No Vacancy, but time is running out!

 Grand Hotel has a provenance as long your arm:

It all starts in 1929, as a novel (and play) called Menschen im Hotel,

by Vicki Baum.

Act 2: A 1932 MGM movie with Greta Garbo,  John AND Lionel Barrymore,

Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery.

 It was screaming to become a musical.

Robert Wright and George Forrest heard the screams,

but made several changes in the plot and setting.

From 1928 Berlin, it moved to 1950s Rome,

the aging ballerina morphed into an opera singer,

and American gangsters were added for comic relief

(think Kiss Me Kate?).

Set to star was Joan Diener (who had already worked with

Wright and Forrest on Kismet)

and Paul Muni.

 Paul got sick, the reviews got sicker, and the production was canceled,

never opening on Broadway.

(And I can't even find a photo! But here's a very dashing one of Paul!)

 Thirty years later,

the same creative team decided to try again,

this time with the traditional Berlin setting,

 Tommy Tune directing,

Maury Yeston writing additional tunes,

and a great cast.

Above, Liliane Montevecchi as the Russian ballerina,

and below Michael Jeter as Otto Kringelein 

and Rex Smith as the Baron.

 Mixed reviews greeted the production

(Rex with Jane Krakowski, above),

but over 1,000 performances,

thanks to Tommy Tune's staging, an incredible set by Tony Walton,

and Tonys for Michael Jeter and Tune.

 Just last spring (2018),

it was revived by Encores!

with Helene Yorke and Brandon Uranowitz (above),

and Irina Dvorovenko and James Snyder (below).

 Our friend Ben Brantley of the Times found this resuscitated version

 "one of the most sumptuous pieces of eye candy ever to glitter 

from the City Center stage."

 Director and choreographer Josh Rhodes, a super set by Allen Moyer and costumes by Linda Cho.

 I had a chance to see this, thanks to a perfectly timed snow storm

that prolonged my NYC stay,

and the only thing I didn't get about this production was the casting of Irina.

She was tooooo gorgeous and young to ever be 

an aging anything...

however, a breath-taking performance.

In our Oldies Corner,

Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers,

with Kid Ory on vocals:
"Doctor Jazz", written by Joe "King" Oliver.

Below, the Peppers as they existed in 1926.

Jelly was born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe...

and basically invented jazz (to hear him tell it),

and I believe him.

 Another "item" in our oldie goldie corner:

Ben Pollack And His Californians

which featured a young Glen Miller 

and Benny Goodman on the far left.

We'll hear their version of "He's The Last Word"

with The Williams Sisters (below) on vocals.

That song was written back in 1926 by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson.

 And don't forget about Ruth Etting,

"America's Sweetheart Of Song" back in 1920s and 30s.

In 1933 she recorded "Dancing In The Moonlight", 

certainly NOT to be confused with the single released

by King Harvest in 1973!