This is the original signed August 8, 1961 letter sent by ETHEL MERMAN to producer David Merrick's office declining to accept the role of  "Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi" in the still untitled new musical being written by JERRY HERMAN and MICHAEL STEWART. The musical which we all know as "HELLO, DOLLY!" was written with ETHEL MERMAN in mind, but after two years playing "Mama Rose" in Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's "GYPSY", she did not want to commit to another long run. ETHEL MERMAN was currently performing in San Francisco in "Gypsy" and the letter was typed on Mark Hopkins Hotel stationery and sent to Mr. Jack Schlissel, who for twenty years was General Manager of David Merrick Productions. The correspondence reads:

Dear Jack -

Thanks for your note with the copy of "THE MATCHMAKER" story. However, as I told David Hocker when he called me in Chicago from New York, I couldn't be less interested in another property at this time, and as far as my plans are concerned after "GYPSY", who knows????

Yes, that S.F. Examiner review was really something and I am very happy about the whole thing here.

Hope to see you soon again.

                                                      Best always,

                                                       Ethel

The Original Broadway production of the JERRY HERMAN and MICHAEL STEWART musical comedy "HELLO, DOLLY!" would open January 16th, 1964 at New York's St. James Theatre and make CAROL CHANNING an international star ..... During the exceptionally long Broadway run, nine different actresses played the role of "Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi". CAROL CHANNING's first replacement was GINGER ROGERS (1965) followed by MARTHA RAYE (1967), BETTY GRABLE (1967), BIBI OSTERWALD (1967), PEARL BAILEY (1967), THELMA CARPENTER (1969), PHYLLIS DILLER (1969) and finally ETHEL MERMAN (1970), who would play the final eight months of the show's historic 2844 performance run. It would also be ETHEL MERMAN's last Broadway stage appearance in an illustrious career that started forty years earlier when she got her big break in George Gershwin's "GIRL CRAZY" and overnight became the toast of Broadway.

CREDITS: Music and Lyrics by JERRY HERMAN ("Milk and Honey", "Mame", "Mack and Mabel", "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Dear World"); Book by MICHAEL STEWART based on the "Matchmaker" by THORNTON WILDER; Sets designed by OLIVER SMITH; Costumes designed by FREDDY WITTOP; Directed and Choreographed by GOWER CHAMPION; Produced by DAVID MERRICK.

DETAILS: The single page letter was typed on San Francisco's Mark Hopkins Hotel onion skin stationery and signed by ETHEL MERMAN. It measures 7 1/4" X 10 1/2" inches and one can assume that she also did her own typing as back in the 1920's she worked as a secretary before becoming a Broadway legend. Also includes a glossy 8" X 10" inch photo of the famous dancing waiters number.

CONDITION: With the exception of a light diagonal crease on the left side of the correspondence and handwritten notations from David Merrick's office, this rare set is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This is your chance to own a rare one-of-a-kind piece of musical theatre history.