Gari wrote the entire first act himself, but the project languished until 1984, when he met an agent who liked the songs and introduced him to playwright Allan Knee as a potential collaborator.
Gari's score incorporated several songs that he had composed many years earlier, including one entitled "The best in the business", which he had written (about the subject of music publishers) as far back as 1972.
[1] The former was Philip Rose, whose previous Broadway musical credits included notable hits such as Purlie and Shenandoah, as well as flops such as Angel and Amen Corner.
The part of David was duly filled by Robert LuPone (then best known as Zach from A Chorus Line), with Teresa Tracy cast as his dancer girlfriend, Gabrielle.
Gari proposed a studio cast recording in which, as he later stated in the sleeve notes, "I will try to present the songs as they were originally written and intended".
Intended as a studio recording rather than an original cast album, the songs were mostly performed by Gari himself, along with Julie Budd, Robin Kaiser, and Michael McAssey (who had been in the ensemble of the ill-fated Broadway production).
In 2007, the 20th anniversary of the original Broadway production was marked by the release of a new studio recording performed by an all-star cast that included Tony Roberts, Rupert Holmes, Chip Zien, Karen Ziemba, Liz Callaway, and Jason Graae.
[7] In 2006, the saga of Late Nite Comic and its tortuous route to Broadway, became the subject of a book written by Brian Gari, entitled We Bombed in New London.
[8] To mark the 20th anniversary in 2007, a special event was held at New York's Drama Book Shop, attended by Brian Gari, Allan Knee, and former original cast member Michael McAssey, where songs from the show were performed and copies of the libretto and CD were autographed.