Okay, so I just NOW found out what is specifically meant by The Golden Age Of Broadway. It's from 1944 to 1964. Oklahoma (!) to Fiddler On The Roof. That's the Gold. So that would include On The Town, Guys And Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story...you get the idea. With Fiddler slamming down the fire-retardant curtain on an entire era (ear-a). So even tho I'm going to try and pass this week's show off as GOLDEN, a good part of it is maybe tarnished Silver. Subways Are For Sleeping (1961, but hardly a classic), Do Re Mi (1960...can anyone hum the ONE song that survived?), and Wonderful Town (1953) all sorta qualify time-wise, but It's A Bird...It's A Plane...It's a...forget it, Clark! And Seesaw? An also ran from 1973. Doesn't fit. Doesn't work. See(saw) what I mean about tarnished?
But for some reason, Seesaw hangs on a droopy bough, like a gaudy Coleman Christmas ornament, right next to Subways, and Do Re Mi tangles up its "Adventure" with On The Town (thanks to Nancy Walker, I guess)...and Bells Are Ringing has Judy Holiday who Revue-ed with those same creative titans of the 1950s, Comden/Green/and Bernstein. So there you are, the overlapping, intersecting Venn Diagrams/ nee spreading, shedding Christmas tree called My Mind. Gold sharing branches (and extension cords) with Silver/Bronze/and cheap plastic. Hand me the polish and the glitter glue, please!
But what do they ALL have in common? The "common" thread is: I love them all. The pithy lyrics (well, we have floss for that!), the quirky melodies...the fantastic arrangements. And the character actors who wouldn't go all American Idol on you in the 11th hour. The sets? Do Re Mi had, yes, a giant juke box background, a "stained glass" curtain, and cardboard cutouts as the nightclub patrons. Like "How To Succeed", some of the set was drawn on! But I think it worked. (Time Machine set to 1960, Mr. Peabody!)
So we'll see how it all hangs together. Nothing FRESH. Nothing Brand Spanking New. Just appreciating the Musical History here, folks. Soaking up the Broadway of Adolph and Jule and Lenny and Cy. They wrote "the book" and the tunes as well. Join me Sunday! :)
Seesaw (Ensemble, Seesaw)
I Feel Like I'm Not Out Of Bed Yet/New York, New York (Cris Alexander, John Battles, Adolph Green, On The Town)
Come Up To My Place (Nancy Walker, Cris Alexander, On The Town)
I Understand (Robert Chisholm, On The Town)
Some Other Time (Betty Comden, Nancy Walker, Adolph Green, Cris Alexander, On The Town)
Waiting, Waiting (Nancy Walker, Do Re Mi)
Make Someone Happy (John Reardon, Nancy Dussault, Do Re Mi)
Adventure (Phil Silvers, Nancy Walker, Do Re Mi)
Doing Good (Bob Holiday, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman)
You've Got Possibilities (Linda Lavin, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman)
Revenge (Michael O'Sullivan, It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman)
Subway Directions - Ride Through The Night (Sydney Chaplin, Carol Lawrence, Subways Are For Sleeping)
Strange Duet (Orson Bean, Phyllis Newman, Subways Are For Sleeping)
I Was A Shoe-In (Phyllis Newman, Subways Are For Sleeping)
Welcome To Holiday Inn (Michele Lee, Seesaw)
We've Got It (Ken Howard, Michele Lee, Seesaw)
In Tune (Ensemble, Seesaw)
It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish (Tommy Tune, Seesaw)
Ohio (Edie Adams, Rosalind Russell, Wonderful Town)
What A Waste (George Gaynes, Wonderful Town)
Swing! (Rosalind Russell, Ensemble, Wonderful Town)
Somewhere That's Green/Suddenly Seymour (Faith Prince, Alex Rybeck, Total Faith)
On My Own (Sydney Chaplin, Bells Are Ringing)
Is It A Crime?(Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)
Just In Time (Sydney Chaplin, Judy Holiday, Bells Are Ringing)
Hello/Fancy Dress (Bob Martin, Georgia Engel, Company, The Drowsy Chaperone)
Show Off (Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone)
I Am Adolpho (Danny Burstein, Beth Level, The Drowsy Chaperone)
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