The Boy Friend--Original Broadway Cast Album

Musicals with book, lyrics and music by the same person seem to be bit of a rarity. And rightfully so, musical-making should be a team effort. The Boy Friend is the exception that makes the rule, though. With music, lyrics and book by Sandy Wilson, those attributes on display in the original Broadway cast album seem charming.

This is also one of the few musicals of the 1950s that I've encountered that jumped the pond the other way, starting life in London before being imported to New York. The liner notes for the CD reissue give a bit of the story of the creation of this musical--from cabaret act to full-blown show on the West End and Broadway, but doesn't say if Julie Andrews was part of the importation or if she was just in the Broadway incarnation. Regardless, this show was Ms. Andrews Broadway debut, and already on display is the 19 year-old's trademark crisp enunciation and lovely soubrettish voice. The vocal demands on her are not great in The Boy Friend (a few high notes, a bit of low-lying coloratura) but she delivers them with charm.

The music in this score is uniformly delightful, capturing every aspect of the 1920s era it seeks to evoke. The funny "Safety in Numbers" song deserves life outside the show. Actually, the show deserves a continued life, although I never see notice of it being produced. Given the young ages of the cast of characters and the several good roles for young women, I can't imagine why high schools and colleges don't produce this all the time. Maybe they do and I've just never noticed.

The Boy Friend
Music, lyrics and book by Sandy Wilson
Opened on Broadway in 1954 and ran for more than a year
Cast: Julie Andrews, Ann Wakefield, John Hewer, Eric Berry, Ruth Altman, Dilys Lay,

Carmen Jones--film on DVD

What an attractive cast. Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte must be two of the sexiest people ever to be on film, and they are together and at the height of their appeal in Otto Preminger's film version of Carmen Jones, which uses the general story and music from Bizet's opera Carmen in a new setting with new lyrics and dialogue by Oscar Hammerstein II.

While Dandridge and Belafonte are both singers, we hear neither of their singing voices in this film, due to the extreme vocal ranges for Carmen's and Joe's roles. A young Marilyn Horne supplies the vocals for Carmen. Knowing Ms. Horne's voice well from her storied opera career, it is interesting to hear her morph her sound to make it fit Dandridge's physicality. The voice is completely unrecognizable as Horne's, but sounds very much as if it could be Dandridge's. Whomever sings for Belafonte is less successful.

I love the music of Bizet's Carmen, which forms the basis of this score, although I've never seen it in an opera house. I did see the Peter Brook version that played at Lincoln Center in the 80s. It was a bit of a cross between the opera and a theatre piece, although I don't recall much of it other than it was the first time I had seen fire live on stage, and the iconic tableau of Don Jose squeezing the orange into Carmen's mouth.

According to the broadway database, there has not been a Broadway remount of this show since the 1940s. A lot of the dialogue and lyrics seem dated and stereotypical by today's standards, but I wonder if this show would work in a concert setting? Everytime I heard Pearl Bailey speak or sing, I kept imagining Queen Latifah. Audra McDonald could certainly sing Carmen. I don't know about the role of Joe, but how about Brian Stokes Mitchell singing Husky Miller (who sings the Toreodor song)?

Carmen Jones
Music by Georges Bizet
Lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II
Film directed and produced by Otto Preminger
Released in 1954
Cast: Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Joe Adams

Peter Pan 1998 Broadway revival production taped for television

Okay, Cathy Rigby is really good. Even if she weren't so athletic in the flying sequences, I think she would be really good as Peter Pan. And the flying sequences are exciting even in televised version; they must have been spectacular in person. I seem to remember Ms. Rigby doing the "I'm Flying" song for the Tony Awards one year and kind of performing the fairy dust out of everyone else and then flying halfway into the house at Radio City Music Hall.

And here is the use of Stomp-like percussion in the service of the story, with the Indian and Lost Boy celebration dance! Am I prescient or what?

Well, this 1998 taping of the stage production for A&E seems to capture a lot of the magic of the show. Ms. Rigby sings admirably, although it does look like she's lip-synching to some of the songs on this telecast.

Peter Pan
Music by Mark Charlap
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
Book by James Barrie
Additional music by Jule Styne with lyrics by Comden and Green
Filmed for television based on the 1998 Broadway production
Cast: Cathy Rigby, Paul Schoeffler, Drake English, Chase Kniffen (who names these people?), Barbara McCulloh, Elisa Sagardia,

The Pajama Game 2006 Roundabout Theatre Cast recording

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

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

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

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

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