A Trivial Week...I mean a week full of trivia! That sounds better, right? While searching/researching this Broadway stuff of dreams, I found the following goodies:
1.) Betty Buckley was Runner Up Miss Texas, back in 1966 (steps away from a Miss America title, and I'm sure her talent wasn't fire baton. Or maybe it was!). And on her very first day in NYC, she scooped the part of Martha Jefferson in 1776. Hate her yet?
2.) Faith Prince was part of the cast of Scrambled Feet, down at the Village Gate, in 1983. Well, not the original cast, but why split hairs?...and she got to sing the Duck Song. And was chased by the Duck. Seems she couldn't scoop said duck (which she was supposed to do as she exited the stage every night) before it would turn on her. And, appropriately using the same verb, FP also failed to scoop the part of Audrey (I, not II) in the original production (well, maybe she played it later, in like dinner theatre, but why split hairs?) of Little Shop of Horrors. The part went to Ellen Green. I believe the whole disappointing episode comes up in her therapy sessions. I mean, it sounds like it.
3.) Did you ever READ the plot of On A Clear Day? ESP, hypnotism, reincarnation (Ouija boards? Blithe spirits?), doctors who fall in love with their patients, shipwrecks, plane crashes, and gee I wish I could give up smoking. Wait, this sounds like a Broadway musical! Wish I'd thought of it.
4.) The lyrics of Life of Begins at 8:40 is so crammed with prehistoric references that the liner notes include a "dictionary"...This comes in handy when listening to "I Couldn't Hold My Man", which I'll be playing come Sunday. Here are a few nuggets to help the Unknowing (younger than 75) to understand:
The Five Foot Shelf...."An anthology of classic literature, now known as
The Harvard Classics" (hey, that will DEFINITELY impress the guys now!)
Lydia Pinkham's....a tonic for ladies' ills.
Hay's Reducing Plan...the fad diet of 1911 (never eat your starches WITH
your proteins, dahling!) (As Norma Shearer pointed out in
The Women, "No starch, dear! It's gluten!" Oh, okay, Norma. I'll eat up! ).
Carnegie Clothes...Hattie Carnegie, who was THEE fashion guru of the 20s.
Spud...the first menthol cigarette, which came out in 1925. Kissing sweet?
(BTW, that song seems to have inspired "Nobody Makes A Pass At Me", from Pins And Needles, written just 3 years later in 1937. Hmmmm.....)
Just thought you'd wanna know. Or not. I mean, you could just kick back in your Barcalounger and listen. With or without back story, it's Broadway. Be blithe!
Sun On My Face (Robert Morse, Tony Roberts, Elaine Joyce, Ensemble,
Sugar)
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (John Cullum, On A Clear Day You Can
See Forever)
Wait Till We're Sixty-Five (William Daniels, On A Clear Day You Can See
Forever)
What Did I Have That I Don't Have Now (Barbara Harris, On A Clear Day
You Can See Forever)
Put On A Happy Face (Dick Van Dyke, Bye Bye Birdie)
My Fortune Is My Face (Jack Cassidy, Fade Out - Fade In)
Look At That Face (Cyril Ritchard, The Roar Of The Grease Paint, The Smell
Of The Crowd)
Cassandra (Betty Buckley, Story Songs)
Heart's Desire (Jessica Molaskey, At The Algonquin)
Someone Else's Clothes (Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's
Clothes)
Old Flame (Betty Buckley, Story Songs)
Lose That Long Face (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)
Were Thine That Special Face (Alfred Drake, Kiss Me Kate)
Let's Face The Music And Dance (Fred Astaire, Follow The Fleet)
Funny Face (Fred Astaire, Funny Face)
How Can You Describe A Face? (Sydney Chaplin, Subways Are For Sleeping)
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady)
How Are Things In Glocca Morra (Ella Logan, Finian's Rainbow)
Necessity (Dolores Martin, Maude Simmons, Ensemble, Finian's Rainbow)
Something Sort Of Grandish (Ella Logan, David Wayne, Finian's Rainbow)
Old Devil Moon (Ella Logan, Donald Richards, Finian's Rainbow)
Crossword Puzzle (Faith Prince, Total Faith)
Somewhere That's Green (Faith Prince, Total Faith)
I Couldn't Hold My Man (Faith Prince, Life Begins At 8:40)
The Beauty That Drives Men Mad (Robert Morse, Tony Roberts, Sugar)
We Could Be Close (Elaine Joyce, Robert Morse, Sugar)
When You Meet A Man From Chicago (Company, Sugar)
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