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