They called him The Jewish Leprechaun. He grew up on 107th Street (I'm guessing the East Side?) and despite the fact that his father was a classical musician and gave piano lessons for a living, Frank Loesser taught himself to play that instrument. He flunked out of high school. He flunked out of college. He sang in a night club called the Back Drop on 52nd Street for a time. And then he wrote songs. With Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy McHugh, Arthur Schwartz, Jule Styne and 1,700 more. And then he graduated from song writing school and composed them himself.
I haven't done a Loesser show in about 4 years. And I am inspired to do one now, thanks to a live Oak Room act by Andrea Marcovicci. For some reason, I remember Andrea from television appearances in the 70s, and from Nefertiti, a bagel of a musical from the 80s. Her voice seems Buckley-esque, fragile sometimes, over-strident in others, but she's charming and fun and we'll wander back and forth from her stories and tin pan alley tunes to some original Broadway examples. We'll "Get Lost", stand on a corner, kiss some boys, and dissect Hamlet. Quirky character songs, gorgeous ballads, all Loesser. The Leprechaun.
If I Were A Bell (Isabel Bigley, Guys And Dolls)
Let's Get Lost/On A Slow Boat To China (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Doesn't That Mean Anything To You? (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Once In Love With Amy (Ray Bolger, Where's Charley?)
No Two People (Danny Kaye, Jane Wyman, Hans Christian Anderson)
Could've Been A Ring (Pert Kelton, Cecil Kellaway, Greenwillow)
Moments Like This (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Kiss The Boys Goodbye/I Don't Want To Walk Without You (Andrea
Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Guys And Dolls (Johnny Silver, Stubby Kaye, Guys And Dolls)
Marry The Man Today (Isabel Bigley, Vivian Blaine, Guys And Dolls)
Murder, He Says (Betty Hutton, Happy Go Lucky)
I Said "No" (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Hamlet (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Hamlet (Betty Hutton, Red Hot And Blue)
I Said "No" (Yvonne King and The Alvino Rey Orchestra)
Standing On The Corner (Shorty Long, Ensemble, The Most Happy Fella)
Joey, Joey, Joey (Art Lund, The Most Happy Fella)
Sposalizio (Ensemble, The Most Happy Fella)
Say It (Over And Over Again)/Heart And Soul (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were
A Bell)
Lovelier Than Ever (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm (Bonnie, Scott, How To Succeed In
Business Without Really Trying)
Inchworm (Danny Kaye, Hans Christian Anderson)
My Heart Is So Full Of You (Robert Weede, Jo Sullivan, The Most Happy Fella)
Rosemary (Robert Morse, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)
I'll Know (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Love Isn't Born (It's Made) (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Two Sleepy People (Andrea Marcovicci, If I Were A Bell)
Brotherhood Of Man (Robert Morse, How To Succeed In Business Without
Really Trying)
No comments:
Post a Comment