My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies on DVD

This is another of those special concerts at a prestigious venue, drawing in the glitterati of the musical theater world, performing for the creme of society paying top dollar, with the resulting performance being film and presented on PBS or somewhere, followed by the DVD being sold to the general public (and fortunately, Netflix). It's a formula.

With My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies filmed in 1998 it's a formula that works very well:

• Prestigious venue? Check-Carnegie Hall.


• Glitterati of Musical Theater? Check-Julie Andrews, Faith Prince, Liza Minnelli, Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie, Jennifer Holliday, Judy Kuhn, Bebe Neuwirth, and a host of others including the Rockettes, who are the most literally glittering of the -ati.


• Creme of society? I'm not in a position to identify who is in the audience or what they paid to be there, but the hall is full, and most rows seem to include several giddy gay men clapping wildly for Liza.

The main reason this formula works so well in this example is that the fare offered includes a good balance of the usual, the expected, and the unique. Yes, there is Andrea McArdle singing "Tomorrow" and Jennifer Holliday singing her song from Dreamgirls (and blowing the roof off the place, BTW) and Elaine Stritch toasting the "Ladies who Lunch", but there is also the phenomenal Debra Monk, nailing every bit of "Everybody's Girl" from Steele Pier, and Audra McDonald singing a wonderful, clever arrangement of "Down with Love". Ms. McDonald is also joined by Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn for a clever medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs.

I could have done without Tony Roberts and Robert Morse opening the concert with a number in drag (I assume from a musical version of Some Like It Hot that I don't know). These women can hold their own without any help from the Y chromosome.

Hey, Love the songs of Mary Rodgers on CD

In many ways, I love cabaret even more than musical theater. The emphasis is usually on the song and the singer which leads to much more successful results often, while in a full-blown musical the sets and costumes and story can lead to the show just being fully blown. So I was happy to discover the album of Hey Love the songs of Mary Rodgers in the bin at the library. I was doubly happy to discover that Faith Prince leads the cast of three, since I've recently enjoyed her in Guys & Dolls and A Catered Affair.

Cabaret works best for me when it has a very catch-all theme that lets in a lot, but makes you look at it from a certain perspective and Hey Love fits that mold. Loosely following the struggles of one woman and two men to pair up, either with one other or with someone else, the show uses Rodgers' songs from Once Upon a Mattress, The Mad Show, Hot Spot, The Lady or the Tiger, and songs from unproduced ventures. I knew the songs from Mattress, but all the other songs are new to me--and they are uniformly delightful.

The songs from Hot Spot were written for Judy Holliday, and it is in that vein that Ms. Prince thrives here, showcasing both lyric singing and comic timing. Ms. Prince's two leading men (who vy for her hand and heart) are Mark Waldrop and Jason Workman. Both have pleasant voices that can get into the upper range of some of these songs. The booklet with the CD doesn't identify who is singing at what time, so I can't really differentiate between them.

The number of lyricists Ms. Rodgers has used runs a long gamut. Stephen Sondheim was a long-time friend of the Rodgers family, so it is no surprise that he has been a frequent partner with Ms. Rodgers. His lyrics to "The Boy from..." are particularly hysterical. The song Sondheim co-wrote with Rodgers "Once I had a Friend" is a beautiful gay-friendly ballad. I was also taken with the setting of Shakespeare's "O Mistress Mine."

Richard Malty, Jr. is credited with the creation and original direction of this show, along with writing some new lyrics in several places. Mr. Waldrop is credited with having written some of the lyrics to these songs, as well as directing this incarnation of the show. I believe this was the third production of the show, so I don't know if it was created for some specific performer, or merely as a showcase for the songs. Regardless, I'm glad to have have it brighten my Year.

Hey, Love the songs of Mary Rodgers
Music by Mary Rodgers
Lyrics by Marshall Barer, Martin Charnin, Richard Maltby, Jr., William Shakespeare, Stephen Sondheim, MArk Waldrop
Cast Album recorded in 1997
Cast: Faith Prince, Mark Waldrop, Jason Workman

A Catered Affair Original Broadway Cast on CD

Well, they say the wedding is never really about the bride or groom, but rather about the bride's mother, and that seems to hold true in this musical story, where the primary character is the Mother-of-the-Bride at A Catered Affair.

There is a nostalgia that is very attractive about this score, even if the music falls into the category of tuneful passages that never really make melodies. Faith Prince as mother Aggie adds much to the reflective nature of the story of a working class Bronx family learning that their only daughter is getting married. Ms. Prince gives a nuanced musical performance.

Set in 1953, the story tries to bridge a couple of generations in the changing and expanding world of the 50s. Daughter Janey (Leslie Kritzer) is anxious to start her new life with fiance Ralph (Matt Cavenaugh), while Aggie and her husband (Tom Wopat) look back on the course of their marriage. "Bachelor" Uncle Winston, who is a family fixture, is portrayed by Harvey Fierstein.

There are some likable moments in this score, coming more often from the lyrics than the music. "Immediate Family" has funny lines about how we all have to put up with our families. "I Stayed" captures the frustration of a working man's life feeling unappreciated. The big number from the score is "Coney Island" which offers a poetic comparison between riding the roller coaster and embracing life. Musically, the number never reaches it's full bloom, and that may be due to Mr. Fierstein's presentation; while I can be a fan of some voices outside the norm, Mr. Fierstein's musical abilities are lost on me.

This is another show that feels very intimate to me, and I wonder if that may be the reason it only lasted three months on Broadway. In a 200-300 seat theater, this could be a lovely show. Perhaps a local Chicago company will produce it soon, so I can see if that assessment is true.

A Catered Affair
Music and Lyrics by John Bucchino
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Cast: Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, Matt Cavanaugh, Leslie Kritzer, Harvey Fierstein

Guys and Dolls:Off the Record

Well, points against my queue planning, for today I repeat a show in my Year for the first time--a show I just discussed a week ago-- a show that featured Nathan Lane (who I also discussed this week)--and a documentary surrounding the recording of a cast album, a format I also discussed earlier this week. In my favor, it's a good cast and a great show and an interesting recording process.

Guys and Dolls: Off the Record followed the 1992 recording of the cast ablum for the Broadway revival production that featured Nathan Lane and Faith Prince. I'm certain in 1992 I had never heard of either of these performers and when I bought this cast album (which I still have) and saw this documentary (which may have been on PBS) I was taken with both of them. I still am.

If there is a better show for which to be a member of the men's chorus, please tell me what it is. "Oldest, Established, Permanent, Floating Crap Game in the World" must be fun to sing. Backing up Sky in "Luck Be a Lady Tonight", ditto. Backing up Nicely-Nicely in "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat, double ditto. Nicely is nicely sung here by Walter Bobbie, who has had a nice career as performer and now director for musicals, just as Jerry Zaks has had before him. Mr. Zaks directed this revival of Guys and Dolls and we see of lot of him reassuring performers during the recording process.

I must find a way for Faith Prince to reappear in my Year. I know she did a revival of Bells are Ringing, but what else?

Guys and Dolls: Off the Record
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Revival Broadway Cast album recorded in 1992
Documentary taping of recording also in 1992
Production directed by Jerry Zaks
Cast: Nathan Lane, Faith Prince, Josie de Guzman, Peter Gallagher, Walter Bobbie, JK Simmons