Candide--semi-staged concert version on DVD

There must be more versions of Bernstein's Candide than any other musical. There's a three-act version, a two-act version, an opera house version, and myriad concert versions that distill the dialogue down to anywhere from non-existent to nearly full-fledged. Previously, I watched a concert version from the 1980s, but today I'm taking on the 2004 semi-staged version presented at Lincoln Center by the New York Philharmonic.

This version keeps the show fairly intact, I believe--certainly more so than the earlier concert version I watched--allowing sections of dialogue to remain for all the characters, yet utilizing a narrator to talk through some of the action. There is a surprising amount of staging in this version, a ton of work for the chorus, and all of it is memorized. That's a plus; while I understand the need to present works in a compressed rehearsal time frame, sometimes I think the mere hint of a script in a binder somehow blocks the connection between performer and audience. Not here, though, the audience is mostly lapping up whatever is given them by the accomplished cast.

I have heard Kristin Chenoweth sing the aria "Glitter and be Gay" before, in a concert in Central Park, that I saw on television. So, I knew she could sing it. If she goes a little (or a lot) overboard with the camp theatrics, it would seem to be my issue, because everyone else seems to love it. I liked it up to a point--that point being when it took away from the singing.

The rather adorable Paul Groves sings the title role of Candide with all the finesse and security you would expect from an accomplished opera singer. If he seems a little one-dimensional in his portrayal and the delivery of his dialogue, well, it's balanced out by the 12-dimensional delivery of Chenoweth.

Baritone legend Thomas Allen (that's Sir Thomas, to you) takes on the role of Dr. Pangloss and provides the narration throughout. He sings his one song well, and delivers his raft of narration very well. Here clearly is a singer who can act, well giving narration is slightly different than acting, but suffice it to say he can deliver spoken word as well as he can sung words.

Candide
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Dorothy Parker, John La Touche, and others
Book by Lillian Hellman
Based on the novel by Voltaire
Opened on Broadway in 1956
This concert version filmed in 2004
Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Paul Groves, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Thomas Allen, Patti LuPone, Janine La Manna

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,

Bells Are Ringing film on DVD

I have never seen this show either live on stage or this film version. And don't believe I have ever seen Judy Holliday in any performance. She recreates the role that earned her a Tony Award in Bells Are Ringing.

While this is straight out of the heyday of Broadway shows, this one doesn't capture me as others have. Ms. Holliday is a charming and funny performer, with enough vulnerability and ability with both physical and verbal comedy to warrant her reputation. But a lot of the rest of the story and performances don't quite reach the level they should be for me.

Some of the music, too, doesn't quite do it for me. I was particularly disappointed in the chorus number "It's a Simple Little System." I kept looking for Stubby Kaye to arrive and show us how this number show be. No offense to Eddie Foy Jr who leads the chorus in this number, I think the song is not developed as well or as broadly as it could have been.

Dean Martin is well cast as playwright Jeffrey Moss who needs a mother to look after him and bolster his confidence. His singing of the jazz-tinged songs of Jule Styne is just right, as well as just in time. I notice that Sydney Chaplin played Jeffrey in the Broadway original. I believe he was also the original Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl. I must find a recording with his singing, because I don't know anything about him.


Bells are Ringing
Music by Jule Styne
Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
1960 film directed by Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Jean Stapleton, Eddie Foy Jr., Hal Linden

Li'l Abner film on DVD

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

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

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

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

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