Summary

One in this series of programs about the world of theater, hosted by Mike Wallace, featuring interviews, scenes, and musical numbers from current and upcoming productions. This edition centers on the 1954 theater season. Highlights include the following segments, among others: the program opens with the overture from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel" as Wallace describes the changes that were made in transforming the Molnar drama "Liliom" into the musical "Carousel"; Christine Johnson, Jean Darling, and chorus members sing "June Is Busting Out All Over" from "Carousel"; busy actor Charlton Heston explains why he works in different media and talks about his upcoming film "The Ten Commandments"; director Alan Schneider criticizes the parochial nature of the New York-centered American theater and the Robert Anderson and Jay Presson Allen plays he will be directing for the fall; Dorothea Jackson talks about being away from New York and working at the Arena Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Norris Houghton talks about the off-Broadway Phoenix Theatre and its production of "The Golden Apple"; Montgomery Clift discusses his return to the stage with the off-Broadway production of "The Seagull" at the Phoenix Theatre, his acting career, and the importance of good material; Macdonald Carey, Kitty Carlisle, and others perform a scene from "Anniversary Waltz"; Mike Wallace discusses the music of Vincent Youmans and plays a recording of Doris Day singing "Tea for Two" and Nelson Eddy singing "Through the Years"; from the Boston tryout, producers Frederick Brisson, Robert Griffith, and Hal Prince talk about working together on the upcoming production of "The Pajama Game"; Janis Paige and John Raitt perform "There Once Was a Man" from the musical; three weeks prior to Broadway opening, director and co-author George Abbott discusses the various changes being tried out in the Boston tryout of "The Pajama Game," the importance of remaining objective, and his experiences at Harvard University and his early career as an actor; John Raitt performs the ballad just added to the show last night, "The World Around Us" (which replaced "I Never Dreamed"); and composers Dick (Richard) Adler and Jerry Ross discuss polishing the production prior to opening and sing "Hernando's Hideaway" from "The Pajama Game."