Ever After...well, hopefully there's a pre-nup!

 Shots from Shrek (The Musical...not the book by William Steig,

which was tops 15 pages, and most of it illustrations!),

Bryan d'Arcy James and Sutton Foster

and lots of great Jeanine Tesori music

and swell David Lindsay-Abaire lyrics.

I pity Bryan, having to do it all in a green padded costume like that,

but he more than managed.

Below,

three aging Fionas

sing "I Know It's Today"

("the waiting, the WAITING!")

 

 John Tartaglia as Pinocchio

in "Story Of My Life"..."outed by my nose".

 Joseph Bova chatting up Carol Burnett

in 1959's Once Upon A Mattress.

Below, mom and pop...

Jack Gilford and Jane White.

 Carol would play this role on television

in 1964 and 1972...

and she returned one final (maybe?) time in 2005

to play Queen Agravain (below center)

with Dick Smothers as the King (right)

and Tracey Ullman as Princess "Fred".

That's Edward Hibbert on the bottom left,

a great character actor

seen in Drowsy Chaperone and Curtains

(just to name a measley 2).

It was 1957 and Rodgers and Hammerstein were

hot to do a project with Julie Andrews

(who was"flushed with success" from My Fair Lady),

so Cinderella was born!

Live on CBS, and viewed by over 100 million people...

I missed it. I was 2. 

Above, Julie with Fairy Godmother Edie Adams, sans wand;

below, the stepsisters,

Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley,

and between them,

Ilka Chase, who played the lovely (not) Stepmother! 

Had to include this 1970s shot

of Julie and hubby Blake Edwards.

Note head band, fringe, and ...are those velour pants?

Playlist For Sunday, September 17, 2017: I need a couple of Agravains

Nice thing about long distance biking...takes 3 or 4 hours (or 3 or 4 weeks) to do, and while you're out there: a.) you get to avoid actually doing anything else, like DEAL with Life, and b.) the prodigious amount of oxygen you suck up inspires the craziest plans. That you can't ACT ON! Because you're biking to fricking Phoenicia. Wow, I love it. Gargantuan plans, with the possibility of absolutely no follow up. Perfect. Cuz I'm an Idea Person. My staff does the actual dirty work (dirty dishes, oil changes, picture hanging, TAXES!) (Unfortunately not blog writing, that'd be overtime. I draw the line). That's me.

So the following "playlist" (note quotes) was dreamt up on a bike. Blame the chemical imbalance in my wind-blown brain (the helmet has holes, ya know). Once Upon A Timey Stuff. Ever Afters. Broadway ogres, stepsisters, wolves, and Queen Agravain (that last won sounds the scariest...like a migraine med that makes you Grumpy). And then once "...happily ever after" flashes on the "screen", we dive into contemporary stuff, like Evan and Lin and Jenna at the bakery. AND THEN...my cheesiest theme yet: What? As in So What? As in So What Else/What Kind/ What Do/What Are...Whatever!

So you can point, laugh, and blame the O2. But really, how far can you topple, how bad can it be? It's Broadway. It catches you. In a very sparkly net. :)


Overture (Instrumental, Cinderella)
Story Of My Life (John Tartaglia, Jennifer Simard, Ensemble,
       Shrek The Musical)
I Know It's Today (Leah Greenhaus, Marissa O'Donnell, Sutton Foster,
       Shrek The Musical)
Who I'd Be (Bryan d'Arcy James, Shrek The Musical)
An Opening For A Princess (Company, Once Upon A Mattress)
Sensitivity (Jane White, Robert Weil, Once Upon A Mattress)
Happily Ever After (Carol Burnett, Once Upon A Mattress)
The Prince Is Giving A Ball (Ensemble, Cinderella)
Stepsisters' Lament (Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley, Cinderella)
A Lovely Night (Julie Andrews, Ilka Chase, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley,
       Cinderella)
Two Fairy Tales (Suzanne Henry, Craig Lucas, Marry Me A Little)
Happily Ever After (Craig Lucas, Marry Me A Little)
Hello, Little Girl (Danielle Ferland, Robert Westenberg, Into The Woods)
Agony (Robert Westenberg, Chuck Wagner, Into The Woods)
Ever After (Company, Into The Woods)
What Baking Can Do (Jessie Mueller, Waitress)
I Love You Like A Table (Christopher Fitzgerald, Kimiko Glenn, Waitress)
You Matter To Me (Drew Gehling, Jessie Mueller, Waitress)
When Words Fail (Bryan d'Arcy James, Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical)
Too Beautiful For Words (Elisabeth Withers, The Color Purple)
Words Fail (Ben Platt, Dear Evan Hansen)
Breathe (Mandy Gonzalez, In The Heights)
Blackout (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Company, In The Heights)
So What? (Lotte Lenya, Cabaret)
So What Else Is New? (Harry Guardino, "Katz", Woman Of The Year)
What Is This Feeling? (Kristen Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Wicked)
What Do The Simple Folk Do? (Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Camelot)
What Has She Got? (Faith Prince, Redhead)
What Do I Need With Love? (Gavin Creel, Thoroughly Modern Millie)
What Kind Of Girl Is She? (Heidi Blickenstaff, Susan Blackwell, [title of show])
What Kind Of Man? (Debra Monk, Jason Danieley, Karen Ziemba,
       Jill Paice, Edward Hibbert, Curtains)
Whatever Happened To My Part? (Sara Ramirez, Spamalot)

2 Chicks on 2 On The Aisle!

 Judy, Judy, Judy...

as in Tuvim.

Yup, her real name (til she switched it) was

Judith Tuvim,

born in Sunnyside, Queens in 1921.

One of her first jobs was as a switchboard operator

(so she had plenty of experience for "Bells")

for the Mercury Theatre, run by Orson Welles and John Houseman.

Take a minute to imagine that.

Above and below,

pics from the recording session of Broadway's

Bells Are Ringing...with Syd Chaplin (her co-star)

and below with Gerry Mulligan, her long time "guy".

 

 Above with Dean Martin,

in the film version of Bells,

done in 1960.

 With William Holden in

Born Yesterday...

done in 1950.

An Academy Award winning performance!

 

 Adam's Rib, released in 1949,

with Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracey.

Judy as the wronged wife!

A Golden Globe nomination...

 And with Jack Lemmon in a publicity shot from

Phfft!

Judy passed away at the age of 43,

having completed just 13 movies

and 7 staged productions.

We wuz robbed!

 Carol Burnett

(yes, her REAL name!)

was born in 1933, in San Antonio, Texas.

Raised by her grandmother, in near destitute conditions,

Carol caught the theatre bug

and (thanks to a monetary gift from an "angel")

moved to NYC to try her luck!

 Making a splash with Once Upon A Mattress,

and success on the Garry Moore Show, concerts, and 

myriad television appearances 

(including a Twilight Zone!),

Fade Out - Fade In (1964) came along.

Carol starred with Jack Cassidy (above) and

Dick Patterson (below).

 Reviews were positive, and box off sales UP,

til Carol sustained a neck injury,

began to miss performances,

and ending up leaving the production

 for a television show (The Entertainers).

Betty Hutton replaced her in the role,

but the show lost momentum and closed.

Couldn't resist adding these two shots,

above with Woody and Julie...

and below, well, cuz it's cute! :)

Playlist for Sunday, September 10, 2017: She's Back!

Back from the bike ride of the year! 960 miles around a big blue wet thing called Huron. It really is a "great" lake...so great that it took 3 plus weeks to circumnavigate! My thighs will never be the same. To amuse myself during tedious terrain, wind, rain, and locust invasions, I attempted to sing Broadway ditties along the pedaling pathway, in withdrawal from 2 on the Aisle as I was, but my brain can hold only so many lyrics, so there were A LOT of repeated choruses (very few verses) and thank the bike gods that no one was listening, cuz my pitch was ALL over the place.

Nevertheless, I am BACK. I am HOME. And there, in big CAPITAL letters are 2 of our themes for this Sunday. Also a taste of Lucky Stiff, Stephen Flaherty's first collaboration with wordsmith Lynn Ahrens, back in 1988. I sampled this musical up close and personal in early August at Bristol Valley Theatre, and thought it was important enough (and good enough) to broadcast or' the airwaves. Also my penchant for eccentric Kander and Ebb flops (and flops in general, always) will hold sway...but best of the afternoon will be Barbara Cook, a (tardy) tribute to that Broadway (and caber-ay) titan who passed away before I could satisfactorily say goodbye. So that time is now.

I'll be munching on a protein bar, I'll still smell of Ben Gay, but I'll be LIVE and ALIVE this Sunday...stop by! :)

P.S. As Carol B. sings, "It's Good To Be Back Home."


Til There Was You (Barbara Cook, Robert Preston, The Music Man)
I'm Going Back (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)
Maybe I'll Come Back (Judy Garland, Judy)
It's Good To Be Back Home (Carol Burnett, Fade Out - Fade In)
Back On Base (Sally Mays, Close Than Ever)
He's Back (David Wayne, Ensemble, The Happy Time)
She Hadda Go Back (Craig Stevens, Ensemble, Here's Love)
Take Back Your Mink (Vivian Blaine, "The Hot Box Girls," Guys And Dolls)
Ice Cream (Barbara Cook, She Loves Me)
Goodnight My Someone (Barbara Cook, The Music Man)
Will He Like Me? (Barbara Cook, She Loves Me)
Something Funny's Going On (Company, Lucky Stiff)
Rita's Confession (Mary Testa, Jason Graae, Lucky Stiff)
Speaking French (Debbie Gravitte, Lucky Stiff)
Come Back To Me (John Cullum, On A Clear Dear You Can See Forever)
Be Back Soon (Clive Reville, Ensemble, Oliver!)
I've Been There And I'm Back (Edward Platt, Tony Randall, Oh Captain!)
You'll Be Back (Jonathan Groff, Hamilton)
The Happy Time (Robert Goulet, The Happy Time)
Not Every Day Of The Week (Bob Dishy, Liza Minelli, Flora The Red Menace)
A Quiet Thing (Liza Minelli, Flora Menace)
(Walking) Among My Yesterdays (Robert Goulet, The Happy Time)
I Want To Go Back To Michigan (Judy Garland, Easter Parade)
Homesick Blues (Carol Channing, Ensemble, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)
Let's Go Home (Joanna Gleason, Nick & Nora)
My Home Town (Tom Lehrer, The Remains Of Tom Lehrer)
In Buddy's Eyes (Barbara Cook, Follies)
Long Before I Knew You (Barbara Cook)
My White Knight (Barbara Cook, The Music Man)
Losing My Mind (Barbara Cook, Follies)
Make Our Garden (Barbara Cook, Robert Rounseville, Company, Candide)

Bye Bye Baby!

I'm off til September 10th!

Recorded 2 On The Aisle til then...

so it's Bye Bye Baby for now.

Above Tommy Noonan and Marilyn,

in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953,

with songs by 

Jule Styne, Leo Robin, Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson.

Like the charms on a bracelet...

 "Bosum Buddies"

even after several years away from their original performance

in Mame.

Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury,

dripping sequins.

 Rosalind Russell

at a cast party for Wonderful Town.

Let's pretend she's singing "Swing!",

a little known Leonard Bernstein gem from that show.

 Ruth Kobart, as Domina and Jack Gilford, as Hysterium

in rather unflattering "Roman" costumes,

by Tony Walton (yup, Julie Andrew's first husband).

We'll hear Ruth and "That Dirty Old Man".

(She's speaking of her husband, of course.)

 Donald O'Connor, Ethel Merman, George Sanders,

and Vera-Ellen

in the movie version of Call Me Madam.

Ethel sang "The Best Thing For You (Would Be Me)"

in both the Broadway (1950) AND movie version (1953);

she always WAS sure of herself!

The NY Post called The Merm's performance

"indescribably soul-satisfying".

Gene Barry and George Hearn (and a great pair of gams!)

in La Cage Aux Folles.

Up until 2 weeks before opening,

the producing/directing team did not want to keep Gene

in the role of Georges,

yet he would go on to win a Tony nomination.

His co-star ended up taking that award home,

but still...

We'll hear this duo perform

"With You On My Arm".

Heidi Blickenstaff, center...with Brian d'Arcy James

in Something Rotten!,

plus (from left) Kate Reinders,  John Cariani and Brad Oscar.

Ben Brantley of The Times was not amused with this musical:
"This production wallows in the puerile puns, 

giggly double-entendres, lip-smacking bad taste and goofy pastiche numbers often found in college revues."

I guess that's why I liked it! :)

"Right Hand Man"

with Heidi and Brian (and a bit of John) will tickle

our ear drums on Sunday.

...and Snazzy! (Don't forget him!)

 Bandstand 

with music by Richard Oberacker and Robert Taylor,

and starring Laura Osnes (of Grease, South Pacific,

Anything Goes, and Cinderella fame)

and Corey Cott (Newsies, Gigi).

It opened in April of this year (2017),

with Andy Blankenbuehler as director/choreographer.

 It's rousing, for sure.

Some critics gave it a thumbs up;

others, like The NY Times,called it

"undercooked" and "indecisive"...

swing and be-bop, along side post-traumatic effects

of WWII.

The production was also criticized for its lack of 

diversity in the cast,

which is surprising, especially when you look

at Blankenbuehler's earlier work with In The Heights and Hamilton.

 As a cast recording, however,

it rocks!

We'll hear 4 selections from this show,

like "You Deserve It", our opener.

 City Of Angels

proffers some L.A. Sleaze for our Sunday.

Above, the Paper Mill Playhouse production.

Cy Coleman's saxes, David Zippel's wordsmithing...

nice match up! 

 

 The definitive "Jet Set" photo

from Catch Me If You Can, 

with Aaron Tveit, front and center.

A Scott Wittman/Marc Shaiman 60s pastiche,

that didn't pastiche hard enough.

Closed in 5 months.

But it lives on Sunday, on 2 on the Aisle!

 

 The Sweet Smell Of Success (above)

and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (below)

both starred John Lithgow and a sassy-city style.

Success was criticized for being "too sweet",

(not "Dirt"-y enough?)...

Scoundrels' Norbert Leo Butz got high praise for his star turn.

Great line from that show:

"Her people are in oil." "Crude?" "Well, she is a little pushy."

 And then because I need a "fix",

we'll hear from Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway...

hey it's been a year since my last "Hot Dog"!

Vincent Pastore, Nick Cordero, Karen Ziemba, Marin Mazzie, 

Brooks Ashmanskas, Zach Braff and Helene Yorke starred.

It fizzled over the summer of 2014.

But classic songs of the 20s make it fizz again, on the cast album at least!

(Below Helene, with John Borstelmann, Vendor Du Jour)