Richard Rogers, Arthur Laurents, and Stephen Sondheim, when they were speaking....

From Do I Here a Waltz?  Must have been during the early part of that "waltz," cuz later they all changed partners!

Playlist for Sunday, August 4, 2013:

This week I learned that the making of "Do I Hear a Waltz?" was anything but copacetic.  The one and only time Richard Rogers dained to work with Stephen Sondheim...Oscar H. had passed away and Rogers (momentarily) thought he could work with Sondheim.  Arthur Laurents who had written the play it would be based on, Time of the Cuckoo, was signed to adapt/do the book.  (This play from 1952 was later made into "Summertime," the movie with Katherine Hepburn.)  Well, it seems things did NOT go smoothly.  Rogers was drinking heavily, hiding vodka bottles in the toilet tank, etc.; he called Sondheim's lyrics several 4-letter words, and banned Laurents from the rehearsals.  Despite this, the show managed to open and even have a bit of a run. So hey, we'll play it! 

Another goodie: From Juno, featuring Melvyn Douglas..."Daarlin' Man," which is so Irish you start salivating for a pub and pint.  And then a pretty "Azure Te," or Paris Blues as it's also called...sung by Five Guys Named Moe, at their most romantic.

Enjoy!


Opening to Brigadoon (Cast, Brigadoon)
Daarlin' Man (Melvyn Douglas and Jack MacGowran, Juno)
The Family Solicitor (Timothy Jerome, Me & My Girl)
Ya Got Trouble (Robert Preston, The Music Man)
A Little Brains, A Little Talent (Gwen Verdon, Damn Yankees)
Do I Hear A Waltz? (Elizabeth Allen, Do I Hear A Waltz?)
The Little Things You Do Together (Elaine Stritch and Cast, Company)
Azure Te (Cast, Five Guys Named Moe)
They Just Keep Movin' the Line (Megan Hilty, Bombshell)
A Little Bit in Love (Edie Adams, Wonderful Town)
Lovesick (Sherie Rene Scott, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
Singapore Sue (Joseph R. Sicari, Dames at Sea)
Lila Tremaine (Carol Burnett, Fade Out- Fade In)
Gold and Goldberg (Adam Grupper, Stuart Zagnit, The Wild Party)

We Deserve Each Other...Me & Juliet

Joan McCracken and Bob Fortier...

Women on the Verge...Model Behavior

Laura Benanti, leaving ANOTHER message. (Pepa, are you screening?)

From SUGAR, the musical version of Some Like It Hot

Robert Morse and Tony Roberts...as Daphne and Josephine.

Playlist for Sunday, July 28, 2013: On the Tawdry Side!

Whenever I add something from City of Angels to a playlist, I have to search for something with sleazy saxophones to pair it with...that's the kind of musical it is.  Street-wise, noir, middle of the night and raining.  So I found Bombshell, from Smash...yup, the TV show.  Well, that sexy Hollywood sound fits like a blond in a white convertible.... To go along with that, Sweet Smell of Success ("The Column") and something called "Welcome to Holiday Inn," from Seesaw.  It all adds up to 20 minutes on the tawdry side.

Then I found Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and immediately related, I mean...uh...liked it!  So I'm playing "Model Behavior," sung by Laura Benanti, which is a crazed, ready-to-jump monologue sung into an answering machine.  Don't worry, you'll love it, too.


Theme from City of Angels (James Naughton and Cast, City of Angels)
Smash! (Megan Hilty, Katherine McPhee, Bombshell)
The Column (John Lithgow, Brian d'Arcy James, Sweet Smell of Success)
Welcome to Holiday Inn (Michele Lee, Seesaw)
Penniless Bums (Robert Morse, Tony Roberts, Sugar)
The Girls of Summer (Suzanne Henry, Marry Me a Little)
Delishious (Bobby Short, Nice Work if You Can Get It and K-RA-ZY for Gershwin)
Pour Le Sport (Suzanne Henry, Craig Lucas, Marry Me a Little)
Hello Waves (Bob Dishy, Liza Minelli, Flora the Red Menace)
Ain't It Romantic (Marti Stevens, Oh Kay!)
It Couldn't Please Me More (Lotte Lenya, Jack Gilford, Cabaret)
Model Behavior (Laura Benanti, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
She Hadda Go Back (Craig Stevens, Ensemble, Here's Love)
We Deserve Each Other (Joan McCracken, Bob Fortier, Me and Juliet)

Stubby Kaye, as Marryin' Sam

Li'l Abner...and it looks like a show stopper!