PODCAST: New York City Center Celebrates The 75th Anniversary of Carol Channing's New York Stage Debut

It was 75 years ago on this day, January 5th, 1941, that Broadway legend Carol Channing made her New York stage debut on the boards of New York City Center.

In an interesting twist, the comedic genius who would immortalize the roles of Lorelei Lee in GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES and Dolly Gallagher Levi in HELLO, DOLLY! was introduced to the Gotham set in a leftist political operetta by Marc Blitzstein, NO FOR AN ANSWER.

In the middle of the tense story of love, murder and unionization, set in a Greek luncheonette, Blitzstein needed a comic chanteuse to sing his Cole Porter parody, "Fraught."

Channing was nineteen at the time, a Bennington College sophomore, auditioning on a lark during her winter break for a show that was just scheduled to play three consecutive Sunday nights in what was then called the Mecca Temple.

The young star-to-be wasn't aware of the leftist movement saturating New York theatre at the time.

"During rehearsals," she says, "the company constantly told me to write to my congressman and complain about something. I could never remember what."

In this very amusing podcast offered by New York City Center Channing describes, in her unmatchable fashion, how she got the job and we hear her big solo from the original cast recording.

1949 photographs of Carol Channing by Nina Leen.