Graphic Design From The 1969-1970 Broadway Season

The original cast album for “Applause”, which opened on March 30, 1970. Graphic design for the original cast album was based upon graphic design for the show.


The original cast album for “Coco”, which opened on December 18, 1969. Graphic design for the original cast album was based upon graphic design for the show.

Graphic design for both shows was virtually identical—and not good in the least.

The first Broadway musical my father ever attended in New York was “Applause”, a musical adaptation of the film, “All About Eve”. My father saw the show in the summer of 1971, after Lauren Bacall had left the cast. The actress playing Margo Channing the night my father saw “Applause” was Anne Baxter, who had played Eve Harrington in the film. Forty-one years later, my father is still kicking himself for not seeing the original production of “Follies” instead of “Applause”.

“Applause” has never been revived. Despite the fact that the show was a hit in the early 1970s, it probably never will be revived.

“Coco” has never been revived, either. The show was a pure vehicle for Katharine Hepburn. Once Hepburn left the cast, the show closed—and is unlikely ever to be remounted.