels this week, I am reminded of a very similar (and short-lived) show. Music Theatre International describes that show this way: "an anachronistic... comedy... full of delicious deception, gender confusions, and all the complexities of l'amour, revealing the beauty, absurdities, and bittersweet nature of love." Very similar, no? The similarities don't end there. Both shows are based on classic plays, both have books by James Magruder, and both were directed by Michael Mayer. I'm talking about the funny, tuneful and, dare I say it, ahead-of-its-time, Triumph of Love.

Triumph of Love
Royale Theatre
30 previews, 85 performances
October 1997 Cast: Susan Egan, F. Murray Abraham, Betty Buckley, Christopher Sieber, Kevin Chamberlin, Roger Bart and Nancy Opel

October 1997

At this point in the 1997 season, the shows we had to choose from were either feast or famine. Shows drawing crowds included Beauty and the Beast, Bring in 'Da Noise/Bring in 'Da Funk, Chicago (including Marilu Henner, also seen this season!), Jekyll and Hyde, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Ragtime, RENT, Smokey Joe's Cafe, The King and I, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The Phantom of the Opera and Titanic. Shows that proved to be short-run flops (some even critically-acclaimed): Jackie, Proposals, Side Show, Street Corner Symphony, The Life and Triumph of Love.

#1981