The title was originally announced as Cry for Us All, and the show opened in New Haven under that title. For the tryout run in Boston, which followed the New Haven run, the title was changed to Who to Love, but then it changed back to Cry for Us All by the time previews started on Broadway.
In Dennis McGovern and Deborah Grace Winer's book Sing Out, Louise! (a collection of reminiscences from Broadway performers), Cry for Us All cast member Elaine Cancilla tells this story:
"I remember it had been pretty well sold out in Boston, and one matinee day we looked out and saw a sea of red chairs. We found out later from our box office person that it was a benefit for Hadassah or B'nai Brith ladies, and they all turned their tickets in when they realized it wasn't Cry for Saul. They didn't care to see Cry for Us All, a nice Irish Catholic show."
The story sounds far-fetched, and the title in Boston was Who to Love, so perhaps this story should be taken with a grain of salt (or several).
The production closed on a Wednesday. Some sources give the performance total as eight, but it seems to have played nine performances.
John Reardon was signed and announced to play Matt Stanton, but his contract was bought out shortly before rehearsals began. According to a 1972 New York Times article on Reardon, “the emphasis in the interpretation of the work shifted as rehearsals drew near, and Reardon’s contract was bought for a handsome sum. When the show opened on Broadway, it failed.” Reardon was then quoted saying, ‘It was compromised all down the line.”
In a 1978 Boston Globe interview, however, he said of the show, “I had a contract to be in that, but for reasons I can’t discuss because I was never told about them, I was bought out of the show.”
When Reardon signed on to do the show, there was a long strike at the Metropolitan Opera, which was a reason given in press announcements for why he had signed on to do the show. He had been scheduled to sing at the Met that season. Because he sang there in performances in January 1970, shortly after the strike was settled in late December and very shortly after Cry for Us All started rehearsals, it was presumed in some news reports that he left Cry for Us All because the Met strike had been settled.
The role of Josephine Finn was eliminated during the tryout run in Boston, which followed the New Haven run. Margot Moser played the role while it was in the show. In the source play, Hogan’s Goat, the character appears in only one scene, but she is an important character who brings about a crucial turn in the plot.
The list of musical numbers in the New Haven program, which can be seen on the right side of this page, listed only the titles without specifying who sang which.
