Follies in Concert--DVD and cassette tapes

It's a sort of two-fer for today's entry. I had hopes that the Follies in Concert DVD would be a full-fledged taping of the concert, but as it is mostly a behind the scenes documentary with some snippets of the performance, I've had to rely on the two cassette recording I bought back in the 80s, when a Walkman was the height of technology.

I've never seen Follies on stage. It is not produced very often. Sondheim himself comments on why in the documentary. The size of the cast is daunting--given that many roles are represented by a young version and a middle aged version.

I think the idea of this show is fantastic, with characters constantly confronting their memories and their earlier selves. I love most of the score, too, with its collection of pastiche songs and dances in the manner of the earlier era meeting a more contemporary musical idiom in songs the older cast sing.

The cast is also top-notch throughout. While many of the older cast members are significantly younger than their characters should be, everyone is superb at communicating the core of their characters, primarily through music. The young company gets a little bit of the short stick, I have to say, both in the structure of the show and in face time in the behind-the-scenes documentary.

A highlight for me is the Heidis duet "One More Kiss" sung in this concert by Licia Albanese and Erie Mills. I don't know the backgrounds of either performer well, but they seem to perfectly capture the essence of this song from a vocal standpoint. Ms. Albanese was a Met Opera performer long past her prime when this concert was given in 1984. The ghost of a voice is still there, but with many wobbles. Ms. Mills is a young coloratura soprano who handles the runs and high notes quite well.

I've always been curious about the 1971 recording of this show. Apparently it excluded many of the songs to fit onto one record. I'd love to hear Yvonne de Carlo sing "I'm Still Here". I'd also like to hear the 2001 Roundabout Theater cast, which included Kelli O'Hara, Treat Williams, Gregory Harrison, Erin Dilly, Blythe Danner and on and on. Was it recorded?

Follies in Concert
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Goldman

Premiered in 1971

This concert took place at Lincoln Center in 1984

Cast: Carol Burnett, Elaine Stritch, George Hearn, Barbara Cook, Mandy Patinkin, Liz Callaway, Howard McGlinn, Daisy Prince, Lee Remick,

Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds on DVD

When I took this DVD out of the Netflix envelope, I was afraid it was going to be another special concert offering, but it turns out Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds was made for PBS's American Masters series, and is more talking heads about the history, importance and substance of Rodgers' music than singing heads. I actually would have like a little less conversation and a little more music-making, but seeing as I've already listened to a Rodgers one-off concert, perhaps this is better--for now.

The documentary goes through the three major phases of Rodgers' career--two decades of work with Lorenz Hart, including some time in Hollywood; nearly two more decades of work with Oscar Hammerstein II; and the post-Hammerstein years when Rodgers is working on his own, and several others.

Among the many knowledgeable and informative talking heads are performers--Shirley Jones, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Maureen McGovern, and jazz musicians Billy Taylor and Barbara Carroll; Rodgers family members--daughter and composer Mary Rodgers Guettel, daughter Linda Rodgers, and grandson and composer Adam Guettel; music theater historians and producers such as Ted Chapin, president of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which licenses Rodgers' shows.

There are several interesting historical clips the documentary including the wonderful "Bench Scene" from Carousel with John Raitt recorded for television, and the lovely Diahann Carroll singing the title song from "No Strings". I must make a point of finding more to listen to from this show.

I've had the idea for a while to do a concert called Rodgers Without Hammerstein, focusing on his work with Hart, his work alone and including things that wouldn't have lyrics like "Victory at Sea", "Slaughter on 5th Avenue", and the dance music from R&H shows --like "The Carousel Waltz" which has always been one of my favorite pieces of music.

Any takers?

Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds
Produced for PBS American Masters in 2001
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers and others
Cast: Shirley Jones, Julie Andrews, Ted Chapin, Mary Rodgers, Adam Guettel, Barbara Cook, John Raitt, Diahann Carroll, Maureen McGovern

She Loves Me--Original Broadway Cast Album

This show has had a bit of a cult following, I believe, although I've not been part of it up to now. I may need to give in and drink the kool-aid, though, because I found much of the cast album of She Love Me to be delightful.

This is really a chamber musical, or perhaps chamber operetta, with 7 or 8 primary roles and a few actors who float through the show as various other characters. I'd like to see it on stage as I think it could be cleverly staged in a space with cabaret tables, since one key scene of the show takes place in a restaurant.

On display again is the lovely voice of Barbara Cook, who I have talked about enough for two Years. But its interesting to listen to Ms. Cook right after listening to Julie Andrews in The Boy Friend. The two singers are within 6 or 7 years of each other, and both came to Broadway prominence in the early 1950s. While we think of Ms. Andrews being a soprano, she's a very different type of soprano that Barbara Cook. I've referred to Andrews being a soubrette, but I don't know if I'm using that term correctly; I think of a soubrette having a lower singing register than a true soprano and only occasionally reaching into the upper notes. Well, maybe that's over-Thinking things. I like the singing of both performers, so let's leave it at that.

Also in the cast of She Loves Me is Jack Cassidy--husband of Shirley Jones, father of David, Shaun and Patrick--all of whom have been on Broadway, I believe. The senior Mr. Cassidy had been in 8 Broadway musicals or revues by the time he starred in She Loves Me, and I can hear why. He has a lovely lyric voice, which doesn't strain too much in the upper reaches.

Barbara Baxley, the so-called "other Barbara" from this cast, is also a delightful find. While she is more of a character singer than possessing a traditional type of voice, her number "I Resolve" is funny and she is a nice contract to the more legit style of Barbara #1.

Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Joe Masteroff
Opened in 1963
Cast: Barbara Cook, Barbara Baxley, Daniel Massey, Jack Cassidy, Nathaniel Frey, Ludwig Donath,

Follies in Concert on CD

I've never heard the original cast album of Follies; apparently it was missing many songs in order to fit onto the vinyl of the day. So this 1985 concert version of the show is much more complete and gives a better impression of the score.

The format of Follies fascinates me. I've never seen it on stage, but the idea of "ghost" chorus girls floating through scenes, and the past and the present inhabiting the same space is very cinematic and endlessly intriguing to me. Its not often staged and understandably when so many characters are doubled with young and old versions.

There is so much music I like in this score--and surprisingly for me, I like the "contemporary" songs of the score as often as the follies-era songs--"In Buddy's Eyes", "The Road you didn't Take", "I'm still Here", "Losing My Mind", and "Too Many Mornings" are all good or better.

The number of wonderful performers in this concert also makes this recording a gem. About the only cast member I have issues with is Mandy Patinkin--and that's more for his being much too young for the role. Although I believe his ultra-manic version of "Buddy's Blues" is a drastic change from the original stage version.

I bought this concert album soon after it was released in 1985, the version I own is on two audio cassettes. I'm listening to it today on CD, because I don't even have a cassette player any more. I remember being so taken from the very start with Arthur Rubin's robust tenor in "Beautiful Girls" and with the two Heidies singing "One More Kiss". This was before I'd ever been to an opera, but I was still attracted to the most "legit" singers in the cast.

Of course, in 1985, I wouldn't have known any of the famous names in the cast (except Carol Burnett and Mandy Patinkin, which is probably why I bought the thing in the first place). No, I wouldn't have known George Hearn, or Barbara Cook, or even Elaine Stritch.

So, I came a long way even before starting my Year of Musical Thinking.

Follies

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by James Goldman

Opened in 1971, this stage version recorded in 1985

Cast: Arthur Rubin, Barbara Cook, George Hearn, Jim Walton, Howard McGillin, Mandy Patinkin, Lee Remick, Liz Calloway, Daisy Prince, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Lilane Montevechhi, Elaine Strich, Phyllis Newman, Carol Burnett, Licia Albanese, Erie Mills

Barbara Cook--the Bell Telephone Hour appearances on DVD

Here I go again, waxing poetic on the talents and watch-ability of Barbara Cook. Haven't I done that recently? Well, these excepts from the Bell Telephone Hour from 1960, 1962, and 1965 back up my opinion.

Ms. Cook serves up Broadway, operetta, and Americana songs without missing a note or a beat. Perhaps it was this early experience doing all types of music that made her musically curious (and what do I mean bi-curious) in the exploration of songs for her later cabaret acts. Whatever the outcome, I'm glad to have seen these early television appearances to remember that Ms. Cook is not only a very good singer, but was also a lively performer. She dances quite a bit in these excerpts, something I'm sure she's not doing at 80+ now.

I very much liked the three songs from No Strings, by Rodgers without Hammerstein. I must check out a full recording of this show.

Ms. Cook performs with two top baritones of the 1960s in these clips: Robert Goulet (hot, and I do mean HOT off his success with Camelot) and Alfred Drake. Goulet and Drake are of two very different musical generations with Drake teaming with Cook for the operetta offerings, such as The Merry Widow. The Bell Telephone Hour Chorus also makes a lot of appearances, and I swear one of the male choristers was Bob McGrath from Sesame Street.

Well, we all start somewhere.

Barbara Cook: the Bell Telephone Hour Appearances 1960-1965
Music by Johan Strauss, Jr., Lerner and Loewe, Jerry Herman, Franz Lehar, Stephen Foster, Richard Rodgers, and others.
Cast: Barbara Cook, Robert Goulet, Anita Gillette, Alfred Drake

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

Ghost Light Monday -- Chita Rivera and John Cullum

I heard two bits of news this week that made me think about the longevity of Broadway performers. September 26 is the 50-year anniversary of West Side Story opening on Broadway with Chita Rivera as Anita. Ms. Rivera debuted on Broadway in 1953 as a dancer in Can-Can. Her most recent Broadway performances were in a review which ran until early 2006--53 years after her debut.

It was just announced that John Cullum is going to have a spell in the cast of August: Osage County. Mr. Cullum debuted on Broadway in Camelot, where he was Sir Dinadan as well as the understudy for King Arthur and Mordred. Camelot premiered in 1960, so the 2008 Osage performances will mark Mr. Cullum's 48th year on Broadway.

Barbara Cook is another Broadway performer that comes to mind with longevity, although I believe Ms. Cook has only performed in special, one-night-only type concerts since the 1980s.

In few other art forms can a practitioner have a 50+year career. Certainly visual artists can. Dancers, never. Opera singers, no not really. Film, television, and the stage are about it, but it's still a rarity. Fading abilities, changing tastes, and the collective amnesia of producers and audiences often don't allow seasoned performers to keep performing, which is a loss for everyone.

Writers often have long careers, if the whims of the publishers allow. I've recently become enamored of a poet named Janet Lewis, who had her poems published in every decade of the 20th century, with the exception of the "aughts". Of course, Ms. Lewis lived until she was nearly 100, but still it is a tremendous accomplishment to be not only inspired for that length of time, but also valued.

I look forward to celebrating more significant anniversaries of performers.

Showboat Recording

My listening pleasure today is a 1962 studio recording of Showboat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The liner notes say it was recorded to take advantage of the new Stereophonic recording capabilities. John Raitt sings Gaylord Ravenal; Barbara Cook is Magnolia; William Warfield sings Joe. The rest of the cast are not familiar names to me.

Is there any Broadway baritone who can compare to John Raitt? This is how I dreamed I would sing once I was leading my life upon the wicked stage. There's such an ease to his upper register that I've never been able to achieve. I remember watching, I think it was an Ed Sullivan clip, where John Raitt sings the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. At the end he interpolates at high b-flat. Most operatic baritones don't have that note.

Barbara Cook's singing is luminous. I have to say that William Warfield's voice does not have the rumble I think is needed to sing "Ol' Man River". I have other recordings of his singing and I like his voice, but this song calls for a true bass.

The CD reissue that I have includes four bonus tracks, one of which is Paul Robeson singing a song which was written for the 1936 film version; I'd prefer to hear Mr. Robeson sing "Ol' Man River."

Who knew PG Wodehouse shared the lyrics credit with Hammerstein? I must investigate the Wodehouse connection. PS. I discovered that Wodehouse wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill"-- a good song, no doubt, but certainly misleading on the credits of this recording cover, especally since other songs in the show have lyrics by writers other than Hammerstein.

Showboat
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and PG Wodehouse and others
Columbia Broadway Masterworks recording
Recorded December, 1961; CD reissue 2000
Cast: John Raitt, Barbara Cook, William Warfield, Anita Darian, Fay De Witt, Louise Parker, Jack Dabdoub
With bonus material sung by Tess Gardella, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Jan Clayton