This was the 'first' ninety minute CBS Television produced spectacular - "Together with Music" - to be broadcast in color, the second "Ford Star Jubilee" special transmitted live with and in front of an 'invited audience'. CBS had purchased a legitimate theatre property located at Broadway and 81st Street in early 1954. The theatre was designated as "CBS Studio 72". The property and stage facility underwent extensive renovation, converting the property for electronic television transmission equipment for color cameras. The music concert special featured only two performers - Noël Coward and Mary Martin with an orchestra.
Between December 1954 through March 1955, CBS Television negotiated to inaugurate a new "spectacular color television special" program and series to counter NBC Color Television's "Producers' Showcase"; NBC had inaugurated 18 October 1954, a dramatic color broadcast production of "Tonight at 8:30" electronically transmitted from NBC Television's New York City studio. Both NBC and CBS networks scheduled these 90 minute color specials once a month. During this time period, not all of NBC's television product was broadcast in color, becoming a full color network in the late 1950s. CBS approached Noël Coward about starring in three of these CBS Spectacular Specials for $600,000.00, scheduling Noël after his Las Vegas Desert Inn (3 June-4 July, 1955) cabaret concert appearance. Noël's first CBS commitment would coincide with the CBS inaugural new "Ford Star Jubilee" series. Noël Coward had also been approached by Chrysler and General Motors offering him more money to perform on television. Noël, hesitant, decided on the lesser fee since he was more comfortable with the CBS offer. CBS insisted that Noël's first television special be based upon his London Café de Paris and Las Vegas Desert Inn Hotel and Casino concert act material. Noël agreed proposing his close friend Mary Martin would appear in the 90 minute musical special with him. Mary was delighted with the proposition, agreeing to share the stage. After Las Vegas, Noël returned to Jamaica with Peter Matz arriving later, followed by Mary Martin and Richard Halliday, to develop, write, compose, arrange and orchestrate the concert act's material. The first "Ford Star Jubilee" special featured (#1.#1) "The Judy Garland Show" broadcast 24 September 1955 from CBS Television City, Studio 43, Hollywood, California. (#1.#2)"Together with Music" starring Noël Coward, Mary Martin and Peter Matz on the Steinway Concert Grand piano was broadcast the next month on 22 October 1955 from CBS New York City-Studio 72, Broadway and 81st Street. This color television program broadcast was the first color show transmitted for the CBS network. This telecast copied during the electronic transmission process in black and white kine-scope is the only example of Noël Coward performing his famous cabaret concert material on film.
Mary Martin's star role as Peter Pan in the Broadway musical "Peter Pan" was a phenomenal success. However, while the production was still performing prior to Broadway, in Los Angeles, a deal was made for the musical to be broadcast on the NBC Television network 90 minute anthology series "Producers' Showcase" that aired every fourth Monday. The musical "Peter Pan" opened on Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre on 20 October 1954, with a limited run of 152 performances, closing 26 February 1955, closed so that it could be broadcast on television, although box office continued to be strong throughout the Broadway run. The aim of the "Producers' Showcase" was to broadcast expensive color spectaculars to promote the new color television system developed by NBC's parent company RCA. On Marh 7, 1955, NBC presented "Peter Pan" live as part of "Producer's Showcase" as the first full-length Broadway production on color TV. The television show attracted a then-record viewing audience of 65 million viewers, the highest ever up to that time for a single television broadcast program. Marry Martin won an EMMY Award for the television production. So well received that the musical was re-staged live for television on 9 January 1956. Both of these broadcasts were produced live and in color, but only black-and-white kine-scope recordings survive.The telecast special followed with rebroadcasts in 1956, and in 1960 with the same stars, production costumes and scenery. The re-staged 1960 telecast had new children in the cast because the original kids had grown to old for their parts.
Two primary "Ford Star Jubilee 'Together with Music' Producers", Charles Russell and Lance Hamilton, who had stage-managed Noël's wartime tours of England with "Present Laughter" and "This Happy Breed", began their management team with the tour of Noël's play "Fallen Angel" in September, 1948. Subsequently, Charles Russel and Lance Hamilton organized "Night of a Hundred Stars at the London Palladium": a highly successful series of benefit stage-performances-shows for Actors' Orphanage; a charity dedicated to the destitute young of the acting profession. Noël Coward had succeeded Gerald Du Maurier in 1934 as President; had totally reorganized the running of it; during the war he had been instrumental in evacuating many of its children to North America. The Las Vegas 1955 mid-summer cabaret concert had proved a riot, Noël sang to capacity Desert Inn audiences twice nightly for the most profitable month of his life, $35,000 a week. A headline in "Variety" said it all: 'Las Vegas, Flipping, Shouts For More as Noël Coward Wows' em in Cabaret Town". In New York Bill Paley-CBS came up with a lavish offer if Noël would promise them three 'specials' - two were to be productions of his comedies in which he would star, and the third was to be a special cabaret concert lasting ninety minutes in which he would appear with Mary Martin but nobody else. Via Las Vegas cabaret and television, America had rediscovered Coward at a time when in his own country he was without profit or honor.
CBS' Bill Paley had to negotiate with Charles Russell and Lance Hamilton with any CBS dealings with Noël's three "Ford Star Jubilee" appearances in April 1955. Noël's management team "Charles and Ham" had been extremely efficient in New York and procured a concrete offer for three television shows: (1) 'Together with Music' - ninety minutes singing with Mary Martin; (2) Noël's stage-plays 'Present Laughter'; and (3) 'Peace in Our Time'. For these three television programs Noël's production company was to be paid $450,000, out of which expenses had to be paid. Roughly approximated, Noël would realize $250,000 at the end of it. After the first ninety minute special "Together with Music" had aired, the Ford Motor Company agency sponsoring the CBS program, objected to the play "Present Laughter" citing the script's inference to sexual overtones. "The network feared angry letters rattling the CBS mailbox written by outraged Methodists in Omaha complaining about illicit love being brought into there very homes by Noël and his sponsors". Several anxious meetings during the rehearsals of "Together with Music" occurred between Noël, CBS and the Ford Motor Ad Agency delegates regarding the lyrics of both Noël and Mary Martin's musical material. Some of the lengthy 'lyric content' production's battle meetings over both of their material's lyrics centered on the preposition that middle America would be offended, not tolerate the lyric's innuendo, refusing to purchase a Ford for their garage! Noël had successfully edited, or cut his cabaret material as well as editing or deleting Mary Martin's solo material's second and third chorus stanzas. The Ford Motor Company even went so far as to cancel their participation in the CBS "Ford Star Jubilee" program if they could not have final approval of a program's content after Noël first television show. Bill Paley - CBS canceled Noël Coward's second and third contracted appearances. Noël Coward flew to New York from London meeting with Bill Paley to negotiate the contracted appearances. Because Bill Paley-CBS needed to fill the scheduled second Coward time slot, Bill Paley asked Noël to stage his famous 1941 "Blithe Spirit" play instead of "Present Laughter" after negotiations with the Ford Motor Company's approval had been secured. During these exchanges between CBS and Coward, Hollywood film star Claudette Colbert was visiting Coward during his original telephone negotiations-exchanges in Jamaica. Claudette Colbert wanted to play the role of 'Liz' in "Present Laughter". Noël proposed to Bill Paley an all-star Hollywood cast for "Blithe Spirit" featuring Lauren Bacall as the deceased wife ghost-character and Claudette Colbert as the living wife role. The second "special" was delivered on time in January 1956 with the Ford Motor Company approval and sponsorship.