And oh, the friends who came: writer Edna Ferber, critic Alexander Woollcott, Olivier and Hayes, Katharine Hepburn.

NPR: The 'Fabulous Lunts,' Alive at Ten Chimneys

Berhman, Pearl Buck, Edna Ferber, Maxwell Anderson.

NPR: The 'Fabulous Lunts,' Alive at Ten Chimneys

Only one new musical of substance opened in New York this year: "Giant, " a masterly stage adaptation by Michael John LaChiusa and Sybille Pearson of Edna Ferber's 1952 blockbuster novel, which came to the Public Theater after runs in Arlington, Va.

WSJ: Teachout's Best of 2012 Includes Salesman, A Little Night Music