Tag: Seth Rudetsky

Seth deconstructs “Glitter and Be Gay”

The original production of Candide is the stuff of legend: mixed reviews and a 73 performance failure. A comic operetta adaptation of Voltaire’s satire, the critics praised Leonard Bernstein’s lively score, but found Lillian Hellman’s libretto far too serious. (Hellman has banned any production using her original text). However, the score (with brilliant lyrics from Richard Wilbur as well as Dorothy Parker, John LaTouche, Hellman and Bernstein himself) has lived on thanks to its original cast album, recorded by Goddard Lieberson for Columbia.

The operetta has had an incredible afterlife, with two Broadway revivals and countless mountings by opera companies world wide. (Most recently, Mary Zimmerman’s new production has played Chicago and Washington, D.C. and from what I’ve heard it could also come to New York). The score’s two most famous pieces are its acclaimed overture, orchestrated by Bernstein himself and the aria “Glitter and Be Gay” for leading lady Cunegonde. The role of Cunegonde is without a doubt one of, if not, the most challenging soprano roles in musical theatre, requiring an agile coloratura who can sing ridiculously florid passages, hit 21 high Cs (to say nothing of the Dbs and Ebs) and also be funny. Eight times a week. “Glitter and Be Gay” is her showcase, which has been a showstopper since first introduced in the original production by Barbara Cook.

(Other renditions I’ve heard: Mary Costa, Madeline Kahn, Renee Fleming, Maureen Brennan, Erie Mills, June Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, Harolyn Blackwell, Maureen McGovern, Dawn Upshaw, Christiane Noll, Roberta Peters,  Diana Damrau, Sumi Jo and Natalie Dessay. I find the aria that fascinating and like to hear each rendition. Natalie Dessay’s impressed me most, technically, with interpolated F6. I find Kahn’s riotous rendition is the funniest. But I think Cook’s original is my favorite).

Seth Rudetsky, for Masterworks Broadway, analyzes Cook’s original rendition. Cook was not an opera singer but Bernstein allegedly wrote “Glitter and Be Gay” after she sang an aria from Madame Butterfly for her audition. On opening night, Bernstein came into her dressing room at the Martin Beck and offered his congratulations. Then he added, “Oh, and Maria Callas is out front.” Cook responded with sarcastic thanks, to which Bernstein countered, “Relax. She’d kill for your Eb’s.”

Enjoy:

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Seth Rudetsky deconstructs Linda Lavin

Over at Masterworks Broadway, Seth Rudetsky has recently continued his “Deconstructions” with the entire Sony catalog and their audio-visual technology at his fingertips. As the label continues to roll out various cast albums, they have called on Seth to focus on popular performances from their numerous Columbia and RCA titles. I’m sharing this one in particular because it’s such a gem of a number, and one that I enjoy immensely.

The show was It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman. The score was written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, the book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Harold Prince produced directed. The star was Bob Holiday as Clark Kent/Superman. Tony nominee Patricia Marand was Lois Lane. Jack Cassidy played Max Mencken, a vain editor vying with Kent for Lane’s affections. In the choice supporting role as Sydney, Mencken’s secretary, rising star Linda Lavin made a favorable impression with critics and audiences with a charming and hilarious streetwise performance that included the song “You’ve Got Possibilities,” which would become the score’s most famous number. In spite of decent reviews, the show failed, lasting 129 performances at the Alvin Theatre in 1966. Newman and Benton would later collaborate on the screenplay for the 1978 film adaptation starring Christopher Reeve.

The song is Sydney’s coy to blatant attempt to seduce Clark Kent, set to a bossa nova. Mild mannered Kent is trying to thwart the advances of the diminutive but persistent secretary – and to keep her from removing his suit (thus revealing his true identity).  A 70s TV version of Superman gave us a wildly awful performance of the song from Loretta Swit. However, the song has lived on in concerts and cabarets (I saw Betty Buckley sing it with gusto in her recent engagement at Feinstein’s). Most recently, the role was played by Jenny Powers in a Dallas production that has its sights set on Broadway. Whether or not the Man of Steel will come back to NY has yet to be seen, but in the interim the show’s original cast album should suffice.

Seth takes us through the song bit by bit, pointing out elements of the vocal performance and instrumentation along the way (and I’m with him on the ending – what was that?). Enjoy:

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Seth Rudetsky Deconstructs Barbara Cook

When it comes to certain Golden Age musicals, I find that there are titles that are more likely to raise the eyebrow of your fellow enthusiasts than others. One of the titles that I love and take some flack for is Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. I’ve heard enough people scoff at it, calling it corny and old-fashioned. Some have suggested that its sacrilege to enjoy the show that trumped West Side Story for Best Musical. The show itself, about a con man who brings music and change to a small town in 1912 Iowa, was something of an unexpected surprise smash.

Willson was known as a bandleader and musical director for “The Big Show,” a popular radio program hosted by Tallulah Bankhead. He was also a two time Oscar nominee for his musical scoring of the classics The Great Dictator and The Little Foxes. He worked for eight years on numerous drafts of The Music Man, loosely basing the show on upbringing in Mason City, Iowa and people he knew in his life. With the encouragement of Frank Loesser, Willson created this unique, one-of-a-kind musical comedy that makes ample use of marching band techniques, contrafactum and counterpoint. The show opened in late 1957 and took critics and audiences by storm, winning five Tonys and racking up 1,375 performances.

The 2000 revival with Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker is where I cemented my appreciation for the show and score. I had seen the fun feature film (exceptional for its preservation of Robert Preston’s Tony-winning star turn) but never realized what a joyous show it was until March 15, 2001 when I was taken by friends to the Neil Simon Theatre as an surprise graduation gift.

There is one song in the stage show that didn’t make the cut in the 1962 film (we won’t discuss that awful 2003 TV remake with Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth here – I’m saving that for a rainy day). “My White Knight,” a plaintive ballad sung by Marian in the middle of the first act expressing her deepest romantic longings, was replaced by the more upbeat “Being in Love.” In an unusual move, Willson only contributed half a song – “My White Knight’s” bridge remained intact. The second song is nice, but it doesn’t capture the essence of Marian’s MO quite as well (in fact it seems to portray as man-mad).

I’ve never quite felt that “My White Knight” is as well known as it should be. It makes for an arrested stage moment – the up-to-now priggish and uppity librarian, who hints at her wants in “Goodnight My Someone” finally opens up to the audience and in turn wins their affection. It’s simple, yet soaring. The night I saw the revival, Rebecca Luker brought the show to a crashing halt with the song’s final high Ab that seemed to go on forever.

However, the song was introduced to Tony-winning effect in the original Broadway production by Barbara Cook, who is currently back on Broadway in Sondheim on Sondheim. For as much as I enjoy Luker’s rendition, and that revival experience, the original cast album cannot be beaten. Preston has never been bettered, it’s a charming representation of the score (and sounds pristine – unusual for Capital Records) and Cook is absolutely radiant in what was her only Broadway blockbuster. For an interesting alternative, I suggest listening to her 1975 Carnegie Hall album, where she sings a very different version of the song that is mostly comic patter which segues into the familiar ballad.

Here Seth Rudetsky (who generally would like less soprano and more riffing, but we’ll agree to disagree) confesses unending admiration for Barbara while deconstructing her rendition of the song from the original cast recording:

Well, that’s interesting…

“Since Bobby also played Younger Brother in the recent Ragtime revival, we talked about its untimely closing. The devastating thing he said was that the producers were willing to keep the show running (!), but the theatre made them leave because they had another show that wanted to come in. So, Ragtime had to close to make way for The Orphan’s Home Cycle to open at the Neil Simon…but then it wound up going to another theatre! So, now, the Neil Simon is empty. Wah! The other sad news is, there is no full cast album. But, the good news is there’s going to be a Flaherty/Ahrens compilation CD coming out, and the new cast of Ragtime is going to record four songs for it!”

– Seth Rudetsky recalling his interview with Ragtime and Yank! star Bobby Steggert in his Onstage & Backstage Column, 2/15/10

Anecdote of the Day

‘The most hilarious Julie Andrews story was recounted by both Chris [Durang] and Michael [Rupert]. She has a house in Switzerland and that’s where the creative team of Putting It Together went to talk to her about being a part of the show. She agreed to do it and the next morning took one of her exercise walks around the mountains that bordered her house. Julie hadn’t been on a New York stage in 35 years and she thought that she’d better start getting her voice in shape. She was vocalizing and singing different songs from her past and decided to test her soprano by singing something from The Sound of Music. She began the song while nearing the peak of a mountain and right when she got to “The Hills are alive…with the sound of music” she was coming down the other side of the mountain. Well, that moment coincided with an entirely filled tour bus coming down the road! Julie was horrified that a bunch of tourists saw her literally coming over the Swiss Alps while singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” Julie said their faces had the subtext of “How sad. She still thinks she’s still in The Sound of Music. Poor Julie Andrews.”‘

– Seth Rudetsky, recalling his recent interview with Michael Rupert & Christopher Durang in this week’s Onstage & Backstage column

Seth Rudetsky Deconstructs "It’s Today"

Seth has been doing 30 reconstructions in 30 days for Broadwayworld.com, and for April 17, he takes on “It’s Today” from the original cast recording of Mame, which introduces the audience and listener to Angela Lansbury as Auntie Mame (with that bugle blast and a slide down the banister). Even though it’s actually the second number of the show, I think this does more to establish the tone for the evening and ultimately is more of an opening number than “St. Bridget.” The original cast album of Mame is a joy to hear from those opening chords of the overture to the very last “Mame!” during the curtain call/finale. The album is one of my all-time favorites and one that I would cherish as a desert-island top 5.