Girl Crazy--film on DVD

It's another Mickey and Judy "Let's put on a show" film, this time set in the wild west and based on a 1930 stage musical by the Gershwins. The film of Girl Crazy was released in 1943 and uses all Gershwin tunes, but not all the songs from the stage version. I have downloaded a recording of songs from the stage version, but haven't listened to it yet. I do know that Ethel Merman was in the original stage cast and introduced "I Got Rythm" and another song that didn't make it to the film, "Sam and Delilah."

I was excited in the opening credits to see both June Allyson and Nancy Walker credited. These would have been early films for both these performers. Well both are underused in a score that is really heaped on Garland and Rooney. Ms. Allyson has the opening song of the film, but is an anonymous nightclub singer, not an actual character. Ms. Walker doesn't sing at all. I suspect something ended up on the cutting room floor.

Girl Crazy
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin
Stage version premiered in 1930
Film released by MGM in 1943
Cast: Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Walker, June Allyson, Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra

Phantom of the Opera--film on DVD

I held off on seeing this film when it was released in 2004 and have held off seeing as part of my Year. I have to confess I liked the stage production of Phantom of the Opera when I saw it on tour back in the early 1990s. I feel a bit of a counterfeit liking something that is so populist, but I do. And I'm a bit disappointed by it at the same time. I want this show to be a better middle point between musical theater and opera. I want it to bridge the gap for some people, and introduce them to more "serious" music dramas. And despite my mother thinking Phantom is an opera because it's all sung, I know it's not; nor does it help usher anyone into the opera house. I speak figuratively, of course.

There are many aspects of this film that I very much like. The world of the Opera Populaire, with it's cavernous basements, ever-reaching catwalks, and uber-Gothic decor is fantastic. It's a place I want to explore; it's a world whose inner workings I want to understand. How do the gas-jet lights work? What does the guy in the catwalks do? Why is the chandelier on a pulley?

This is a very attractive cast. That's part of the problem. Frankly, Gerard Butler is so sexy as the Phantom, I'd choose him in a second over Raoul--facial scars and all. I saw The 300, I know what Gerard is packing! So what if I'd have to live the rest of my life in a dank basement. I think the Gothic extreme of the set decor and costume is totally justified, for this is a Gothic tale. About the only set that holds more candles than this film, is for a Barbara Walters Oscar special.

The voices are disappointing to me, mainly because I want them to be more operatic. Minnie Driver as Carlotta is dubbed with an opera voice that is as over-the-top in its cliched portamento as is Ms. Driver's acting performance. I don't know if Simon Callow and Ciaran Hinds are dubbed when singing or not, but either way they mostly speak the music. Gerard growls too much of the music for my taste. Patrick Wilson is bland as Raoul. I like the way Emmy Rossum looks as Christine, but her singing is a bit limpid for my ears--even if Christine is supposed to be 18 years old. While she doesn't really sing, I liked Miranda Richardson as the ballet mistress who knew the past of the Phantom. Is this aspect new for the the film? I don't remember it in the stage version.

Phantom of the Opera
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Charles Hart
Opened in New York in 1988
Film released by Warner Bros. in 2004
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Cast: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Simon Callow, Ciaran Hinds, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver

Barbara Cook in Mostly Sondheim on DVD

Call me stereotypically gay, but Barbara Cook is one of my favorites. She infuses her performances with more of herself than many singers and has better legato singing than any musical theater singer. I think it is that good legato which has kept her voice as relatively fresh as it is as she reaches her 80th birthday.

This concert of Mostly Sondheim was taped when Ms. Cook was only 75. I don't know many 75 year olds who could sustain a whole recital, let alone one I want to hear sing a high B-natural.

As the title of this concert indicates, the program is more than half music by Stephen Sondheim along with songs Mr. Sondheim stated in a 1999 article he wished he had written. I had heard most of the Sondheim songs before, but many of the non-Sondheim fare was new and delightful to me. I was particularly taken with the Harold Arlen songs near the beginning of the program. I must check out more of Arlen. Also fun to hear sung in a very different way are the two songs from Annie Get Your Gun--definitely not a role I would equate with fine legato singing. Ms. Cook proves that there is not only one way to sing a song when it is a good song being sung by a good singer.

Barbara Cook in Mostly Sondheim
Music by Stephen Sondheim and others
Lyric by ditto
Musical direction and pianist Wally Harper
Taped before a live audience in 2002, released in 2003

The Broadway and Hollywood Legends: Burton Lane

I have enjoyed both On a Clear Day you Can See Forever and, particularly, Finian's Rainbow, so I was looking forward to hearing some more of Burton Lane's music in The Broadway and Hollywood Legends: Burton Lane, which was created for CBS in 1981. Well, it turns out I had heard most of the music Mr. Lane created, since those two shows are his claim to fame.

No troubles, particularly when it is a well-performed as this is by Larry Kert, Bobbi Baird, and Martha Wright. Kert is very likable and handles both lyric and comic singing with aplomb.

The Broadway and Hollywood Legends: Burton Lane
Music by Burton Lane
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Yip Harburg,
Filmed for television in 1981
Released on DVD in 2004
Cast: Burton Lane, Larry Kert, Bobbi Baird, Martha Wright

The Gondoliers--opera stage performance filmed for television

My search for a good Gilbert and Sullivan production continues, but this presentation by the Australian Opera in the Sydney Opera house filmed for television by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) has come closer than many of my forays into G & S. The primary aspect to enjoy in this production is the singing voices, which are all first-rate. Unfortunately, the recorded sound quality is very poor and makes it hard to understand much of the lyrics or truly appreciate the singing. The other production values are high-quality, particularly the costumes.

You know there is a but coming, and here it is. I don't like interpolation of modern lyrics into G&S. I realize that the original text poked fun at political and social items of the day, and there is a school of thought that to get across the nature of the song, you need to update those references to today. Well, my blue rinse is showing, but I like my operetta without references to Mick Jagger or the British Royal family.

I also don't approve of casting a man as the Duchess of Plaza-Toro. There are always fewer roles for women in theater and opera, why deny yet another role for a woman?

There is a ton of dancing in this production, and most of it done by the primary cast. I was surprised how well and how energetically it was performed, particularly by singers. The prime example is baritone Roger Lemke as Giuseppe. I liked his voice very much and he does some very athletic moves. Ooh, I just looked him up on imdb.com and Lemke was in Baz Luhrman's La Boheme. I'm off with a new obsession.

The Gondoliers
Music by Sullivan
Lyrics by Gilbert
Produced by the Australian Opera in 1990
Cast: Roger Lemke, Robert Gard, Graeme Ewer, David Hobson, Christine Douglas, Dennis Olsen, Fiona M, Susan Johnston, Fiona Maconaghie, Martin Croft

Blast--Taping of stage show for television

I started my musical training as a trumpet player--alright I took about 4 weeks of piano lessons when I was 7 or 8, but at 10 I started learning the trumpet and stuck with it through high school. Going to marching band camp at the end of each summer to get ready for the football halftime show was an annual tradition. My band camp experience was not as raunchy as the American Pie film shows, but it certainly was a raucous good time.

All that to say I am a bit pre-programmed to like Blast--which comes mostly from the drum and bugle corps tradition, while incorporating elements of modern dance, street buskering, clowning, circus, and show choir. Even if I did not have a marching band background, I think I would appreciate Blast. The show is pure spectacle, and most of that spectacle is provided by the hardworking cast who play brass instruments, dance, tumble, twirl rifles and flags, drum on anything rolling by, and even sing at a couple points.

The range of musical styles offered is blessedly wide and blessedly free of stereotypical brass music, so you never get tired of any one look or sound. I appreciated the inclusion of Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring (based on the Shaker tune "'Tis a Gift to be Simple". I might have wished for one more slower-paced piece to balance all the (pun alert) full-blown numbers, but that is a minor complaint. The show (and the drum and bugle corps world) are very White, and some performers tend to get a bit scary aggressive and high-five happy. Again, I wanted this performance style to be in use of a story, or at least an emotion, which it did accomplish in the the first act "Loss".

I watched the DVD extras that are included, and while they showed things like how the show was born on the campus of Indiana University, I found some of the performer interviews cloying. I can handle one or maybe two 23 year olds telling me "This is the best experience of my life. I've never worked so hard, or developed such close friendships. What a great opportunity." But it did go on a bit. What will this show lead to for these kids? I reckon that more than several of them are now (bitterness alert) aerobic instructors.

Blast
Music by a bunch of people
Lyrics not much
Cast: a lot of Midwestern recent college grads kids who had just "aged out" of drum and bugle corps. Some of them are hot, all of them are fit.
Filmed in 2001 in London

Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey On Broadway--television broadcast on DVD

Yes, the title says they were on Broadway and in many ways they were, but Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey On Broadway was really on television--ABC in June of 1969 to be more exact.

Both of these performers were already icons by the time they presented this hour-long production. And while it touches on some of the most famous aspects of their careers (Carol sings "Girl from Little Rock", Pearl sings "Bill Bailey"), the true delights for me were the unexpected items.

Ms. Channing sings a surprisingly restrained and effective "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof. She also performs two hysterical sketches which I assume are from her stage show; she performs a song in German (or maybe it's mock German) as Marlene Dietrich and does a monologue as a former silent film star. Both are very polished acts and still work today.

Ms. Bailey moves non-stop around the stage, making it a challenge to record her both visually and vocally. It feels a little too casual at times for me, and I wished for more slower-paced stuff apart from "Little Green Apples."

Are there performers that could get this kind of project broadcast today? Maybe Queen Latifah or Jennifer Hudson. It certainly wouldn't be on broacast television, but something like Bravo, or A and E. Hugh Jackman could get a one-off musical television show of the ground (he tried with that short-lived Laughlin, Nevada, but that was a series, not a special). Idina Menzel? Kristin Chenoweth? Rita Moreno? Carol Burnett? How about Ron Raines from "Days of our Lives"? (See correction in comments). He's had a busy musical career all the while doing the soap. Would it take them all being together? Perhaps television is a lost venue for Broadway style musical performance.

Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey On Broadway
Filmed at the Winter Garden Theater
Broadcast on ABC in June 1969
Cast: Just those two

My Fair Lady--Original Broadway Cast album on CD

After Sunday's entry on Julie Andrews' final Broadway incarnation, I thought I needed to go back to an earlier Julie with the Broadway show that made her a star--My Fair Lady.

As a performer I've never been interested in My Fair Lady. It's not a great chorus show. The number of principal parts are few. And except for the music for Eliza and Freddy which requires real singing, the score is clever and memorable, but not beautiful. As a listener, though, My Fair Lady is a delightful score--lively, upbeat, and as I say, memorable.

One of the few chorus scenes that must be fun to be part of is the Astor Race. Composer Frederick (Fritz) Loewe invests the scene with a wonderful mock operetta-like number--all restrain and primness.

I had forgotten how many songs there are for Higgins, and the score (and the book, I'm sure, too) really give him much focus over Eliza. "Hymn to Him" and "I'm an Ordinary Man" are witty and performed by Rex Harrison without any sense of irony. These songs only work when Higgins is not in on the joke.

Julie Andrews sounds delightful in this recording, a far cry from the huskiness on display in Victor/Victoria. I was surprised though that the songs for Eliza do not lie very high--they are much more for a soubrette soprano voice than a true soprano. And when Andrews does reach into her upper register, it is with what feels like a lot of vocal preparation.

Ms. Andrews is very successful, though, at imbuing this music with a lot of character. While singing in her "Cockney" accent, Andrews is not afraid to make some pronunciations ugly, and is able to do so without leaving the core sound of her singing voice. And once she lets go of the accent, there is no doubting the meaning and emotion behind the words.

There is a funny misprint in the booklet to this CD release of the Original Broadway Cast Album. It lists "Show Me" being sung by John Michael King (as Freddy) and Rex Harrison! Who is showing whom what?

My Fair Lady
Music by Frederick Loewe
Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Original Broadway Cast Album released in 1956
The date of the CD release is not listed on the booklet
Cast: Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison, Robert Coote, Stanley Holloway, John Michael King,

Victor/Victoria Broadway stage production on DVD

I was so glad when I saw that this taping of the Broadway version of Victor/Victoria was available. I knew that the stage version differed greatly from the 1982 film it was based on, but I didn't know in what ways it differed.

Ms. Andrews was 60 when her dream to return to Broadway in a stage version of the film she had starred in came true. Perhaps a little long in the tooth for the role, she none-the-less does not embarrass herself. In fact I was surprised how spry she was in this demanding role.

Vocally, Ms. Andrews was well past her peak at this point and the register she most often sings in here is husky drag queen, although she does pop out a couple of high notes (is an E-flat really a high note for someone who was the leading Broadway soprano of her day?). What is still firmly on display is Ms. Andrews performance charisma. She's a star and you can't take your eyes of her. I was pleased to see her dance in this show, in particular.

Fortunately, she also is surrounded for the most part by good talent. Rachel York made a name for herself as Norma Cassidy, the cupey doll-voiced gangster moll (played by Leslie Ann Warren in the film). Ms. York is hysterical, but does often go over the top. Her song "Paris Makes Me Horny" (also in the film, I believe) is very funny, but I wonder if the lyrics are really too smart to be believable coming out of this character's mouth. Michael Nouri is very sexy as King Marchan, and while he gets to singing something in the stage version (which James Garner didn't do in the film) it's not the best music of the show.

Actually, the music added for the stage version is not on par with the best numbers that remain from the film. "Le Jazz Hot" is a very likable song and good production number. "Chicago, Illinois" sung by Norma and her chorus-girls is also good in both film and stage incarnations.

I had an idea once that this show would be more interesting if the Julie Andrews role were played and sung by a man; so like original Shakespeare, it would be a man playing a woman who is pretending to be a man. Of course, the singing complicates that, but I thought with a good counter-tenor voice it could work. After having seen the stage version, I'm not so certain.

Victor/Victoria
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Book by Blake Edwards
Opened in 1995; DVD released in 2001
Cast: Julie Andrews, Michael Nouri, Tony Roberts, Rachel York, Gregory Jbara

42nd Street--film on DVD

Yes, I said yesterday I was going back to some old-fashioned cast albums, and here I am with an entry about a musical film. So sue me. But 42nd Street is the quintessential musical film. And it was made into a stage musical in 1980. I must put that cast album on my list, as it features the quintessential song and dance man Jerry Orbach.

In my recent foray into the dance world of Gene Kelly, I learned the difference between a hoofer and a dancer, thanks to some comments by Donald O'Connor. He describes himself as a hoofer--concerned with what his feet were doing, but not his upper body. He credits Kelly with making him dance using his whole body. Having seen his dancing for several earlier entries, I think O'Connor is being modest, but I understand the difference.

Well, 42nd Street is full of hoofers. There may not be any other type of dancer in this film. Ruby Keeler is a name I have often heard associated with early film musicals, and she is delightful from tip to tale. A good dancer with a fine singing voice. Ginger Rodgers has a secondary role as another member of the chorus; it's nice to remember that Ms. Rodgers was a comedienne, too.

The story is a tale oft' told, but may be one of the first times it's told in talkies. Young, untried chorus girl gets her big break when the star breaks her ankle and can't open the show. The script must contain every cliche of show business, and at times it does get a little hokey. But for the most part it works.

I did not know the name Harry Warren before seeing the opening credits to this film. He's the composer and he's written some nice songs for this score. The title song is the most famous from the score, but everything else is nice if a little dated.

42nd Street
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Released by Warner Bros. in 1933
Cast: Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Dick Powell, Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels

Ziegfeld Follies--film on DVD

Okay, it's time for me to get back to what I said I was going to listen to--Broadway cast albums. It's been so cold, I've been content to let the DVDs be delivered to my mailbox. And some of the Hollywood musicals have been interesting and worth seeing, but they are not really what gets my juices flowing. And in the dead of winter I need some juice.

Unfortunately, I didn't get much from the musical revue film Ziegfeld Follies. As this was a commercial success when released in 1946, I'm certain it attracted a good percentage of a generation being nostalgic about pre-War entertainment. But if this film is indicative of what a Follies show was like, then I'll give up ever being nostalgic. With a cast of thousands, as many stars as are in the heavens, and the entire set, costume, and music staffs of MGM studios, I could have hoped for better. I think this may be a case of too many cooks ruining the pot.

The comedy scenes (featuring Fanny Brice, Red Skelton and others) fall flat to me. They are probably classic vaudeville routines, but they didn't reach out to me across the footlights--well, really across the living room. The musical numbers--while often lavishly produced with a seemingly endless string of costumes, lighting effects and chorus girls--also did not arouse much interest in me.

There were three possible exceptions to my dim view which warrant mention. Lena Horne sings an interesting song "Love" that has a lovely melody, although needs a better B-section. Regardless, Ms. Horne is an incredibly watchable performer. The satire song that Judy Garland sings has potential, but doesn't get to its point quick enough. The routine of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire has some very nice dancing.

I watched the extras to this DVD before watching the feature. Included is an interview with Kathryn Grayson who relates the story of her great dislike of the song by Roger Edens which she sings in the finale. While listening to this story, I thought "How bad can it be?" Well, stay tuned to the finale and listen to the cloying lyrics and go-nowhere melody of "Beauty."

Better yet, don't, and go to a real Broadway show instead.

Ziegfeld Follies of 1946
Music by who cares
Lyrics by many
Directed by Vincente Minnelli and others
Cast: Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Fanny Brice, Fred Astaire, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Cyd Charrise, Judy Garland, Esther Williams

Gene Kelly--Anatomy of a Dancer on DVD

After my recent first and last with Gene Kelly, I was glad to find in my mailbox something I thought might help me understand Kelly's place in the dance world of musical movies. Gene Kelly--Anatomy of a Dancer was an American Masters PBS broadcast from 2002 and includes lots of clips from Kelly's films and talking head interviews with people who worked with Kelly and critics who put his work into the perspective of dance history on film.

Knowing very little about dance, I can tell that Mr. Kelly doesn't dance in the same way as Fred Astaire, and one critic puts it rather simply, in a manner even we neophytes can understand: Kelly puts everything down into the floor, while Astaire lifts everything off the floor. I can appreciate that critics here refer to Kelly's style being more athletic, but I think perhaps that does a disservice to the other dancers' styles. Kelly's choreography looks more athletic.

I wanted to see more early history on Mr. Kelly in the feature, but touting itself as analyzing the contribution to film dance of its subject, I guess I need to find a more traditional biography to fill in the early blanks.

It was especially nice to include so much information from Kelly's first wife Betsy Blair and their daughter. I also enjoyed seeing Betty Garret--the Edna Babish of my youth, from Laverne and Shirley. And Arthur Laurents may be one of the last connections to that era of musical-making, both on stage and on film--and he's still directing, with a new Broadway production of West Side Story in both Spanish and English set to open soon.

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
PBS American Masters Series
Broadcast in 2002
Released on DVD in 2004
Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, Besty Blair, Elvis Mitchell, Betty Garret, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Nina Foch, Arthur Laurents