Trivia

The day of the technical rehearsal for the second play (part II), the actors were still getting new lines, and a few of the scenes had only been rehearsed once. The unfinished state of the production led Trevor Nunn to ask the cast to mill about in the audience, before the curtain, out of character, to explain the situation to them. This became part of the production.

The entire production, both on stage and on television, used 39 actors playing more than 100 characters. Only Roger Rees (Nickleby) and David Threlfall (Smike) played one role each. The role of Smike was so physically demanding that Threlfall took a year break from acting to recuperate.

As the huge cost of transferring the large cast and production to Broadway, along with the length of the show, required a record-breaking price of $100 for every seat in the theatre, a great deal of talk of this preceded the show's arrival in New York. An addition to the script during the scene in which Nicholas went to patron's homes to sell advance tickets for the Crummels' latest production poked fun at this. Patron: "Ten Shillings for ONE PLAY?" Nicholas: "Well, there are a lot of people in it." Patron: "But TEN SHILLINGS!" Nicholas: "Well it's very long." Patron: "It had better be!" This brought a roar of appreciative laughter and applause from Broadway patrons who had paid $100 a ticket. The advertising said: "The Ticket is $100. The Experience is Priceless."

The original eight and a half hour Broadway production of "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby" by Charles Dickens and adapted by David Edgar opened at the Plymouth Theater (after two successful runs in London) on October 4, 1981, and ran for 49 performances. It was performed in its entirety at 1pm on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a tight one-hour meal break from 5-6pm between Parts One and Two. For those with day jobs, Thursday nights were just Part One, Friday nights were just Part Two, at 7pm. To cover the huge production cost of importing the show and cast, the tickets were a then unheard-of $100 for every seat (and worth every penny). It made theatrical history and won the 1982 Tony Award for the Best Play. Alun Armstrong, Suzanne Bertish, Sharon Bower, Janet Dale, Jeffery Dench, Ian East, Alan Gill, Lucy Gutteridge, Andrew Hawkins, Rose Hill, Roderick Horn, Lila Kaye, Teddy Kempner, Timothy Kightley, William Maxwell, John McEnery, David Lloyd Meredith, Sally Nesbitt, Bob Peck, Edward Petherbridge, Clyde Pollitt, Stephen Rashbrook, Christopher Ravenscroft, Roger Rees, Hubert Rees, Emily Richard, Mark Tandy, David Threlfall, Hilary Townley, Thelma Whiteley and John Woodvine, recreated their stage roles in the television miniseries. The 1982 Tony Award for Best Actor in Play was won by Roger Rees. Edward Petherbridge and David Threlfall were nominated for the 1982 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

The original cast had Ben Kingsley in the role of Mr. Squeers.