[2] In July 1951, the musical was staged at the Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles[3] and at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco by producer Edwin Lester and director Albert Lewis with John Raitt as Jamie and Cecil Kellaway as Owen Travis,[3] but neither critical nor audience reaction justified a move to New York City.

Abe Burrows[4] replaced O'Neal's original collaborator Charles Lederer, consolidated the three acts into two, tailored the role of Jamie specifically for John Raitt, and eliminated most of the West Coast cast.

The opening had been delayed for two weeks to give Burrows "more time in which to improve the musical", and so added a tryout in Philadelphia.

The cast included Raitt, Anne Jeffreys as Maeve, with Bert Wheeler, Charlotte Rae, Walter Burke, Malcolm Keen, and Jeff Morrow in supporting roles.

[2] The Backstage reviewer wrote "With its convoluted, plot-heavy book and generic, second-tier score, it's not hard to understand how 'Three Wishes for Jamie' folded after only 91 performances.