Tag: Dear World

Sunday Night Musings

My 2013 theatergoing started with my first trip to the Metropolitan Opera in about 4 1/2 years. Out of the blue, I got a message from Roxie asking me if I was interested in seeing Turandot and I thought for about a split second before saying yes. Puccini’s music is glorious – ask me some time to tell you about my experiences playing one of Cio-Cio San’s cousins in Madame Butterfly sometime – and this opera intrigued me. I only new the famed “Nessun Dorma,” a showstopper if there ever was one but I was curious since I knew it was Puccini’s final work, and that he died leaving it unfinished. I was captivated by this bizarre piece with its antiquated gender politics, bizarre Asian aesthetic and similarities to The Taming of the Shrew. Also, I was amused that they stopped to sing to the moon for what felt to be fifteen minutes. But, oh those melodies! And that glorious singing! Zeffirelli’s production is first-rate, and that set is to-die-for; however I had forgotten that Met Opera intermissions are longer than the norm. Here, the first intermission was 45 minutes, longer than the first act itself. It didn’t detract as it allowed Roxie and I the chance to catch up on other things, and to plan future visits to the opera, as I don’t intend on staying away another four and a half years.

Walking through Midtown recently, I noticed that the Music Box Theatre has replaced its traditional marquee with a digital one since the closing of One Man, Two Guvnors. It’s not the first one I’ve noticed; I don’t know when it happened but the classy New Amsterdam Theatre now houses one as well. Now, I understand that digital is the way of the future, but there’s an utter charmlessness in these LED screens. Instead of a billboard or sign that stands out, these two theatre marquees become just more billboards for tourists to ignore. And frankly, for being all state of the art, the quality is cheap. Let us hope this lunacy is just a trend.

I recently read Maurice Walsh’s short story “The Quiet Man,” which later became the basis for the eponymous film classic – and one of my all-time favorites starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. The 1952 Oscar-winner is receiving its long-overdue Blu-ray release this month (and by all accounts it looks exquisite) so I’ve been paying attention and felt it time to check out the brief, 20-something page story about short boxer Paddy Bawn Enright, his wife Ellen Roe Danaher and his feud with his brother-in-law Red Will Danaher. And as fate would have it, the Irish Repertory Theatre will be presenting the first NY revival of the musical adaptation of the film/short story, called Donnybrook! with a score by Johnny Burke and book by Robert McEnroe, starting in February.

The show ran only 68 performances in 1961, but featured lovely songs and performances from Art Lund, Joan Fagan, Susan Johnson and Eddie Foy, Jr. (Also in the cast was Philip Bosco as Will Danaher). The original cast album has never been officially released digitally (though some rogue labels offer an mp3 for sale on iTunes and Amazon), but I was fortunate to receive a cassette tape copied from the record album. (Side B was the musical version of How Green Was My Valley  – another Maureen O’Hara classic – called A Time for Singing). I later acquired the Kapp Records gatefold LP, which I continue to play every so often. The cast, headed by James Barbour and Jenny Powers looks to be top notch, so I look forward to checking that out soon.

In other flop musical news, both Dear World and Darling of the Day are getting their first UK productions in the next couple of months. The wondrous Betty Buckley will play the Madwoman of Chaillot, which is cause for much excitement, at the Charing Cross Theatre through February and March. The latter, however, interests me more on a personal level. I have long been a champion of Darling of the Day, unavailable for licensing since its 1968 premiere, ever since I first heard the original cast album (which is a must for any show music fan). The Styne-Harburg score is delightful, and Tony-winning star Patricia Routledge is the pinnacle of loveliness as the show’s leading lady. So I am hoping to fly out to see this one, which will star Kate Secombe as Alice Challice (the Routledge role) and Rebecca Caine as Lady Vale. No word on the gents just yet, but the show plays the Union Theatre from March 20 to April 20.

Angela Lansbury in "Dear World"


When discussing the musical theatre career of Angela Lansbury, sometimes Dear World gets lost in the shuffle amidst the more popularly received Mame, Gypsy and Sweeney Todd. The musical adaptation of Jean Giradoux’s play The Madwoman of Chaillot brought Lansbury her second of four Tonys for her work in musicals.

The new musical reunited Lansbury with her Mame team, with Jerry Herman supplying the score and Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee writing the book. However, those expecting another Mame were in for a surprise. The show is a delicate story about an eccentric woman in living in Paris, fighting greedy businessmen who wish to drill for oil in her beloved neighborhood in Paris. Hopes were high for a repeat success, with Lansbury signing another two year contract and producer Alexander Cohen sparing no expense in bringing the show to life.

The play was a poetic satire that just didn’t translate well to the musical stage. There was trouble out of town as the show went through three directors (Lucia Victor, Peter Glenville and eventually Joe Layton) and negative reviews poured in. One of the major problems with both the musical and its source material was a decided lack of plot. Another reason was that the light play was being turned into a big Broadway musical.

Trouble continued during New York previews, where there were 49 of them after several opening night postponements. Finally, after critics told the production they would just review it anyway, the musical limped open to mostly negative reviews. The show managed to eke out an official run of 132 performances at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The general consensus was that the musical was of inferior quality, but that leading lady Lansbury as the Countess Aurelia was stunning.

For the most part, the score is quite incredible. However, it was done in by some huge production numbers. The act one finale “Dear World” was an attempt to cash in Jerry Herman’s blockbuster success with a title song, which was at odds with the show’s story and style. “One Person” was another similarly big, brassy way to bring the show to a close. However, Lansbury stopped the show cold with her act one waltz “I Don’t Want to Know,” stunned with the devastating “And I Was Beautiful” late in the second act and took part in one of the most impressive musical scenes written by Mr. Herman, “The Tea Party” in which Aurelia and her two closest madwomen gather to take action but get lost in their memories and delusions. When the score is light and delicate, it is more in tune with the nature of the original play.

For what its worth, a film version of The Madwoman of Chaillot was released that same year starring Lansbury’s good friend Katharine Hepburn. It too was dismissed by critics and audiences. However, Lansbury’s Tony-winning performance is still well-regarded by those who managed to see it. The score is worth checking out on the original cast album, as there is much to enjoy with Lansbury and her ensemble (her support was Jane Connell, Carmen Mathews, Kurt Peterson and Milo O’Shea). Once you hear Lansbury’s “And I Was Beautiful,” you will never forget it.

As for the failure, Lansbury assigned blame to herself saying that audiences were expecting another Mame. But given her reception in the part, it seems very clear that she was the least of the show’s troubles. The creators have continued to revise the score, with a chamber production that played at Goodspeed in 2000. There was also a late 90s workshop at Roundabout with Chita Rivera as Aurelia, and supported by Madeline Kahn. But neither of those have had any continued life. I do think that Encores! should eventually get around to presenting it in their season.

Here is some silent video footage of the original production, set to a live recording of the title song:

"Oh sing it, Angie, do sing it"

Angela Lansbury was one of the last guests on the short-lived variety show The Julie Andrews Hour in 1973. Here she and Julie discuss songs from their Broadway experiences alongside Steve Lawrence. Julie sings “Say a Pray for Me Tonight,” cut from My Fair Lady prior to the New York opening (and subsequently heard in Gigi). Then the host turns the floor over to Angela, who talks about Dear World and her favorite song to sing from that score, “I Don’t Want to Know.” Then she sings it, all while relaxing in an easy chair with her legs crossed. There’s something so awesome about that. Nelson Riddle’s arrangement pales in comparison to Phil Lang’s original, but Angela is absolutely radiant. Enjoy.

Outstanding songs from flop shows

Let it be known, I love my flops. I have been fascinated by them for years, ever since my interest in Broadway musicals became deeply profound in late 2000, early 2001 and I decided I wanted every recording ever made. That was the year I first sampled Sondheim; Bernstein (aside from West Side Story) and I heard my first genuine flop score: Candide. This fascination continued to grow until I wanted to hear every possible score out there. I never realized that I would hear some of the songs on this list, but I have been fortunately blessed to know them.

Here are a few of my favorite flop numbers, perhaps the first in a series of blogs, perhaps not. We’ll see. Order is random; just as they come to me.

“One More Walk Around the Garden” – Carmelina (Burton Lane-Alan Jay Lerner; 1979; St. James: 17 performances) An adaptation of the popular Gina Lollobrigida film, Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (one woman; her daughter; the three former WWII GI’s who could be the father – elements conspicuously present in Mamma Mia) features this hauntingly simplistic and poignantly nostalgic trio for the three soldiers as they reminisce. Achingly beautiful.

“Sur Le Quais” – Lolita, My Love (John Barry- Alan Jay Lerner; 1971; closed closed out of town in Boston) Dorothy Loudon‘s performance as Charlotte Haze is perhaps the greatest thing this ill-fated adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov‘s extraordinary novel has to offer. In looking at the material as an example of creating an adaptation, it works well; the pederasty is just plain uncomfortable to stomach when dramatized, especially in a musical. Loudon stopped the show with this Gallic-flavored romp with Humbert midway through the first act.

“Duet for One (The First Lady of the Land)” – 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (Leonard Bernstein- Alan Jay Lerner; 1976; Mark Hellinger: 7 performances) A musical covering race relations and the first one hundred years of the White House. Lofty ambitions basically did the show in the from beginning. With a libretto that plays more like a musical revue than a book show; and two actors (Ken Howard and the divine Patricia Routledge) serving as each President and First Lady, the show’s strength is in its performers and its score. There is not enough time in a 2 1/2 hour musical to possibly cover all the ground that I’m sure the creative team hoped to. The show never completely gelled; much was changed and revised and the show was a critical and financial disaster in NY, lasting a week; and Bernstein refused to allow the original cast album to be made, which is unfortunate. In this act two showstopper, one of the most daunting and brilliantly conceived in a flop or hit, Routledge switches between the characters of Julia Grant and Lucy Hayes at the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes. For almost nine minutes; we get the history of the election, the end of the era of Reconstruction and racial commentary thrown in among the barbed insults the character hurl at one another. She’s a schizophrenic marvel as she created two clearly delineated characters while utilizing a chest resonance for one and a coloratura soprano for the other. Genius.

“Glitter and Be Gay” – Candide (Leonard Bernstein-Richard Wilbur, John LaTouche, & Dorothy Parker; 1956; Martin Beck: 73 performances). Sure, it’s gone on to glory in opera repertories and numerous revivals around the world – and its overture is a popular favorite among classical orchestras. But Candide was a pretty hefty flop in 1956, dividing critics (still does) and just not pulling in the business. Barbara Cook, that legend divine, received one of the most difficult piece for sopranos in the musical theatre canon (hell, and opera) with this demanding coloratura soprano aria. Not only are you expected to hit high Eb’s above C, you must also be witty, satiric and hilarious. Eight times a week. It goes without saying that Cook’s rendition is definitive.

“It’s Enough to Make a Lady Fall in Love”/”Let’s See What Happens”/”Not on Your Nellie” – Darling of the Day (Jules Styne-E.Y. Harburg; 1968; George Abbott: 32 performances). See my yesterday’s post.

“He Had Refinement” – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Arthur Schwartz-Dorothy Fields; 1951; Alvin: 267 performances). Speculation as to the failure of this problematic yet endearing musical of the Betty Smith novel (brilliant bildungsroman I might add; yes I was an English major) was due to the rearrangement in structure, with the novel’s protagonist Francie taking a back seat to the parents (this included her absence from the entire first act as well). Also Shirley Booth, who received top billing for her part as Cissy, a secondary character, seemed to have thrown off the balance of the show because she walked away with it in her pocket. The force that is Booth displayed her requisite earthy charm, gracious down-to-earth humor and effortless star quality throughout the evening. The most memorable of these moments was her loving recollection of her “first Harry” in laugh out loud hilarious “He Had Refinement.” (An honorable mention here to the glorious yet underrated act one finale, the soaring “I’ll Buy You a Star”).

“And I Was Beautiful” – Dear World (Jerry Herman; 1969; Mark Hellinger: 132 performances). There is much to enjoy in Herman’s score: the showstopping “I Don’t Want to Know,” the intricate trio “The Tea Party,” “Kiss Her Now” and “I’ve Never Said I Love You” could all fit the bill here, but for me it is this devastating ballad about the loss of love – and the effects time has on said loss – sung by a resplendent Angela Lansbury as the Madwoman of Chaillot.

“Sez I/If It Isn’t Everything” – Donnybrook! (Johnny Burke; 1961; 46th Street: 68 performances) The musical version of the highly popular The Quiet Man didn’t fare well on Broadway, but possesses a delightful score, with performances from Art Lund, Joan Fagan, Eddie Foy Jr and the ever reliable Susan Johnson. Ellen Roe Danaher (Mary Kate in the film), played by Fagan, sings this spirited Celtic jig, one of the liveliest numbers to ever open a musical, in which she explains to her family her philosophies on love – and how she hasn’t found the right man. Think of it as a fiery, belty Irish cousin to Brigadoon’s “Waitin’ for My Dearie” and Oklahoma!’s “Many a New Day.”

“A Time for Singing” – A Time for Singing (John Morris-Gerald Freedman; 1966; Broadway: 41 performances). Tessie O’Shea leads this exuberant title song here; a musical adaptation of How Green Was My Valley that has a woefully unknown gem of a score. Nothing but sheer joy emanates from this song. Encores!, come on!

“Please Hello” – Pacific Overtures. (Stephen Sondheim; 1976; Winter Garden: 193 performances). Only Sondheim could write a showstopper that effectively told the history of Western imperialism in Japan in the 19th century. He cleverly uses a musical style from each country represented to characterize the national diplomacy (Sousa march for the US, Gilbert and Sullivan patter for England, can-can for France, etc.). It’s a nine minute history lesson that works wonders.

If I could, I would post each song on here, but I don’t think that’s possible.