Theatre Thursday: Frankly . . .

On this day in 1936, Margaret Mitchell's bestselling novel, Gone With the Wind was published in New York City. A few years later it would be made into an epic film that many claim is the greatest movie ever made. (I'm not one of them. I don't think it's a bad movie, but I don't even think it was the greatest movie of 1939.)
Musical versions of the show have not fared as well. A Broadway version starring Pernell Roberts and Lesley Ann Warren never opened. A West End version in 1972 was not well-received, and the recent Trevor Nunn production, also in the West End, was pretty widely panned. It closed after 79 performances, but still managed to have a happy ending for some talented kids in L.A.