BABES IN TOYLAND: Two Complete Performances! (1954/55) (DVD)

This special-edition DVD presents two complete productions of Victor Herbert’s beloved operetta Babes In Toyland, both produced for television by Max Liebman. Barbara Cook stars in the 1955 version, and Jo Sullivan in the 1954. Both telecasts feature TV favorites Wally Cox as Grumio the Toymaker, Dennis Day as Tommy Tucker, Dave Garroway as Santa Claus, and Jack E. Leonard as Silas Barnaby. The production is enriched by the presence of the Bil and Cora Baird Marionettes, which The New York Times called “the complete embodiment of delightful fantasy... humorous, imaginative and beguiling[ly] lifelike.”
B&W, 152 minutes, 4:3, All regions

BABES IN TOYLAND
Music by Victor Herbert
Book and Lyrics by Glen MacDonough
Adaptation by William Friedberg, Neil Simon, Will Glickman, Fred Saidy, Bill Jacobson
Book Staged by Milton Lyon
Musical Adaptation by Clay Warnick and Mel Pahl
Arrangements by Irwin Kostal
Musical Conductor: Charles Sanford
Dances and Musical Numbers staged by Rod Alexander
Produced and Directed by Max Liebman

Cast:
Santa Claus: Dave Garroway
Tommy Tucker: Dennis Day
Jane Piper: Jo Sullivan (1954) / Barbara Cook (1955)
Grumio: Wally Cox
Silas Barnaby: Jack E. Leonard
Ann Piper: Karin Wolfe
Peter Piper: Edward Brian (1954) / Dickie Belton (1955)
Joan: Ellen Barrie
Widow Piper: Mary Mace
Featured Dancers: Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander
Clowns: A. Robbins and Charlie Cairoli & Paul (1954) / Jack Powell (1955)

with Bil & Cora Baird and their Marionettes

Live telecasts of December 18, 1954 and December 24, 1955