On a Clear Day You Can See Forever film on DVD

She's back. And the hair, nails, the glamorous costumes, and the nose are all still intact from Barbra Streisand's last appearance in my Year, Funny Girl. The film version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever was released in 1970, about five years after the Broadway version opened. I'm going to need to find the album of the orginal cast, because all but the songs for Daisy and Marc are excised from the film. Marc was played on Broadway by baritone favorite John Cullum--all the more reason to listen to the cast album.

The time-shifting elements of the story work really well on film. How did they worked on stage? The supporting cast, including Jack Nicholson and Bob Newhart are grossly underutilized in the film.

I had heard the title song before, as well as the opening "Hurry, It's Nice Up Here" and "Come Back To Me". I liked the other songs, as well, although I missed hearing characters sing together, which they seem to have done in the stage version.

This film reminded me of two other Broadway shows: Lady in the Dark and My Fair Lady. The psychological aspects of the show are like the Weill, and the mentor/student relationship of the two leads are like the Lerner and Loewe.

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

Music by Burton Lane

Lyrics and Book by Alan Jay Lerner

film directed by Vincente Minnelli

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand, Jack Nicholson, Bob Newhart

Man of La Mancha Original Broadway Cast Album

Today I get another of my favorite Broadway baritones--Richard Kiley. While he was in the original casts of several musicals, Man of La Mancha is his definitive role.

Alas, the powers that made movies in the 1960s and 70s didn't often feel compelled to cast singers when they cast the film versions of musicals, so Mr. Kiley's performance was not captured on film, but Peter O'Toole's was. I think I've put the film on my Netflix queue, so someday I'll write about that, but in the meantime I have Richard Kiley to keep me warm and remind me what good Broadway singing can be.

I've also put onto my Netflix list the television production of The Little Prince that Mr. Kiley, and Bob Fosse starred in. I have a vague recollection of seeing it as a child, but between the very manly Kiley and the very unitard-wearing Fosse, I'm sure my pre-pubescent-but-destined-to-be-gay mind was in a whirl.

But back to La Mancha.

I'd forgotten how much I like the ensemble numbers in this show. By that, I don't mean chorus numbers, but duets/trios/etc. From the opening number sung by Quixote and Sancho, through "I'm Only Thinking of Him", to "Little Bird, Little Bird", the writing for small numbers is wonderful and inventive. Of course I have to confess a long and unhealthly love of songs with quodlibet writing. I'm not certain if I'm using that term correctly, but I believe it means when two tunes are put on top of one another, like "Man of La Mancha" with "I'm Sancho, yet, I'm Sancho" over it. Irving Berlin was a master at this type of writing and I can't get enough of it.

What a difficult role Aldonza must be, sometimes belting, sometimes lyric, always with a large range.

The notes for this CD release are interesting, but perhaps overly long. I did like learning that La Mancha began as a camp show, as did Once Upon a Mattress that I listened to yesterday. And that composer Mitch Leigh started with WH Auden as his lyricist!

Man of La Mancha
Music by Mitch Leigh
Lyrics by Joe Darion
Book by Dale Wasserman
Original Broadway Cast Album recorded in 1965
CD release in 2000 by Decca Broadway
Cast: Richard Kiley, Joan Diener, Irving Jacobson, Ray Middleton, Robert Rounseville