The FAB-ULOUS Broadway Thread

[Zeeba Neighba]

#11) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Original Cast Album) - debut 1949

This one makes the list for its star-turn of Carol Channing and its popularity at the time (740 performances on initial run) leading to the Howard Hawks-directed film adaptation with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Both contain, of course, the iconic "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend". Most will only recognize that song from the original musical - so between Channing, Monroe and future takes like Madonna in the "Material Girl" video, we'll call the musical more iconic that great - still its a fun plot and Channing is a hoot.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#11) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Original Cast Album) - debut 1949

This one makes the list for its star-turn of Carol Channing and its popularity at the time (740 performances on initial run) leading to the Howard Hawks-directed film adaptation with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Both contain, of course, the iconic "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend". Most will only recognize that song from the original musical - so between Channing, Monroe and future takes like Madonna in the "Material Girl" video, we'll call the musical more iconic that great - still its a fun plot and Channing is a hoot.

I don't want to steal anyone's thunder, but are you going to post this one, Zeeb?

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

^
I dunno, @Ojai Sam , haven't hit 1950s musical - might have been on my list

Just kidding - no Hazel Flagg didn't make my personal "100 Greatest Broadway Musicals" as much as I do enjoy Thomas Mitchell

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#12) Guys & Dolls (Original Broadway Cast) (1950 debut)

Easy pick - in fact musically a top 10 for me (of course by the end of this series, there will probably be 14 "top ten's"). My only challenge with the musical is that the big productions lean on the personalities more than the voices. Sinatra or Nathan Lane were great Nathan Detroit's but Robert Alda, Marlon Brando, and Peter Gallagher as Sky Masterston - meh. And after growing up on the film (which was one of my dad's faves, Sam Levene in this production is hard on the ear. But hey! Vivian Blaine as Adelaide here and in the film is fantastic. And ya can't beat the songs or the Runyon-inspired humor of the plot.

Anal-retentive point: the musical is Guys AND Dolls as are all the various recordings aside from this one that abbreviates with the ampersand and throws my searches off

Best fact discovered on Wiki about the musical: "Laurence Olivier had wanted to play Nathan Detroit, and began rehearsals for a planned 1971 London revival of Guys and Dolls for the National Theatre Company then based at the Old Vic. However, due to poor health he had to stop, and his revival never happened"

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#13) The King and I (Original Cast Album) - 1951 debut

My biggest influence getting into Broadway musicals was my father - my dad's personality and other film interests in retrospect would not peg him as a musical-guy but he loved 'em - and he loved The King and I, one of our big departures with musicals (the other is West Side Story which I love and he never enjoyed). But did he like The King and I because of the music or because of Yul, because, c'mon, how can you not love Yul in this role...or any role...I mean, for God sake, he barely speaks in Westworld and makes the whole film. Proud to say we saw Yul together (pretty sure it was in the 1985 revival but that seems late so it could have been late 1970s).
But musically, just never appealed to me as much as other Rodgers-Hammerstein musicals - hey there are some classics - "Getting to Know You", "Shall We Dance", "Hello Young Lovers". I think it's that I don't enjoy Anna's role - more likely the stiff actresses they get to play her (though I bet I would have enjoyed Kelli O'Hara's 2019 take).

 

[Ojai Sam]

^
I dunno, @Ojai Sam , haven't hit 1950s musical - might have been on my list

Just kidding - no Hazel Flagg didn't make my personal "100 Greatest Broadway Musicals" as much as I do enjoy Thomas Mitchell

Original Broadway Cast - Hazel Flagg (1953)

This musical fits here nicely as an add on. It may not rise to the exalted heights of the Zeeba Top 100 , but it still has a lot to recommend it. Jule Styne's first two shows, High Button Shoes and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, were both hits. Hazel Flagg seemed likely to follow that path, with fine songs and a strong cast. But it died after just 190 performances. Why?

This musical was a remake of Nothing Sacred, a pre-war screwball comedy film starring Carole Lombard and Frederic March. The concept of a woman wrongly dosed with radium poisoning had a lot less appeal after Hiroshima. This spoiled the show's best song, "I Feel Like I'm Gonna Live Forever". That's a shame, because Helen Gallagher, Thomas Mitchell and the undeservedly forgotten Benay Venuta all turn in excellent performances. The lively "Every Street's A Boulevard In Old New York" should have succeeded as an anthem for the Big Apple.

After it closed, "Hazel Flagg" suffered the ultimate indignity: it was retooled into a dreadful Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movie, "Living It Up".

on the Sam-O-Meter.

Buying Tip: Look for the Sepia Records CD release. In addition to the complete original cast album, my friend Richard Tay threw in no few than 10 bonus tracks. They include covers of songs from the show by the likes of Eddie Fisher and Dinah Shore, along with a rare 78 rpm album by Benay Venuta that deserves a post on our "album covers" thread.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#7) Annie Get Your Gun - debut 1946

Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun is a musical that's lost some luster in recent years given its exaggerated countrified accents and mention of "Indians" - reasons perhaps why it hasn't been revived in the U.S. in over 20 years - but musically it remains strong with classics of the stage like "There's No Business Like Show Business", "You Can't Get A Man with a Gun", and "Anything You Can Do"

Initially staged in 1946, it was a wonderful showcase for Ethel Merman's talents (who had done Anything Goes in 1934 and several smaller shows in between). Merman was such a powerhouse in everything she did that the specter of Merman (sounds like a Magic the Gathering card my son might have) hangs over ever show she's ever done (especially Gypsy).

This is one reason I decided not only to spin the original, but also the 1999 Broadway Cast Revival staring Bernadette Peters (no Broadway slouch in her own right) which actually ran for over 1000 shows itself. You can't out-power Merman (as several Gypsy performers have discovered), so I appreciate Peters (who won a Tony for this) more subdued take on the songs. On a side note the 1999 show has Luke Duke himself - Tom Wopat - as the male lead Frank.

flisten

I never got around to listening to the cast album for this show, although natur'lly the songs are quite familiar. Tapped to replace Jerome Kern who had died suddenly, Irving Berlin made one of the great miscalculations of all time, opining that he would be unable to write songs to fit specific scenes in "a situation show". In a way he was right: only four of the dozen songs here had an appeal tied to the context of this musical. Ah, but the remaining ones are timeless classics with a universal appeal. The larger than life Ethel Merman for once had a vehicle that she could enhance without overwhelming it. And Ray Middleton more than holds his own on the flashy back-and-forth duet numbers.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#8) Brigadoon - debut 1947

Brigadoon - the Lerner and Loewe musical about a Scottish village that appears for one day every 100 years - is not a favorite of mine (and aside from the wonderful "Almost Like Being In Love" has, I feel, a forgettable soundtrack), but is included here because it is more important than good. It's certainly a favorite of many with 685 shows in its initial run plus 2 Broadway revivals in the 1950s, one in the 1960s, one in the 1980s and several National tours since (not to mention its popularity in local theatre). It's got Scottish dancing, lassies, and romance - hey, it keeps pulling people back.
An aside - it also is one of the main musicals satirized in the wonderful AppleTV+ limited series Schmigadoon with Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Alan Cumming, and Kristen Chenoweth

I'm intrigued by the 1966 TV version with Robert Goulet and Peter Falk...hmmm

To date, this was Lerner & Loewe's biggest hit with Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot to follow.

I have to agree with Zeeba's tepid assessment of this musical. Maybe the Scottish schtick works its magic on stage in costume, but I think I've seen too many faux Highlander TV shows and movies to be impressed.

 

[axolotl]

I have to agree with Zeeba's tepid assessment of this musical. Maybe the Scottish schtick works its magic on stage in costume, but I think I've seen too many faux Highlander TV shows and movies to be impressed.

View attachment 7597

Is Hot Scots worth watching, or do you give a hoot, mon?

 

[Ojai Sam]

#9) Kiss Me Kate (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1949

We go from Brigadoon which would be low down on a personal ranked list to Kiss Me Kate which would almost certainly be in my top 5 - no surprise given my avowed love of Cole Porter. Hilarious play in a play musical as a production of The Taming of the Shrew gets complicated by mistaken identity, romantic entanglements, and mobsters - just like Shakespeare! (well except for the mobsters). In addition to the fun plot and great humor, there are the usual Porter songs (that quickly became standards) like "Too Darn Hot" and "So In Love". Just crackles!

Was very saddened recently when an older friend who was "catching up" on all the old classics he missed during his busy youth spent working and raising a family. He asked me for a reco and had seen the usual suspects, so I suggested the 1953 MGM take on the musical - I've always thought Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and Ann Miller did a game job, but it apparently bored him and his wife stiff....ah well, no accounting for taste (shrug).
Having mentioned a young hoofer named Bob Fosse as the understudy (in 1952) when Pal Joey came up above, feel I should mention he played a small role in the 1953 film - who knows? Thank young boy may go far

Trivia: Kiss Me Kate won the first Best Musical Tony in 1949

It's always nice to have an excuse to dust off old favorites like this one. Zeeb nailed it so I have nothing to add.

I never saw the film so I can't really express a specific opinion about the friend who was underwhelmed. As a general proposition, I find that older film in general and musicals in particular often don't play well with folks who should be old enough to "get" them. Also, there is a certain staginess to filmed musicals that turns some people off these days. Conversely, revivals on the stage, even amateur ones, seem to retain a lot more of the power that made these shows great in the first place. I'd LOVE to see Kiss Me Kate some day, even if it's performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#10) South Pacific (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1949

Another obvious pick for the top 100 especially considering the Rodgers-Hammerstein classic contains so many stage classics: "Some Enchanted Evening", "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair", "A Wonderful Guy", "Bali Hai", "There's Nothing Like a Dame"....really the whole soundtrack is pretty classic (besides these, I really love the lesser known "This Nearly Was Mine")

I've said this before but, apologies to Larry Hagman, not a big Mary Martin fan - granted I was too young to see her in any of her classics - this one, Sound of Music, even Peter Pan, so maybe her acting was wonderfully charismatic, but I find her voice too thin and light (Julie Andrews kicks her ass in Sound of Music and I prefer the film soundtrack)

Miscellany:
1) A great revival was the Kelli O'Hara one in 2008.. A tremendous voice who is a giant of 21st century musical theatre (she was also in the latest revival of Kiss Me Kate)
2) I found it interesting from a TV perspective that both Florence Henderson (in the 1960s) and Barbara Eden (in the 1980s) played Nurse Nellie Forbush in smaller revivals - 60s sitcoms represent!
3) Just read that there was a non-Broadway touring show Legends! in 1986 centering on two aging rival film stars starring Mary Martin and Carol Channing. This play was revived in 2006 starring Joan Collins and Linda Evans. I find this trivial nugget just awesome

Another stone classic. Great songs, great performances...even the album cover art is iconic.

Random notes:

I saw this musical on stage with Robert Goulet toward the end of his career with an undistinguished supporting cast and he flat nailed it. It was like thirty years had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I love James Michener's episodic novel of WWII on which this musical is based. IMHO it's his best work.

My mom bought this record when it came out. In fact, she said this was the very first long playing 33 r.p.m. disc she ever bought.

One of the songs here was the basis for a "knock knock" joke with which I used to annoy my friends for years.

I understand how Zeeb feels about Mary Martin. I think she's an understated, formal product of the 40's and 50's who lost relevance in the more overt and casual 60's. As Liberace used to say (really), "try this on for size":

Mary Martin is to Julie Andrews as Harriet Nelson is to Mary Tyler Moore.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

14) Kismet (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1953

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).

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

15) Wonderful Town (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1953

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 ).
Tony Award winner for 1953 (so really though both released 1953, this should have preceded Kismet).

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#16) The Pajama Game (Original Broadway Cast) - debut 1954

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).

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#17) Damn Yankees (Original Cast Recording) - debut 1955



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 ) 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.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

#18) On The Town (1993 Live Cast Album) - debut 1944



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

 

[Ojai Sam]

#11) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Original Cast Album) - debut 1949

This one makes the list for its star-turn of Carol Channing and its popularity at the time (740 performances on initial run) leading to the Howard Hawks-directed film adaptation with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. Both contain, of course, the iconic "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend". Most will only recognize that song from the original musical - so between Channing, Monroe and future takes like Madonna in the "Material Girl" video, we'll call the musical more iconic that great - still its a fun plot and Channing is a hoot.

Busy work week, so it's time to catch up.

flisten.

I've never read the book or seen either the movie or the musical. So trying to capture the experience from a record is a bit like trying to figure out what the neighbors are arguing about by listening through the wall. Nevertheless, this is a fun listen. Anita Loos' frothy bestseller has enjoyed more lives than Felix The Cat, cycling through a silent film and a spoken word play before this musical was mounted, then of course the MM movie shortly thereafter.

The songs are lively and with Agnes de Mille choreographing, we can imagine how great the dancing was. Zeeba must like her work, since we've already "seen" her in Oklahoma, Carousel and Brigadoon. However, my overall impression is that this was mostly a star turn for Carol Channing, fresh off her first stage success in Lend An Ear. (Sad to say, that revue never seems to have been recorded, depriving us of the chance to hear a song called "Neurotic You and Psychopathic Me", performed as a trio by a doctor, nurse and patient. )

I can enjoy Carol Channing in small doses, and "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" is irresistible. "Keep Cool With Coolidge" has a particular appeal to me because I had to write a 100 page term paper about Silent Cal for my AP US History class. (I was out sick the day the class selected a president to study ). As a result, I came to a genuine appreciation of his "less is more" style which would sure be welcome these days.

 

[axolotl]

(Sad to say, that revue never seems to have been recorded, depriving us of the chance to hear a song called "Neurotic You and Psychopathic Me", performed as a trio by a doctor, nurse and patient. )

I can almost hear see perceive this kind of "one-off" as the progenitor idea for a play like The Producers.

Two-off is right out.

 

[Ojai Sam]

#12) Guys & Dolls (Original Broadway Cast) (1950 debut)
Easy pick - in fact musically a top 10 for me (of course by the end of this series, there will probably be 14 "top ten's"). My only challenge with the musical is that the big productions lean on the personalities more than the voices. Sinatra or Nathan Lane were great Nathan Detroit's but Robert Alda, Marlon Brando, and Peter Gallagher as Sky Masterston - meh. And after growing up on the film (which was one of my dad's faves, Sam Levene in this production is hard on the ear. But hey! Vivian Blaine as Adelaide here and in the film is fantastic. And ya can't beat the songs or the Runyon-inspired humor of the plot.

Anal-retentive point: the musical is Guys AND Dolls as are all the various recordings aside from this one that abbreviates with the ampersand and throws my searches off

Best fact discovered on Wiki about the musical: "Laurence Olivier had wanted to play Nathan Detroit, and began rehearsals for a planned 1971 London revival of Guys and Dolls for the National Theatre Company then based at the Old Vic. However, due to poor health he had to stop, and his revival never happened"

If Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a bit hard to extrapolate from its music, the cast recording of Guys & Dolls (sorry Zeeb ) is positively cinematic. I think the choice between Sam Levene and Frank Sinatra boils down to the same generation gap that we discussed for Mary Martin vs. Julie Andrews. This musical certainly deserves its place in Zeeba's Top Ten.


Vivian Blaine & Sam Levene

 

[Ojai Sam]

#13) The King and I (Original Cast Album) - 1951 debut

My biggest influence getting into Broadway musicals was my father - my dad's personality and other film interests in retrospect would not peg him as a musical-guy but he loved 'em - and he loved The King and I, one of our big departures with musicals (the other is West Side Story which I love and he never enjoyed). But did he like The King and I because of the music or because of Yul, because, c'mon, how can you not love Yul in this role...or any role...I mean, for God sake, he barely speaks in Westworld and makes the whole film. Proud to say we saw Yul together (pretty sure it was in the 1985 revival but that seems late so it could have been late 1970s).
But musically, just never appealed to me as much as other Rodgers-Hammerstein musicals - hey there are some classics - "Getting to Know You", "Shall We Dance", "Hello Young Lovers". I think it's that I don't enjoy Anna's role - more likely the stiff actresses they get to play her (though I bet I would have enjoyed Kelli O'Hara's 2019 take).

I'm with Zeeba's dad on this one. I love The King And I, which turned out to be a gateway drug for my fixation with Broadway musicals in general. Great songs, an easy to follow romantic plot and Yul Brynner's signature role.

Gertrude Lawrence falls on the older side of the generation gap we've been discussing in this thread. Her old school theatrical style is not for everyone, but then she started singing on the stage at age 10.



Gertrude's tragic life seemingly rebounded after years of turmoil when she got this role in The King And I, winning a Tony for Best Actress In A Musical. But she would faint on stage less than a year and a half after the show opened and soon died of advanced live cancer. Lawrence was the first person honored on Broadway by having the house lights dimmed at her death. Her funeral was attended by over 5,000 people.