From Detroit to Broadway, a Top Ten Countdown: Part One (#10 –#6)

Five unforgettable shows — plus one classy honorable mention — that began right here in Michigan.

Picture this, it's late on a Friday or Saturday and you're attending an opening-night party. You walk through the crowd hugging the people you know, and avoiding those whose names you can't remember. Your eyes scan the room, trying to gauge the line at the bar, when suddenly you see them -- the infamous “Detroit Arts Historian”.

You know the type. The person who (usually after a few drinks) starts going on and on about how vibrant Detroit (and Michigan in general) used to be for the arts – reminding anyone who will listen that we were once “The Paris of the Midwest.” 

Fisher Theatre Lobby, Photo Courtesy of Historic Detroit

They can usually be found leaning against the bar, swirling a drink in their glass, and holding court while probably wearing some form of sparkle.  Well, despite how many glasses of wine they may or may not have had (and who are we to judge), the stories they tell are likely more fact than fiction.

For decades, Broadway shows got their start in Detroit, relying on Michigan audiences to help producers gauge the songs that worked, the scenes that didn’t, and whether or not their production would be a success.

This week, Encore Michigan starts a countdown of the Top 10 shows that got their out-of-town tryout here in the Mitten before going on to Broadway success.  Take a look, and see what shows you recognize. You just might be surprised.

10. Seesaw

Detroit Preview: Jan 1973 (Fisher Theatre)

Director/Choreographer: Michael Bennett

Book/Music/Lyrics: Neil Simon / Cy Coleman / Dorothy Fields

Stars: Michele Lee; Tommy Tune (Tony Winner)

Popular Songs: "You're a Loveable Lunatic", "It's Not Where You Start", "I'm Way Ahead"

Broadway Run: 296 performances, March-Dec 1973 at The Uris Theatre (later renamed The Gershwin), moved to the Mark Hellinger Theatre (now the Times Square Church)

Why it Mattered: Detroit provided a creative lab for Bennett’s early choreography innovations that later exploded in the groundbreaking musical A Chorus Line.

9. big: The Musical

Detroit Preview: Feb 13–March 10, 1996

Director: Mike Ockrent

Choreographer: Susan Stroman

Book/Music/Lyrics: John Weidman / David Shire / Richard Maltby, Jr. Stars: Daniel Jenkins; Crista Moore

Popular Songs: "I Want to Go Home", "Coffee, Black"

Broadway Run: 193 performances, Shubert Theatre

Why it Mattered: Based on the acclaimed film, this production continued the tradition of at the Fisher Theatre, while hosting more modern, film‑adaptation musicals – testing the family‑friendly Broadway wave of the ’90s.

8. The Rothschilds

Detroit Preview: Aug–Sep 1970

Director/Choreographer: Michael Kidd

Book/Music/Lyrics: Sherman Yellen / Jerry Bock / Sheldon Harnick

Stars: Hal Linden; Jill Clayburgh

Popular Songs: "Sons", "In My Own Lifetime"

Broadway Run: 507 performances, Oct 1970 - Jan 1972, The Lunt-Fontaine Theatre

Why it Mattered: The Fisher stage helped fine‑tune the final major collaboration of Bock & Harnick, producing a major Broadway hit out of Detroit.

7. No Strings

Detroit Preview: Jan–Feb 1962

Director: Joe Layton

Book/Music/Lyrics: Samuel A. Taylor / Richard Rodgers / Richard Rodgers

Stars: Diahann Carroll (Tony Winner); Richard Kiley

Popular Songs: "The Sweetest Sounds", "Nobody Told Me", "Look No Further"

Broadway Run: 580 performances, March 1962-Aug. 1963. The 54th Street Theatre and later The Broadhurst Theatre.

Why it Mattered: Rodgers’ first solo work post‑Hammerstein. premiered in Michigan, and Detroit audiences helped champion one of Broadway’s early interracial romances. Actress Diahann Carroll became the first African-American to win a Tony Award for a Leading Role.

6. Applause

Detroit Preview: Feb–Mar 1970 Director/Choreographer: Ron Field

Book/Music/Lyrics: Betty Comden & Adolph Green / Charles Strouse / Lee Adams

Stars: Lauren Bacall; Len Cariou

Popular Songs: "But Alive", "Who's That Girl", "Applause"

Broadway Run: 896 performances, March 1970 - May 1972, The Palace Theatre

Why it Mattered: Detroit saw Bacall’s triumphant stage return and reunited the team responsible for the hit musical, Bye Bye Birdie.

⭐ Honorable Mention: Gigi

Detroit Preview: Sept. 11 - Oct 14, 1973

Director: Joseph Hardy

Book/Lyrics/Music: Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe

Stars: Karin Wolfe; Alfred Drake; Agnes Moorehead

Broadway Run: 103 performances, Nov - Feb 1974, The Uris Theatre (later renamed The Gershwin)

Popular Songs: "She Is Not Thinking of Me", "I Remember It Well", "Say A Prayer"

Why it Mattered: Though a short run, Gigi’s Detroit try‑out revived the Lerner & Loewe legacy in a classy, romantic package.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned next week for Part 2, where we count down the top 5 shows, including some All‑Time greats, that cemented Detroit as a home for some of the best theatre in the world!

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