Despite his early good opinion of Alberghetti, Merrick's relationship with the star of his musical turned acrimonious. Merrick refused to release Alberghetti from Carnival to avail herself of a film offer she received four months into the play's run, and when Alberghetti was hospitalized August 6, 1961 for anemia and exhaustion, Merrick reportedly either had an independent physician examine Alberghetti in hospital or had the hospitalized Alberghetti verify her illness in a lie detector test. Merrick loudly championed Anita Gillette, the understudy who played Lili during Alberghetti's ten-day sick leave, stating :"If I'd known she [Gillette] was this good when we were casting, she would have had the part", and when the company of Carnival greeted Alberghetti upon her return to the show Merrick presented her with a bouquet of roses variously described as plastic or dead. Gillette's brief stints in the lead of Carnival – she'd relieve Alberghetti during the latter's two-week vacation in December 1961 – had enough impact to launch a Broadway career for Gillette – although Carnival would remain the only hit in which she appeared. Conversely, Alberghetti – despite winning a Tony Award for her role in Carnival (tying with Diahann Carroll) – would never appear in another Broadway production, subsequently refocusing on her cabaret career. She did, however, occasionally appear in regional theatrical productions. National tours The first national tour of Carnival opened in December 1961 in Rochester, New York and was headlined by Susan Watson (Lili), Ed Ames (Paul Berthalet), Jonathan Lucas (Marco), Jo Anne Worley (Rosalie), Johnny Haymer (Jacquot) and Alfred Dennis (Schlegel).Miami News November 22, 1961 In April 1962 Susan Watson joined the Broadway production, taking over from Anna Maria Alberghetti who then headlined the touring company's San Francisco production; subsequently Carla Alberghetti would regularly play the role of Lili in the touring company although Anna Maria Alberghetti again assumed the role in the touring company's Los Angeles production which opened at the Philharmonic Auditorium in June 1962. Also both Anna Maria Alberghetti and Jerry Orbach would reprise their Broadway roles in an eight-week engagement of Carnival which opened at the Shubert Theater in Chicago in November 1962. The second national tour of Carnival opened at the Bushnell Memorial Theater in Hartford, Connecticut on October 18, 1962, and ran until May 11, 1963. The cast featured Elaine Malbin as Lili, David Daniels (Paul Berthalet), Don Potter (Jacquot) and Marge Cameron (Rosalie);