Enchanted Evenings:The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber (99 page)

When Cap’n Andy (Charles Winninger) and wife Parthy Ann (Edna May Oliver) bring their show boat
Cotton Blossom
into town for a performance, their daughter Magnolia (Norma Terris) meets a handsome professional gambler, Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Marsh). The youngsters fall in love at first sight, although they profess it is “Make Believe.” Magnolia seeks advice on what to do from a black workhand, Joe (Jules Bledsoe), who tells her probably “Ol’ Man River” alone can answer her but that the river “don’t say nothin.’” The show’s leading lady, Julie (Helen Morgan), begins to understand Magnolia’s situation and, recalling an old folk song, tells her how she too “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” of hers. But when Julie is accused of having Negro blood she is forced to leave the boat, taking the leading man with her. Magnolia and Gaylord are pressed into assuming the leads. Soon enough they are telling each other “You Are Love.” They marry and head off. Years pass. At the Chicago World’s Fair they seem amazed not only at the sights but at how their love has grown, and ask, “Why Do I Love You?” But eventually Gaylord’s gambling costs him all his money, so he deserts Magnolia. She applies for a job singing at a nightclub where Julie, now a drunkard, is rehearsing her “Bill” number. Julie recognizes Magnolia and
sacrifices what is left of her own career to help Magnolia begin hers. When Cap’n Andy finds his daughter there he persuades her to return to the
Cotton Blossom
. More years pass. One day an aging Gaylord returns. To his relief he is welcomed by Magnolia.

Georges Seurat (Mandy Patinkin) is determined to finish his painting,
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte
, even if it means his friends and associates will ridicule him and even if in the process he must neglect and lose his mistress, Dot (Bernadette Peters). Years later his American great-grandson, George (Patinkin), is also an artist, hoping to find meaning and purpose working on a multimedia “Chromolume.” He is encouraged by his grandmother, Marie (Peters). Visiting the drearily overdeveloped Grande Jatte after her death, he finds solace in her memory and in notes once scribbled by his great-grandfather.

Bitter at his imprisonment and at the world in general, Sweeney Todd (Len Cariou) returns to London and sets up as a barber. But he is no ordinary barber. He slits his customers’ throats and turns their bodies over to his friend, Mrs. Lovett (Angela Lansbury), who bakes them into pies. He even succeeds in murdering the venal judge who sent him to prison, but when he learns he has also inadvertently murdered his long-lost wife his mind snaps completely and he pushes Mrs. Lovett into her own oven. He in turn is murdered by a young boy Mrs. Lovett had befriended.

The story is set among two rival youth gangs in New York City in the 1950s, the longer established Jets, led by Riff, and the Puerto Rican newcomers, the Sharks, led by Bernardo. Riff intends to meet Bernardo at a community dance—neutral territory—and challenge him to a fight for control of the neighborhood. Tony (Larry Kert), a former Jet and Riff’s best friend, meets Maria (Carol Lawrence), Bernardo’s sister, at the dance, and they fall immediately in love. They meet that night on her fire escape, and again the next day at the shop where she works, where they enact a mock wedding ceremony.
Tony tries to intervene at the rumble but succeeds only in accidentally permitting Bernardo to kill Riff; in a rage, Tony himself kills Bernardo. Maria manages to forgive him and they decide to run away together. She sends a message to Tony who is in hiding with the Jets, by Bernardo’s girlfriend Anita, but the gang so abuses her that she angrily tells them Maria is dead. Tony, in despair, runs through the streets begging to be killed; he discovers that Maria is alive just as a Shark shoots him. Maria in her grief manages to persuade everyone to let the retaliation stop, giving a hint of hope for reconciliation as the play ends.

Composer and original cast (1934, 1935, and 1947): Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” in New York and London with the composer and members of the original 1934 cast
. Ethel Merman, Jack Whiting, The Foursome, Jeanne Aubert, Sidney Howard, Porter (vocals and piano). Smithsonian American Musical Theater Series DPM1–0284 R 007. Contents: “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” (Merman), “All Through the Night” (Whiting), “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” (Aubert), “You’re the Top” (Whiting and Aubert), “Sailor’s Chanty,” “Gypsy in Me” (The Foursome), “You’re the Top,” “Anything Goes,” “Be Like the Bluebird” (Porter), and “Be Like the Bluebird” (Howard). Porter’s rendition of “You’re the Top” (October 26, 1934) was reissued on the compact disc
Showstoppers: Historic Victor Recordings
BMG 9590–2-R.
^*

Revival cast (1962)
: Hal Linden, Eileen Rodgers, Kenneth Mars, Ted Simons (conductor)
^†
. Epic Footlight Series FLS 15100 (S); reissued on Time-Life
P 15602 (S), set STL AM02 with
Kiss Me, Kate
and
Can-Can
(set title,
Cole Porter
). Missing: “Where Are the Men?”

Revival cast (1987)
: Patti LuPone, Howard McGillin, Bill McCutcheon, Edward Strauss (conductor). RCA 7769–4 RC.

Studio cast (1989)
: Kim Criswell, Cris Groenendaal, Jack Gilford, Frederica von Stade, John McGlinn (conductor). EMI/Angel CDC 7–49848–2.

FILM (Paramount 1936)
: Cast: Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charlie Ruggles, Ida Lupino, and Margaret Dumont. Screenplay by Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, and Guy Bolton. Produced by Benjamin Glazer. Directed by Lewis Milestone. Songs (from
Anything Goes
): “Anything Goes” [fragment] (Merman), “I Get a Kick Out of You” (Merman), “There’ll Always Be a Lady Fair” (Crosby and Avalon Boys), “You’re the Top” (Merman and Crosby). [82 minutes]

FILM (Paramount 1956)
: Cast: Bing Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Phil Harris, Jeanmarie. Screenplay by Sidney Sheldon. Produced by Robert Emmett Dolan, Directed by Robert M. Lewis. Choreography by Nick Castle. Songs by Porter: “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” “It’s De-Lovely” (from 1962 Revival), “All through the Night.” [106 minutes]

Original cast (1945)
: John Raitt, Jan Clayton, Jean Darling, Christine Johnson, Joseph Littau (conductor). Decca DLP-8003; reissue. MCA 2033. Missing: “Geraniums in the Winder” and some dance numbers.

Film cast (1956)
: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Barbara Ruick, Robert Rounseville, Cameron Mitchell, Alfred Newman (conductor). Capitol SW 694. Missing: “Geraniums in the Winder,” “The Highest Judge of All,” and some dance numbers.

Studio cast (1988)
: Barbara Cook, Samuel Ramey, Sarah Brightman, David Rendall, Maureen Forrester, and Paul Gemignani (conductor). MCA Classics MCAD 6209.

FILM (2Oth Century-Fox 1956)
: Cast: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, and Robert Rounseville. Screenplay by Henry and Phoebe Ephron. Produced by Henry Ephron. Directed by Henry King. Choreography by Rod Alexander and Agnes de Mille. Not included: “Geraniums in the Winder” and “The Highest Judge of All.” [128 minutes]

Composer and original cast (1938)
: Olive Stanton, Charles Niemeyer, Bert Weston, Edward Fuller, Jules Schmidt, John Adair, Ralph MacBane, Peggy Coudray, Maynard Holmes, Dulce Fox, George Fairchild, Blanche Collins, Howard da Silva, Marc Blitzstein (narration and piano). Musicraft Records No. 18; reissued American Legacy T 1001 and “Marc Blitzstein Musical Theatre Premières,” Pearl Gems 0009, 2 CDs (1998). Nearly complete.
^*

Composer and studio cast (1957):
Marc Blitzstein Discusses His Theater Compositions
. Evelyn Lear, Roddy McDowall, Jane Connell, Alvin Epstein, Marc Blitzstein (piano). Spoken Arts 717. Spoken historical introduction by Blitzstein, “Nickel under the Foot,” and Hotel Lobby Scene.

Revival cast (1964)
: Jerry Orbach, Lauri Peters, Clifford David, Rita Gardner, Micki Grant, Hal Buckley, Nancy Andrews, Gershon Kingsley (musical director and pianist). MGM SE 4289–2 OC (complete on two records).

London cast (1985)
: Patti Lupone, Randle Mell, Michael Barrett (musical director and pianist). That’s Entertainment Records ZC TED 1105 (complete).

Film Soundtrack (1999)
: BMG/RCA 0902700. Songs (with selective singers): “Nickel under the Foot,” “Moll’s Song” (Steven Tyler, Emily Watson), “Croon Spoon” (Eddie Vedder, Susan Sarandon), “Joe Worker” (Audra McDonald), “Honolulu,” “Reverend Salvation,” Freedom of the Press,” “The Cradle Will Rock.”

FILM (Touchstone 1999)
: Cast: Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Angus MacFadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, John Turturro, and Emily Watson. Screenplay by Tim Robbins. Produced by Lydia Dean-Pilcher, Jon Kilik, and Robbins. Directed by Robbins. Songs: See Film Soundtrack (1999). [134 minutes]

Original cast (1971)
: Alexis Smith, Gene Nelson, John McMartin, Yvonne DeCarlo, Dorothy Collins, Mary McCarty, Ethel Shutta, Victoria Mallory, Fifi D’Orsay, Harold Hastings (conductor). Capitol SO 761.

Concert cast (1985)
: Barbara Cook, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Lee Remick, Mandy Patinkin, Licia Albanese, George Hearn, Phyllis Newman, Carol Burnett, Elaine Stritch, Paul Gemignani (conductor). RCA HBC2–7128.

Studio cast (1985): A Collector’s Sondheim
. Craig Lucas, Suzanne Henry, E. Martin Perry (conductor). Contents (dropped songs only): “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” “Uptown, Downtown,” “Who Could Be Blue?,” “Little White House,” “It Wasn’t Meant to Happen,” and “Can That Boy Fox-trot!” RCA CRL4–5359. With the exception of “Can That Boy Foxtrot!” all songs above appear in
Marry Me a Little
(1981) RCA ABL1–4159.

London cast (1987)
: Diana Rigg, Julia McKenzie, Daniel Massey, David Healy, Dolores Gray, Martin Koch (conductor). Geffen 24183–4. Includes “Ah, but Underneath” (replacing “The Story of Lucy and Jessie”), “Country House” (replacing “The Road You Didn’t Take”), “Make the Most of Your Music” (replacing “Live, Laugh, Love”)

Paper Mill Playhouse Cast, “The Complete Recording” (1998)
. Kaye Ballard (“Broadway Baby”), Eddie Bracken, Laurence Guittard, Dee Hoty, Donna McKechnie, Ann Miller (“I’m Still Here”), Lilane Montevecchi, Phyllis Newman, Tony Roberts, and Donald Sadler, and Jonathan Tunick (conductor). TVT Soundtrax TVT 1030–2.

Composer and studio cast (c. 1950–1955): An Evening with Frank Loesser: Frank Loesser Performs Songs from His Hit Shows
. DRG 5169 (CD). Contents: “Fugue for Tinhorns” (with Milton Delugg and Sue Bennett), “I’ll Know,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat,” “Sue Me,” “Traveling Light” (unused), and “Adelaide” (from 1955 MGM film).

Original cast (1950)
: Robert Alda, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene, Isabel Bigley, Pat Rooney Sr., Stubby Kaye, Irving Actman (conductor). Decca 8036; reissue MCA 2034. Missing: “Havana” and “Crapshooter” dances.

Film cast (1955)
: Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons, Jay Blackton (conductor). Decca ED 2332. Added: “Pet Me, Poppa,” “A Woman in Love,” and “Adelaide.”

Studio Cast (1986)
: Emily Loesser, Gregg Edelman, Kim Criswell, John Owen Edwards (conductor). JAY 1356.

Revival cast (1992)
: Peter Gallagher, Nathan Lane, Josie de Guzman, Faith Prince, Edward Strauss (conductor). RCA 09026–61317–2.

FILM (Samuel Goldwyn [released by MGM] 1955)
: Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, and Stubby Kaye. Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Choreography by Michael Kidd: Deleted songs: “A Bushel and a Peck,” “More I Cannot Wish You,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” and “Marry the Man Today.” Added songs: “Pet Me, Poppa,” “A Woman in Love,” and “Adelaide.” [149 minutes]

Original Cast (1987)
: Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Ben Wright, Danielle Ferland, Kay McClelland, and Lauren Mitchell, Paul Gemignani (conductor). RCA 6796–2-RC.

London Cast (1991)
: Julia McKenzie, Imelda Staunton, Patsy Rowlands, Clive Carter, Jonathan Tunick (conductor). New song (for the Witch and Rapunzel): “Our Little World.” BMG/RCA 0902700.

FILM (Image Entertainment (1991)
: Cast: Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby, Ben Wright, Danielle Ferland, Kay McClelland, and Lauren Mitchell, Paul Gemignani (conductor). Produced by Iris Merlis and Michael Brandman. Directed by James Lapine. [153 minutes]

Original cast (1949)
: Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, Harold Lang, Lorenzo Fuller, Harry Clark, and Jack Diamond, Pembroke Davenport (conductor). Columbia S 32609; reissued on Time-Life P 15602 (S), set STL AM02 with
Anything Goes
and
Can-Can
(set title,
Cole Porter
). Missing: “I Sing of Love,” “Act I Finale,” and some dance numbers.

Film cast (1953)
: Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, Bobby Van, Tommy Rall, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Bob Fosse, André Previn (conductor). MGM 3077. Added: “From This Moment On,” dropped from
Out of This World
.