Ahhh...flops. Why doesn't Kim play more of them? Said nobody ever.
I've been accused, from time to time, of playing too many of Broadway's eccentrics, the also rans, the failures. Kim, play something we can hum! More South Pacific! More Sound of Music! More...pablum!
What's wrong with a flop? And what/who/wherefore determines a flop anyway? Why do some shows succeed and others lie in a heap at the curb? Do the masses, the lines around the block, determine a winner? Do the Addison Dewitts still wield the Vegamatic power to slice and dice like they used to...ruining runs and curdling careers? Just because something closes in 3.5 weeks, is it bad? The Rodgers and Hart shows of the 20s and 30s lasted less than a year each, yet all were crowned successes. Now a show of that length is deemed kaput, a niche-market, a lucky-if-you're-cult. $$$ plays a huge part, of course, and if it's only making $, your show will kindly take a back seat (or smaller theatre, please) to one making $$$$. And if I can't hum your closing theme easily enough on my way up the aisle to my waiting Uber, that's it. Youz history.
Karen Morrow, who'll be featured singing a song from Miss Spectacular this Sunday (An unproduced show! So bad it never happened?), has a history of them. A dozen or more musicals she was slated to star in failed in previews, shuttered after opening night, you were great but now it's over pack up get out here's your hat what's your hurry.
But I play 'em. For there is wonder to be found. Case in point: Songs For A New World. It was on Broadway for what? An hour? But it had Jessica Molaskey, it mixed jazz with gospel with pop, had a couple of good character songs and some heart-felt ballads. Hey, it tried! If we only listen to the Phantoms and the Oklahomas, we might just as well drink Coke and eat McDonalds for the rest of our days. Open wide, and experience...escargot!
Rant over. See ya Sunday!
Cell Block Tango (Catherine Zeta Jones, Ensemble, Chicago)
The River Won't Flow (Brooks Ashmanskas, Ty Taylor, Songs For A New
World)
I'm Not Afraid Of Anything (Andrea Burns, Songs For A New World)
Surabaya Santa (Jessica Molaskey, Songs For A New World)
Ev'ry Sunday Afternoon (Shirley Ross, Ray Sinatra, A Connecticut Yankee)
My Heart Stood Still (Dick Foran, Julie Warren, A Connecticut Yankee)
Where Or When (Gregg Edelman, Judy Blazer, Babes In Arms)
I Wish I Were In Love Again (Jason Graae, Donna Kane, Babes In Arms)
Broadway Baby (Bernadette Peters, Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall)
The Little Things You Do Together (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)
Funny (Lannyl Stephens, Andrea Martin, My Favorite Year)
The Joker (Anthony Newley, The Roar Of The Greasepaint, The Smell Of The
Crowd)
Make 'Em Laugh (Donald O'Connor, Singin' In The Rain)
Laugh, You Son Of A Gun (Shirley Temple, Dorothy Dell, Little Miss Marker)
They Say It's Wonderful (Judy Garland, Howard Keel, Annie Get Your Gun)
Lose That Long Face (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)
Mack The Black (Judy Garland, The Pirate)
The Sweetest Sound (Richard Kiley, Diahann Carroll, No Strings)
No Other Music (Karen Morrow, Miss Spectacular)
The Music That Makes Me Dance (Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl)
Agony (Chuck Wagner, Robert Westenberg, Into The Woods)
Happily Ever After (Craig Lucas, Marry Me A Little)
Isn't It? (Lauren Ward, Saturday Night)
The Boy From...(Millicent Martin, The Mad Show/Side By Side By Sondheim)
Natasha (David Garrison, Peggy Hewitt, A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The
Ukraine)
Boston Beguine (Alice Ghostley, New Faces Of 1952)
Tango (Temptation) (Instrumental, Singin' In The Rain)
The Beguine (Tamara Long, Steve Elmore, Dames At Sea)
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