The FAB-ULOUS Broadway Thread

Zeeba Neighba said:
14) Kismet (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1953

Various Artists - Kismet - album cover


The Tony winner for Best Musical in 1954 and successful at 583 performances, Kismet has never had a subsequent Broadway revival (it was adapted as a musical directed by Vincent Minnelli soon after its debut in 1955). Not sure it would be successful today with its music based on pieces by Borodin and fast-paced word play, but its a fun musical and a nice showcase for Alfred Drake (who starred in the original productions of Kiss Me Kate and Oklahoma!). And though many of its numbers don't stick, it produced two popular standards, "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" and "Stranger in Paradise" (which has produced a number of covers, all enjoyable IMO).
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Kismet was produced by Edwin Lester who founded the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera in 1938 and directed it until 1976. His taste ran to, duh, light opera, which explains why and his writing team of Robert Wright and George Forrest looked to classical themes for his musicals. Kismet succeeded with Alexander Borodin and Song Of Norway with Edvard Grieg. Less popular was Magdalena, their stab at the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos.

For Kismet, Wright and Forrest came up with some really memorable songs which have outlived the convoluted plot which relies heavily on Islam for its exotic atmosphere, making further revivals seem unlikely today. It's still a fun listen as a creature of its day, however. This time around I was struck by how gracefully the two songs cited by Zeeba manage to serve the plot while also succeeding on their own.
 
#19) My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1956

Various Artists - My Fair Lady - album cover


Again an obvious and necessary selection - a definite Top 5 for me personally (and quite honestly contender for #1 - just perfect)
Given a number of recent long posts lately in this thread, will keep it simple: Would have been interesting to see Julie Andrews (the original Eliza) in the film, but then we wouldn't have had her in Mary Poppins
 
Zeeba Neighba said:
15) Wonderful Town (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1953

Various Artists - Wonderful Town - album cover


Was delighted the other night watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when the song "Christopher Street" was used. A showcase for Rosalind Russell who plays the witty, sarcastic Ruth who comes from Ohio to the NYC with her sister. I've never seen this one - it's never been adapted for film and only had one Broadway revival in 2003 (when I was long gone from the City). Still, the songs crackle and, even just with the songs, the characters just come alive - understandable as the lyrics were by Adolph Green and Betty Comden and the music was by none other than Leonard Bernstein (between On the Town and West Side Story....damn it, did I forget chronologically On the Town :mad: :( ).
Tony Award winner for 1953 (so really though both released 1953, this should have preceded Kismet).
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There's a two hour kinescope of the TV version with Russell that looks great here on YouTube:


Leonard Bernstein's eponymous website quotes lyricist Betty Comden's account of how Bernstein wound up with this writing gig:

It seems they had a partial score they were unsure of. George [Abbott, producer] asked if we could write a score in four weeks because after that they would lose Miss Russell to other commitments, and wanted to know what composer we could suggest. We thought of Leonard Bernstein, knowing he had just returned home from his honeymoon with Felicia, and mentioned him dubiously to George. George said: "Go over and ask him right away!" We did, although we were very doubtful if Lenny would be interested. Among other things he had promised his mentor Serge Koussevitsky that after On The Town he would get down to serious business and never, never write another show. We had no sooner entered Lenny's apartment and were blurting out the facts about the show when the phone rang. It was George, never one to waste time, barking at us impatiently, "Well, is it yes or no?!!" To our surprise, with no hesitation Lenny said "Yes." He always liked deadlines, and four weeks to write a score was an irresistible challenge.

The result of his availability was a glowing, anthemic paean to the City of New York.
 
Zeeba Neighba said:
#16) The Pajama Game (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1954

Various Artists - The Pajama Game - album cover


I often say that they'll make Broadway musicals about anything (Stephen King's Carrie, Spider-Man, Rocky, the comic strip Doonesbury) so why not use the premise of a labor dispute in a pajama factory. Winner of the Best Musical Tony 1955, it ran for 1063 performances initially with revivals in 1973 and 2006 (the latter won Tony for Best Revival and starred Harry Connick Jr, the wonderful Kelli O'Hara, and Lenny himself Michael McKean).

Overall another fun musical with a number of prominent numbers - "Steam Heat", "Hey There" (with its cute premise of the singer singing to a recording machine then duetting with the recording played back), and "Hernando's Hideaway" (which would become the go-to number used on TV and film (e.g. Some Like It Hot) anytime a tango occurs).
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This musical has the definite feel of early 50's pop music. Makes sense, since Richard Adler and Jerry Ross first achieved success writing hits for the likes of Tony Bennett ("Rags To Riches"). The Pajama Game was Adler and Ross' second foray onto the Great White Way, following "John Murray Anderson's Almanac" (with an astounding cast of Harry Belafonte, Hermione Gingold, Polly Bergen, Orson Bean, Carleton Carpenter, Tina Louise, Monique van Vooren, and Billy DeWolfe).

A time and motion expert might seem like an unlikely hero, but then the parents in "Cheaper By The Dozen" (book, play, or musical, take your pick) were both efficiency experts. Mid-century America must have had a capitalist bent, even in entertainment. And entertaining this show certainly is with outstanding performances by Janis Paige and John Raitt.
 
Zeeba Neighba said:
#19) My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1956

Various Artists - My Fair Lady - album cover


Again an obvious and necessary selection - a definite Top 5 for me personally (and quite honestly contender for #1 - just perfect)
Given a number of recent long posts lately in this thread, will keep it simple: Would have been interesting to see Julie Andrews (the original Eliza) in the film, but then we wouldn't have had her in Mary Poppins
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I'm hoping to take my daughter to that in a few weeks. She's never seen the play or movie, and I've never seen it onstage. We're both psyched to see it.

ASIDE: I just finished Thunderstruck by Eric Larson, which takes place in and during the setting of MFL. At one point in the book, the author tells of a royal funeral and/or mourning period and says "this will be familiar to anyone who has seen My Fair Lady." I don't know if I've ever seen the entire movie, but I don't recollect the scene he references. Now I want to see the play all the more!
 
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Zeeba Neighba said:
5) Oklahoma (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1943

Various Artists - Oklahoma! - album cover


Not much to be said about this obvious selection, important both musically and historically in the development/popularity of the "book musical".
Rodgers and Hammerstein won a special Pulitzer Prize for Oklahoma! in 1944
Mike Todd (theatre producer and eventual Mr. Liz Taylor), upon seeing New Haven try-outs commented after leaving after act one, "No girls, no gags, no chance." Got that one wrong, Mike :)

Here's a nice article about the hugely popular cast album which was delayed initially by a recording strike then rushed out - didn't matter. Clearly there was money to be made in them thar' Broadway cast albums (which from now on I'll be typically sticking to original cast albums)

www.nytimes.com

How ‘Oklahoma!’ Revolutionized the Cast Album (Published 2019)

It took decades for the full Rodgers and Hammerstein score to be available. But even abbreviated, the show helped build a whole new audience for Broadway music.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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Took my 15 year old to see this a couple of weeks ago. We both went in completely ignorant of the story. When I don't know much about a play/movie, once I make the decision to see it I try to keep myself as ignorant about it as possible to enhance the in-game suspense. When we took our seats, all I knew (assumed, really) was that it was set in Oklahoma some time in the past.

I gotta say the opening 30 minutes were hit-and-miss with me. It didn't help that for the first time at DPAC, the sound system malfunctioned. The music came through loud and impeccably clear, but the voices were drowned out of the mix and it was almost impossible at times to follow the lyrics.

After a while, things picked up and I started to enjoy it more. The entire post-intermission part was fantastic. My daughter was :eek: or :oops: (without the blushing) almost the entire play. Once again, she loved a play. Either I've gotten lucky in what I've picked for us to see, or she is going to love every musical we ever see.

The opening felt kind of fluff-ish to me, but by the end this had the makings of a deep character study and scene/locale-study. Thumbs-up to the script. The songs, of course, were great ... except for the technical difficulty on some of the vocals.
 
Zeeba Neighba said:
#17) Damn Yankees (Original Cast Recording) - debut 1955

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Cast recordings of course sometimes don’t fully convey how much of a stage presence an artist was at the time (one of the great aspects of live theatre) and, with her red hair and dancer’s legs, Gwen Verdon was truly a presence. At 1019 initial performances, Damn Yankees was a big success and would begin a professional and personal relationship with Verdon and choreographer Bob Fosse.
This was the era (unlike the past decade - damn Yankees :mad:) where the 50s Yankees were so dominant so a Faustian take on a Washington Senators fan selling his soul to come back as a player, was a great plot idea.
Sadly after the back to back successes of The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, with future greatness set from the team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, lyricist Jerry Ross died suddenly at age 29 of the pulmonary condition bronchiectasis.
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It was fun to enjoy Pajama Game and Damn Yankees within a few days of each other. Clearly Adler and Ross had stepped up their game, making the loss of Ross even more poignant. Adler never achieved another Broadway hit musical on his own, with Kwamina (written for his wife, Sally Ann Howes) standing out as a spectacular failure.

Nice to hear everybody's favorite Martian, Ray Walston, who developed terrific chemistry here with Gwen Verdon despite the absence of antennae.
 
Zeeba Neighba said:
#18) On The Town (1993 Live Cast Album) - debut 1944

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Not sure how On The Town evaded my initial list - perhaps because the original production in 1944 never got a proper recording (original cast members including writers Betty Comden an Adolph Green did make a 1960 recording with composer Leonard Bernstein conducting his score). Perhaps it’s because it’s difficult to not think of the Sinatra, Gene Kelly film which replaced most of the musical’s songs with Hollywood numbers.

But On the Town was a true success with 462 performances initially in 1944 and has had THREE Broadway revivals (1971, 1998, 2014). The original production was also known for its racially diverse cast with a Japanese-American dancer in a main role and six African-American cast members.

Rather than one of the revival albums, probably the best recording is this London based live cast album from 1993 which focuses on Bernstein’s score and includes opera singers (it also coincidentally, @Ojai Sam appears on the 1001 Classical Recordings to Hear Before You Die Iist). And, hey, Tyne Daley is here too :)
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I still want to spin the DG version recommended by Zeeb but I did find the sparkling 1960 studio cast recording. The brassy songs really benefit from 1960's stereo sound and the four surviving original cast members are still in fine form. Listen for Bernstein himself in a cameo role as the Coney Island barker.
 
Hey, it's been awhile since checking out some musicals on my Top 100 List

#20) The Most Happy Fella (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - debut 1956

Various Artists - The Most Happy Fella - album cover


Losing the Best Musical Tony to My Fair Lady (#19 on the list), this musical by Frank Loesser was quite successful running for 676 performances on its initial run. Musically almost continuous, it was considered as almost operatic (and in 2006 had a production at the New York City Opera). The story involves a middle-aged bachelor in Napa Valley trying to woo a young waitress in San Francisco through letters.

Most known song: "Standing on the Corner" recorded by The Four Lads as well as by Dean Martin

More trivia:
The original production was partially bankrolled by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The 1957 I Love Lucy episode "Lucy's Night In Town" focuses on the Ricardos and Mertzes going to a sold-out performance. Three songs from the show are heard in scenes showing the characters sitting in the theater. At one point, Fred is inspired by the title to remark, "The guy is not married."

It was broadcast in a live telecast of The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday, October 28, 1956, the night of Elvis' second appearance on that show. That broadcast was seen in some 168 stations in North America
 
#21) West Side Story (Original Broadway Cast Recording) - debut 1957

Various Artists - West Side Story - album cover


Obvious choice - always interesting to me are the changes from stage to film versions. As the film versions are indelible and seen more, those version in my mind become the "norm" - so when I listen to the cast recording and here "Cool" sung by Riff pre-rumble or "America" sung by just women (instead of the back and forth banter between the Sharks and their ladies), it seems very odd.
This will also pop up in The Sound of Music where a lot of stage to film changes were made (in general positively)
 
#22) The Music Man (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Various Artists - The Music Man - album cover



Again another slam dunk - a spontaneous list of my top 5 musicals would include Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, Hamilton, and this one. On a different day, might be a bit different - The Music Man is so enjoyable - could it be my top musical - tough to say. It's a musical that, besides the outstanding music, is so dependent on a single actor/character (The King and I is another musical like this that comes to mind) that it topples without a tremendous lead (and Preston is near unapproachable in the role). Still, would never say no to a performance.

I'm sure I've said this before but I coined the term "Shipoopi" (based on the song from this one) to refer to the one song that falls flat in an otherwise perfect musical (many great shows have one)
 
#23) The Sound of Music (Original Broadway Cast) (1959)

Various Artists - The Sound of Music - album cover



Hey, here's a thread gathering dust.

I've written how I'm not the biggest fan of Mary Martin (granted, I didn't see her live but she is not always well served on recordings) despite her extreme importance to musical theatre. Still, this selection is an obvious one - essential Broadway listening - with it's popularity even extending to other genres like jazz and pop music. The film soundtrack correctly replaces numbers like "How Can Love Survive" (no "Uncle Max" does not need to sing) and "An Ordinary Couple" with songs like "I Have Confidence" and "I Must Have Done Something Good". Despite Christopher Plummer's initial dislike of the film (calling it the "Sound of Mucus"), film soundtrack trumps original Broadway soundtrack.
 
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