Vintage Playbill from the 1972 opening (Image via Playbill) Coming October 16 to 54 Below is a rare sort of reunion — a 50th-anniversary concert in honor of the legendary flop Dude (The Highway Life), a show by Galt MacDermot and Gerome Ragni that last just 16 performances on Broadway.
And yet, the country-tinged show has lived on in the hearts and minds of many, leading to this lovely collection of newcomers and even two original cast members — Ralph Carter (you'll remember him from Good Times; he won a Drama Desk for Dude) and Allan Nicholls.
Sadly, most from the first production are gone, some long gone (Ragni, Nell Carter, director Tom O'Horgan) and some recently departed (MacDermot, Rae Allen, David Lasley, Salome Bey) — all the more reason to sample the controversial Dude here and now.