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

Jerry Herman's Broadway: Live at the Hollywood Bowl on DVD

Tribute shows to performers or composers can really run the gamut from embarrassing to terrific, with a lot of smaltz in between. Fortunately, Jerry Herman's Broadway: Live at the Hollywood Bowl reaches nearer the terrific end of that spectrum.

One thing I like about Jerry Herman's music is that it has a strong structure; there is an introduction, an A section, a repeat of the A section, a short B section, and than a triumphant return to the A section often one step up in key. AABA--no, it's not that group that sang Mama Mia, it's a classic musical structure, and it works. Herman writes tunes you can hum, and anthems you can belt.

The cast of this tribute show is generally very good, and while several are "well-seasoned" shall we say, most remained near the top of their game at the time this show was taped in 1994. These singers know how to sell a song, when to raise the arms, how to tilt the head back, how long to hold the final note. If I have one objection to the show it is that too many of the songs are in that vein. I wished for a couple of downbeat songs that ended quietly--but that's not Mr. Herman, so he can't be held accountable.

There are the requisite taped interviews congratulating the honoree, most of which seem unnecessary. Jerry, I'll give you Angela Lansbury, but Linda and Paul McCartney?

Most of the songs included are the typical show-stopper types familiar from his shows. But if you only know Mame and Hello, Dolly, you'll hear wonderful songs from Mack and Mabel, La Cage aux Folles, and Dear World (which I had never heard of). I was particularly taken with the singing by Leslie Uggams, who I will need to check out more of during my Year.

Jerry Herman's Broadway: Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman
Filmed in 1994
Cast: Leslie Uggams, Rita Moreno, George Hearn, Beatrice Authur, Davis Gaines, Carol Channing, Florence Lacey, Lorna Luft, Lee Roy Reams