“The Ballad of the Shape of Things”

I have been quite obsessed with this song since I heard Kate Baldwin sing it the other night at Feinstein’s to hilarious effect. The song was written for the fearless comedienne Charlotte Rae by her friend Sheldon Harnick for The Littlest Revue, which played the Phoenix Theatre in 1956. While the show lasted only 32 performances, it also boasted the talents of Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes and Larry Storch and yielded an original cast album. “The Ballad of the Shape of Things” was also later recorded by Blossom Dearie and The Kingston Trio.

Here is Rae recreating the number at a 2007 CD signing (for the reissue of her 1950s album “Songs I Taught My Mother”) at the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble.

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