Wonderful Town -- concert version on DVD

No offense to Maestro Simon Rattle, the Berlin Philharmonic, or the fine opera and musical theater performers involved in this concert of Bernstein's music, but why was this concert version of Wonderful Town presented? In English, in front of a German audience? So much of the wit of the lyrics must have been lost in translation, even with the supertitles flashing above the stage. The context of the songs and struggles of the characters is also lost, since not even a ghost of the book is presented to string together the songs.

That said, the music-making is very good. Audra McDonald proves her worth with "A Little Bit in Love." Kim Criswell is a wonderful character singer in "Conga" and "100 Ways to Lose a Man". Operatic baritone Thomas Hampson sings the surprise of the score for me, the beautiful "A Quiet Girl". Musical theater veteran Brent Barrett takes on what must be several roles in singing the opening "Christopher Street" and "I Could Pass that Football".

Even with this fine singing, though, I felt like I was missing too much.

Wonderful Town
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

Book MIA
Concert by Berlin Philharmonic
Conducted by Simon Rattle
Released on DVD in 2002
Cast: Thomas Hampson, Audra McDonald, Kim Criswell, Brent Barrett

Ghost Light Monday -- going back to my musical roots

I spent the weekend in my hometown, and was figuratively slapped in the face by some of my musical roots: namely contemporary Christian music. It made me realize what a different tack my musical life took after I left home.

I don't cast aspersions on any type of music-making, and I feel truly at home listening to contemporary Christian music, since it is what I grew up singing in my youth church choir. But I don't want to go back to singing it very often. I never felt comfortable with it, and don't feel like I have the swing to really get into it. Not to mention not having the vocal range.

When I left home after my junior year of high school, I attended Interlochen Arts Academy to be a theater major. At Interlochen I had two important 'ah-ha' moments. One was about being gay, which isn't a topic for discussion here. The musical 'ah-ha' came when I sang the Vivaldi Gloria. I had never known that choral music like that existed, and found a surprising facility in singing it. I haven't looked back, and I know that my professional life and musical life would be much the poorer if I had never discovered classical choral music.

That's part of the reason I feel a real sense of loss and (well) doom over the discontinuation of music programs in public schools. Classical music is not going to be every student's cup of tea. Neither is math, physics, or football going to appeal to 100% of the student body. Even if I had not gone into the arts professionally, I would be singing in a choir (as I do to this day) with an affinity for traditional choral works. This is part of what makes me a well-rounded person, able to work in a group setting, putting aside personal agendas for the good of the whole.

I think this is what the arts teach us. While you may spend a lot of time in the practice room, learning the notes, when concert time comes, you are dependent on a lot of other people and they are dependent on you. The classroom doesn't teach you that. Sports teams do provide that lesson in good programs, but for the kids who aren't interested in sports? Where is the choir, where is the school play?

Sometimes you get to be the star. Sometimes you have to paint the flats.

Fiorello! Original cast album on CD

This is my fourth "!" musical so far this Year. First there was Oklahoma! living up to it's punctuation, then Oliver! and Mama Mia! which didn't deliver for me (at least in their film versions). Now we have Fiorello! which I'm happy to report lives up to its billing.

There is something for everyone in this first major hit for songwriting team of Bock and Harnick. There is a lot of work for the chorus, backing up many of the lead performers. The male chorus gets the wonderful politician scenes with songs like "Politics and Poker", "The Bum Won", and the wryly funny "Little Tin Box". The women's chorus gets the pastiche flapper song, "Gentleman Jimmy".

Four female roles have significant songs and this must be some kind of record. The best of the bunch is "When Did I Fall in Love" (well-sung here by Ellen Hanley), but "The Very Next Man" is also good, and none of the others are bad.

Surprisingly the titular character has little music to perform. The very good liner notes for this CD reissue of the 1959 cast album explains that La Guardia had a lot of dialogue, but little music. And the fact that Tom Bosley won his Tony for this role in the featured actor category, bears that out. The notes also give a wonderful account of the history of Howard da Silva's career, from working actor, to black-list bust, to triumphant return in this show. I'd previously talked a bit about da Silva when discussing 1776.

Fiorello!
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott
Cast: Tom Bosley, Patricia Wilson, Ellen Hanley, Howard da Silva, Eileen Rodgers, Pat Stanley

Tintypes on DVD

I don't really know what this is supposed to be. I suppose it is the recreation of a stage production filmed on a sound stage for video distribution. But Tintypes falls a little flat by not capturing the excitement of a live performance. It's a review of music from a range of sources in the decades before and after 1900. Should one call it a "Victrola musical"? Oh, I don't even think there were Victrolas then. So maybe it's a pianola musical, since sheet music and home pianos and pump organs were kings of the era.

While the music has a lot of charm and is well-sung by the original stage cast, I can understand why the show lasted less than three months on Broadway. The rather rose-colored glasses view of this time is cloyingly happy at times, and ineffective when paying lip-service to the social ills of the industrial age. Each of the five performers represent a certain type from the era--the new immigrant, the industrialist, the reformer, the socialite, the African-American poor. I suppose the point of the show isn't really to provide a history lesson, but there are better shows depicting the struggles of this time--Working by Studs Terkel, Showboat, even Ragtime. At times, the disconnect between the music and the vignettes is startling, particularly when the Emma Goldman rant is going on.

I didn't realize that Jerry Zaks started as a performer; I've heard of him only as a director. He was nominated for a Tony for his performance in Tintypes. He's likable and has a nice singing voice. And Lynne Thigpen returns to my Year, previously appearing in Godspell.

Tintypes

Conceived by Mary Kyte, Mel Marvin, and Gary Pearle

Music and lyrics by a whole bunch of turn-of-the-century songwriters (the last century)

Taping of the original cast in 1982

Cast: Jerry Zaks, Lynne Thigpen, Carolyn Mignini, Mary Catherine Wright, Trey Wilson

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

Lea Salonga:The Broadway Concert on DVD

Make no mistake, this concert is not on Broadway, it is of Broadway. The concert is actually performed in Manila, The Philippines. Is the country really called "The Philippines"? So do I separate the city from the country with a comma, or should I say "Manila in the Philippines"?

Regardless of how you punctuate it, Lea Salonga: The Broadway Concert shows off its star as a true talent with a lovely, versatile singing voice. Ms. Salonga is a native Filipino (or do you say Filipina, like Latina?), and comes home to perform a dozen Broadway songs with the San Miguel Philharmonic under the baton of her brother, Gerard Salonga.

Known mostly for her sensational debut in Miss Saigon, Salonga has perhaps not found a good follow-up vehicle for her talent. Apart from a six-month run in a highly-tauted, but ultimately disappointing revival of Flower Drum Song, Ms. Salonga's other Broadway credits are as replacements in Les Miz.

Don't let the sketchy production values of this filmed concert deter you. The camera angles are sometimes awkward, the sound levels at times waiver, and the stage set-up is completely boring while still being annoyingly distracting. All the more reason to appreciate how watchable and listenable is Ms. Salonga. Wending her way through Broadway standards and rarities ranging from Gershwin to Jekyll & Hyde, each song proves Ms. Salonga is a capable songstress, able to reach into the upper register without strain or distortion, and enliven its presentation with character. Make no mistake, there is nothing remotely operatic about her singing, except some good legato, and she is in chest voice more than head voice. I would catergorize her as a soubrette, for her winning style.

The Gershwin standard "Someone to Watch Over Me" is particularly good, owing to it's understated arrangement for guitar. It's a nice change of pace from the thickly orchestrated Broadway anthems that surround it. The song shows that Ms. Salonga could have a career strickly as a cabaret performer, if she chose.

Has she ever played the Rainbow Room or Joe's or one of those venues?

Lea Salonga: The Broadway Concert
Filmed live in Manila in 2002, released on DVD in 2007
Cast: Lea Salonga

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.