#TBT: CD Review: OBCR The Full Monty

From the zippy, jazzy and unrelated overture to the catchy "Let It Go" finale, David Yazbek's freshman Broadway score for The Full Monty is fun and funny from start to finish. The show itself is one of my favorites, and the score is a large part of why. It had a healthy run starting back in the fall of 2000, but was overshadowed by the juggernaut that was Mel Brook's The Producers. That show was more a triumph of casting over real quality (as evidenced by the steep drop in sales following the departure of its principle cast), and this smaller, but, IMHO, funnier show full of heart got lost in the shuffle. Still, a 700+ performance run is respectable. It all reminds me of Hamilton and Waitress.

Thank goodness this cast was preserved - it had many of today's Broadway favorites, including Patrick Wilson, John Ellison Conlee, Annie Golden, Emily Skinner, Jason Danieley and newly minted Tony-winner, André De Shields. It also captured the final role of the late, great Kathleen Freeman and her showstopper, "Jeanette's Showbiz Number."

André De Shields and Kathleen Freeman

This score is full of what are now Yazbek standards - the risque/down-right-dirty lyrics, the pefectly built-in jokes. It actually resembles his most recent effort, though Monty is full of the one thing that Tootsie is largely missing. Heart. Of course, that heart is shown with a lot of humor - it is a musical comedy - but also with a good bit of honesty. These songs sound like the characters singing them; the voice is clear. And the love these people have for each other, spouses, fathers/sons, ex-wives... new found lovers, also comes across simply by listening to this cast recording. This made me fall in love with Yazbek's work. Well, most of it, anyway.

Danieley, Conlee and Wilson

Highlights include the opening number, "Scrap," which is the perfect metaphor for how these steel workers feel about themselves, the act one closer, "Michael Jordan's Ball," where you can hear the moment these guys get their acts together. Then there's the men-are-pigs ode to self-pity, "Man," which offers Wilson and Conlee a chance to show off their comic buddy vibe. And De Shields is comic gold in "Big Black Man." And the women get their chance to keep things balanced - "It's a Woman's World" lets us men in on what goes on when the ladies go to the powder room in groups. And the vocal fireworks of Skinner's "Life with Harold" makes me love her even more.

Remember how I said there was plenty of heart? Well it pervades most every song, but there are a few songs that are bursting with it, and they are lovely to boot: "You Rule My World" (and its reprise) are all about marital support, and both "Breeze Off the River" and "You Walk With Me" bring tears to my eyes.

But mostly, this cast recording is an hour of catchy show tunes, belly laughs and awesome word play. If it isn't already a part of your collection, I highly recommend you add it.

Grade: A+

The Ladies of The Full Monty

"Let It Go"

#2108

#TBT: Playbill: Pippin: April 2013

One of the greatest thrills of seeing live theater is when you see a favorite work in a whole new light. Such is the case with the 2013 revival of Pippin, which completely blew me away. There was just enough of the original's trademark style (The Manson Trio, fully intact...phew!), and a TON of creativity. Goosebumps aplenty with each amazing circus trick, followed by belly laughs (Andrea Martin's act really was astonishing and really funny), sexiness galore (Mathew James Thomas naturally, but also the slinky Leading Player, Patina Miller, and the eternally sexy Charlotte d'Amboise), a terrific corps of multi-talented ensemble members, and even a revelation or two - tears were shed following "Morning Glow," and a Catherine played as never before by the wonderful Rachel Bay Jones. I loved Pippin before, but this time around I was obsessed!




Here's a look inside the opening night Playbill of Pippin:

PIPPIN
The Music Box Theatre
37 previews, 709 performances
April 2013 cast: Matthew James Thomas, Patina Miller, Andrea Martin, Terrence Mann, Charlotte d'Amboise, Rachel Bay Jones

Always nice when there's an article in the Playbill about the show you are seeing!

The names may have changed, but Broadway hasn't really changed that much in the last 6 years. April is Tony cut-off months, so all the biggies are in under the wire. Big name stars: Bette Midler, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin, Sigourney Weaver and Tom Hanks!!?? And stage stars galore, too: Cicely Tyson, Fiona Shaw, Nathan Lane, David Hyde Pierce, Matthew Broderick, Jessie Mueller, Jessica Hecht, Judith Light (on the cusp of her second Tony!), Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana. The classics of today were still playing then: The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Chicago, The Book of Mormon and Wicked. Like I said, the same, but different.

📸: J. Kyler

#2093

#TBT: The 1957 OBCR of West Side Story

With the recent announcement of casting the Sharks and Jets for the film re-make of West Side Story, I was inspired to revisit the original Broadway cast recording. I especially love the re-mastered CD version. It sounds so clear and sharp, yet it still sounds so vintage, so 50s. All these decades later, and after all of the history of the show, it is difficult to imagine that when this was new, it was contemporary!

If you've followed this blog over the years, you know I am a fan of this show - it is one of my top ten favorites - and, frankly, I think it is one of the greatest musicals ever written. This recording only solidifies my opinion. Whole books have been written about this show; Bernstein's music is a masterpiece (let's hear it for "The Prologue" and "Dance at the Gym"!), and Sondheim's lyrics show a sharp wit and hint of brilliance yet to come. What stands out is the magnificence of the cast.

I love the characterizations that come through crystal clear, particularly Mickey Calin (Riff) in "Jet Song" (playful arrogance) and "Cool" (intensity and...cool), and the endearing silliness of all the Jets in "Gee, Officer Krupke!" While in the stage version, the Sharks don't get much opportunity to sing, their girls get a couple of chances to shine, and boy, do they. The verbal smack down between Anita and her friends, aka "America," is a true classic, made all the more electrifying with the razor sharp delivery of Chita Rivera. And her ferocity and agony in "A Boy Like That" is unparalleled.

Aside from the legendary choreography requiring masterful dancers (alas, you can't see it on an audio recording) West Side Story has to have a beautiful pair of voices with heartbreaking chemistry in its two leads. Carol Lawrence's (Maria) gorgeous soprano melts your heart with its innocence, turned to love, turned to devastation. Then there's the wonder that is Larry Kert's voice.  Other Tonys may be more showy, but Kert's honest simplicity rings so true and powerful, just hearing him sing makes the instant love between the pair completely believable.

Finally, this version includes the full suite of Symphonic Dances by Leonard Bernstein, as played by the New York Philharmonic. There isn't much more I could possibly add to that statement. The suite is brilliant.

West Side Story is brilliant.

Grade: A+

FUN FACTS ABOUT WEST SIDE STORY:

• The original concept, called East Side Story, centered around a holocaust survivor (the girl) , and rival gangs - the Catholic Jets and the Jewish Emeralds. Anti-Semitism  was to be a key theme.
• Stephen Sondheim didn't want to do the show, but was convinced to do the show by his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein.
• Columbia Records originally refused to record the show, saying it was too difficult and depressing.
• James Dean was Arthur Laurents' first choice for Tony.
• Two of Bernstein's songs, "One Hand, One Heart" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" were originally written for his Candide.
• Comden and Green declined working on the show in favor of Peter Pan.
• The original production had try-out engagements in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, then ran for 732 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre, the Broadway Theatre, and finally, the Winter Garden Theatre. After the national tour, it returned once again to the Winter Garden Theatre.
• The show was nominated for six 1958 Tony Awards, winning two: Best Scenic Design - Oliver Smith and Best Choreography - Jerome Robbins.

Here are some original production photos:

#2058

#TBT: Playbill: The Addams Family: May 2010

There would have been a full on riot if the Broadway show didn't start with the famous TV theme and finger snaps. Thank goodness, The Addams Family didn't make that mistake. And they had a killer cast full of Broadway Royalty, and a composer that was popular among the Rialto insiders. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane (and Jackie Hoffman in a small part) made the most of what they were given, and that's always a win. And there were two of my now-favorites making me love them. Yes, Wesley Taylor and Krysta Rodriguez killed it.

Still, it was a little disappointing. I mean, an octopus??!! Well, I actually enjoyed it - I didn't love it - but considering that the show opened 9 years ago this week, that I have vivid memories of four of the numbers that still make me smile (which counterbalances the stretches of blandness and those...tentacles). Right out of the gate, the show was a load of fun. The opening number, "When You're an Addams" really showed what the whole thing could have been. And I belly laughed at the big Uncle Fester (a fantastic Kevin Chamberlin) number "The Moon and Me." Ms. Rodriguez was darkly funny and the aptly titled "Pulled," where Wednesday had Pugsley on the stretching rack. But the most fun was when Gomez (Lane) and Morticia (Neuwirth) finally got to their signature tango.

A lot has happened for the entire cast in the intervening years, and that alone makes it worth taking a look back at this one.

The Addams Family
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
35 previews, 722 performances
May 2010 Company: Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Kevin Chamberlin, Terrence Mann, Carolee Carmello, Krysta Rodriguez, Wesley Taylor, Zachary James, Jackie Hoffman, Adam Riegler

If you wanted to see stars of the stage and screen, this was a great time to get your fill! In addition, to the all-star cast of The Addams Family, virtually every show had a star above the title. If you planned carefully, you could see TV's James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, Richard Thomas, Sean Hayes, Kelsey Grammer, Tom Wopat, Matthew Settle, Linda Lavin, Sarah Paulson, Lucy Liu and Anthony LaPaglia. Big screen stars included Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina, Eddie Redmayne (now, anyway), Justin Bartha, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. Beloved stage stars included Tony Shalhoub, Janet McTeer, Sherie Rene Scott, Vanessa Williams, and two Broadway legends, Barbara Cook and Angela Lansbury. And nine years ago and today, you could have seen Nathan Lane, Corbin Bleu and Jeff Daniels. Bonus: two stars of Fosse/Verdon were on the boards then, too: Norbert Leo Butz and "Fosse" himself, Sam Rockwell. That's 30!

Here's some production photos to take you back.

The Addams Family - Snap! Snap!

Gomez and Morticia - Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth

Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin

Adam Riegler, Krysta Rodriguez, Wesley Taylor

The Company

#2051

#TBT: Playbill: Meet Me in St. Louis: May 1990

The look and scale of Meet Me in St. Louis was emblematic of shows in the late 80's/early 90's. Everything about it was huge - the sets (including a gigantic, multi-floor, rotating Victorian house, an ice rink and a to-scale trolley), the costumes (turn of the last century garb for each of the seasons) and a huge cast (43), featuring stars of yesterday, today, and (they hoped) tomorrow. And still it fell mostly flat. Maybe recreating a beloved movie musical that starred beloved movie musical stars wasn't that great an idea.

My reasons for seeing the show were 3-fold. First, I wanted to see all of the Tony nominees for Best Musical before the Tonys. Second, I wanted to see George Hearn again, and the great Betty Garret, too. Plus, I didn't want to miss the much talked about young cover boy making his Broadway debut - Jason Workman, Theater World Award-winner. The other two new "names" touted as "the next big thing," Donna Kane (in the Judy Garland role) and little Courtney Peldon (in the Margaret O'Brien role). Neither went further on Broadway, though Kane played Fantine at some point. And third, there was some minor scandal surrounding the producers - a South African company headed by the show's director, Louis Burke and choreographer, Joan Brickhill. It was the innocent 80's - who didn't love a scandal?

Was the show good? Not really. It was beautiful to look at, and the highlights were just what you'd think they'd be: "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Meet Me in St. Louis
Gershwin Theatre
17 previews, 252 performances
May 1990 Company: George Hearn, Milo O'Shea, Charlotte Moore, Betty Garrett, Donna Kane, Courtney Peldon, Rachel Graham, Juliet Lambert, Christopher Scott and Jason Workman

The company included future Tony Award winner Rachel Bay Jones in her Broadway debut!

Check out "Dear Playbill"! It's educational! Did you know what "labanotations" are?

Though the shows were of uneven quality (many would close soon after this - including Meet Me in St. Louis - in the annual post-Tonys purge), there were plenty of opportunities to see some master Thespians. Among them: Tom Hulce, Gregg Edelman, James Naughton, Timothy Hutton, Barnard Hughes, Mary Louis Parker, Robert Morse, Eileen Heckart, Maggie Smith, Rex Harrison, Glynis Johns, Stewart Granger and Robert Morse.

Off-Broadway, on the other hand, was full of long-running hits: Driving Miss Daisy, Closer Than Ever, and Nunsense were personal favorites.

Some production photos:

#2035

#TBT: The Fireside Theatre Book Club

Back in the days of snail mail and definitely pre-Amazon, there were things I really looked forward to getting in the mail. In my high school and undergrad years, I belonged to two mail order clubs. One was Columbia House, a record club for my pop music needs (they seriously lacked in the cast album department). The other was The Fireside Theatre Book Club, which satisfied my need for scripts, librettos and the occasional reference book.

The cover pages of each "exclusive" hard cover edition 

always featured a publisher from Garden City, New York.

Both worked in the same way. First, every few weeks, they'd send a small catalog of the books (or records) they had, along with a flier for the selection of the month, and a response card. If you wanted the selection of the month, you didn't have to do anything - they'd mail it to you a few weeks later after the deadline for response. If you didn't want the selection (or if you wanted other books) you'd send the card back before the deadline. Raise your hand if you, like me, would occasionally get a selection because you forgot to send back the card.

Anyway, about 15 or so times a year, I'd get those prized envelopes in the mail, and maybe half the time I'd get a new script or two. Those were great days. There's something to be said for delayed gratification...

Sweet Sue with Barry Tubb and Lynn Redgrave

The Off-Broadway production of Steel Magnolias

I miss that club. I loved getting "exclusive" hard cover editions, with show logos emblazoned on the slip cover, and always went straight for the glossy picture pages in the center which featured original cast production photos. I'd read the script from cover to cover. Then I'd wait for the next booklet to arrive.

Those were good times.

#2023