Betty Buckley, Grizabella and Beyond...

 Circa 1967, before her 1969 Broadway debut in 1776

 As Grizabella in Cats, 1982, for which Betty received a Tony 

for Best Featured Actress in a Musical

And as always, a glamour shot!

Catch Me If You Can...

...starring Aaron Tveit, Tom Wopat, and Norbert Leo Butz,

and a bevy of stewardii!

Doris Day...turned 90 this spring!

 Born in 1924, Doris Kappelhoff turned 90 this spring...

here she is in the early 1950's, after her stint with 

Les Brown & His Band of Renown.

 With Rock Hudson in "Lover Come Back," 1961.

 In Jumbo, with Martha Ray, 1962.

Circa 1970.

You're always humilatin' me, humilatin' me....

Jane Powell, Fred Astaire...and "How Could You Believe Me?"

Royal Wedding!

Playlist for Sunday, June 1, 2014: How Could You Believe Me?

Real favorites this week...including our Movie Musical Corner, with Judy, Doris, Fred, Jane and Howard!  I'm going to think you know all of these stars by their first names...that's how much confidence I have in you!  From Seven Brides to Summer Stock...and lots in between.  

We're starting off with a few selections from Catch Me If You Can this Sunday...which is new to me! It didn't hang round on Broadway for many performances, but I like the energy of the music. Composed by those same folks who brought us Hairspray, it's got a 60's jive to it, and a Mad Men edge.  Some of it is trying to out-noir City of Angels by channeling Cy Coleman...especially in The Man Inside the Clues. It almost succeeds!

Then a couple of really BIG BALLADS, like Memory from Cats, and And I'm Telling You I'm Not Leaving from Dream Girls...every once in awhile, I get an urge to play those overdone gems (I was going to say bagels, but stopped myself), and that urge has arrived.

ANNNNND we'll finish up with a record-breaking song! One with the longest title of any song in MGM musical history: How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?  An absolutely wonderful number, done by Fred and Jane Powell, playing that brother and sister team from Royal Wedding.  I could eat it with a spoon! 


The Pinstripes Are All They See (Tom Wopat, Aaron Tveit, Catch Me If You Can)
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (John Cullum, On a Clear Day You Can See
                           Forever)
This Plum is Too Ripe (Ensemble, The Fantasticks)
Jet Set (Aaron Tveit, Ensemble, Catch Me If You Can)
The Man Inside the Clues (Norbert Leo Butz, Catch Me If You Can)
And I'm Telling You I'm Not Leaving (Jennifer Holliday, Dream Girls)
Send in the Clowns (Glynis Johns, A Little Night Music)
Memory (Betty Buckley, Cats)
Sobbin' Women (Howard keel, Ensemble, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
My Romance (Doris Day, Jumbo)
Get Happy (Judy Garland, Summer Stock)
Embraceable You (Harry Groener, Jodi Benson, Crazy for You)
There's Something About You (Dick Christmas, Bernadette Peters, Dames at Sea)
Ooh, Do You Love You! (Linda Lavin, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman!)
How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been a Liar
                            All My Life? (Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Royal Wedding)

On the Town...an assortment of Chips, Ozzies, and Gabeys

 Adolph Green, Cris Alexander, and John Battles

on a tour of NYC

 And with their gal friends,

Sono Osato, Betty Comden and Nancy Walker

The movie version with Betty Garrett, Frank Sinatra,

Ann Miller, Jules Munshin

Gene Kelly, and Vera-Ellen

Shuffling Off...from 42nd Street

 Although not the original 1980 Broadway production, 

this shows you a very similar set for Shuffle Off to Buffalo...

 

 The requisite pullman car, with friendly chorines, seems to be the 

the "thing to do" for that song!

And from the 1933 movie version, 

we're still on the train, now dancing in the aisles, with Ruby Keeler!

It was considered quite a risque number, back in the day. 

Go figure.

Lesley Ann Warren...through the years!

As Norma in "Victor/Victoria"...1982.

 With Richard Rodgers, in "Cinderella"...1965.

As Miss Scarlett, in "Clue"...1985.

William Daniels...not just a doctor on St. Elsewhere!

 In the original Broadway production of 1776...

with Howard DaSilva, Betty Buckley, and Ken Howard.

Reprising his role as John Adams in the movie version of 1776....

done in 1969.

 As Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate...1967.

Playlist for Sunday, May 25, 2014: Hello New York...and Paducah!

We're back live this coming Sunday, May 25, and I think it's time to try a few new things (mixed liberally with old favorites, of course!). 1776 was a musical no one thought would ever succeed...based on a few weeks of arguing in hot, buggy, summer-smelly Philadelphia. There is even a 30 minute lull between one song and the next (in Act 2?), which is sort of a record. Shouldn't it just be a straight play, "they" all asked?....But it succeeded beyond anyone's imaginings, and received a Tony for Best Musical. William Daniels played an irascible John Adams, Howard DaSilva was Benjamin Franklin, and Betty Buckley in the role of Martha Jefferson.  

And then we'll do a mini-tribute of sorts to NYC...there are of course MANY songs about New York, and I was tempted to do an entire show of them, but not everyone may be enthralled with this town as I.  Actually I love OLD New York, as I romanticize the heck out of it.  Now, not so much...and to that end, we'll hear from On the Town, Hazel Flagg, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

And then Paducah, an ode to small towns everywhere... "see" you Sunday!  :)


Steam Heat (Ensemble, The Pajama Game)
Sit Down, John (William Daniels, Ensemble, 1776)
Cool, Cool Considerate Men (Paul Hecht, Ken Howard, Ensemble, 1776)
Gentleman Jimmy (Eileen Rodgers, Fiorello!)
One the Side of the Angels (Nathaniel Frey, Bob Holiday, Patricia Wilson, Fiorello!)
While the City Sleeps (Billy Daniels, Golden Boy)
Being Good (Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby!)
New York, New York (Ensemble, On the Town)
Every Street's a Boulevard in Old New York (Jack Whiting, Hazel Flagg)
Nothing is New in New York (Ensemble, Breakfast at Tiffany's)
Only in New York (Sheryl Lee Ralph, Thoroughly Modern Millie)
Shuffle Off to Buffalo (Joseph Bova, Karen Prunczik, Ensemble, 42nd Street)
Chicago, Illinois (Lesley Ann Warren, Victor/Victoria)
Paducah (The Shoe String Revue)

Jerry Herman and his first "Dolly!"

Jerry with Carol Channing as Dolly Levi,

snuggling up to that cash register!

George Hearn in Jerry's La Cage...

 Contemplating "More Mascara" perhaps?

 At the recording studio, George, Gene Barry, Jerry Herman

And in character! 

Angela and Bea, Bosum Buddies

 Lansbury and Arthur, rehearsing for the original Broadway

Production of Mame, 1966...

...and at the 1987 Tony Awards.

Playlist for Sunday, May 18, 2014: Jerry Herman Pre-recorded Show

My daughter graduates from college this coming weekend, so I'm off to attend that important event! I've been promised that Jazz 90.1 will air the Jerry Herman Tribute Show that I initially broadcast on January 19, 2014.  If you love Jerry like I do, you'll enjoy hearing this little homage again, or if you didn't catch it in January, as something brand new.

Thanks for listening, and please send me a request for your favorite musical or performer, and when I return for a live 2 on the Aisle (on May 25), I'll play 'em! 


Each Tomorrow Morning (Angela Lansbury, Dear World)
Look What Happened to Mabel (Bernadette Peters, Mack & Mabel)
I Won't Send Roses (Robert Preston, Mack & Mabel)
Elegance (Charles Nelson Reilly and Ensemble, Hello Dolly!)
So Long Dearie (Carol Channing, Hello Dolly!)
And I Was Beautiful (Angela Lansbury, Dear World)
Dear World (Angela Lansbury, Dear World)
A Little More Mascara (George Hearn, La Cage Aux Folles)
With You On My Arm (George Hearn, Gene Barry, La Cage Aux Folles)
Miss What's Her Name (Deborah Gravitte, Miss Spectacular)
Where in the World is My Prince? (Faith Prince, Miss Spectacular)
The Man in the Moon (Bea Arthur, Mame)
Gooch's Song (Jane Connell, Mame)
Confession to a Park Avenue Mother (Charles Nelson Reilly, Parade)
The Best of Times is Now (Gene Barry, George Hearn, Ensemble, La Cage Aux
                             Folles)

Pacific Overtures, 1976

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman...Overtures ran for 193 performances...Tonys for Best Costumes and Scenic Design. 

Brian Stokes Mitchell...

In Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,

singing "The Microphone," as Ivan

 Man of La Mancha

Garland shots!

 With Tootie (Margaret O'Brien), going Under the Bamboo Tree,

in Meet Me in St. Louis.

 Promo shot "For Me and My Gal," with Gene Kelly.

Gwen Verdon, aka Essie Whimple

 As Essie in "Redhead," Best Musical of 1959

 Recording the cast album, with Richard Kiley

Playlist for Sunday, May 10, 2014: So Many Favorites, So Little Time

 I don't know why I love Broadway music so much.  If you asked me how many Broadway musicals I've actually seen, my response would be surprisingly low!  And, to tell you the truth, I prefer the music and lyrics to the actual shows.  Yup. I know the music of certain shows backwards and forwards, but when I've seen the productions LIVE, PERFECT, and PROFESSIONAL, I often find they were better in my mind.  It's the music that holds me.

I'm in a sentimental mood, as the song says, so this week I have a few of my very favorites...like Someone in a Tree, from Sondheim's Pacific Overture, which I played over and over again back in the 1980's.  (Perfect pace for jogging, BTW!) The idea of "the pebble, not the stream" making history...how hopeful.  

Redhead is new to the show!  Richard Kiley and Gwen Verdon...delicious! Also I just discovered Rags, a show from 1986.  It had a VERY short run (4 performances), but Brand New World is especially inspiring.  Charles Strouse's music and Stephen Schwartz's lyrics, reminding me of the energy of Ragtime and the cacophony of Barnum!

Stick around for the movie musical "corner," with some Judy and Gene and little Margaret O'Brien...Oh and remember to call your mom!  :)


Our Time (Ensemble, Merrily We Roll Along)
It's You (The Buffalo Bills Barbershop Quartet, The Music Man)
Gary, Indiana (Eddie Hodges, The Music Man)
Marian, the Librarian (Robert Preston, The Music Man)
Someone in a Tree (Ensemble, Pacific Overtures)
She's Not Enough Woman for Me (Richard Kiley, Leonard Stone, Redhead)
Erbie Fitch's Twitch (Gwen Verdon, Redhead)
For Me and My Gal (Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, For Me and My Gal)
Under the Bamboo Tree (Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Meet Me in
                          St. Louis)
The Boy Next Door (Judy Garland, Meet Me in St. Louis)
Brand New World (Julia Migenes, Josh Blake, Rags)
Three Sunny Rooms (Marcia Lewis, Dick LaTessa, Rags)
The Microphone (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Justin Guarini, Women on the                                       Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
Man of La Mancha (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Man of La Mancha)
Garbage (Bea Arthur, The Shoe String Revue)

Another Frank, with Bing and Dean...recording Loesser

Can't resist putting this recording in this week's (5/4/14) playlist...Sinatra, Crosby and Martin singing "The Oldest Established." 

Guys and Dolls Shots...

       Stubby Kaye, Murray Vines, and Johnny Silver...

I Got the Horse Right Here!

      Frank Loesser working with Marlon, for the movie...they got along fine. Not so the duo of Loesser and Sinatra.

Robert Morse...Succeeding!

                With Frank Loesser, right...at the recording session for How To....

                                     Note WWW...World Wide Wicket.

With Anthony Perkins, in The Matchmaker, a 1958 movie with Shirley Booth    and Shirley MacClaine.  They were Cornelius and Barnaby.