Ghost Light Monday--The Comedy of Errors

Today's "dark" day is about a non-musical theater production I attended. Chicago Shakespeare Theatre has been around for about 20 years and has grown not only into one of the biggest theater companies in Chicago, but has become an actual Chicago institution.

This past week, I attended their production of Comedy of Errors. Dare I say, this is not one of the great plays in the canon. But the concept of the CST production is great. Barbara Gaines, who is the Artistic Director for the theater, directed this production, and with the help of playwright Ron West has created a play-outside-a-play to frame Shakespeare's original.

The story for the frame takes place at the Shepperton Studios outside London in 1940. A troupe of British actors and one American crooner have gathered to make a film of Comedy of Errors.

In a newly written scene in Act One, we are introduced to the cast of actors, technicians and the director who are bringing to life the cast of characters in Comedy of Errors. Included are the aging director, who is married to his leading lady--a Vivien Leigh-type; a swashbuckling leading man; the leading man of the last generation, who is having difficulty handing the reigns to his successor; the underappreciated mousy production secretary; the bedraggled props assistant; and the put-upon dresser of the leading lady. Each brings their own gripes and quirks to the production, and when we see them enacting their roles in the play proper, those quirks come out in hysterical ways.

If you've seen Noises Off, the musical Kiss Me Kate, or Kenneth Branagh's film A Midwinter's Tale, you've seen this concept in use. Here, it works brilliantly to add an additional layer of humor to Errors.

There even was some music in the show, as one of the actors in the Shepperton troupe is an American singer a la Frank Sinatra. Beside acting in the film, he is providing the songs for the sound track and the audience gets to hear him sing two numbers of the 40s era being "recorded."

But the real treat today was seeing a new take on an old play that didn't rob the original of it's worth, but rather celebrated that original. There have been many productions of Shakespeare that move the action to another time, or another place. They have often felt like putting a new veneer on an old cabinet. But this production put a lovely new case around the old cabinet, protecting it and showing it off in a new light.

Comedy of Errors
By William Shakepeare
Additional scenes by Ron West
Directed by Barbara Gaines
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Sorry, this production closed June 29.

Smokey Joe's Cafe Broadway production on DVD

With this production, we enter the world of the so-called "Jukebox shows"--with songs written not to be performed together, but for commercial release. Smokey Joe's Cafe offers the music of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two anchors of the Brill Building group of songwriters.

I find the Brill Building very interesting. It housed some of the finest songwriters from the Big Band Era and Rock & Roll, including Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Neil Sedaka, and a slew of others. If ever there was a building that deserved a musical unto itself, the Brill is that building. Unfortunately, for me, Smokey Joe's isn't the musical the Brill deserves.

Leiber & Stoller wrote music in the 50s and 60s. While I like some of this music, putting it back to back to back doesn't give me the variety I want in either a musical or a concert. The musical arrangements don't help. I longed for a slow ballad with just piano and bass backing up the singer, to break the monotony. Too much of the music seems to be at the same tempo. Does every singer in the cast have to sound like they're squalling for American Idol? I'm all for the Phil Spector "wall of sound", but once in a while I'll like to bang my head against something else.

Well, according to the Internet Broadway Database, this show ran for 5 years and more than 2,000 performances, so clearly I'm in the minority in my response to Joe. It's not the first time I've been in the minority, nor will it be the last.

Smokey Joe's Cafe The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Live Broadway production for release on DVD
Cast: Ken Ard, Adrian Bailey, Matt Bogart, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, BJ Crosby, DeLee Lively, Deb Lyons, Frederick B. Owens,

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris Original Cast Recording

I was in high school when I first encountered Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in a production at a nearby college. I was immediately drawn to it, probably more for musical reasons than for the lyrics, most of which were probably over my head at the time. Maybe a lot still are.

The cast recording contains 23 songs (the show contained some others that were not recorded) which opine on love, war, selfworth, death, and a whole lot of other timeless topics. Perhaps the timelessness of the human condition is the point of this revue. As the opening song "Marathon" states: We're always dancing through the nights and days.

The cast of four is uniformly good, capable of styles ranging from music hall bawdy to cabaret to legato singing. "If We Only Have Love" which concludes the show is a beautiful song about how together we can overcome any obstacle.

Mort Shuman, who performs in this cast, was instrumental in bringing this revue to life and, along with Eric Blau, is credited with providing the English lyrics. They are generally excellent, at times playful, at times poetic. I've never heard the songs in French, so I can't speak as to how closely the English follows Brel's original.

The interesting liner notes to this CD reissue discuss Brel's history, the creation of the show, and the effects it had on the songwriting community. I was shocked to learn that Brel died in 1978 at only the age of 49. That means he was 39 years of age when his songs were collected into this revue.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Music and Lyrics by Jacques Brel
English Lyrics by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman
Original Cast Recording released in 1968 by Columbia Broadway Masterworks
CD reissue 2002 Sony Music Entertainment
Cast: Elly Stone, Mort Shuman, Shawn Elliot, Alice Whitfield

Call Me Madam film on DVD

Composer and lyricist Irving Berlin makes his first appearance in my Year with the Ethel Merman vehicle Call Me Madam. Wealthy Texas oil widow Sally Adams is posted as Ambassador to little Lichtenburg and lusty singing ensues.

Joinging La Merm in this film (and actually holding their own) are Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, and George Sanders. Mr. Sanders sings one nice number and Ms. Ellen dances a nice dance or two, but the real delight is Mr. O'Connor. I've of course seen him clowning in Singin' in the Rain, and loved "Make 'Em Laugh", but in Madam, O'Connor has to sing, dance and romance the girl--usually all at the same time. And he pulls it off with elan. A tap number where he bursts a lot of balloons is particularly creatively choreographed.

Madam's music perhaps is not uniformly the best that Berlin produced. The memorable song from the score is "You're Just in Love" and it doesn't take a genius to realize it's the best number, because the film reprises the tune again and again! Fortunately, it really is a great quodlibet song with two melodies overlapping one another. "It's a Lovely Day Today" is also a memorable tune, but the other haven't lasted the course of time.

I've actually seen this show live on stage, in a City Center-like staging in Chicago with Jo Anne Worley as Adams and Malcolm Gets as her press secretary Kenneth Gibson. It was about ten years ago, but Worley was great, as I recall, and Gets had a very nice singing voice.

Call Me Madam
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Screenplay by Arthur Sheekman based on the
Book by Howard Linsday and Russel Crouse
Released by 20th Century Fox in 1953
Cast: Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, George Sanders

Oklahoma! 1998 London Stage Production on DVD

I can't believe I've gone almost a month into my Year and not yet listened to a show by the grand poobahs of American Musical Theater--Rodgers and Hammerstein. Well to make up for that lapse, I'd better choose a good show and a good production to start the discussion. And with the filmed version of the 1998 London stage production of Oklahoma!, I've met both those criteria. Stage director Trevor Nunn has been putting the exclamation point on musicals all of my adult life.

This production was Hugh Jackman's introduction to the world, I believe, and on behalf of gay men all over the world--thank you Mr. Nunn. Mr. Jackman is well cast as Curly, with a good singing voice and charming demeanor. If his acting is perhaps not as nuanced as some of the other performers, or if his Curly doesn't quite project some vulnerability to balance the bravado, well, his bare chest helps make up for it.

The real star of this production for me is Josefina Gabrielle as Laurie. Ms. Gabrielle proves herself a true triple threat, singing Laurie's rangy songs without getting tinny in her upper register, truly dancing (not just performing dance steps) in the dream ballet, and most impressively, imbuing Laurie with real inner conflict about her impending womanhood and the choices she must make. For the first time, I saw Laurie as a microcosm for the state of Oklahoma. Just as territory folks are thinking about what's to be gained and lost in becoming a state, Laurie struggles with her statehood.

If you rent this DVD through Netflix or by other means, be sure to watch the DVD extras, which are on a separate disc. Not only was it nice to here the performers talk in their usual British accents, but the "making of" part of the DVD answered some questions I had about how they filmed this in front of an audience (the brief answer is that they didn't). One beef about the extra DVD--the talking heads aren't clearly identified. The actors are obvious, Trevor Nunn is obvious, Richard Rodgers's daughter Mary and choreographer Susan Stroman--not so much, and poor Ted Chapin of the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization could be just about anyone, if you didn't know.

Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein II
1998 Royal National Theatre Production
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Choreographed by Susan Stroman
Released on DVD in 1999 by Image Entertainment
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle, Shuler Hensley, Peter Polycarpou, Jimmy Johnston, Vicki Simon, Maureen Lipman

Wicked Original Broadway Cast Album

Today's entry is the bonafide Broadway juggernaut of the new millennium. It's also succeeded in bringing in a whole new audience to the Broadway theater--no easy feat. It is the first entry in my Year with composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who got his feet wet in musicals with Godspel and Pippin, which I would qualify as "soft rock" musicals. With Wicked he has a more mature musical style that combines traditional Broadway styles with a pop music mentality.

You need to have a villain if you're going to have a hero. But does Wicked have a hero? Most in the audience would say that Elphaba is the hero, but the characters on stage certainly wouldn't agree. And Elphaba is not without fault, ego, or mistakes.

And with the two strong performances by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the original Broadway cast, the argument for who is the hero is further confused. Both Ms. Menzel and Ms. Chenoweth are singers that defy categorization (if not gravity). They have a "belt" mentality without the limitations of a belt range. They can choose their vocal placement to keep from having an obvious break in their ranges, unlike many belt singers. Perhaps this is by benefit of being among a generation of musical performers who have always used microphone amplification for their entire performing life.

I saw Wicked in the sit down production in Chicago with Ana Gasteyer in the role of Elphaba. The whole production was wonderful and the women in particular were great. Rondi Reed (who just won a Tony in a straight play) was Madame Morrible. I'm sorry I don't recall the actress who was Galinda. The complicated set was a bit of a puzzle to me. To me, it took away from the action on stage rather than added to it.

Wicked
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Winnie Holzman
Based on the novel by Gregory Maquire
Original Broadway Cast recording
Released by Decca Broadway in 2003
Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Carole Shelley, Norbert Leo Butz

The Fantasticks film on DVD

Well my musical education has truly been lacking, because I have never been in or seen a production of The Fantasticks. I knew the two most famous songs "Soon it's Gonna Rain" and "September", but that was about all.

This film version probably only gives a hint of how it must be on the stage. The production values are very high, which almost makes up for some very average singing. Again the duets/trio/quartets are the most fun, I think. Joey McIntyre and Jean Louisa Kelly portrays the young lovers. Since I live in a cave, I'd never actually heard New Kids on the Block, so didn't know Mr. McIntyre. The cave does have a television, so I recognize Ms. Kelly from some rather pedestrian sit-coms.

The DVD extras include longer versions of the songs, and the original Rape Song from the stage production which was watered-down for the film. It's a shame, because it's one of the few times that El Gallo Jonathon Morris comes alive in a musical number.

The Fantasticks
Music and Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
Book by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
Released by United Artists in 1995
Cast: Jean Louisa Kelly, Joe McIntyre, Joel Grey, Barnard Hughes, Teller (without Penn), Jonathon Morris, Brad Sullivan

Ghost Light Monday -- Cyd Charisse

Dancer Cyd Charisse died last Tuesday. According to the Reuters report, she was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas, and took her professional surname from her first husband, ballet instructor Nico Charisse. The moniker of Cyd was adapted from a childhood nickname, Sid, coined by her brother. After the end of her first marriage, and a romance with Howard Hughes, she married singer Tony Martin; the two had just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. She was 86.

I remember Ms. Charisse best as the sultry dancing partner to Gene Kelly in Singin' In the Rain. She appeared once on Broadway--according to the Broadway Database--in the musical Grand Hotel.

She also portrayed Fiona in the film version of Brigadoon, also with Mr. Kelly. Perhaps not the best example of their work. I've put the film on my Netflix list, so I'll come to it in due time. In the mean time, I'll remember Ms. Charisse as a very good dancer, who represents the golden age of Hollywood Movie Musicals.

Shenandoah Orginal Broadway Cast Album

Here I go again, waxing rhapsodic on the good ol' fashioned Broadway baritone. John Cullum is perhaps the last of the kind--at least the last with connections going back to the heyday of the American Broadway musical. He was in the original cast of Camelot in 1960; he was in the original cast of Urinetown in 2001. In between he did a lot of other stuff, but he won a Tony for his portrayal of Charlie Anderson in Shenandoah in 1975.

At first listen Shenandoah has a lot in common with Big River. Both are set in more or less frontier settings, both during the middle 19th century. Both address issues of slavery and the worth of the individual. And both use American (read Country) music to give atmosphere to their time and place.

I've never seen the show live on the stage, but I'd like to. The book for Shenandoah won a Tony and I bet it's a very timely exploration of war and the rights of the individual vs. the needs of the country. Perhaps it's time for a revival, as our country continues to struggle with these issues. It has been revived once, in the late 80s, with John Cullum reprising his role.

A couple of songs are note-worthy. "I've Heard it All Before" is a rather scathing condemnation of the reasons for going to war. The two "Meditations" delivered by Cullum are tours de force. The are several tunes that are lovely, but hampered by pedestrian lyrics. The only other name in the cast familiar to me is Joel Higgins in his pre"Silver Spoon" days.

Shenandoah
Music by Gary Geld
Lyrics by Peter Udell
Book by James Lee Barrett
Original Broadway Cast Album recorded in 1975
Released on RCA Victor
CD release in 1988
Cast: John Cullum, Joel Higgins, Donna Theodore, Penelope Milford, Ted Agress, Gordon Halliday

Li'l Abner film on DVD

This is a great show for the chorus. They are included in all the best musical numbers and there are lots of bit parts for chorus members to step into. But Li'l Abner drags a bit when it just focuses on the primary characters.

Perhaps it's the nearly fifty years since this show was created, but a lot of the characterizations come off as poking fun rather than lovingly bringing to life charming comic strip characters. Particularly guilty of overshooting the mark are Mammy and Pappy Yokum, but the book writer also bear some responsibility for peppering too many "dogpatch-isms" into characters' speech.

A couple of songs deserve mention and perhaps cabaret or big band life beyond the show, especially since the lyrics are by Johnny Mercer. "The Country's in the Very Best of Hands" is a funny (and still topical) song for Abner and Marryin' Sam. It would be great paired with Kurt Weill's "How Can you Tell an American" which is also a duet for two men. "I wish it could be Otherwise" (which I think was written for the film) is a wonder ballad for Daisy Mae and Abner, and could easily be imported into piano club setting.

The bright spot of the cast for me is Stubby Kaye as Marryin' Sam. There is no one who can deliver the big solo with chorus number like him. "Jubilation T. Cornpone" is the best known of this score, but there are other songs for Sam and Chorus. Julie Newmar (later of Batman fame) is Stupifyin' Jones, with nary a line, but plenty of curves.

Li'l Abner
Music by Gene de Paul
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Written by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Based on the character created by Al Capp
Released by Paramount Pictures in 1959
Cast: Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Howard St. John, Julie Newmar, Stella Stevens, Billie Hayes, Joe E. Marks, Bern Hoffman

The Little Prince Television production on DVD

This television production from 1974 was vaguely remembered by me, as I've previously mentioned, so I was glad when Netflix delivered The Little Prince to my mailbox. Richard Kiley is one of those baritone voices I admire--robust without being "woofy" and with enough legato to qualify as real singing. The music, lyrics and screenplay are by Lerner and Loewe, so it marks this team's first appearance in my Year.

The cast of this production, which the Netflix envelope rightly describes as a quasi-musical, also includes Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder, and Donna Mckechnie. Mckechnie is hampered by never being let outside a rose bloom. Fosse shines as the snake who slithers his way through a funny song and dance. It was kind of odd to see Fosse's characteristic isolation-style choreography in a desert setting, but it totally works for a snake. Gene Wilder is perhaps the best of the three, very funny and skittish as the fox.

By far the best piece of music in the production is the title song which Kiley sings toward the end. I hope this song has a life beyond the television production, which seems a bit forgotten with Lerner & Loewe's justifiably more memorable stage musicals.

The Little Prince
Music by Frederick Loewe
Lyrics and Screenplay by Jay Lerner
Directed by Stanley Donen
Created for television in 1974
Cast: Steven Warner, Richard Kiley, Donna Mckechnie, Gene Wilder, Bob Fosse

The Mikado Television Production on DVD

Quick, hie me to my Netflix queue to remove the other Gilbert & Sullivan productions in this series from my list. If this production of The Mikado is any indication, the whole series, created for television in the 1980s, is dreadful.

I was suspect when the production was introduced by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I'm sure you're either asking "Who?", or if you know who, then you are asking "Why?" as I was. Then the cast credits rolled and William Conrad was listed as the Mikado--again the who/why scenario.

The production was created for television and is shot on a sound stage. The is no audience, and no applause between musical numbers, which only adds to the leaden feeling of the whole thing. The London Symphony Orchestra provides the music, but it sounds as if they and the chorus are being piped in from a shed around back.

The staging vascillates between traditional presentational, proscenium-like choreography, and mugging in asides to the camera, which are awkwardly edited. While I don't recognize any cast members other than Mr. Conrad, the cast must be a mix of performers and personalities, because the performances are a real mixed bag of styles.


The Mikado
By Gilbert & Sullivan
1982 production created for BBC Television
Cast: I will not use their names to protect the innocent, except for William Conrad, who really should have known better.

The Pajama Game 2006 Roundabout Theatre Cast recording

The original Broadway cast featured John Raitt, in my opinion the finest Broadway baritone of his or any generation. So how would Harry Connick, Jr. hold up in this music that I hear John Raitt singing in my mind's ear? Well, there is a lot to like about Mr. Connick, Jr. and this cast recording of The Pajama Game from the Roundabout Theatre Company production of 2006.

One of the best things is the reinstatement of Sid Sorkin's song "The World Around Us", which I believe was cut out of town from the original show. It's a wonderful song and I'm glad to be able to listen to it. Sid's "A New Town is a Blue Town" is also wonderful, but has been overshadowed by the perennial popularity of "Hey There", which is a much less interesting song.

Kelli O'Hara has just the right balance of belt, lyricism, and perk for the role of Babe. Ms. O'Hara is currently on Broadway in South Pacific (also produced by the Roundabout), and the roles of Babe and Nellie Forbush have a lot in common, both vocally and in spunk-factor.

One pet peeve with the packaging for this cast album. The track listing makes sure to include the licensing and copywrite ownership after every track, but doesn't tell you which character or which performer is singing. That seems a slap in the face of the actors. I've seen this show on stage and seen the film, so I know mostly which character is singing which song. But for the show novice? Maybe it was an oversight and not intentional.

The Pajama Game
Music and Lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross
2006 Broadway Cast Recording
Released on CD for Columbia Records
Cast: Harry Connick, Jr., Kelli O'Hara, Roz Ryan, Megan Lawrence, Michael McKean

Big River Original Broadway Cast Recording

I can't believe I've never seen this show, because I love a lot of the music in it. But Big River The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has somehow escaped my viewing. The cast album has a lot to offer the imaginative listener though, as well as any fans of gospel, blues, and country music. Roger Miller's music enhances the world of the story and gives it a true American feel. Hard to believe it was his first musical score. But the good liner notes by producer Rocco Landesman tell the story of the show's creation quite well.

Like Man of La Mancha, this score has a lot of wonderful music for small ensembles, the duets between Huck and Jim at the forefront. It's so nice to hear actual harmonies being sung! And the song "Muddy Water" is quite infectious. John Goodman (in his pre-"Roseanne" days) gives a wonderful turn in a blues-song as Huck's drunk father.

While there is a good synopsis of the story including how the songs fit in, there is not a definitive track listing with performers for that song listed. Therefore, I'm not certain who sings the wonderful solo arrangement of "How Blest We Are"--maybe Patti Cohenour who portrays Mary Jane Wilkes. Also the female solo singer on "The Crossing" isn't listed. Mr. Miller should apologize to these two women, because they do his music proud.

Big River The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Music and Lyrics by Roger Miller
Book by William Hauptman
Original Broadway Cast recording
Recording in 1985 and released on MCA Records
Cast: Daniel Jenkins, Ron Richardson, John Short, John Goodman, Bob Gunton, Rene Auberjonois, Patti Cohenour

Ghost Light Monday -- The 2008 Tony Awards

Well, my Year couldn't progress without comment on the 2008 Tony Awards, which were broadcast last night on CBS. It was a very good night for Chicago theater, as August: Osage County was a big winner. This show started its life at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Acting awards went to Osage cast members Rondi Reed and Deanna Dunagan, two long-time Chicago actresses. I've met both women, and worked on a show with Deanna about a decade ago, and it was gratifying and inspiring to see both of them recognized. Osage director Anna D. Shapiro also was awarded the Tony for best direction of a play. I wonder how many women previously have won that award ? Osage was also selected as best play, and playwright Tracy Letts gave a funny thank you speech.

In other Chicago theater Tony news, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre was given the regional Tony Award, and the broadcast showed a brief clip from CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines's thank you speech. Chicago-bred actress Laurie Metcalf was also nominated for an acting award.

The broadcast seemed to go off without any great faux pas. I enjoyed the enthusiasm Whoopi Goldberg brought to the hosting duties, even if her casual style was not quite what I expect from these ceremonies.

The most interesting aspect of the night for me were the performances and nominations of Passing Strange and In the Heights. These are clearly shows that have broken from the mold of previous Broadway musicals, both in their musical styles and performance styles. Tony voters must have appreciated that ground-breaking as they awarded In the Heights with best musical and best score. Best book of musical when to Passing Strange. But the acting awards in a musical went to performers in very traditional revivals (Paulo Szot in South Pacific; Patti LuPone, Boyd Gaines, and Laura Benanti in Gypsy).

Other Tony things that were nice to see: Arthur Laurents, nominated for direction of Gypsy, for which he wrote the book nearly 50 years ago. Mr. Laurents will be 90 in July and is a living (and apparently still vital) connection to the Golden Age of Broadway. Several years ago, I read Mr. Laurents's memoir, Original Story: a memoir of Broadway and Hollywood, and I can highly recommend it, particulary as the story of a gay man during the era of Blacklisting.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Original Broadway Cast recording

I have to confess I don't have much experience with shows by William Finn. The 25th Annual County Spelling Bee is the first show of his I've seen live. I saw it in a Chicago production in a long-term stay in a 500 seat theater. I believe the cast was a combination of locals and actors brought in for the production. It played for about a year I think. I recall loving it when I saw it. It really celebrates our individuality and the quirkiness in each of us, and also pokes fun at our nation's current competition-fever and pushy parents. It's witty without being overly insightful.

This is one of those shows that really needs to be seen to be appreciated, I think. The cast album alone doesn't pass along the charms of the characters. I just kept trying to figure out if there is any structure to the music. While being tuneful, it doesn't really have tunes--at least not that are strophic (with verses) or in an A-B-A form with which I feel most comfortable. Yes, I am an old-fashioned bitty.

The liner notes for the cast album includes the lyrics which struck me as odd. Apart from the vocabulary words that the characters are asked to spell, I could understand everthing that was sung. There is a bit also on the creation of the show, through workshops, and off-Broadway that mostly spoke about the likability of the show's story line. I wished for a bit more background on William Finn, but maybe that's because I don't know much about him or his other shows.

I also find it interesting that James Lapine directed this production. I know his name from Sondheim shows. While I don't hear a lot of similarity between Finn's and Sondheim's music, I guess the similarity is in how characters are continually interrupting one another, causing challenges to the staging.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and Lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Original Broadway Cast Recording
Recorded on April 5, 2005, released by Ghostlight Records
Cast: Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jose Llana, Jay Reiss, Sarah Saltzberg

HMS Pinafore & Trial By Jury on DVD

Broadway purists will argue my inclusion of Gilbert & Sullivan in my Year, and the fact that this is a taping of a production from Opera Australia does nothing to combat that criticism. But, I love operettas and often find them an amusing diversion.

This production of HMS Pinafore does little favor to the genre, I'm afraid. It is certainly competently done with good singers and all the expected silliness, but it never seems exactly inspired, or as spontaneous as I've found the best operetta productions to seem. Perhaps that's partly from the notion of television taping in close-ups a production staged to be seen in an opera house. A roll of the eyes doesn't read in an opera house, but a double take reads as overblown on television.

The set for this production of Pinafore also struck me as very strange. I think the setting should be a sailing vessel. This set is clearly made to look like a steel warship, with a few ropes around for atmosphere. It looks more like the ship set for Anthing Goes than for G & S. The costumes on the other hand are beautiful, and it's nice to hear a full opera orchestra playing this musical romp of a score.

The production of Trial by Jury--which is the second half of this double bill--fares better. Set in contemporary times, the costumes are again very nice and the court-room set simple but workable. The playboy take on Edwin by tenor David Hobson (who also sang Ralph Rackstraw in Pinafore) is funny.

I doubt I'm the only one to find Pinafore rather homo-erotic. All those sailors! And some of the dialogue ("the finest seaman in the fleet" and "I'm a topman and a good one, too"). For those looking for attractive chorus boys, check out these sailors and jurymen. I'm heading to Melbourne!

HMS Pinafore & Trial by Jury
by Gilbert & Sullivan
Opera Australia production on DVD
Taped in 2006
Cast: Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, John Bolton Wood, Tiffany Speight, Richard Alexander, Colette Mann, Ali McGregor

Into the Woods Broadway Production on DVD

I suppose I couldn't avoid him for long, but I have to confess a love/hate relationship with Stephen Sondheim. I find his musicals smart and insightful, and good explorations of interesting themes. And I like his music, but I can't sing it worth beans.

Into the Woods is one of my favorites of Sondheim's works. I like how it uses childhood fairy-tales to explore very adult themes of risk/reward for "straying from the path", personal responsibility, sense of community, and parenting. It also marks the second appearance in my year for Bernadette Peters, now in the prime of her career and warranting applause from the audience at her first entrance (even though she is done up in the old witch make-up and costume).

I find Joanna Gleason a wonderful singing actress. I was more familiar with her television experience (West Wing) and saw her in a brief role in the Sex and the City movie, which is out right now. I'm going to need check out more of her musical background. I believe she was in a musical based on the Nick and Nora Charles stories--perhaps with Barry Bostwick.

I saw Woods live maybe a decade ago at the Marriot Lincolnshire Theater outside of Chicago. It was done in the round, or maybe 3/4 round. The proscenium version of this production seems very 2-dimensional, especially at the beginning when the three fairytales each have their own small proscenium. It's better when the storyline goes into the woods--perhaps part of the point.

Into the Woods
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book and Direction by James Lapine
Taping of performance by original Broadway cast in 1990
Cast: Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Barbara Byrne, Robert Westenberg

Man of La Mancha Original Broadway Cast Album

Today I get another of my favorite Broadway baritones--Richard Kiley. While he was in the original casts of several musicals, Man of La Mancha is his definitive role.

Alas, the powers that made movies in the 1960s and 70s didn't often feel compelled to cast singers when they cast the film versions of musicals, so Mr. Kiley's performance was not captured on film, but Peter O'Toole's was. I think I've put the film on my Netflix queue, so someday I'll write about that, but in the meantime I have Richard Kiley to keep me warm and remind me what good Broadway singing can be.

I've also put onto my Netflix list the television production of The Little Prince that Mr. Kiley, and Bob Fosse starred in. I have a vague recollection of seeing it as a child, but between the very manly Kiley and the very unitard-wearing Fosse, I'm sure my pre-pubescent-but-destined-to-be-gay mind was in a whirl.

But back to La Mancha.

I'd forgotten how much I like the ensemble numbers in this show. By that, I don't mean chorus numbers, but duets/trios/etc. From the opening number sung by Quixote and Sancho, through "I'm Only Thinking of Him", to "Little Bird, Little Bird", the writing for small numbers is wonderful and inventive. Of course I have to confess a long and unhealthly love of songs with quodlibet writing. I'm not certain if I'm using that term correctly, but I believe it means when two tunes are put on top of one another, like "Man of La Mancha" with "I'm Sancho, yet, I'm Sancho" over it. Irving Berlin was a master at this type of writing and I can't get enough of it.

What a difficult role Aldonza must be, sometimes belting, sometimes lyric, always with a large range.

The notes for this CD release are interesting, but perhaps overly long. I did like learning that La Mancha began as a camp show, as did Once Upon a Mattress that I listened to yesterday. And that composer Mitch Leigh started with WH Auden as his lyricist!

Man of La Mancha
Music by Mitch Leigh
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Book by Dale Wasserman
Original Broadway Cast Album recorded in 1965
CD release in 2000 by Decca Broadway
Cast: Richard Kiley, Joan Diener, Irving Jacobson, Ray Middleton, Robert Rounseville

Once Upon a Mattress Original Broadway Cast Recording

I find it very easy to be inspired by Carol Burnett. She's the quintessential comedic performer who took her own personality and unique skill set to build a significant and lasting career. And no show better epitomized Ms. Burnett's uniqueness than Once Upon a Mattress.

You have to be a real singer to perform Princess Winifred, I think. While the big "Shy" number can just be belted out to some effect, "The Swamps of Home" and "Happily Ever After" require good legato singing and are rangier than expected. The singing by the "legit" singers in the cast is a little disappointing at times. "Yesterday I Love You" is a beautiful, tuneful song and needs good singing actors. Maybe the Sarah Jessica Parker revival includes some of that. But that's for another day.

I have performed in Mattress, when I did summer stock with College Light Opera Company on Cape Cod in 1984. It's a fun show to perform in--lots of good in-jokes. The best one that the audience never sees is Queen Agravaine's big monologue, which in the script is called the mamalogue.

The liner notes for this CD release give what I thought was interesting background on the show's creation and how certain characters developed in the way they did.

Once Upon a Mattress
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer, Dean Fuller
1959 Broadway Cast Recording
Released on CD in 1993 by MCA Classics Broadway Gold
Cast: Harry Snow, Joe Bova, Allen Case, Anne Jones, Carol Burnett, Jane White, Matt Mattox, Ginny Perlowin

A Chorus Line Film on DVD

I saw the film A Chorus Line for the first time when it was released in France in 1986. I was doing a semester abroad and was desperate for some English. In France, the film was released in English with French subtitles. I remember very little of the film, except that by listening to the English and watching the subtitles, I learned quite a few French slang terms--now mostly forgotten with the rest of my French--except the slang term for gay, which is pede (with an accent aigu over the final e). I guess we remember the things that are most important.

I've never seen the show live on stage in a professional production. I could have my gay card revoked for admitting that. I'll do some extra credit as make up.

A Chorus Line is one of the shows that depresses me at first. I know which side of the white line I would be on. Dance 2, Looks 4. It also strikes me as the struggle of individuals to become one of many. To steal a line from Marc Acito (see June 2 entry), these people are clawing their way to the middle. On the other hand, all the of the songs give voice to the individual struggles of the characters, so maybe this show has the best of both worlds.

I think there is a lot in this show that's prescient of what we're experiencing now. Is Chorus Line the predecessor to So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, that show where they found the leads for the revival of Grease?

A Chorus Line
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Conceived and choreographed by Michael Bennett
1986 film by Richard Attenborough
Cast: Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Alyson Reed, and a whole lot of other talented people to whom I apologize.

Ghost Light Monday--Tribute to Mel Larimer

My "dark" night this week is indeed dark. I learned this past week that Mel Larimer passed away earlier this Spring. For anyone who spent summers at Interlochen National Music Camp in the 70s or 80s, Mel was a choral conductor and music director for the Camp's Gilbert & Sullivan productions.

I had never heard of Gilbert & Sullivan when I went to Interlochen for the first time in the summer of 1982, but happened to fall into the production of Iolanthe and had a great time being one of somewhere around 150 choristers in the show. Mel and his stage director partner, Dude Stephenson, were the reasons so many campers wanted to be part of the operetta each summer--it wasn't just theater students and singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists, anyone who wanted to be part. The next summer I made a point of being in The Mikado, again with Mel and Dude--somehow keeping all us kids on the same stage and the same page.

Mel always expected the best from everyone and treated each person with the respect to get the best out of everyone. He was positive, encouraging and helpful to kids like me who had a lot of enthusiasm but little experience or training. I remember him being a particularly patient and kind presence during auditions for the principal roles, never showing how tiresome it must have been to listen to all those auditions.

During my senior year of high school, I auditioned for Mel at Albion College in Michigan where he was the choir and vocal music director. I remember thinking it seemed I'd disappointed him when I chose another college.

According to the obituary in the Interlochen newsletter, Mel retired in 1996 after more than 30 years with the camp. I hope Interlochen continues to mount an operetta each summer. And I hope the kids lining up to be maidens, Pirates, peers, or fairies have someone as good as Mel Larimer to get them all on the same page.

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown 1999 Broadway Cast Album

Perhaps this production was more famous for who was in it than for itself. Kristin Chenoweth, Roger Bart, BD Wong and Anthony Rapp. All had been on Broadway prior to this revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, but only Anthony Rapp (Rent) and BD Wong (M. Butterfly) had had lead roles. Rapp and Wong have kind of been left in the dust now by Bart and Chenoweth.

This is another show that says "intimate" to me, although I've never seen it staged, although it did an out of town try-out in Chicago before going to Broadway. I think fluffing it up to fill a larger house would take away some of the show's innocence. But then the high-wattage Chenoweth would seem a little out of place--particularly in the brassy role of Sally, which was created for this revival. Did the show need another brassy female when it already had Lucy--the archtypal brassy female? The male roles are all rather soft-spoken characters, aren't they? Except Snoopy, I guess.

The album was recorded a couple of weeks before the show's official opening. I wonder why?

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Music and Lyrics Clark Gesner, additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa
1999 Broadway Cast Album
Released by RCA Victor
Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Wayne Mathis, B. D. Wong, Roger Bart, Ilana Levine, Anthony Rapp

Barnum DVD of 1986 London Cast

How I have never seen this musical before? Barnum is right up my alley! Bold, loud, brassy, but still keeping the show-off tricks in service of the story. Or at least within the world of the story.

Well, my Netflix account has caught up with my musical thinking by getting to the queue of 70 musical films I added to my list at the beginning of this week.

I knew little about Barnum before. I'd heard the song "The Colors of My Life", but that was about it. I'm very glad I sawing this taping of a staged production, rather than just listening to the cast album; the music is infectious, but I think it would have been lost on me without hearing it in context of the production. This is one of those productions you hear war-stories about from performers who twist ankles, sprain wrists, count bruises, etc. I wonder how long it played.

I was skeptical about Michael Crawford in the title role, but he completely won me over--every bit the showman the role called for, and very daring in this athletic production. I loved the Humbug patter song of the second act. The Broadway database says Crawford was born in 1942, that would make him 44 when this production was filmed--impressive at any age. Hard to imagine it was before he was a household name with Phantom of the Opera, which would come next for him.

It's not a cast of singers. How could it be with all the acrobatics required? But then most of the music doesn't require a lot of vocal acrobatics--except the Jenny Lind role, and even that is not particularly coloratura. But since I saw the physical requirements of this show, I'm completely forgiving of some of the singing. A good lesson for me to remember--musical theater is sometimes more about the theater than the music.

Barnum
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by Michael Stewart
Book by Mark Bramble
DVD of 1986 London Cast
Produced by Water Bearer Films
Available through Netflix
Cast: Michael Crawford, Eileen Battye, Michael Heath, Christina Collier, Sharon Benson, Paul Miller

Kiss Me Kate Original Broadway Cast recording

Today's entry is Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate, the original cast recording from 1949. That makes the first "repeat" performer on my entries to be the unlikely Lisa Kirk, who was in Mack & Mabel and originated the role of Lois/Bianca in Kate.

And I get another one of my favorite singers, Alfred Drake. You probably won't have to wait too many more days to hear me wax rhapsodic again about Mr. Drake and the roles he sang--Curly in Oklahoma, Hajj in Kismet, and the "Maurice Chevalier" role in Gigi. Ooh, I just checked out Drake's credits on the Broadway database and he did a bunch of Gilbert & Sullivan and was Macheath in Duke Ellington's musical Beggar's Holiday.

I've never seen Kiss Me Kate on stage, but I have seen the film. I really only remember the weird camera angles to try to make the 3-D affects for the film. And Ann Miller's whirling dervish tap number at the opening of the film. But I'm here to take about this cast album...

The extensive notes to this CD reissue spend a lot of time taking about the dealings between composer Cole Porter and book writer Bella Spewack, which didn't really captivate me (this back story, I mean, not the book of the musical).

Kiss Me Kate
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Bella and Samuel Spewack
Originally released by Columbia Records in 1949
Reissued on CD by Columbia Masterworks in 1998
Cast: Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, Harold Lang

Lady in the Dark Recording

It's another studio recording, not an actual recording of a cast that mounted and ran a production. That seems a bit like cheating. There must be things that you learn about the show, the music, the role during staging rehearsals and performances in front of an audience that don't get discovered when only working in a recording studio.

That said, I don't think there is another recording of Kurt Weill's Lady in the Dark, so I'm glad to have this one. Rise Stevens sings the role of Liza Elliot, the titular Lady. Ms. Stevens had a significant operatic career. I don't know if she did much Broadway or musicals in general. The extensive notes with this CD reissue quote her as saying that she could sing the music without sounding like an opera singer. Well...

The male lead is John Reardon, a Broadway baritone who had a cross-over career into classical music, too. Bernstein wrote an orchestral/vocal work for him and I believe Reardon originated some Broadway roles. Reardon's another of those John Raitt "real singer" types that I most admire. It's something about the vocal training of singers who performed before microphones were the amplification answer for musicals--they had to really sing! And John Reardon does, although he's not given a lot in Lady in the Dark.

Also in this studio cast is Adolph Green, of Comden and Green writing fame. He sings the "Tchaikovsky and Others" patter song made famous by Danny Kaye in the original production from 1941 (also on this recording as a bonus). There is good reason why Danny Kaye is remembered for this song and Adolph Green is not. The other bonus tracks sung by Kaye are a suprise to me--he had a very pleasant lightish voice with some actual legato to it. From a vaudvillian. And then he rolls off the names of 49 Russian composers in a minute and a half!

Lady in the Dark
Music by Kurt Weill
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Book by Moss Hart
1963 Studio Recording released by Columbia Records
CD reissue by Masterworks Heritage Vocal Series in 1997 by Sony Music Entertainment
Bonus tracks recorded in 1941 by Columbia Records
Cast: Rise Stevens, John Reardon, Adolph Green

Mack & Mabel Original Cast Album

It's hard not to like Jerry Herman musicals, the music is generally so sunny with enough soaring ballads to keep the fluff from being too much. With that mindset, I put the original Broadway cast album of Mack & Mabel into the machine. I've never seen this show on stage. The liner notes to the CD reissue give a long explanation as to why it's rarely (never?) staged. Do musicals about movie-making ever work? I can only think of one other at the moment--Sunset Boulevard.

That said, there's a lot to like on this cast album. Robert Preston is so good at making that sprechstimme style work--finding a balance between singing tones and speaking tones. It's so easy to think of him in this type of role (along with The Music Man and Victor/Victoria), I find it incredible that his credits also include originating the role of King Henry in The Lion in Winter on Broadway. I will forever associate that role with Peter O'Toole in the film. Nathan Lane seems to me a modern version of Preston, not a great singer, but a great singing performer.

It's nice to remember that Bernadette Peters was a Broadway star long before her association with Sondheim and Sunday in the Park with George. She, too, has a distinctive style all her own that works for her--a kind of cupie doll voice to go with the cupie doll face and curls. And "Time Heals Everything" is a great song, well sung.

The third singing member of the cast is Lisa Kirk, who was the original Bianca in Kiss Me Kate, more than 25 years before Mack & Mabel. She sings a couple of upbeat, lighter hearted songs--some of which seem to have actual dance breaks--rather old-fashioned for a musical from the 70s. Perhaps one of the reasons the show didn't work was that it was out of its time.

Mack & Mabel Original Cast Album
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Originally released on ABC Records
MCA Classics reissue on CD
Recorded October, 1974; CD reissued in 1992
Cast: Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters, Lisa Kirk, Stanley Simmonds

Showboat Recording

My listening pleasure today is a 1962 studio recording of Showboat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The liner notes say it was recorded to take advantage of the new Stereophonic recording capabilities. John Raitt sings Gaylord Ravenal; Barbara Cook is Magnolia; William Warfield sings Joe. The rest of the cast are not familiar names to me.

Is there any Broadway baritone who can compare to John Raitt? This is how I dreamed I would sing once I was leading my life upon the wicked stage. There's such an ease to his upper register that I've never been able to achieve. I remember watching, I think it was an Ed Sullivan clip, where John Raitt sings the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. At the end he interpolates at high b-flat. Most operatic baritones don't have that note.

Barbara Cook's singing is luminous. I have to say that William Warfield's voice does not have the rumble I think is needed to sing "Ol' Man River". I have other recordings of his singing and I like his voice, but this song calls for a true bass.

The CD reissue that I have includes four bonus tracks, one of which is Paul Robeson singing a song which was written for the 1936 film version; I'd prefer to hear Mr. Robeson sing "Ol' Man River."

Who knew PG Wodehouse shared the lyrics credit with Hammerstein? I must investigate the Wodehouse connection. PS. I discovered that Wodehouse wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill"-- a good song, no doubt, but certainly misleading on the credits of this recording cover, especally since other songs in the show have lyrics by writers other than Hammerstein.

Showboat
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and PG Wodehouse and others
Columbia Broadway Masterworks recording
Recorded December, 1961; CD reissue 2000
Cast: John Raitt, Barbara Cook, William Warfield, Anita Darian, Fay De Witt, Louise Parker, Jack Dabdoub
With bonus material sung by Tess Gardella, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Jan Clayton

Ghost Light Monday -- Attack of the Theater People

I've decided to be "dark" on Mondays. But that doesn't mean I won't have something to say. I'm instigating what I'll call Ghost Light Monday entries. Rather than responding to a specific musical, I'll use Mondays to talk about some thing else--musical or not.

For the first Ghost Light Monday, I thought I would share how I came across the idea for this year-long journey. Earlier this year, I read two comic novels by Marc Acito, a New Jersey-born, Oregon-living writer with a musical theater past. His novels How I Paid for College and Attack of the Theater People follow a group of high school and college-aged theater geeks (in all the glorious range of personalities which that can entail) through adventures in New Jersey and New York City. I started reading Attack first, not knowing it was a sequel. The opening chapter was so hysterical that I decided I needed to read the first book first.

If you go to Marc's website, you'll see he has a blog, and he has decided to do one new thing each day. My response after reading several entries and being so entertained by his novels--which are rife with musical theater references and in-jokes--was that his entries should be about musical theater, like a musical-a-day. Then I thought, no, that should be my blog. So, here we go...

Avenue Q Live Performance

I kicked off my year by seeing the touring company of Avenue Q currently playing in Chicago. I had heard several of the songs before and knew the basic conception/format of the it, but was surprised by what seemed the rather intimate scale of the production. I'm not certain what size house the New York production is playing, or where else this tour is going, but I was glad to only be about two-thirds back on the main floor. It seemed a good distance for taking in both the facial expressions of the actors and the body language of the puppets. Any further back and I think some subtleties would have been lost--if anything about the show can be said to subtle!

AveQ played the Cadillac Palace in Chicago, which holds more than 1500 seats. The show has a smaller cast than even the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which played a house with 500 seats here in Chicago. But the show today was mostly full on the main floor, so I guess with a short run (just a week or two), they have to fit in all the Broadway in Chicago subscribers.

I enjoyed the show. It's humor is right up my alley. And the nods to Sesame Street, Electric Company, Free to Be You and Me, are right out of my youth. But is this a show that inspires me to be part of the theater? Would this show--if I were to be seeing it as a high schooler--make me dream of being a performer? I don't think it would. The performers were good for the most part and very adept at manipulating the puppets and creating voices for them. But I missed the big ballad sung with gusto by the young hero, standing center stage in a spotlight (which you weren't sharing with a carpetbag on your right hand); that was what always got me dreaming.

I guess I'll have to revisit those classic musicals of the 40s and 50s for my Alfred Drake dreams.

Avenue Q, Sunday June 1, 2008 2pm
Broadway in Chicago production
Cadillac Palace Theater

Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

Book by Jeff Whitty
Cast: Robert McClure; Cullen R. Titmas; Kelli Sawyer; David Benoit; Angela Ai; Danielle K. Thomas; Maggie Lakis.