Non-Playlist for July 5, 2020: Virtual Vacation?

Bring on those lazy-dazy-crazy days of summer! Kim's playing hooky again this coming Sunday (7/5/2020)...to lounge with family and friends. This 4th Of July snuck (sneaked?) up on me, and I have no idea what 2 On The Aisle recorded show will be coming at you over the Jazz 90.1 airwaves, so I can't call up the playlist. Quelle horreur! HOWEVER, it's Broadway, it's probably At Its Best, and hopefully you can still warble/tap/high-kick/Fosse-snap to whatever goodies are played!

Happy 4th of July,

and "see" you live on July 12!

Mambo Dreams!

 Ray Bolger was 58 when he was tempted back to the stage

to star in All American,

with the music of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams.

Directed by Joshua Logan, and a "book" by Mel Brooks,

it was based on the Vladimir Nabokov novel:

Slavic Professor Fodorski comes to a US college town,

bumbles his way thru American ways and means,

but (eventually, endearingly?) succeeds to inspire and find love.

It closed instantly (well, 80 performances),

but brought us a couple of good tunes,

like "Once Upon A Time" and "Have A Dream".

 

Cast as the "heavy" was Fritz Weaver

who played Henderson,

owner of Exploiters Unlimited

(is this where Mel Brooks' influence came in?),

an advert company that EXPLOITS, right??

Fritz would go on to do tons of TV and movie AND stage work...

that's him a little later in life in 

Angels Fall

with Barnard Hughes.

 

 And just for fun,

here's a pic of Ray, tapping behind some sort of acoustical screens

for the cast recording.

Nice to see he wasn't dubbed!

 Another dreamy selection we'll hear,

"First You Dream"

from Steel Pier,

with Daniel McDonald and Karen Ziemba.

This was a Kander and Ebb also-ran from 1997,

with 76 performances.

Marathoning on a NJ pier,

but not so on Broadway!

 In the MAMBO corner this Sunday,

we'll add in a little "Cuban Pete",

a song from the 1946 movie of the same name,

starring Desi Arnaz, pictured above with Beverly Simmons.

Joseph Norman wrote that ditty,

later used in an epi of I Love Lucy, below!

 

 Can't get enough of Carol Channing's

Show Girl, 

from 1961, with music by Charles Gaynor.

A score of songs in this revue

gave Carol a chance at a score of different characters.

We'll hear an encore performance of 

"Calypso Pete," cuz why the heck not?

 I think this pic is from the Muzzy/Jazz Baby era

of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

But I love it.
Just more Channing, and how can that ever be wrong?

 And a mambo (or 7) by

Yma Sumac,

she of the 4 plus octave range.

Yma was a Peruvian knock-out

who performed and recorded with her husband,

Moises Vivanco.

 And yes, she did do Broadway...

Flahooley, in 1951, which used puppets,

a young Barbara Cook,

and Yma as "Princess Najla",

and in 1990, a production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies,

in Long Beach, California. 

 Above with hubby Moises,

who Yma married and divorced twice!

Concert tours, recordings,

and two films...Secret of the Incas, with Charlton Heston (1954),

and Omar Khayyam (1957).

We'll hear "Gopher Mambo" and "Amor Indio."

Om

Playlist For Sunday, June 28, 2020: Just Dreamy!

Did I ever mention that my cat functions as my good old reliable alarm clock? Yup, even on days that I don't need to get up at 6:17am, he's there with an "Are-you-dead-cuz-I'm-starving" bat in the face or head bonk. Of if I'm restless at 5:01, he suddenly thinks he can get a jump on the day, and starts his itinerary EARLY. Man. Don't you have a snooze button I can wallop, Cat? Don't tempt me. I'll find SOMETHING to wallop.

 Yes, this is The Cat.

Note the steely eye(s).

Just 5 minutes more of Dream Land, General...(yes, his name is not Kitty. It's The General. Tho he answers to no name at all), so that's our theme, the dreams I'm not allowed to prolong. Smoke Dreams, Sailor Dreams, Vienna (Sausage) Dreams, Impossible Dreams. Dreams you stepped out of, dreams FIRST, dream's over, but definitely HAVE a dream, and not a Tevye nightmare! But that's not all we'll do ("is dream of you"), nope! We've got a mambo/calypso corner (cue Yma!), and a few HOT songs (with Sutton dreaming of AC, Julie's Le Jazz, and Bernadette stuck in a hot painting on some island? on a Sunday?), as well as Ain't Too Proud selections (memories of Tony Awards past).

 Stuck in a HOT painting

And to wake you up, we shall Tempt!

The ONLY problem with dream songs is that they tend to be, well, sort of soporific. So do not let me catch you dozing off! I mean, it's fine to relax on a summer afternoon, but jeez, pay attention! You might miss something, or your cat (or hamster or ferret) will have to check your vitals...and bat you in the face. Sway in that hammock, but don't fall out of that seat I'm always saving for you.

Dream On!


A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes (Ilene Woods, Cinderella)
The Dream (Zero Mostel, Maria Karnilova, Fiddler On The Roof)
The Sailor Of My Dreams (Bernadette Peters, Dames At Sea)
Do You Ever Dream Of Vienna? (Elizabeth Parrish, Little Mary Sunshine)
First You Dream (Karen Ziemba, Daniel McDonald, Steel Pier)
Air Conditioner (Sutton Foster, An Evening With Sutton Foster Live At The
       Cafe Carlyle)
It's Hot Up Here (Bernadette Peters, Dana Ivey, Charles Kimbrough,
       Ensemble, Sunday In The Park With George)
Le Jazz Hot (Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria)
All I Do Is Dream Of You (Ensemble, Singin' In The Rain)
Smoke Dreams (Jo Stafford)I'll Never Have To Dream Again (Connee Boswell)
The Dream Is Over (Christine Ebersole, Christine Ebersole Sings Noel
       Coward)
All I Do Is Dream Of You (Gene Kelly, Singin' In The Rain)
Gopher Mambo (Yma Sumac)
Calypso Pete (Carol Channing, Show Girl)
High Society Calypso (Louis Armstrong, High Society)
Amor Indio (Yma Sumac)
Cuban Pete (Desi Arnaz, Cuban Pete)
Baby Dream Your Dream (Thelma Oliver, Helen Gallagher, Sweet Charity)
Dream Variations (Audra McDonald, Way Back To Paradise)
New Ways To Dream (Patti LuPone, Sunset Boulevard)
I Dreamed A Dream (Randy Graff, Les Miserables)
Ain't Too Proud To Beg (Derrick Baskin, Jeremy Pope, Ephraim Sykes,
       Jawan M. Jackson, Ain't Too Proud)
My Girl (Derrick Baskin, Jeremy Pope, Ephraim Sykes,Jawan M. Jackson,
       Ain't Too Proud)
Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Derrick Baskin, Jeremy Pope, Ephraim
       Sykes, Jawan M. Jackson, Ain't Too Proud)
Just My Imagination (Ensemble, Ain't Too Proud)
Something From A Dream (Steven Pasquale, Bridges Of Madison County)
Rosamund's Dream (Ahna O'Reilly, The Robber Bridegroom)
You Stepped Out Of A Dream (Liza Minnelli, Gently)
I Have Dreamed (Julie Andrews, Broadway: The Music Of Richard Rodgers)
The Impossible Dream (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Man Of La Mancha)
Have A Dream (Fritz Weaver, Ray Bolger, All American)

Playlist For Sunday, June 21, 2020: Take 2, "Shoes And Rice"

I'm playing hooky this coming Sunday, so in place of a LIVE me, there will be a 2 On The Aisle re-run of the "I Do I Do On Broadway" Edition. Which works kinda nicely, it now being June, theeee Wedding Month (although I've heard that October is fast becoming the new preferred month for troth plighting, beating out that busting-out-all-over June...or these days, the month of ZOOM!). Well, whenever and however you "vow", Broadway will try to address it, for sure.

New LIVE show come June 28th. Enjoy your week!


Betsy's Getting Married (Brynn O'Malley, Honeymoon In Vegas)
Marry The Man Today (Faith Prince, Josie de Guzman, Guys And Dolls)
If Momma Was Married (Leigh Ann Larkin, Laura Benanti, Gypsy)
Don't Marry Me (Larry Blyden, Miyoshi Umeki, Flower Drum Song)
Getting Married Today (Beth Howland, Steve Elmore, Company)
I Don't Know His Name (Barbara Cook, Barbara Baxley, She Loves Me)
My Dear Rosabella (Jo Sullivan, Susan Johnson, The Most Happy Fella)
The Boy Next Door (Judy Garland, Meet Me St. Louis)
Fugue For Tinhorns (Frank Loesser, Milton DeLugg, Sue Bennett,
       An Evening With Frank Loesser)
Sue Me (Frank Loesser, An Evening With Frank Loesser)
Organization Man (Frank Loesser, An Evening With Frank Loesser)
The Company Way (Robert Morse, Sammy Smith, How To Succeed In
       Business Without Really Trying)
Marry With Me (Carol Brice, The Grass Harp)
I've Decided to Marry You (Lauren Worsham, Lisa O'Hare, Bryce Pinkham,
       The Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder)
Get Me To The Church On Time (Stanley Holloway, My Fair Lady)
A Cigarette, A Silhouette (Mildred Bailey, Red Norvo and His Orchestra)
Puttin' On The Ritz (Phil Spitalny Orchestra)
Building A Nest For Mary (Red Nichols and The Captivators)
A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich, And You (Jack Buchanan, Gertrude Lawrence,
       Charlot's Revue)
Everything Stops For Tea (Jack Buchanan, Come Out Of The Pantry)
Marry Me A Little (John Barrowman, Putting It Together)
Multitudes Of Amys (Mathew Scott, Sondheim On Sondheim)
Happily ever After (Tom Wopat, Sondheim On Sondheim)
Being Alive (Dean Jones, Company)
I Love My Wife (Robert Preston, I Do! I Do!)
I Love My Wife (James Naughton, Lenny Baker, I Love My Wife)
An Old-Fashioned Wedding (Ray Middleton, Ethel Merman, Annie Get Your
       Gun)
Let's Have A Simple Wedding (David Christmas, Bernadette Peters,
       Dames At Sea)
It Shoulda Been You (Chip Zien,Tyne Daly, Ensemble, It Shoulda Been You)
I Love To Cry At Weddings (Ensemble, Sweet Charity)
I Do, I Do In The Sky (Kecia Lewis-Evans, Company, The Drowsy Chaperone)
Always A Bridesmaid (Jennifer Simmard, I Love You, You're Perfect,
       Now Change)
Me And My Girl (Robert Lindsay, Emma Thompson, Me And My Girl)

Too Durn Hot, Even In The Shade...

110 In The Shade

is based on The Rainmaker, a play by N. Richard Nash

(originally on Broadway back in 1954),

and made into that Burt Lancaster/Katherine Hepburn flick

2 years later.

By 1963, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones

(fresh from their success with The Fantasticks)

cooked it into a musical,

with an almost operatic score.

It starred Robert Horton, Inga Swenson, Stephen Douglass,

Will Geer and Lesley Ann Warren.

 It ran for 330 performances,

but the critics weren't impressed;

Howard Taubman of the NY Times said,

“There is no danger even a lightning bolt could ignite it,” 

Below, a pic of the original production...

Come 2007, it was time for a revival

with a great cast:

Audra McDonald, John Cullum, and Steve Kazee starred,

with Lonny Price directing,

and some wonderful Jonathan Tunick arrangements.

(Above, a pic from 2016's Ford Theatre production,

and below, Audra with John Cullum.)

The revival's run lasted 94 performances.

Ben Brantly of the NY Times loved Audra. 

Unfortunately not much more...

"Well, if Ms. McDonald doesn’t qualify as a lightning bolt, 

I don’t know who does. 

But it’s true that while she does provide a blazing center, 

the temperature of the show around her remains steadily lukewarm."

He described her further as 

"ravishing of voice and Olympian of stature, 

she’s an overwhelming presence in an underwhelming show."

I guess Audra was just TOOOO good, if that's possible.

Above, John Cullum (H.C.),

Christoper Innvar (as File)

and Audra (as Lizzie).

Ben B. went on to say that the brooding Innvar

might have made a better Starbuck

than Steve Kazee (below).

Two Drama Desk Awards,

one for Best Revival and one for Ms. McDonald.

"In the Good Old Summer Time" was released in 1903, 

the work of George Evans and Ren Shields,

and we'll hear one of the first renditions of that hit; 
The Haydn Quartet (later spelled as Hayden) 

was a close harmony group, originally named the Edison Quartet 

(well, they recorded for Edison Records, so...).

 Other hot licks from this quartet of many names

were "Sweet Adeline",

"How'd You Like To Spoon With Me",

and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".

 Looks like a fun-loving group of guys, right? 

(Party at Dudley's crib tonight, yo!)

Okay, so maybe it won't actually be 

"Too Darn Hot"

on Sunday, but the 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate

did a fantastic job with this number,

and I don't want to wait one more week to play it!

Choreography was by Kathleen Marshall, 

and featured Stanley Wayne Mathis.

Pardon me,

but they don't look too dang HOT,

just frickin' happy! 

Of course,

Ann Miller (as Lois Lane and Bianca)

got to sing this song

in the movie version of 1953.

It's performed in Fred Graham's apartment

as an audition in front of Fred (Howard Keel)

 and Lili Vanessi (Kathryn Grayson).

Let's just say, if looks could kill...

Ragtime launched on Broadway in 2000, 

with music by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, 

based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow. 

This was 11 years after the movie, with 

Jeff Daniels, Fran Descher, James Cagney, Pat O'Brien,

Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., and Mandy Patinkin.

The staged, musical version feature an incredible cast as well:

Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald starred,

 along with Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman, Judy Kaye, and Mark Jacoby. 

The set was amazing,

and it better have been...with a $10 million budget!

Fireworks and a working Model T Ford on stage.

13 Tony nominations,

but the show lost all but 4 awards

to The Lion King! 

We'll hear

"Make Them Hear You"

sung by the brilliant Brian!

Playlist For Sunday, June 14, 2020: Almost Too Darn Hot

The 2 Lobes Of My Brain:

1.) Is it summer yet?

2.) Is it too early in the summer to play Too Darn Hot? Will it be 55 degrees on Sunday? Will playing Too Darn Hot on a 55 degree Sunday seem stupid and "out of touch"? How the heck do I forecast Broadway weather??

3.) I suck at gardening. My lawn mower just busted. I had a bat.

4.) Stop talking about the weather and flying rodents and your lack of gardening skills. It's boring and trivial. Address larger issues, you ass.

5.) Stop telling me what to do.

6.) You only want to have fun, and sing and dance to show tunes. How shallow.

7.5) Shut up. I'm providing escapist relief. From all these frickin' crazy dramatic sucky times we're cess-pooled in! People need a break. A Broadway Break.

8.2) Just go make a lemonade and put on your headphones, right? Play Eddy Arnold ("Make The World Go Away"). Is that your answer?

9.6) I need coffee. Not lemonade.

10.) NO, you don't. You had too much coffee yesterday. I'm not going down that route again TODAY.

11.) Well, we COULD compromise. ICED coffee, with a little Bailey's. Takes that edge off. Hmmmmm?

12.) Jesus.

13.) Come on...and that hammock isn't gonna swing itself.

13.) ...

13.) ...

13.) Almost Summer, ya know?

17.) 2 weeks to go!!!

18.) I said almost. You're so picky.

110.) ...

111.) Okay, but no way is it TOO darn hot. YET.

Gonna Be Another Hot Day (Christopher Invar, Ensemble, 110 In The Shade)
Too Darn Hot (Stanley Wayne Mathis, Ensemble Kiss Me, Kate)
Heat Wave (Ethel Merman, Alexander's Ragtime Band)
Steam Heat (Joyce Chittick, David Eggers, Vince Pesce, The Pajama Game)
Lizzie's Comin' Home (John Cullum, Chris Butler, Bobby Steggert, 110 In
       The Shade)
Love, Don't Turn Away (Audra McDonald, 110 In The Shade)
Poker Polka (Christopher Invar, John Cullum, Chris Butler, Bobby Steggert,
       110 In The Shade)
Evenin' Star (Steve Kazee, 110 In The Shade)
The Girls Of Summer (Suzanne Henry, Marry Me A Little)
Blame It On The Summer Night (Teresa Stratas, Rags)
A Summer In Ohio (Sherie Renee Scott, The Last Five Years)
Summertime (Lena Horne, Porgy And Bess)
Night Song (Sammy Davis, Jr., Golden Boy)
Summer Nights (Barry Bostwick, Carole Demas, Grease)
The Song Of Purple Summer (Lauren Pritchard, Company, Spring Awakening)
In The Good Old Summertime (The Hadyn Quartet)
Raunchy (Audra McDonald, John Cullum, 110 In The Shade)
Little Red Hat (Bobby Steggert, Carla Duren, 110 In The Shade)
Is It Really Me? (Audra McDonald, Steve Kazee, 110 In The Shade)
Someone To Fall Back On (Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's
       Clothes) 
Leave (Steve Kazee, Once)
Anyone Can Whistle/Being Alive (Sutton Foster, Sutton Foster At The Carlyle)
Way Down Hadestown (Amber Gray, Chris Sullivan, Hadestown)
Wait For Me (Chris Sullivan, Damon Daunno, Hadestown)
Road To Hell II (Chris Sullivan, Company, Hadestown)
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Company,
       Hamilton)
You Will Be Found (Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen)
Make Them Hear You (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ragtime)

Golden Helmets, Bamboo Trees, Pardees at Sardees, and...where did I put my keys?

It was 1968,

and Burt Bacharach and Hal David

(the lower right pic in the montage above)

created their first and only Broadway musical:
a show based on the movie "The Apartment"...

Promises, Promises.

It starred Jerry Orbach and Jill O'Hara,

had a book by Neil Simon,

and direction/choreography by Michael Bennett.

Jill O'Hara as Fran Kubelik (above)

received a Tony nomination for her performance.

A year before this, she starred in Hair; 

a year after, Jill was part of original cast

of George M!

Michael Bennett's playbill bio,

at the the time of Promises, Promises.

Of course, he would go on to help create

and direct A Chorus Line,

and co-direct (with Hal Prince)

Company and Follies.

Etc., etc., etc. as the King of Siam would say.

 

Jerry Orbach and Edward Winter

with those very important keys!

Some folks would be startled to see 

all of the musical theatre and straight play credits that 

Jerry Orbach had in his resume,

prior to his television roles.

Everything from "The Threepenny Opera" and "Carousel"

to "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Guys And Dolls"

(what a Sky Masterson he must have made!).

From the 2002 revival of Man Of La Mancha, 

we'll hear 2 goodies:

"Dulcinea" and "I Like Him." 

This was a very successful revival,

and despite Richard Kiley's LOOOONG association with the role,

Brian Stokes Mitchell

did a masterful job in filling that "Golden Helmet." 

Above, standing at the right, is 

Ernie Sabella who played Sancho Panza.

Other impressive Don Quixotes:

Raul Julia, Hal Linden, and Robert Goulet.

A close up on that 2002 triumvirate:

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (as Aldonza/Dulcinea), 

Ernie and Brian.

Replacing Mary Elizabeth was Marin Mazzie! 

Lots of Tony noms, but no wins, unfortunately.

Music by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion.

Margaret O'Brien (age 7) cavorting with

Judy Garland to

"Under The Bamboo Tree",

in Meet Me In St. Louis.

The song is from 1902,
(wow! that may be one of the oldest we've had on 2 On The Aisle)
written by 

Robert Cole and The Johnson Brothers.

Margaret's Hollywood debut occurred when she was just 4 years old,

 in Babes On Broadway,

but her big break came one year later, in Journey For Margaret.

(She even changed her name to Margaret after that;

she was born Angela!)

Miss O'Brien would go on to win a special Juvenile Oscar

 for her performance as Tootie,

in Meet Me In St. Louis, in 1944.

And she's still going strong at the age of 83!

What a West Side quartet!

Chita Rivera (Anita), Ken LeRoy (Bernardo),

Larry Kert (Tony), and Carol Lawrence (Maria),

the original cast of West Side Story.

Below, another fabulous foursome:

Larry, Carol, Lenny B, and Stephen S.

Carol and Larry

at the opening night party at Sardi's.

The musical notoriously lost Best Musical Tony

to The Music Man that year,

but Carol received one, 

as did Jerome Robbins (Choreography)

and Oliver Smith (Set Design).

That Bernstein/Sondheim score wasn't even nominated???