Playlist for Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015: Where Do You Start?

The depths of January... Crusty snow piles, black ice, a parka with a stuck zipper, and missing ear muffs. It ain't Christmas, it ain't Valentines. It ain't a vacation by the shore, or a picnic in the meadow. It ain't picture day or prom or homecoming.  It ain't even tax time yet.  So whattaya do? Well, that's where Music rescues ya and Broadway provides the defibrillator. 

I think I've been listening to too many gangsters!  Well, there are a few in Kiss Me, Kate... one of my favorite Cole Porter creations, that combines Shakespeare, backstage romance, and gambling.  What else fills the bill on a cold January afternoon?  We'll also hear from two big time flops, All-American (80 performances) and Merrily We Roll Along (16!!??!!)...the critics thought both of these egg-layers had excellent scores, but the BOOK. It's all about the book! Mel Brooks wrote the first act of All-American and then split, leaving it for others (Josh Logan, the director, in this case) to wander through Act 2 on their own.  George Furth, who had done such a good job on the book of Company, confused the hell out of audiences, writing the plot of Merrily backwards.  Some people just can't get their brains to do that!

We also have two mini tributes...one for Bea Arthur, with selections from Mame, The Shoe String Revue and her one-woman show, Just Between Friends....and another for Elaine (do I need to add Stritch?), my go-to Broadway Lady. Hey, we need courage to make it through upstate winters, right?  And doesn't Elaine provide that kick in the pants?

And stay tuned for our "Oldies But Goodies" section...this week: The Boswell Sisters, Maurice, Rudy, and Groucho.  That's where we need to start!  LYDIA!  :)


There's No Business Like Show Business (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch at Liberty)
Too Darn Hot (Lorenzo Fuller, Ensemble, Kiss Me, Kate)
Wunderbar (Patricia Morrison, Alfred Drake, Kiss Me, Kate)
Bianca (Harold Lang, Kiss Me Kate)
Brush Up Your Shakespeare (Harry Clark, Jack Diamond, Kiss Me, Kate)
Melt Us (Ray Bolger, Ensemble, All-American)
Nightlife (Anita Gillette, All-American)
Physical Fitness (Ensemble, All-American)
Once Upon a Time (Ray Bolger, Eileen Herlie, All-American)
Who Cares? (Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends)
You're Gonna Hear From Me (Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends)
Garbage (Bea Arthur, The Shoe String Revue)
Where Do You Start? (Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends)
The Man in the Moon is a Lady (Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends)
It's the Girl (The Boswell Sisters, Pennies from Heaven)
You Brought a New Kind of Love (Maurice Chevalier, The Big Pond)
Let's Misbehave (Irving Aaronson and His Commanders, Pennies From Heaven)
Let's Put Out the Lights and Go to Sleep (Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees)
I'm Against It (Groucho Marx, Horsefeathers)
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady (Groucho Marx, At the Circus)
Opening Doors (Jim Walton, Lonny Price, Ann Morrison, Jason Alexander,
                    Merrily We Roll Along)
Good Thing Going (Lonny Price, Jim Walton, Merrily We Roll Along)
Not a Day Goes By (Jim Walton, Merrily Roll Along)
Our Time (Ensemble, Merrily We Roll Along)
You Took Advantage of Me (Elaine Stritch, On Your Toes)
If (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)
Are You Having Any Fun? (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)
Easy Street (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)
Two Ladies (Joel Grey, Ensemble, Cabaret)
Married (Lotte Lenye, Jack Gilford, Cabaret)
Maybe This Time (Liza Minelli, Cabaret)
Mein Herr (Liza Minelli, Ensemble, Cabaret)