 The project began in 1954 as a Columbia Records concept album with Marquis' original title, featuring Eddie Bracken, Carol Channing, and David Wayne.That same year a concert version was presented by the Little Orchestra Society at The Town Hall in New York City.With an expanded book, the addition of several lengthy ballet sequences, and a cast of animal characters, the rechristened "Shinbone Alley" preceded "Cats" by a couple of decades and was a precursor of the far more successful Andrew Lloyd Webber hit.