Musical Cyberspace

Double Take December: SHERRY!

Posted on December 29, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Studio Cast Recording of SHERRY!, click on the image above.

It’s Double Take December at Musical Cyberspace! Every musical pretty much has something one likes and something one doesn’t in it. This month I’ll be listing one of each for a range of musicals, a different one each day.

Sherry!

Something I Like: I like that it gave us one of the greatest behind-the-scenes stories in musical theatre. After the original production, it was thought that the score was lost because it was assumed that it was accidentally sent along with the set to be burned. More than 30 years after that, the score was discovered in a trunk at the Library of Congress, leading to a starry studio recording of the show. Isn’t that just something?

Something I Don’t Like: The reputation of Sherry! is based on the popularity of the starry cast recording made when the score was re-discovered and with those great performances comes a inflated sense of how well the show works. The problem is that James Lipton and Laurence Rosenthal’s.songs get in the way of the action contrived by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart for their play, The Man Who Came to Dinner. One wonders how the show might have ended up with a more well-established team crafting the score, or perhaps a team that avoided “opening up” the play too much. There’s also the title: Sherry! makes the show sound like its going to be one of those 1920s Cinderella musicals, when it should be so much more.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Sherry in the comment box!

Posted in James Lipton, Laurence Rosenthal | Tagged George S. Kaufman, James Lipton, Laurence Rosenthal, Moss Hart, Sherry! | Leave a comment

Double Take December: HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Posted on December 28, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Broadway Revival Cast Recording of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, click on the image above.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Something I Like: I really love “Brotherhood of Man”. It is one of Frank Loesser’s most memorable numbers and I adore too the rearranged version from the 1990s revival of the show.

Something I Don’t Like: What was perhaps sharp satire in 1961 is less so now. What was once Pulitzer-worthy is now simply pleasant. (Does that mean that in fact it was perhaps not Pulitzer-worthy in the first place? Or does it mean that the worth of a Pulizter is only transient?) Anyway, the point is that office life has changed a great deal, parituclarly in the past decade with the rise of the digital age. Sure there is still relevance in Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert’s book, but some of the satire is dated because that which is satirised no longer penetrates the general public consciousness. This is perhaps why the current revival of the show has had to depend on its star player to keep things running. It’s probably wise to remember that without Daniel Radcliffe in the central role, the revival might never have happened in the first place.

Feel free to share your “double take” on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the comment box!

Posted in Abe Burrows, Frank Loesser, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert | Tagged Abe Burrows, Daniel Radcliffe, Frank Loesser, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert | Leave a comment

Double Take December: FANNY

Posted on December 27, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of FANNY, click on the image above.

Fanny

Something I Like: The title always makes me smile. In all seriousness, there is something about his show that draws you in – perhaps it is its restful, romantic tone. It’s the kind of thing you’d like to see Bartlett Sher revive and lovingly recraft, with Marion Cotillard in the title role. That might be wonderful and he might be able to find the vital pulse of the show, something that the recent Encores! reading didn’t seem to achieve.

Something I Don’t Like: I hate that the film adaptation eliminated the songs, relegating Harold Rome’s score to the background. Joshua Logan, who directed the film, certainly looked after Samuel Behrman’s and his own interests as writers of the book.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Fanny in the comment box!

Posted in Harold Rome, Joshua Logan, Samuel Behrman | Tagged Bartlett Sher, Harold Rome, Joshua Logan, Marion Cotillard, Samuel Behrman | Leave a comment

Double Take December: CARNIVAL

Posted on December 26, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of CARNIVAL, click on the image above.

Carnival

Something I Like: I love the story, and the fact of the matter is that Bob Merrill and Michael Stewart’s Carnival is a very pleasant show, with moments that are simply enchanting. I like that Jerry Orbach was in the original cast, a perfect piece of casting. I would have loved to see the Encores! concert production with Anne Hathaway and it might have been interesting to see her in a film of the show when she was age appropriate for the part.

Something I Don’t Like: I’m not convinced that I find the show as moving as Lili, its inspiration. I am also not aure that I like the title: it’s a change like that from Liliom to Carousel, but without the gained symbolism and resonance.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Carnival in the comment box!

Posted in Bob Merrill, Michael Stewart | Tagged Anne Hathaway, Bob Merrill, Carnival, Carousel, Jerry Orbach, Lili, Liliom, Michael Stewart | Leave a comment

Double Take December: SUNSET BOULEVARD

Posted on December 25, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original London Cast Recording of SUNSET BOULEVARD, click on the image above.

Sunset Boulevard

Something I Like: “As If We Never Said Goodbye” is a marvelous number that truly extends what is little more than a close-up of Norma’s face in the film. Close-ups being impossible in that way unless you’re using multimedia in the theatre, the song fills in the complexity of what Norma is feeling at that moment. Cinematic techniques give way to theatrical ones and a classic diva moment of the musical theatre is born.

Something I Don’t Like: I don’t like that people malign the show because it is such a straightforward adaptation of the piece. I don’t think there would be any point in adapting it any other way and I think it was a very valid choice on the part of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, Christopher Hampton and Amy Powers (in what limited capacity she had in the final product). That said, I think the musical does have a very different feel to the film in spite of its narrative mimeticism and the emotional journey of each is different to the other.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Sunset Boulevard in the comment box!

Posted in Amy Powers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Hampton, Don Black | Tagged Amy Powers, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Hampron, Don Black, Sunset Boulevard | 2 Comments

Double Take December: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Posted on December 24, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, click on the image above.

A Tale of Two Cities

Something I Like: Jill Santoriello’s tenacity in seeing this musical through from conception to a Broadway production. It’s nothing short of astounding that she achieved what she did considering the overall quality of the show itself.

Something I Don’t Like: On that note, it’s sad that the show is something of a Frank Wildhorn knockoff. I also don’t like the fact that the recession at the time of the show’s premiere has become the official scapegoat for the show’s commercial failure. While this may offer those who had money invested in the show some comfort, it doesn’t excuse the fact that the show simply isn’t the compelling piece of work it should be given the pedigree of its source material.

Feel free to share your “double take” on A Tale of Two Cities in the comment box!

Posted in Jill Santoriello | Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, Jill Santoriello | 4 Comments

Double Take December: PARADE

Posted on December 23, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording of PARADE, click on the image above.

Parade

Something I Like: This 1960 Off-Broadway revue really gave Jerry Herman’s career the boost it needed for him to transition from a songwriter to a creator of musical theatre. In this score, you’ll hear the main themes of “It’s Today”, from Mame, in the song, “Show Tune”, as well as snippets of what would become “I Wanna Make the World Laugh” and “Wherever He Ain’t” in Mack and Mabel. Essentially it is a great insight into a Broadway composer finding his own voice in the world of musical theatre.

Something I Don’t Like: The con that balances the pro mentioned above is that the revue does showcase a composer-lyricist in process. The songs don’t grab one as later Herman creations would, nor do they sparkle with originality. Also, we go get to see something that was left behind: a Herman who might have been sharper, more satrirical, more trenchant than he became. I don’t like that largely left those aspects of his artistry behind.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Parade in the comment box!

Posted in Jerry Herman | Tagged Jerry Herman, Mack and Mabel, Mame, Parade | Leave a comment

Double Take December: ANYTHING GOES

Posted on December 22, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the 2011 Broadway Revival Cast Recording of ANYTHING GOES, click on the image above.

Anything Goes

Something I Like: I really enjoy watching Patti LuPone singing the title song on Broadway’s Lost Treasures. What a pity it is that there will never be another disc in that series. The score is also filled with other delightful Cole Porter gems, none better than the brilliant “You’re the Top”. Other highlights are the wisely reinstated “Easy to Love”, the effusive “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” and the charming “It’s De-Lovely”.

Something I Don’t Like: The interpolation of “Friendship” has never sat all that well with me, perhaps because (unlike “It’s De-Lovely”, which was first heard in a revue) the song is part of another legit musical comedy, DuBarry Was a Lady. The book, originally by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse before being revised by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, also sometimes has a rather tenuous grip on its multiple narratives. At its core, Anything Goes is a farce with musical theatre romance thrown in as a nod to convention, and I’d like it to have been made just that bit tighter in its construction when John Weidman and Timothy Crouse revised the book in the 1980s.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Anything Goes in the comment box!

Posted in Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay, John Weidman, PG Wodehouse, Russel Crouse, Timothy Crouse | Tagged Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay, John Weidman, Patti LuPone, PG Wodehouse, Russel Crouse, Timothy Crouse | 1 Comment

Double Take December: TABOO

Posted on December 21, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Original Broadway Cast Recording of TABOO, click on the image above.

Taboo

Something I Like: It was a super show until Charles Busch got his hands on it. I like the earlier, unadulterated Mark Davies version better, is what I mean. I adore how committed Rosie O’Donnell is to Broadway musicals and I am glad she put her weight behind this one, losing $10 million in the process, but this show – one that had a beating heart and a great deal to commend it – was a mess by the time it got onto Broadway. At least the Boy George-Kevan Frost score is a centralfeature in both versions.

Something I Don’t Like: Charles Busch and his revisions. He doesn’t seem to understand what the show is about or how the various narrative strands tie together. With such a split in the very (re-)conception of the show, it’s little wonder that none of the elements of the Broadway production came together successfully.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Taboo in the comment box!

Posted in Boy George, Charles Busch, Kevan Frost, Mark Davies | Tagged Boy George, Charles Busch, Kevan Frost, Mark Davies, Taboo | Leave a comment

Double Take December: SOME LIKE IT VROT

Posted on December 20, 2011 by David Fick

To purchase the Cast Recording of KAT AND THE KINGS, click on the image above.

Some Like it Vrot

Something I Like: I really liked the two songs with love in the title, even though the second one “L.O.V.E” directly lifts it’s vamp from the classic Judy Garland song, “Zing Went the Strings of my Heart”.

Something I Don’t Like: Like its title, the show is a derivative echo of Some Like it Hot. The show, written by David Kramer, half of the team that created Kat and the Kings, also misses out on some obvious moments, including an onstage transformation of the two boys into their drag getup and the show is far too reliant on crass humour. This show could work if someone whipped the book into shape and if the bits of the score that don’t land (like the villain’s song early in the first act) were reworked.

Feel free to share your “double take” on Some Like it Vrot in the comment box!

Posted in David Kramer | Tagged David Kramer, Judy Garland, Kat and the Kings, Some Like it Hot, Some Like it Vrot | Leave a comment