The Broadway-bound production, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, opened on March 11, 1965, at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
The cast included Hy Hazell, Alfred Marks, Phyllis Newman, and John McMartin.
The original orchestrations (by Philip J. Lang) were used, and the cast was headed by Christopher Carl, Luann Anderson, Bryant Martin, and Danielle Estes.
The Detroit Free Press wrote: "It's a Rolls-Royce of a show, a magnificent combination of artful scenery, lively choreography, and engaging people.
Cy Feuer and Abe Burrows were called in to help with revisions,[3] and Fosse was willing to invest his own money in order to get the production to Boston, but after its closing on April 10, Loesser cancelled the rest of the tryout tour and the Broadway opening.