Remembering when Jones Beach, Westbury Music Fair brought Broadway to Long Island

Audra McDonald is the current toast of Broadway, where she's earned raves and a Tony Award nomination as Mama Rose in the latest revival of "Gypsy." But it was exactly 50 years ago this month when everything was coming up roses for Long Island theatergoers who got to see Angela Lansbury play the ultimate stage mother in a production of "Gypsy" at the Westbury Music Fair.

Lansbury was fresh off her own Broadway run as Mama Rose, a role for which she won the third of her five Tonys. Back then, it wasn't unusual to see a star of Lansbury's caliber treading the boards out here. In fact, there were several local venues that played host to stars of stage and screen who were willing to travel only 45 minutes — more or less — from Broadway to share their talents. 

The Jones Beach Marine Theatre

Long before it became a summer hot spot for concerts and tailgating, the Jones Beach Marine Theatre was the place to see Broadway on the water. Starting in 1952 with "A Night in Venice," bandleader Guy Lombardo served as producer on most of the shows until his death in 1975. And what shows they were: "Show Boat" in 1956 and the following year with Andy Devine as Capt. Andy; "Around the World in 80 Days" (1963 and '64) with Dom DeLuise (before his Mel Brooks days); Louis Armstrong in "Mardi Gras" (1965), and "Annie Get Your Gun" (1978) starring Lucie Arnaz (mom Lucille Ball and dad Desi Arnaz were in the audience on different nights).

By the late '70s, the expense of putting on musical translated into red ink and the theater switched to a concert format in 1983, though the last stage production in 1982 sounded like a must-see: "West Side Story" starring Barry Williams of "The Brady Bunch" as Tony.

Westbury Music Fair

In June 1956, the popular entertainment space, now known as Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair, pitched its tent (it was an outdoor venue until 1966) with the "The King and I" as its first show under the big top. (The king was played by Charles Korvin, best known as Carlos from the "Mama Loves Mambo" episode of "The Honeymooners.")

Most of the stage productions at Westbury through the 1990s were national touring companies of Broadway shows starring some heavy hitters. Yul Brynner played his signature role as the ruler of Siam in "The King and I" (1976), Carol Channing said hello, Long Island, in "Hello, Dolly!" (1971) and Jayne Mansfield took on Channing's role of Lorelei Lee in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1966).

The venue also served as a springboard for some up-and-comers including Liza Minnelli in "The Pajama Game" (1966), Jean Stapleton (as Fanny Brice's mom) in "Funny Girl" (1967) and Christian Borle as Riff in "West Side Story" (1997). The final bow was taken by the cast of "Man of La Mancha," featuring pop star and Prince protégé Sheena Easton, in June 1998.

Mineola Playhouse

The former 1,450-seat movie palace, known as the Mineola Theater, became a showplace for Broadway-level productions starting in 1964 as part of a stock circuit with Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania and Westport Playhouse in Connecticut.

Though a short-lived endeavor (the last show was in 1968), Mineola Playhouse featured some high-wattage names on its marquee, including Chita Rivera in "The Threepenny Opera" (1966), and served as a starting point for the likes of Minnelli and Elliott Gould in "The Fantasticks" (1964); Hal Linden in "The Boys From Syracuse" (1966); and Alan Alda in "The Apple Tree" (1967).

Northstage Theatre Restaurant

Dinner and a show took on a whole new meaning at this former Glen Cove movie house that was reconfigured into a dinner theater in 1976. The concept was simple: patrons were seated at tables and served a three-course meal before seeing a live stage musical.

The dessert, though, was seeing the stars (including Julie Newmar as Lola in "Damn Yankees" and Fred Gwynne in "Look Homeward, Angel") — and stars in the making — Patrick Swayze played Riff in a 1977 edition of "West Side Story."

In 1981, after finding that concerts were more profitable than stage musicals, Northstage switched to a dinner and a concert format. Ultimately, the theater was demolished and a senior living facility built in its place.