With the country's new lunatic/leader in place, I sort of need to borrow that Newley/Bricusse show title: Stop The World, I Want To Get Off. I wonder which one thought that up? Or maybe it was one of their wives, or Aunt Sadie...or somebody who was just delivering coffees and buns to a rehearsal, and overheard them batting around possible ideas. Maybe that guy is the one we need to thank.
Of course, I'm not playing that show. It just works, that title. Right now. No, I'm playing Leslie Bricusse, 'cuz it's his 85th birthday. He's probably well ensconced in a little Cotswold cottage by now, adding a chapter to his memoirs and knocking back Darjeeling with Mrs. Nesbitt. Good on you, Les. You gave us Willie Wonka and Doctor Doolittle and Hook-ed us with your words.
We'll also say "Good On You" to Jerome Kern, born just 132 years ago (?), but his melodies still float my catamaran (don't know about yours!)...and have fun with a few classic composer corners: R&H, another R&H, K&E, and just H. (Oh come on, do I have to spell 'em out?) I also JUST THE OTHER DAY discovered Closer Than Ever, a revue of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire tunes. It was produced in 1989. Maybe I was busy birthing Broadway Babies at the time, but this one slipped by me til...oh, last Thursday, when I cracked open that CD and "discovered it" (like a lost Scottish town that appears only...oops, wrong show). Anyway, I then realized I had actually met David Shire and his wife Didi Conn (remember Shining Time Station???) at a Seder Many Moons Ago (in a far off land...oops, wrong show), and had totally forgotten it. The drugs of the 70s (and 80s and...) have far reaching consequences. Don't do drugs, kids. Just do Broadway.
Doors (Sally Mayes, Richard Muenz, Lynne Wintersteller, Brent Barrett,
Closer Than Ever)
Some Enchanted Evening (Ezio Pinza, South Pacific)
In My Own Little Corner (Julie Andrews, Cinderella)
Pore Jud Is Dead (Alfred Drake, Howard DaSilva, Oklahoma)
Edelweiss (Theodore Bikel, The Sound Of Music)
On Your Toes (Bobby Van, Kay Coulter, Joshua Shelley, On Your Toes)
There's A Small Hotel (Bobby Van, Kay Coulter, On Your Toes)
You Took Advantage Of Me (Elaine Stritch, On Your Toes)
Not Today (Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway, Kevin Reed, Brownstone)
Crossword Puzzle (Lonnie Ackerman, Starting Here, Starting Now)
Colored Lights (Karen Mason, And The World Goes 'Round)
A Million Windows And I (Ann Hampton Callaway, Shoe String Revue)
Make Believe (Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Show Boat)
Bill (Annette Warren, Show Boat)
You Were Never Lovelier (Fred Astaire, You Were Never Lovelier)
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Tamara Drasin, Roberta)
A Fine Romance (Marilyn Monroe, Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend)
Three Friends (Sally Mayes, Lynn Wintersteller, Brent Barrett,
Closer Than Ever)
There (Sally Mayes, Richard Muenz, Closer Than Ever)
Patterns (Lynn Wintersteller, Closer Than Ever)
Who Can I Turn To (Anthony Newley, The Roar Of The Grease Paint, The
Smell Of The Crowd)
Gay Paree (Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria)
Pure Imagination (Barbra Streisand, Seth McFarlane, Willie Wonka And
The Chocolate Factory)
When You're Alone (Caroline Goodall, Hook)
Elegance (Charles Nelson Reilly, Jerry Dodge, Eileen Brennan,
Sondra Lee, Hello, Dolly!)
Look What's Happened To Mabel (Bernadette Peters, Mack & Mabel)
Too Charming (Robert Preston, Ulla Sallert, Ben Franklin In Paris)
My Best Girl (Frankie Michaels, Angela Lansbury, Mame)
La Cage Aux Folles (George Hearn, Elizabeth Parrish, The Cagelles,
La Cage Aux Folles)
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