Emerson Colonial Theatre Official Blog

Dear World

From November 11 - December 14, 1968, the pre-Broadway premiere of Jerry Herman’s DEAR WORLD played the Colonial, starring Angela Lansbury. DEAR WORLD features a a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and direction and choreography by Joe Layton. 

Based on The Madwoman of Chaillot by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, as adapted by Maurice Valency, the plot follows the eccentric Countess Aurelia (Lansbury). She and her Chaillot cohort defend their Parisian neighborhood against scheming and corrupt developers. The forces of idealism, love, and poetry win over those of greed and materialism.

The musical went on to open on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, where it ran from February to May of 1969. Jerry Herman made history with this production, as this was the first time in history that a composer-lyricist had three shows running simultaneously on Broadway (Hello, Dolly! and Mame were the others).