Playlist For Sunday, April 14: Half full or half empty, T.S.?

April is the Cruelest Month. Ever hear that? A joe by the name of T.S. Eliot said it..."April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain." A mouthful said he. And I'm inclined to agree. Never having been a real spring fan though, I tend to see the mud before the blossoms, the rain before the sun. I sort of want to jump over the "Memory" part and and land full-throttle in "desire" (aka summer). But maybe that's why we have Easter Parades down 5th Avenue, to jive up the gray with bonnets and "ribbons down my back". Maybe that's why we have baseball and fellas with umbrellas and Broadway. To keep us (like so much coffee, strong and getting stronger) perking.

So we've got Charlie Brown (he didn't play just football, ya know!), Ragtime (the musical, not the music), and Lainie Kazan welcoming us to Brooklyn for Italian Kosher. We've got contemplative Jessica Molaskey, misty/heathered Brigadoon (what year is it again??), and a bunch of Broadway ladies complaining about the men in their lives (or the lack thereof). 

And, of course, there's Judy and Fred, parading and steppin' out, enticing us to reassign April as not so terribly cruel after all. :)


Easter Parade (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)
The Game (Nathaniel Frey, Albert Linville, Jimmy Komack, Russ
       Brown, Damn Yankees)
T-E-A-M (The Baseball Game)(Gary Burghoff, Bob Balaban, Reva Rose,
       You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown)
There Goes The Ball Game/How Lucky Can You Get (Karen Mason, Karen
       Ziemba, Brenda Pressley, Robert Cuccioli, Jim Walton, And The
       World Goes 'Round)
What A Game (Mark Jacoby, Alex Strange, Ragtime)
Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc. (Peter Friedman, Ragtime)
Make Them Hear You (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ragtime)
Happy Talk (Juanita Hall, South Pacific)
This Nearly Was Mine (Ezio Pinza, South Pacific)
Honey Bun (Mary Martin, South Pacific)
It Shoulda Been You (Josh Grisetti, Chip Zien, Tyne Daly, Ensemble,
       It Shoulda Been You)
Nice (Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, It Shoulda Been You)
Welcome To Brooklyn (Lainie Kazan, Tim Curry, Evan Pappas, Ensemble,
       My Favorite Year)
Shut Up And Dance (Evan Pappas, Lannyl Stephens, My Favorite Year)
Where In The World Is My Prince? (Faith Prince, Miss Spectacular)
Who's Been Sitting In My Chair? (Elaine Stritch, Goldilocks)
Girls Like Me (Carol Lawrence, Subways Are For Sleeping)
Take Him (Vivienne Segal, Beverly Fite, Pal Joey)
I'd Rather Wake Up By Myself (Shirley Booth, By The Beautiful Sea)
Once In The Highlands/Brigadoon (Eddie Quillan, Ensemble, Brigadoon)
I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean (John Gustafson, Gene Kelly, Van Johnson,
       Brigadoon)
Come To Me, Bend To Me (John Gustafson, Brigadoon)
Doors (Lynne Wintersteller, Brent Barrett, Sally Mayes, Richard Muenz,
       Closer Than Ever)
Stars And The Moon (Jessica Molaskey, Songs For A New World)
Coffee In A Cardboard Cup (Ensemble, And The World Goes 'Round)
No Other Music (Karen Morrow, Miss Spectacular)
A Fella With An Umbrella (Peter Lawford, Judy Garland, Easter Parade)
Mr. Monotony (Judy Garland, Easter Parade)
We're A Couple Of Swells (Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Easter parade)
Steppin' Out With My Baby (Fred Astaire, Easter Parade)
Easter Parade (Clifton Webb, Leo Reisman Orchestra)