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.

Julie Andrews: A Little Bit of Broadway compliation on Cd

In response to something I recently stated about Julie Andrews, a reader pointed out that as a young singer, Ms. Andrews had a freakishly high voice that she used in her English Music Hall performances. I decided I needed to get over some unwarranted bent I have against Ms. Andrews and give her another chance in my Year. I was glad to come across A Little Bit of Broadway in the bin at the library and to give another listen to some of Ms. Andrews' performances.

This compilation disc was released in 1988 and contains tracks from cast albums that featured Andrews, along with some studio recordings she made in 1961 and 1962. The cast album cuts come from the television production of Cinderella (1957), Camelot (1960), and the London version of My Fair Lady (1959).

I enjoyed listening to some of Andews's most famous recordings along side songs not associated with her career, but deserving of her attention. I particularly liked her renditions of "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" from Kismet, "A Little Bit in Love" from Wonderful Town, and "How are Things in Glocca Morra" from Finian's Rainbow. Even this early in her career (she would have been between 22 and 27 when she recorded these tracks), Ms. Andrews is an accomplished performer, with a malleable voice that can caress a phrase and communicate a lyric very well.

None of her early "freakishly high" soprano singing is on display in this recording, however, and even the final high notes of songs like "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "I Feel Pretty" are only Fs or Gs by my (perhaps faltering) ear. Her real money range, if I can use such a vulgar phrase to describe such a polished singer, is the octave from F1 to F2, not what I would categorize as a soprano range.

Perhaps I'm over-Thinking the case, though. Why don't I just shut up and listen...

Julie Andrews: A Little Bit of Broadway
Compilation released in 1988
From recordings made in 1957-962

The Boy Friend--Original Broadway Cast Album

Musicals with book, lyrics and music by the same person seem to be bit of a rarity. And rightfully so, musical-making should be a team effort. The Boy Friend is the exception that makes the rule, though. With music, lyrics and book by Sandy Wilson, those attributes on display in the original Broadway cast album seem charming.

This is also one of the few musicals of the 1950s that I've encountered that jumped the pond the other way, starting life in London before being imported to New York. The liner notes for the CD reissue give a bit of the story of the creation of this musical--from cabaret act to full-blown show on the West End and Broadway, but doesn't say if Julie Andrews was part of the importation or if she was just in the Broadway incarnation. Regardless, this show was Ms. Andrews Broadway debut, and already on display is the 19 year-old's trademark crisp enunciation and lovely soubrettish voice. The vocal demands on her are not great in The Boy Friend (a few high notes, a bit of low-lying coloratura) but she delivers them with charm.

The music in this score is uniformly delightful, capturing every aspect of the 1920s era it seeks to evoke. The funny "Safety in Numbers" song deserves life outside the show. Actually, the show deserves a continued life, although I never see notice of it being produced. Given the young ages of the cast of characters and the several good roles for young women, I can't imagine why high schools and colleges don't produce this all the time. Maybe they do and I've just never noticed.

The Boy Friend
Music, lyrics and book by Sandy Wilson
Opened on Broadway in 1954 and ran for more than a year
Cast: Julie Andrews, Ann Wakefield, John Hewer, Eric Berry, Ruth Altman, Dilys Lay,

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,

Victor/Victoria Broadway stage production on DVD

I was so glad when I saw that this taping of the Broadway version of Victor/Victoria was available. I knew that the stage version differed greatly from the 1982 film it was based on, but I didn't know in what ways it differed.

Ms. Andrews was 60 when her dream to return to Broadway in a stage version of the film she had starred in came true. Perhaps a little long in the tooth for the role, she none-the-less does not embarrass herself. In fact I was surprised how spry she was in this demanding role.

Vocally, Ms. Andrews was well past her peak at this point and the register she most often sings in here is husky drag queen, although she does pop out a couple of high notes (is an E-flat really a high note for someone who was the leading Broadway soprano of her day?). What is still firmly on display is Ms. Andrews performance charisma. She's a star and you can't take your eyes of her. I was pleased to see her dance in this show, in particular.

Fortunately, she also is surrounded for the most part by good talent. Rachel York made a name for herself as Norma Cassidy, the cupey doll-voiced gangster moll (played by Leslie Ann Warren in the film). Ms. York is hysterical, but does often go over the top. Her song "Paris Makes Me Horny" (also in the film, I believe) is very funny, but I wonder if the lyrics are really too smart to be believable coming out of this character's mouth. Michael Nouri is very sexy as King Marchan, and while he gets to singing something in the stage version (which James Garner didn't do in the film) it's not the best music of the show.

Actually, the music added for the stage version is not on par with the best numbers that remain from the film. "Le Jazz Hot" is a very likable song and good production number. "Chicago, Illinois" sung by Norma and her chorus-girls is also good in both film and stage incarnations.

I had an idea once that this show would be more interesting if the Julie Andrews role were played and sung by a man; so like original Shakespeare, it would be a man playing a woman who is pretending to be a man. Of course, the singing complicates that, but I thought with a good counter-tenor voice it could work. After having seen the stage version, I'm not so certain.

Victor/Victoria
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Book by Blake Edwards
Opened in 1995; DVD released in 2001
Cast: Julie Andrews, Michael Nouri, Tony Roberts, Rachel York, Gregory Jbara

Cinderella television production on DVD

I grew up with the 1965 version of this Rodgers and Hammerstein production, but knew that an earlier version of Cinderella with Julie Andrews had aired, but was thought lost. Well, what once was lost now is found.

The 1957 version is much more interesting than the remakes that have followed. Not only is it wonderful to see Ms. Andrews at the height of her Broadway career and to see Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the stepsisters, but it's also very interesting to see how the production was created to allow for costume changes and scene changes in a live television setting.

There is much more dialogue in this version than I recall in the Lesley Ann Warren version. There is more for the chorus of singers and dancers to do, as well. I have to confess a long love of Stuart Damon, the 1965 Prince, but Jon Cypher holds his regal own, even if his singing does not match Damon's.

There are some interesting extras on the DVD, but the funniest has to be Oscar Hammerstein reciting his lyrics while the Ed Sullivan Orchestra is conducted by Richard Rodgers.

Cinderella
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein
Television production from 1957 released on DVD
Cast: Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Alice Ghostley, Kaye Ballard, Edie Adams, Howard Lindsey, Dorothy Stickney, Ilka Chase