A Pair of Cole Porter Bio-pics

To end my calendar year, but not my Musical Year, I have a compare and contrast...

These two films are night and day in terms of how they present their story and even differ in major biographical details of their subject, Cole Porter. While the films are separated by much more than the 58 years between their making, both are enjoyable in their own ways.

Night and Day was made in 1946 and stars Cary Grant as Porter and Alexis Smith as wife Linda. De-Lovely was released in 2004 and stars Kevin Kline as Porter and Ashley Judd as Linda. In both cases Mr. Porter should feel flattered, not just in that two very attractive actors portray him, but also in their very nuanced, sympathetic performances.

The earlier bio-pic contains what must be many untruths in its rather whitewashed version of the Porters' lives. Mr. Porter's homosexuality is, of course, not revealed or discussed in the slightest way, according to the codes of the day. The marital troubles between the couple seem due to Cole's focus on his work. Linda Leigh's first unhappy marriage is never mentioned, and in this version Cole meets Linda much earlier in life than really happened. At the end of the film, though, when Linda returns to the United States and Cole's arms, Mr. Grant does not give the typical "happy ending" face. The music presented all falls in shows-within-the-movie settings and are mostly production numbers. They are good, even if they often go outside the confines of what would be possible on stage; the Busby Berkeley-like shots from above are particularly irksome.

The Kline/Judd version of the story is a lot more prurient and focuses a lot (maybe too much) on Mr. Porter's homosexuality, Mrs. Porter's declining health, and the couple's marital spats. The story-telling technique is also quite different, in that Porter is looking back on his life presented as a sort of stage show, with the Angel Gabriel (Jonathan Pryce) as guide. The songs and production numbers sometimes are within the story, but are more often commenting on Porter's life. Many of the songs are performed by singers outside the world of musical theater, with varying results. Diana Krall and Natalie Cole are very successful with their songs; Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette, less so in my view. John Barrowman (now known for Torchwood, but with a musical theater past) is rather charming in his small role and one song. Elvis Costello is physically nearly unrecognizable as a band-leader; but then he sings and it sounds just like Elvis Costello. The other men (Robbie Williams, Lemar, Mick Hucknall) who sing songs within the film were unknown to me. The finale ("Blow, Gabriel, Blow" from Anything Goes) is a good number, but felt just slightly under produced for my tastes.

In all, though, both films make we want to listen to more Cole Porter in my Year. Particularly to the novelty songs that may not be in shows--like "Miss Otis Regrets" and "Experiment". I have an Amazon gift card that may just help in finding CDs of this stuff, so, let's do it.

Night and Day
released in 1946 by MGM
Cast: Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, Monty Wooley (as himself)

De-Lovely
released in 2004 by MGM
Cast: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, John Barrowman, Diana Krall, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Natalie Cole

Ghost light Monday--Doubt film at the multiplex

Keeping with the nun theme from my last entry...

Woe to me that I did not see the touring production of Doubt when it came to Chicago a couple of years ago with Cherry Jones in the lead. The power of this script and the charisma of Ms. Jones apparently made for a compelling combination. And now having seen the film version of it, I can understand why. Watching the film I kept trying to imagine the stage performances. Bad on me for not focusing on the stellar performances at hand.

Does anyone else feel that Meryl Streep's performances have become all about the accent? I don't begrudge any actor for using some aspect to get into the character they are charged with playing, but I would like to see a powerful performance by Ms. Streep that doesn't involve some kind of drawl, or twang, or yap or other. I think this prevented me from completely enjoying her performance. I kept waiting for the crack in the armour of Sister Aloysius. I had to wait until the final moment of the film. If Sister Aloysius is supposed to mirror the tension built over the course of the story, then it didn't build that strongly for me. Although the release at the end did bring tears to my eyes.

The other two primary performances in the film are good, but perhaps not as nuanced as I might have expected. Philip Seymour Hoffman is very relaxed and "natural" as Father Flynn which sits well in this part. Flynn represents a new "kinder" clergy in the Catholic Church, as opposed to Streep's Aloysius who is straight out of Vatican I. Amy Adams is appropriately mealy in the role "caught in the middle". The locations of church, school, rectory, and nunnery (that's not the right word, help me here....) are all lovely and slightly tarnished if not actually dilapidated.


Doubt
by John Patrick Shanley
opened on Broadway in 2005
Film directed by Shanley opened in 2008
Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis

Nunsensations!: The Nunsense Vegas Revue

God has truly blessed Dan Goggins. The phrase "no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the general public" comes to mind, as creator Mr. Goggins and his initial Nunsense investors have made collection plate-fuls of money since the franchise was inaugurated in the 1980s. The unseen character in all of the shows must be Sister Lois Common Denominator, because much of 2007's Nunsensations! The Nunsense Vegas Revue really panders to its audience just as the taping showing gleeful audience members panders to the at home audience of this DVD.

That said (and several ducks to avoid the lightning bolts), I didn't dislike all of this show. I was often impressed with the cast, all of whom are asked to sing and dance similtaneously while wearing what looks to be heavy, restrictive costumes. Bonnie Lee as Mother Mary Regina is consistently energetic, even in her ruler-on-the-knuckles phases. Jeanne Tinker as Sister Mary Paul Amnesia, is rarely off-stage and bears the brunt of the audience interactive sections of the show. I could have done with a little less anmnesia, to be honest.

While a lot of the score is very specific to time, place, and habit, there are several songs I really liked which could have life outside the show. Mother Mary Regina's song "Fifth from the Left" is funny. "Why Sing a Ballad (when you can belt a show tune)" would definitely work in a cabaret setting. And Sister Marienette's song (the title of which I can't list for fear of censorship) is hysterical and could even be sung without a sock puppet on your hand.

Nunsensations! The Nunsense Vegas Revue
Music and Lyrics by Dan Goggins
Filmed before a live audience and released on DVD in 2007
Cast: Jeanne Tinker, Bonnie Lee, Bambi Jones, Carrie Keskinen, Deborah Del Mostro

Rent film on DVD

For Christmas Eve, I have a show that begins and end on two Christmas Eves. It is a coincidence, 'cuz I didn't know this about the show.

I lived in a cultural cave for much of the 1990s, so I had actually never seen Rent on stage or heard much of the score in recordings. I had heard the song "Seasons of Love" as it seems to be sung by every group from the Chicago Gay Men's Choir to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, proving those two diverse groups perhaps have more in common than not. Can't we all just get along and sing?

Chris Columbus's 2005 film version of the 1996 stage show has much to admire in it. Firstly, Mr. Columbus is an accomplished filmmaker, able to create both intimate moments and full-blown production numbers--and this show requires both.

While it is admirable that much of the original company was cast in the film, I do question how the nearly 10 years of experience may have seasoned these performers beyond what the show's theme can handle. What probably were more raw performances on stage, didn't quite feel believable to me in the film. Of course, this may be due to what I know about the performers' careers after hitting it big in this show. Taye Diggs in now a TV star in a spin-off show. Rosario Dawson is a film star. Idina Mendez is not only married to Taye Digss, but became an even bigger stage star in Wicked. Adam Pascal went on to star in Elton John's Aida. Anthony Rapp went on to be Charlie Brown. Jesse L. Martin is also a star in a bonafide TV franchise. Did I mention this show is about growing up and selling out?

I don't begrudge any of these performers their successes; I only point it out because knowledge of the casts' careers prevented me from believing their characters' viewpoint in this film.

There are a lot of ideas in this film--perhaps too many, which could be the curse of a young playwright, Jonathan Larson. I felt the love affair between Roger and Mimi was cheated a bit, while the death of Angel, the ups and downs of Joanne and Maureen, and the career track of Mark were given equal billing.

There are also a lot of ideas in the music and lyrics of Mr. Larson's score, which again prevents some of the songs from being as powerful as they might be. But I was surprised how much I did like the music in this show--which is not normally my musical cup of ti, or do re mi, either. Ms. Mendez is a powerful singer and I wished to hear more from her. Ms. Dawson did not impress me with her singing, but her pole dancer number was great. Mr. Rapp has a pleasant voice that reached into the upper register effectively. Mr. Pascal perhaps suffered the most under my interest in his 10 years since the live show premiered; he didn't feel or sound believable to me as a raw, rock talent. Perhaps that sound comes through on the 1996 cast album.

Rent
Music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson
Opened on Broadway in 1996
Film directed by Chris Columbus premiered in 2005
Cast: Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, Rosario Dawson, Tracy Thomas, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia

Fosse television taping of live stage performance

I have to confess, I'm not much into dance. I realize that if I knew the components of the art form better, and understood how they are put together, I would be able to appreciate it more. Sorry, Mr. Fosse, as I understand it, you were a great progenitor of a new style of Broadway dance who created a new language not only in the dance world but also the world of the Broadway musical as a whole. And the 1999 review of your work, Fosse, showcases the wide range of your choreography.

I do know just enough to realize his choreography and direction form a bridge from the so-called "Golden Era" of the Broadway music to more diverse styles of musical which started in the 1960s and continues today.

From the early form comes numbers from Damn Yankees and Pajama Games. Dances from Pippin, Cabaret, Chicago, and Sweet Charity make up much of the new style. Also included are numbers from a television special, Liza with a Z, the film All That Jazz, and a strictly dance concert, Dancing, each which Fosse created and/or choreographed.

The show was put together and the choreography re-created by Ann Reinking, one of the final dancers to work heavily with Mr. Fosse. The former Mrs. Fosse (Gwen Verdon) served as artistic supervisor to the show, forming the link to Fosse's early work. Ms. Verdon died before the taping of the performance near the end of the show's run.

For me the most interesting parts were seeing the similarities in numbers. Often three dancers were used. Movement is often presented in profile. Hats form a big bit in many pieces. And of course, the iconic isolation moves of arms and legs.

There is some singing included in the show, and the best of it is done by Ben Vereen, whose voice sounds surprisingly fresh considering he had made his Broadway debut more than 30 years earlier.

Fosse
Music by many composers
Lyrics by many lyricists
No book
Original choreography Bob Fosse
Presented as a show in 1999
Cast: Ben Vereen, Dana Moore, Ann Reinking, and a bunch of other incredibly limber and energetic dancers.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

An iconic film adaptation of a stage musical is on today's docket. The title may contradict me, but I much prefer the brunette in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Yes, this is a marquee performance for Marilyn Monroe, and her "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" number is a classic, but Jane Russell seems to have a lot more fun.

A lot of Jule Styne's music for the show is not included in the film, so it would be unfair to make any judgement of the score. I need to look for a cast album. Carol Channing played the Marilyn Monroe part on stage. A brief revival of the show in the 1990s starred KT Sullivan and some other people I've never heard of.

Apart from the afore-mentioned "Diamonds" song, also included in the film is "Two Little Girls from Little Rock" which seems to be a reworking of the a song from the show which is just for Lorelei.

Gentleman Prefer Blondes
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Book by Anita Loos
Film released in 1953 based on the 1949 stage musical
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Tommy Noonan, Elliot Reid

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat television production on DVD

I think this was produced for television, but it may have been a feature film release. Either way, it's a very lavish, colourful production, basically recreating the stage production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat that swept across the planet in the 1990s. The film was made in 1999, thirty years after the show was created for performance by schoolchildren, and 18 years after if first appeared on Broadway.

I've known versions of this show since the early 1980s when a church in my hometown produced the children's version. I've seen the adult version of the show twice, once in a professional summer stock setting, and once in a community theatre production (where my sister played the hairy Ismaelite--get some waxing already!). In any version this show is a delight--witty without being self-pretentious and telling it's wide-ranging story with a lot of verve.

This film version stars Donny Osmond who has done somewhere around 2000 performances as Joseph around the globe. He was in the Chicago production that was here for seemingly ever, but I never saw it. Hats off to Mr. Osmond. In 1999, he would have been 42 or so; he looks good. And we see quite a bit of him as he spends a lot of the show bare-chested in a loin-cloth. That clean Mormon living has some benefits. More to the point he sounds good singing as Joseph, rarely relying on pop-isms when not appropriate and showing good lyric lines in the big ballad "Close Every Door".

The rest of the cast is also good. Maria Friedman as the Narrator is a new name to me, apparently with a busy musical career in England. And deservedly so; Ms. Friedman has a lovely voice, capable of both belt and lyric singing without an obvious break. She is also a lively performer, although I felt sometime she was overused in the film when she was not singing, and the focus should have been on other performers.

In the cast as Simeon is Jeff Blumenkrantz, whom I will make a point of finding again for my Year--if only to name-drop a bit. Jeff and I did summer stock one year on Cape Cod. He was a star in everything, I was an enthusiastic but unfocused chorus member. Some Google-stalking has shown that Jeff has a successful and wide-ranging career, both as performer and song-writer. His song "I Won't Mind" which I first heard on an album of Audra McDonald is beautiful and haunting.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Film in 1999
Cast: Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman, Richard Attenborough, Joan Collins, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Ian McNeice, Robert Torti.

Broadway Melody of 1929

It seems that right after the Greeks invented drama in the 5th Century BC, they followed it up by inventing the musical sister act. And one of the first musical sister acts to be put on film must be that of the fictional Mahoney sisters in Broadway Melody of 1929.

While this is billed as an early film musical, I don't know if it has enough music to actually qualify. There are about two songs--fortunately both good, but unfortunately often reprised in the film: "You Belong to Me" and "Broadway Melody".

The plot surrounds scrappy sister Harriet "Hank" (Bessie Love, center), and beautiful sister "Queenie" (Anita Page) and their struggles to make it on Broadway with the help of singer/composer Eddie Kearns (Charles King). Eddie starts out as Hank's long-suffering fiance, but ends up as Queenie's husband. And as shrill as Hank is portrayed, who can blame him for going over the side of the blond.

One of the best things to look at in this film are the clothes the women wear, particularly the cloches hats. There is also a very odd DVD extra with dogs portraying people--straight out of vaudeville.

Broadway Melody of 1929
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Roger Edens
Directed by Harry Beaumont
Released in 1929 by MGM
Cast: Charles King, Bessie Love, Anita Page, Eddie Kane

Classical Monday--Trouble in Tahiti

Leonard Bernstein is the ultimate cross-over artist, it seems to me: both in terms of his personal popularity as a conductor and performer, but also in his composing life. The line between his classical compositions and his popular compositions is blurred in his one-act chamber opera Trouble in Tahiti.

As this production created in 2001 for BBC television clearly shows, this is a theater work for opera singers. The range and lyric singing required needs performers with that level of training. But the acting challenges are not without their own demands, particularly for Dinah the primary female character stuck in a loveless marriage. Fortunately, soprano Stephanie Novacek is up to the task on all levels. Baritone Karl Daymond is asked significantly less in the acting department as husband Sam, but delivers on the challenging, rangy music. He looks a bit like a cast member of Madmen, without being as totally hot as John Hamm. The other three singers in the piece are a bit like a Greek chorus popping up and commenting on the action.

The production values of this filming are very good, and the house set is particularly fun to see, with all its 1950s kitchen gadgetry.

The tour de force from the score is the title song "Trouble in Tahiti" sung by Dinah after she storms out of a movie of that name. I have heard this song before, but didn't know how it fit into the story of the opera. Well, I'm still not sure--I think on one level it is supposed to show how Dinah's want of adventure has been squelched by a repressive home life. Regardless if or how it comments on Dinah's predicament, it's a wonderful song, giving its singer opportunity for much vocal game-playing and send-ups.

Trouble in Tahiti
Music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein
Composed in 1952
Produced for BBC Wales in 2001
Released on Opus Arte
Cast: Stephanie Novacek, Karl Daymond, Tom Randle, Toby Stafford-Allen, Mary Hegarty

Ruddigore television production on DVD

This is another in the rather pedestrian British television series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. I've previously discussed The Mikado and Patience. Like Mikado, this production of Ruddigore includes a "What the Hell!" cast member--namely Vincent Price. Mr. Price does admirably with the dialogue, but doesn't bring a thing to the music.

This was the first G&S in my Year, that I did not previously know--either by having seen it or been in it. My first thought is that there is a lot of dialogue, and that many of the musical numbers seem under-developed. I was also struck by the number of duets in this show--it seems to me that usually only the young lovers have a duet, but in Ruddigore, there are duets for everyone.

The plot revolves around the brothers Murgatroyd, which has to provide some of the best rhymes ever (unemployed, so annoyed, hemmoroid), and a curse on their family in Castle Ruddigore.

The vocal standout in the cast is Sandra Dugdale, who was also in Patience. Ann Howard tries admirably with Mad Margaret, but doesn't quite get there for me--either vocally or acting. Several in the cast (including Mr. Price) are significantly older than their characters, which doesn't work in something as close-up as television.

This is an odd show also for the chorus. The men portray the ghosts of the family Murgatroyd. The women are a roving band of bridesmaids. Neither group has that much to do, not even a rousing final chorus at the happy conclusion.

Ruddigore
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William Gilbert
first produced in 1887
filmed for television in 1982
Cast: Sandra Dugdale, Ann Howard, Keith Mitchell, Vincent Price, John Treleaven,

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum film on DVD

Eek, a week since my last entry. Sorry, a combination of work obligations and internet connectivity issues have hog-tied me. So it's a good thing I had a farcical romp like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to entertain me.

I didn't realize this had music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. For some reason I thought he did the lyrics only, like he had for Gypsy and West Side Story. But no, he did both for this show. Was this Sondheim's first Broadway score? If so, "Comedy Tonight" is a home-run. The rest of the score is probably greatly compromised from stage to film and doesn't really hold its own.

The clowning does hold its own for me, even if the very 1960s filming techniques seem a bit dated now. Zero Mostel and Jack Gifford reprise their roles from the stage version, which premiered in 1962. Phil Silvers is added to the film along with Buster Keaton, to create a whos-who of top-notch clowns. Bland-ola Michael Crawford is the young lover, Hero. He has the skinniest legs ever, and should never were a toga again. Fortunately, the primary song for Hero "Lovely" is better suited to Crawford's voice than what he was asked to sing in the film version of Hello Dolly.

About ten years ago, this show was remounted with Nathan Lane in the Zero Mostel role. I can imagine the antics being much funnier on stage than on screen, which tends to flatten the action for me sometimes. Mr. Lane was later replaced by Whoopi Goldberg. Did she play the character as a man or a woman? The sex-capades of the romp would change dramatically, depending on that answer.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Film directed by Richard Lester
Released in 1966
Cast: Michael Crawford, Zero Mostel, Jack Gifford, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Annette Andre

Naked Boys Singing! film on DVD

Yes, they are singing. Yes, they are naked. And yes, they are definitely boys. And while there is a lot of male genitals on display, there is some heart on display, too, in Naked Boys Singing!

This is a film made to look like a taping of the live stage show, and was released in 2007, almost ten years after the stage show premiered. While much of the filming does justice to the campy fun of the show and most of its numbers, some of the transitions between songs are awkward.

I've often wondered if novelty songs were still being written and, if so, from where they are coming. Well, this show provides a couple of good ones that deserve life outside--and you don't even need to be naked to sing them. "Bliss of a Briss" is particularly funny. The two more sentimental numbers are "Window to Window" which includes a lovely pas de deux, and "Kris, Look What You Missed" is a nice song about a man looking back on long-deceased lover

All the performers are very watchable, if you'll excuse the bum, I mean pun. Jason Currie has the nicest singing voice of the bunch and is well used in his two numbers ("Robert Mitchum" and "The Entertainer"--both of which could be clothed solo numbers in either a man or woman's cabaret act). Some of the performers have attributes other than their singing voices to their credit.

And if you're wondering if I went back to watch some, umm, parts again...yes, I did--twice.



Naked Boys Singing!
Created by Robert Schrock
Music and lyrics by a lot of people
Choreographed and Directed for film by Troy Christian
But for sheer hutzpah alone, all of the cast deserve to be listed: Andrew Blake Ames, Jason Currie, Jaymes Hodges, Joseph Keane, Anthony Manough, Joe Souza, Kevin Alexander Stea, Ethan La Phong, Salvatore Vassallo, Vincent Zamora

Dirty Dancing pre-Broadway live performance

I have to be careful with this one, and judge it for what it is, and not for what I wish it were. I had a clever opening all written in my head when I planned to have this entry appear on Thanksgiving Day. But that would have been unfair, too, for Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage has a lot going for it and is definitely not a turkey.

The first thing to clarify is right in the title: this is THE classic story. It's not a version of the story. It's not an adaptation of the story. It's not a musicalization of the story. It's THE story. If you know the film, you know this show--down to every scene, every line of dialogue, every gesture, every tracking shot, every location, every note of underscoring. How is that possible, I hear you asking.

Well, this show may go down in history as the most technologically advanced show in Broadway history. Granted, I don't have a lot to judge it against in that regard, but this feels like Broadway 2.0.

To start with the stage mechanics: there is a turntable which lifts up and splits in two, and rotating tracks around the turntable, and lift sections of the stage around the rotating tracks, and pop up doors. To continue with the lighting effects: there are programmable lights with changing patterns, there are scrim projections and projections on proscenium screens and a giant curved-screen television, and there are FOUR mirrored disco balls. To finish with the set pieces: there are at least two bedroom scenes that slide out, numerous dining tables and chairs, and a car that we see from both the front and back and which pivots during one scene.

With all of that stage equipment, I was surprised there was still room for 30 performers. And room for them to dance. Fortunately, the dancing is very good, particularly by Josef Brown as Johnny Castle and Britta Lazenga as Penny Johnson. Both are performers with a lot of legit dance credits--you know, ballet and stuff. Ms. Lazenga danced for seven seasons with the Joffrey Ballet, and given that her legs seem about as long as the whole show, I bet she was good. What was on display in this show certainly was good.

The standout actor in the bunch was Amanda Leigh Cobb as Frances "Baby" Houseman. Ms. Cobb is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and includes in her bio The Coast of Utopia on Broadway and significant regional company credits. That kind of breeding shows; while keeping the character of Baby distinctly her own, Ms. Cobb manages to hit all the familiar marks that fans of the film will expect. And then she gets lifted into the familiar pose that inhabits the poster for this show.

I'll be interested to see this show's reception when it opens in New York, if it opens in New York. It leaves Chicago in January and goes to Boston for a month.

Dirty Dancing: the Classic Story on Stage
Music is all of the era
Lyrics are the original song lyrics
Book by Eleanor Bergstein from her screenplay for the 1987 film
Live at the Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago until January 17, then to the Boston Opera House until March 15, 2009
Cast: Josef Brown, Amanda Leigh Cobb, Britta Lazenda, John Bolger

Classical Monday--Lulu live at the Lyric Opera of Chicago

I just love British 60s pop icon Lulu and her ubiquitous song "Shout."

This, however was Alban Berg's 1937 opera, repleat with three very challenging, thickly scored acts and a vocal line akin to a Richter scale reading during the Big One. That said, I couldn't take my eyes or ears off the four-hour production of Lulu which I saw last week at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The main reason for my rapt attention was the performance of 40-year old German soprano Marlis Petersen, who imbued her characterization with so much life (even in death) that you actually didn't mind that she killed so many of her husbands before being stabbed herself. Fraulein Petersen somehow managed what no other singer in the production could--how to communicate to the other characters on stage (and thereby to the audience) while still staying connected with conductor Sir Andrew Davis and the Lyric Opera Orchestra.

I suppose it is forgivable given the difficulties of this score, but this is not a "park and bark" opera where singers can get away with standing and showing off their lovely lyric voices. This opera demands singing actors, and Petersen met every one of the criteria, while still zinging out high Bs, Cs and Ds when called for.

While certainly not Broadway fare, this opera does have one notable connection to a current Broadway hit: Lulu is based on a couple of plays by Frank Wedekind, whose Spring Awakening was adapted by Duncan Sheik and Steven Slater. So let's hear it for the enfant terrible of German expressionism and his 21st Century interpreter, Marlis Petersen. Wedekind is in good hands.

Lulu
Music by Alban Berg
Libretto by the composer

Presented at Lyric Opera of Chicago (sorry, it closed yesterday)

Directed by Paul Curran
Conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
Cast: Marlis Petersen, William Burden, Wolfgang Schone, Jill Grove

How to Suceed in Business without Really Trying film on DVD

Okay, is Robert Morse meant to be viewed from a distance? I can imagine him being charming when he's on the stage, but in the film he seems more than a little ridiculous in the film version of How to Suceed in Business without Really Trying. Maybe that's part of the point, but I find the mugging that Mr. Morse does much of the time to be very annoying. It doesn't seem to add anything to one's understanding of the character, except maybe that's he's in on the joke.

This may be my least favorite Frank Loesser show. The music doesn't ever really sing, for me. The concept is funny, and by poking fun a corporate America, I can see why this show has continued to have a life, but from a strickly musical standpoint, it's no Guys and Dolls. I do like two songs--"Company Man" and the final "Brotherhood of Man." Of course, lots of songs from the stage version are cut in the film version, so I need to get the cast album and compare.

Rudy Vallee repises his role of JB Biggley from the stage version. The role of Biggley's nephew was played on stage by Charles Nelson Reilly, here it is played by Anthony Teague. Michele Lee is very likable as Rosemary, although her story-line (apart from ending up with the guy at the end) isn't developed very much. Ruth Kobart also is from the stage version where she was Miss Jones, Biggley's secretary. Ms. Kobart adds a lot vocally as the one women in "The Brotherhood of Man". It's a great full-throated soprano descant over the men's chorus.

Ooh, I just looked up the cast of the 1995 revival that Matthew Broderick starred in. Megan Mullally was Rosemary, Lilias White was Ms. Jones, and Jeff Blumenkrantz (with whom I did summer stock in 1984) was Biggley's nephew. I'll look for that cast album.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert

Produced on Broadway in 1961, film released in 1967
Cast: Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Kobart, Arthur Teague

Lucky Stiff Off-Broadway Cast album

Weekend at Bernie's meets musical comedy in Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' Lucky Stiff. No one is quite what or who they seem to be in this show that is not really a Who done it? but rather at They did What?

This is the first appearance of the song-wrting team of Flaherty and Ahrens in my Year, and I will need to make a point of finding other examples of their work, which includes Seussical, Ragtime, and Once on this Island. Lucky Stiff was their first effort together and, according the brief history of the show presented in the CD booklet, it premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 1988. This recording came out in 1994, though, and seems to be a studio recording made with an amalgam of casts, some from the original 1988 version.

The music is uniformly good. My only beef with the score is that perhaps much of it sounds the same. Since it is mostly upbeat, however, that's an easy sin to forgive. Two songs in particularly struck me and deserve some life outside the show: "Speaking French" is a faux-cabaret number which spoofs the language and the people; "Times like This" has particularly hilarious lyrics and is a nice dog alternative for listeners (like me) who are tired of characters singing about their cats.

The cast on this recording includes some notable performers who have continued to have significant musical theater careers, mostly Jason Graae and Judy Blazer. None in the cast seems a dud, though. Judy Blazer and Mr. Graae both appeared previously in my Year (both in a studio recording of Jerome Kern's Sitting Pretty), and they each seem enjoyable, versatile performers.

Lucky Stiff
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics and book by Lynn Ahrens
Opened in 1988
Studio cast recording made in 1994
Cast: Judy Blazer, Jason Graae, Debbie Shapiro Gravitte, Paul Kandel, Evan Pappas, Mary Testa

Chicago film

Seeing this film (I saw it originally at the multiplex) puts me in a mind to contemplate what makes a musical theater performer. What does make an actor capable of carrying off a musical? Certainly, the traditional three "threats" are important--singing, dancing, acting--but I think there is also some other, ineffable talents needed. Magneticism may be the fourth "threat". That's mostly what I see missing in the film of Chicago.

Catherine Zeta Jones seems to have magnetism on display in spades in this film. In fact, she may have scaled her performance for the stage, and could be selling the whole thing a little too much for film. Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere don't embarrass themselves in their performances, but sometimes they lack a bit of whatever it is that makes us unable to take our eyes off a magnetic musical performer. Queen Latifah also seems just shy of really nailing the performance as well, although having seen her in Hairspray, I think she's learning.

The extras on the DVD of this film include interviews with people involved in the original and subsequent Broadway incarnations of this show. Jerry Orbach is included along with Chita Rivera (who also has a bit role in the film).

Chicago

Music by John Kander
Lyrics and book by Fred Ebb
Film released in 2003

Based on the show from 1975

Cast: Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah,

Cats London production filmed for the tele

Don your leg warmers and shred your bath mat, because it's now and forever. It's Cats.

I believe this filmed version of the show was created with a mixed cast from several world productions and some notable returning actors who originated roles--most notably Elaine Paige. Having grown up listening to the Broadway cast album, with Betty Buckley as Grizabella, it was nice to hear Ms. Paige sing the iconic "Memory". It's interesting to think that Ms. Paige is singing this song that she first introduced 17 years earlier--she sounds vocally strong.

This may be the only time TS Eliot appears as one of the labels in my entries, unless there is a musical setting of "The Wasteland" that I've yet to discover. The poems that form the basis of the libretto for this show are delightful and full of whimsy. The irony is that while the poems are about cats on the surface, Eliot was actually commenting on the social structures of early 20th Century England--the structures of PEOPLE! But social commentary doesn't make for a good musical spectacular, so let's make them all cats.

I actually like much of the music from this show, and regretted any time the production values of this taping got in the way of watching and listening to the performers. There are several poorly edited moments in this DVD and some of the effects added to the taping that wouldn't have happened in a live stage performance which took away from my enjoyment of the show, rather than adding to it.

I received this DVD through Netflix and I think I'll hold on to it over the Thanksgiving holiday. Apparently my niece and nephews love singing along with the recording of Cats, but have not seen the production. I feel I should introduce them to the treacle before I show them the treats.

Cats
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by TS Eliot
The DVD says it was released in 1998.
Cast: Elaine Paige, John Mills, Ken Page, Rosemarie Ford, Michael Gruber, John Partridge and a lot of other furry folks

Disney's Beauty and the Beast Original Broadway Cast Recording

I think there is a special kind of alchemy that happens between certain composers and lyricists. When the pairing really clicks, the composer writes better music than s/he would otherwise, and the lyricist's words reach a higher level. I believe that Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were that type of songwriting team, and the Broadway incarnation of Beauty and the Beast helps me make my case.

As most know, this project started as an animated film for Disney with songs by Menken and Ashman released in 1991. In 1994, when the film was expanded to be a Broadway show, additional music was needed. But Howard Ashman had died in the intervening years, so Menken paired up with Tim Rice to add eight songs to the score. Well, no insult intended to Mr. Rice, but the songs he and Mr. Menken wrote don't hold a Lumiere to the original songs by Menken and Mr. Ashman. There is one new song from the stage version that I do love--"If I Can't Love Her". This is a beautiful ballad.

I also think there are some gay references in Mr. Ashman's lyrics. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but 17 years ago to have a crowd with torches (in the Mob's Song) sing "We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it makes us scared" certainly could refer to reactions to the gay community. I also think that Gaston is given some gay lyrics: "Every last inch of me is covered in hair" (was Ashman a Bear?) and "I use antlers in all of my decorating" (decorating, why is Gaston decorating anything?). And the whole Lefou worship of Gaston is questionable.

I've chosen to picture Gary Beach, the original Lumiere, for today's entry. I have a beef with Mr. Beach's performance, at least as it is represented on the cast album. It feels way over the top. Actually, it feels like he's auditioning for his role in The Producers. I miss Jerry Orbach, who voiced Lumiere in the animated film. God rest the song and dance man's soul.

Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Time Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Original Broadway show opening in 1994 based on the 1991 animated film
Cast: Susan Egan, Terrance Mann, Tom Bosley, Kenny Raskin, Burke Moses, Heath Lamberts, Gary Beach, Beth Fowler

Hello, Dolly! film on DVD

There is a bit of lore in my family. Before my parents were parents, they would occassionally go to downtown Detroit to see a Broadway touring show. In late 1963 they went down to the Fisher Theatre to see a new show before it opened on Broadway. They left the theater after the performance liking the show very much but thinking the woman who played the lead was very odd and would never have any kind of career. That woman was Carol Channing and that show was Hello, Dolly! So, I come from a line of opinionated people who are often wrong.

That said, I really dislike the film version of this very likable show. While I am usually the last person to blame an actor, I really do think this film is mostly badly cast. The men in particular are not much fun to listen to when they are singing. Yes, even Michael Crawford who will go on to have a much lauded career. I think the songs don't suit his singing voice. And Walter Matthau. Don't get me started.

But, this is a great show for the chorus, with many lively group numbers. And with Gene Kelly as the director of this film, you know that dance will play an important part. That's good to see. And the outdoor locations are spectacular--clearly no expense was sparred in recreating 19th Century New York and Yonkers.

Hello, Dolly!
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Book by Michael Stewart
1969 film directed by Gene Kelly
Cast: Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Tommy Tune, Marianne McAndrew, Joyce Ames, Danny Lockin, Louis Armstrong, EJ Peaker

As Thousands Cheer World Premiere Cast Recording

There must be a large and relatively untapped gusher of songs from revues from the early 20th Century. Sure not every song or sketch will have lasted the test of time, but there must be enough to fill many shows like Irving Berlin's As Thousands Cheer.

This is a reconstructed revue that opened in 1933. Created as a kind of "living newspaper," Mr. Berlin's music comments on and dramatizes newspaper headlines of the day. Interspersed are sketches by Moss Hart (although only one of them appears as a track on this recording, made in 1998 when the score was revived). According to the liner notes with the CD, the 1933 production had a cast of 50 with full orchestra. The 1998 production has a cast of six and an orchestra of two, piano and bass. Really, not much more is needed, for to have lines of chorus girls would seem ridiculous by current standards.

So it's another show where the songs and the cast are front and center, and fortunately all are accomplished. Mr. Berlin's songs have much verve and sing-ability and range from touching, to haunting, to funny. All six in the cast are good singers and give lively performances of the 14 songs and one sketch on this recording. The vocal standouts for me are Howard McGillin (whom I've just heard in Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Judy Kuhn, who is new to my Year. Both display true legato singing reaching into their upper registers.

I had heard two of the songs from this revue before: "Easter Parade", and "Heat Wave". Both are standards today. The song about lynching, "Suppertime" seemed familiar, but I may be confusing it with "Strange Fruit" which deals with the same ugly topic. In the original 1933 production, Ethel Waters (whom I've just seen in Cabin in the Sky) introduced "Suppertime." In this recording, Paula Newsome does some nice dramatic singing.

The song "Debts" is a funny (and still timely) song about government spending. There are songs about the pervasivness of the press, the weather, the comics, a Dear Abby-type column, and the social register--all still part of our newspapers today, even if we read them online. Perhaps its time for this revue to have new life.

As Thousands Cheer
Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin
Sketches by Moss Hart
Revival of original 1933 score in 1998
Cast: BD Wong, Howard McGillin, Judy Kuhn, Paula Newsome, Mary Beth Peil, Kevin Chamberlain

Hey, Love the songs of Mary Rodgers on CD

In many ways, I love cabaret even more than musical theater. The emphasis is usually on the song and the singer which leads to much more successful results often, while in a full-blown musical the sets and costumes and story can lead to the show just being fully blown. So I was happy to discover the album of Hey Love the songs of Mary Rodgers in the bin at the library. I was doubly happy to discover that Faith Prince leads the cast of three, since I've recently enjoyed her in Guys & Dolls and A Catered Affair.

Cabaret works best for me when it has a very catch-all theme that lets in a lot, but makes you look at it from a certain perspective and Hey Love fits that mold. Loosely following the struggles of one woman and two men to pair up, either with one other or with someone else, the show uses Rodgers' songs from Once Upon a Mattress, The Mad Show, Hot Spot, The Lady or the Tiger, and songs from unproduced ventures. I knew the songs from Mattress, but all the other songs are new to me--and they are uniformly delightful.

The songs from Hot Spot were written for Judy Holliday, and it is in that vein that Ms. Prince thrives here, showcasing both lyric singing and comic timing. Ms. Prince's two leading men (who vy for her hand and heart) are Mark Waldrop and Jason Workman. Both have pleasant voices that can get into the upper range of some of these songs. The booklet with the CD doesn't identify who is singing at what time, so I can't really differentiate between them.

The number of lyricists Ms. Rodgers has used runs a long gamut. Stephen Sondheim was a long-time friend of the Rodgers family, so it is no surprise that he has been a frequent partner with Ms. Rodgers. His lyrics to "The Boy from..." are particularly hysterical. The song Sondheim co-wrote with Rodgers "Once I had a Friend" is a beautiful gay-friendly ballad. I was also taken with the setting of Shakespeare's "O Mistress Mine."

Richard Malty, Jr. is credited with the creation and original direction of this show, along with writing some new lyrics in several places. Mr. Waldrop is credited with having written some of the lyrics to these songs, as well as directing this incarnation of the show. I believe this was the third production of the show, so I don't know if it was created for some specific performer, or merely as a showcase for the songs. Regardless, I'm glad to have have it brighten my Year.

Hey, Love the songs of Mary Rodgers
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer, Martin Charnin, Richard Maltby, Jr., William Shakespeare, Stephen Sondheim, MArk Waldrop
Cast Album recorded in 1997
Cast: Faith Prince, Mark Waldrop, Jason Workman

Kiss of the Spider Woman 1994 cast on CD

I thought at first this was the cast album from a revival, but it seems this was a replacement cast to the original run of Kiss of the Spider Woman. Hearing the strength of the cast, I can understand why they were recorded.

This is another show and another cast that really hits their marks with very little to argue against from the efforts of either songwriters Kander and Ebb or the three leads--Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillin, and Brian (soon to add the Stokes) Mitchell.

I knew Ms. Williams could sing, she has a big recording career, but I didn't realize how well she could morph her musical styles. Aurora calls for singing in many patische numbers and well as songs that directly address Molina. She handles them all with aplomb. If perhaps she doesn't quite capture speaking English with a Spanish accent, I'm sure many of her "Ugly Betty" cast mates could help her now.

I have spoken before how Mr. Mitchell represents what I love best about true Broadway Baritone singing. Valentin is required to sing some rangy music, and Mr. Mitchell handles it well, although is not often allowed to reach into the full breadth of his resonance with much of the singing. Mr. McGillin is a new name to me (although I have another cast album with him waiting for my Thinking). He has a very lithe and likable tenor voice, which he seems to be able to color in appropriate shades when needed. The emotional roller-coaster that Molina experiences in the show needs someone who won't approach each song with the same voice, and Mr. McGillin complies.

Some of the songs deserve a life outside the show, I think. And for the cabaret act I'm building in my head, I think I'll add Molina's final "At the Movies" to my show about songs about the movies. My cabaret audience won't need to know that the character has just been shot in the head.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Music by John Kander

Lyrics by Fredd Ebb
1994 Broadway replacement cast
Cast: Vanessa Williams, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Howard McGillin

Pippin stage production on DVD

I have a long and sorted history with this show. I may have gone to about the only high school in America that would have risked staging Pippin. It was also about the last time I would have dared wear a unitard, which the entire cast wore, making the sexually charged nature of the show even more potent. It was 1983 and the show was, if not still cutting edge, at least a lot more edgy than your average high school musical. This also a time before things like parents' advisory groups, which now would surely squelch any director who wanted to use high schoolers to tell this story.

This show suffers a bit from age, not only in the "finding one's self" story, but also from it's circus-infused story-telling techniques, its strong theatricalities, and it's blatant anti-war theme. Actually, the anti-war theme may still be potent. The music remains likable, particularly Pippin's solo numbers.

William Katt is a pleasant Pippin, with the right pop-twinged voice for Stephen Schwartz's score. He spends a goodly amount of time without a shirt on, and it's, well, goodly. The cast is generally all good. Ben Vereen reprises his leading player role from the Broadway cast, for which he had won a Tony Award in 1973. Chita Rivera is Pippin's mother; Martha Raye is Pippin's grandmother. The vocal standout in the cast is Benjamin Rayson as Charlemagne. He displays a strong full-throated baritone befitting the King that united an Empire. Is this the touring company? It's nearly a decade after the show opened on Broadway.

Sorry to drop so many unknown names, but really all I can think of when writing about Pippin is Teri and Adam (who split the Leading Player role), and Drew(Pippin), and Anna (Berthe), and Paul (Charlemagne), and Jamie (the brother whats-his-name), and Melissa (Catherine), and Carrie (Fastrada), from"my" production. I should get points for remembering those names after 25 years. I've only seen two of them in the last 10.

Pippin
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Roger O. Hirson and Bob Fosse
Original production directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse
Filmed in Hamilton, Ontario in 1981
Cast: William Katt, Martha Raye, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Benjamin Rayson, Leslie Denniston

Aida Original Broadway Cast album

When I turned this cast album in to the librarian, he proudly launched into "Ritorna vincitore". I had to explain that this was not Verdi's version, but Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida. While the story may be the same, the story-telling is certainly not.

At first this score reminded me of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with a belt-voiced female narrator opening the show. But in this case the narrator is Amneris, who becomes a primary character in the story. The rock and pop twinged score is also Joseph-like.

I didn't respond positively to much of this score. I like Heather Headley's singing very much, and she is very successful in "Easy as Life" which is the best song of the show. She also sings the reprise of "Elaborate Lives" very well at the end of the show, but the song is not as strong.

Adam Pascal is most effective when singing full voice. His sotto voce ballad singing is just breathy, rather than emotional. His Act II song "Radames Letter" could be effective but suffers from pedestrian lyrics.

Sherie Rene Scott sings very well as Amneris, showcasing a comic side with "My Strongest Suit" and then more emotional singing in the reprise. Of the rest of the music, I liked the chorus piece that ends Act I, "The Gods Love Nubia" a gospel-like spiritual, which is about the only singing the chorus gets to do. "Not Me" has some interesting four-part writing for Aida, Amneris, Radames, and Mereb. The two songs of Zoser (Radames' father) don't do a thing for me.

I have to question ending the show with three reprises, rather than a new duet for Aida and Radames as they are trapped in the tomb. Maybe the production team didn't want us to focus on the death of the lead characters. Well, then why tell the story?

According to the Broadway database, there was a production of Aida that used Verdi's music, but a new libretto with the story set during the Civil War. A similar thing was done by Oscar Hammerstein II with the music of Bizet for Carmen Jones. My Darlin' Aida was produced in the 1950s (as was Carmen Jones). Hmmm.

Elton John's version ran for more than 1,800 performances, so it must be considered a success. I think I'm going to join the librarian and put Leontyne Price on the turntable.

Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Robert Falls, Linda Woolverton, and David Henry Hwang
Based on the opera by Verdi
Cast: Heather Headley, Adam Pascal, Shere Rene Scott, Tyrees Allen, John Hickok, Damien Perkins, Daniel Oreskes

Ghost Light Monday about Gospel Sunday

I've talked a little bit about my musical past--how I grew up in a church with a youth choir that sang contemporary Christian music (contemporary to the 1970s) and how much I loved getting away from that when I left home and discovered traditional choir repertoire.

Well, yesterday in my usually very traditional current church choir, we performed a service of all gospel and gospel-inspired music. Running the gamut from revival tent hymns like "Bringing in the Sheaves" to "I Know Where I've Been" from Hairspray, the service shows how wide ranging American religious music can be. The title of the concert comes from the hymn "Amazing Grace" which forms the starting point for the musical tradition and for the concert.

I actually happen to know something about the hymn "Amazing Grace." I once gave a program on the history of the hymn and it's author, John Newton. Newton was a British captain of a ship in the slave trade. He transported Africans from the Ivory Coast to the Caribbean and then transported rum or sugar cane from the Caribbean to England. At one point he was enslaved himself after being shipwrecked. This led to a religious awakening and his work as a curate (sort of an assistant minister in a parish church), and his support of the British abolitionist movement in the late 18th century.

Newton wrote the words to "Amazing Grace" sometime in the 1770s and they were put to an existing tune. One tidbit that I remember: the verse that begins "When we've been here ten thousand years" was not written by Newton, but appears in Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Whether she wrote the words or had heard them somewhere else is not known.

Anyway, I enjoyed my one Sunday a year venture back into contemporary Christian gospel, although I'll be glad to rehearse Brahms or Mendelssohn at choir rehearsal this Wednesday.

Cabin in the Sky film version

Apparently there is nothin' that the love of a good woman can't overcome--sickness, greed, sloth, wickedness, and early 20th Century African-American vaudeville stereotypes.

I had run across the title of the show for years, but didn't know anything about Cabin in the Sky, so I was actually surprised to learn it was an all-Black show. Well, this show has not lasted the test of time, due mostly to its very strong religious theme and its out-dated Black humor--with a capital B, meaning the people, not a lower-case b meaning dark. Oh, golly there is no way to be truly sensitive about this, so forgive me if I offend.

The plot is a sort of a "It's a Wonderful Life" story, with Little Joe (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) not being truly wicked, but rather often straying from the path his wife Petunia (Ethel Waters, reprising her role from the stage version) and the Lord would wish him to take. When Little Joe is shot in a gambling ring, his immortal soul is fought over between Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram, also from the stage version) and the General of God's Army (Kenneth Spencer). Lena Horne is the vixen whose honey in the honeycomb is a temptation to Little Joe.

The music is a mish-mosh of styles, including some spiritual-like numbers, big band songs, and novelty acts. "Taking a chance on Love" is the song from the score that's continued to have a life outside the theater.

Cabin in the Sky
Music by Vernon Duke
Lyrics by John LaTouche
Book by Lynn Root
MGM film released in 1943 based on the Broadway musical of 1940

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Cast: Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas film on DVD

It's a little T & A for my musical Year. Well, a lot of T if you're looking at Dolly Parton. And just to keep everyone engaged, there's some nice A in the football team locker room scene in Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

This show seems tailor-made for the personas of Ms. Parton and Burt Reynolds, although I think several songs written by Parton were added to the film version. And Mr. Reynolds, while not embarrassing himself musically in his one number, wisely does not perform the other songs for the Sheriff from the stage version. I had know that Parton wrote "I Will Always Love You" (as made famous by Whitney Houston), but didn't know it was in this film.

The music for chorus is really the draw for this show; from the back-up singers for Melvin Thorpe (Dom DeLuise) to the girls of the Chicken Ranch and the boys of the Aggie's football team, the group numbers are fun, funny and upbeat. The couple of solo or duet numbers don't really reach off the screen.

Sorry, sis, by I need to tell one personal story about this show. When my sister and I were in our twenties, my family went to visit her and see her in a community theater production of this show. I don't remember much about the production, except that it was well-done, and that I have rarely been more embarrassed than I was sitting between my mother and grandmother watching the football locker room scene. You're familiar with the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?" well this was "Is he gay in Peoria?"

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Music and Lyrics by Carol Hall
Book by Larry L. King
Film released in 1982 based on the 1978 stage musical
Cast: Dolly Parton, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise

110 in the Shade Original Broadway Cast album

Inga Swenson is my new goddess!

You may always associate her (as I do) with the role of the autocratic, mouthy housekeeper on Benson, but Ms. Swenson is a woman with a past and that past includes some marvellous singing on the cast album of 110 in the Shade.

This was the Broadway debut score for songwriting team of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. They were nominated for a Tony for their score. Ms. Swenson was also nominated for a Tony for her portrayal of Lizzie. All of them lost to Hello Dolly!--Ms. Swenson to Carol Channing and Schmidt and Jones to Jerry Herman.

I had heard the songs "A Man and a Women" and "Gonna Be Another Hot Day" before; I like those songs and was captivated by much of the score. Schmidt and Jones seem to have a real knack for creating tuneful and poetic songs that have a universality, but also speak to their characters' situation. Schmidt seems to like 3/4 time a lot, giving a lilting feel to much of the score. There is also some Copland-esque accompaniment from the orchestra, with open fourths and sixths, contributing to that American heartland feeling.

The cast includes Ms. Swenson (who had been Julie Andrew's understudy in Camelot), Stephen Douglass (who originated the role of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees) and Robert Horton (a television star from the 50s and 60s). Also in the cast was a 17 year old Lesley Ann Warren (credited as Lesley Warren) in a supporting role with a comic duet number.

But let me wax poetic about Inga Swenson. Her voice has a Barbara Cook-like purity to it, with the ability to reach into the upper register wtihout getting either covered or tinny. She has a real legato supported by good breath control, giving her the ability to make the phrases of her songs truly musical. From "Love, Don't Turn Away", through the comic "Raunchy", the bravura end of Act I "Old Maid, and the effective "Simple Little Things" (pictured, with Robert Horton), Ms. Swenson does nothing that I could argue against or wish were better. Oh, yah, I'm supposed to really like good baritone singing, and there is some of that here, too, by Stephen Douglass and Robert Horton, but they pale in comparison to what Ms. Swenson achieves.

I listened to this album at the library, buy may need to buy it to add to my collection.

110 in the Shade
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Lyrics by Tom Jones
Book by N. Richard Nash, based on his play Rainmaker
Original Broadway Cast Album recorded in 1963
Cast: Inga Swenson, Stephen Douglass, Robert Horton, Lesley Ann Warren, Scooter Teague

A Catered Affair Original Broadway Cast on CD

Well, they say the wedding is never really about the bride or groom, but rather about the bride's mother, and that seems to hold true in this musical story, where the primary character is the Mother-of-the-Bride at A Catered Affair.

There is a nostalgia that is very attractive about this score, even if the music falls into the category of tuneful passages that never really make melodies. Faith Prince as mother Aggie adds much to the reflective nature of the story of a working class Bronx family learning that their only daughter is getting married. Ms. Prince gives a nuanced musical performance.

Set in 1953, the story tries to bridge a couple of generations in the changing and expanding world of the 50s. Daughter Janey (Leslie Kritzer) is anxious to start her new life with fiance Ralph (Matt Cavenaugh), while Aggie and her husband (Tom Wopat) look back on the course of their marriage. "Bachelor" Uncle Winston, who is a family fixture, is portrayed by Harvey Fierstein.

There are some likable moments in this score, coming more often from the lyrics than the music. "Immediate Family" has funny lines about how we all have to put up with our families. "I Stayed" captures the frustration of a working man's life feeling unappreciated. The big number from the score is "Coney Island" which offers a poetic comparison between riding the roller coaster and embracing life. Musically, the number never reaches it's full bloom, and that may be due to Mr. Fierstein's presentation; while I can be a fan of some voices outside the norm, Mr. Fierstein's musical abilities are lost on me.

This is another show that feels very intimate to me, and I wonder if that may be the reason it only lasted three months on Broadway. In a 200-300 seat theater, this could be a lovely show. Perhaps a local Chicago company will produce it soon, so I can see if that assessment is true.

A Catered Affair
Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Cast: Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, Matt Cavanaugh, Leslie Kritzer, Harvey Fierstein

Ghost Light Monday--John Adams mini-series on DVD

Several weeks ago I viewed the film version of 1776 and I mentioned that I was going to watch the recent HBO mini-series John Adams and compare and contrast. Well, here it is.

The mini-series is really wonderful, due mostly to the strong performances of Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. Each deserves the Emmy they won for these roles. There are particularly good when on screen together, which unfortunately becomes rarer and rarer and the story progresses.

The mini-series does not focus for long on the Continental Congress and the writing of the Declaration of Independence, so comparing to the musical 1776 would really be a conceit--although I will say both productions depict Adams as an irrantant and generally disliked by his Congressional colleagues. The delight for me in the mini-series is to learn more about Mr. Adams service to his country during its infancy, particularly his work in finding allies in the Revolutionary War.

The difficulty of daily life during the 18th century is aptly depicted throughout this series, particularly in showing the farming of the Adams family and in the (at times horrifically graphic) medical practices of the day.

There is a large cast of secondary characters, portrayed with varying degrees of success. Particularly lively is Tom Wilkinson's Ben Franklin.

Passion stage performance on DVD

Manipulative bitch!

I don't get this story. Are we supposed to side with someone? Feel sorry for someone? Can someone please tell me why Passion is admired by so many? Even the commentary track doesn't really help me.

The music never reaches the same fever pitch of the characters' situations. In fact, a lot of the music sounds to me as if it is recycled from Into the Woods or Sunday in the Park With George. The characters' situations never speak to me. The staging by James Lapine is beautiful to look at, but a bit cold. The story-telling feature of letters is also rather cold. And I don't get why the chorus repeats lines from other characters. Actually, I don't get why there is a chorus at all. Wouldn't this be a better "chamber musical", with just 5 or 6 actors rather than 14?

Marin Mazzie seems to go through a ridiculous number of dresses with hoop skirts. The mole on Donna Murphy's face seems to have a life of its own. Jere Shea's character seems to have the emotional depth of his chest hair. Sorry, I know lots of people love Sondheim, and I'm often with them. But I can't get a hold on this one.

Passion
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book and Direction by James Lapine
Original Broadway cast taped for television in 1994
Cast: Donna Murphy, Marin Mazzie, Jere Shea, Tom Aldredge

State Fair 1945 film on DVD

The immediate follow-up to Oklahoma! for the burgeoning song-writing team of Rodgers & Hammerstein was not Carousel, but a musical film. There was another version of the film created in 1962 with Pat Boone and Ann-Margaret, but that version doesn't have nearly the midwestern charm of the original 1945 State Fair.

Set in Iowa, rather than Texas in the later remake, the story follows the coming of age of brother and sister Wayne and Margy Frake. Literally right off the farm, each sibling is looking to see what the wider world may have to offer at the Stage Fair. And they find a lot. There is love for everyone in this film, including the prize-winning pig, Blue Boy. He's blue no more!

The two most famous songs from this film score are "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing", both of which remain regularly performed as part of the R & H catalogue--and deservedly so. They are memorable tunes with good lyrics. I was surprised that "Grand Night" is sung by a secondary character of the film--a boy singer with the band on the Fair's Midway--although, both Dick Haymes and Vivian Blain have verses, along with the chorus.

Ms. Blaine will go on to originate the role of Miss Adelaide in Guys & Dolls in 1950, and if that is the persona you are most familiar with, Blaine is hardly recognizable in State Fair. A redhead to beat all the henna-hens, Ms. Blaine displays a contralto-like, sultry singing voice. Dick Haymes has a likeable, lyric baritone, but is a bit of a disappointment in the acting department.

Sister Margy is played by Jeanne Crain, who meets Des Moines Register reporter Pat Gilbert played by Dana Andrews. Both actors are dubbed by others when singing, even though Mr. Andrews was trained as an opera singer.

State Fair
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
20th Century Fox film released in 1945
Directed by Walter Lang
Cast: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter

Aladdin score for television production on CD

This is the third original musical for television to populate my Year. First there was Lerner and Loewe's The Little Prince, then Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, now we come to Cole Porter's Aladdin. I had never heard of this tv musical, so it attracted me when I saw it in the library bin with Cole Porter's name above the title. Well, it turns out this show is not a perennial favorite for good reason, although a couple of the songs have real verve and deserve to be heard outside of the full production.

It's hard to judge a television production just by the soundtrack, so there is much I can not discuss with regards to this production. But about the music...I like Cole Porter's music in his best shows, like Kiss Me Kate, yet here the music seems of a very generic nature. While being very listenable and at times swinging, it doesn't say much specifically about the characters or their situations. Any "Orientalism" to the score is an add-on in the orchestrations rather than in the tunes themselves.

The cast is a mixed bag of musical successes and also-rans. Sal Mineo as Aladdin does particularly poorly with his one song. Anna Maria Alberghetti's singing as the Princess is pretty enough, but without much life. Cyril Ritchard as the Emperor is the most deserving of credit and he gets three songs in this score of nine numbers. His song "No Wonder Taxes are High" could easily be adapted for current use in a cabaret act and would be funny.

This is another score where I query why the 1958 television broadcast was reissued on CD in 1992. For Cole Porter aficionados? Sal Mineo fans? Really, really guy gays?

There are four bonus tracks to the reissue that present studio demo recordings of four songs from the score, orchestrated very differently than the finished television product and sung by uncredited studio singers. In all four cases, the musical results are better in the demos than the TV versions--thanks primarily to the stronger demo voices.

I'm starting something new in the labelling with this entry. I'm adding the year the production was created, so I can track when my musicals were written. I'm sure I have a plethora of 40s, 50s, and 60s going on already, without many 70s, 80s, 90s, or 2000s. This should help me flesh out those musical decades.

The photo for this entry comes from the CD booklet for the reissue. It shows Cyril Ritchardson as the Magician, Geoffrey Holder (of 1970's 7-up commercial fame) as the Genie, and Sal Mineo as Aladdin. Mr. Holder does not appear on the recording, so there must not have been any music for the Genie. Would that the same could be said about the Disney version of Aladdin with Robin Williams.

Aladdin
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Produced for television in 1958
Soundtrack reissued on CD in 1992
Cast: Anna Maria Alberghetti, Sal Mineo, Cyril Ritchard, Geoffrey Holder, George Hall, Dennis King