Birthday Babes (and One Dude)!

Birthday stars we'll be commemorating on 2 On The Aisle this Sunday...starting with Debra Monk, above in Kander & Ebb's Curtains (as Producer Carmen Bernstein).

Debra was born on February 27th, 1949, in Middletown, Ohio, and went on to be voted "Best Personality" of her high school graduating class. I'm not surprised! :)

Above as Shelby Stevens in Steel Pier, another Kander & Ebb creation.

A young Debra in Pump Boys And Dinettes...that's her on the left. She played Prudie Cupp, sister of Rhetta Cupp, played by Cass Morgan (on the right).

Debra got to help co-write several of the songs in this show, along with Mark Hardwick (Mr. Accordian) and Jim Wann (right behind him).

 

And then there's Betty Hutton, born Feb. 26, 1921, out there in Battle Creek, MI.

Her family owned a speakeasy, so naturally that's where a young Elizabeth started performing (she was a very mature 3!).

On the Broadway stage, Betty debuted in Two For The Show (1940),

Panama Hattie, South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun (plus the movie, don't forget that!), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, even Annie (when she replaced Alice Ghostley as Miss Hannigan).

Film-wise, TONS of stuff...like below in Red, Hot, and Blue with

Victor Mature. 

And not to forget her very popular novelty songs,

like "Murder, He Says" and "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In A Hurry."

In Let's Dance with Fred Astaire, above.

She can't stop talkin' about him!

Tyne Daly celebrates her birthday on Feb. 21, 1946.

She hails from Madison, Wisconsin...and that's her younger brother, Tim, 

in a clinch with her above.

Many folks know Tyne from Cagney & Lacey (6 years, and 4 Emmys?),

but Broadway lay in wait: Gypsy, Call Me Madam, It Shoulda Been You,

and Master Class...

In Master Class, playing Maria Callas.

In the 1989  revival of Gypsy with Jonathan Hadary and Crista Moore.

Below, her Lacey Days! 

 

With Harriet Harris in It Shoulda Been You. 

This musical didn't exactly make it to Broadway,

but some cute tunes, and a cute director: David Hyde Pierce!

And it's Jackie Gleason's birthday, as well: February 26, 1916.

Born and bred in Brooklyn, NY, and his first job "in the biz" was as a master of ceremonies in a local theatre for $4 a night.

Comedy gigs with partners, then doin' it solo, brought him to the attention of Jack Warner who quickly placed him in films like Navy Blues and All Through The Night. Then television BIG TIME.

But Jackie did do Broadway, namely Follow The Girls (1944) and Take Me Along (1959); he won a Tony for Take Me!

 

Of course, Jackie's big claim to fame was his creation of The Honeymooners,

with Audrey Meadows and Art Carney.

 

But he also did a super job playing straight; below playing Minnesota Fats in

The Hustler with Paul Newman in 1961.

Playlist For February 27, 2022: Cue the Confetti and Butter Cream

As I type this, I can see grass. I can see clumps of mud plowed up and over some prehistoric piles of snow. Ice over mud. Mud over snow. And a weather system as ambivalent as a Stephen Sondheim lyric. Sorry Grateful? Nah, more like You Could Drive A Person Crazy. Or Barthelona, April!

Should I stay or should I go now?

 

In fact, Ambivalence could be a 2 hour theme, right? Another excuse to play Steve. Not Jerry. Jerry's a parade, a train, a mission statement. Steve...well, maybe, but not really. A Parade? Uh...

BTW, has anyone reading this actually SEEN the new gender switching version of Company? Scuttlebutt surrounding the show is Sorry Grateful. Mixed. LuPone with an exclamation point, Lenk with a menza menza. The fact that promos for this revival are alllll over my social media make it sound desperate for ticket buyers. Same-ish for That Music Man. Jackman's Great. Jackman's Not So Great. Sutton's not a soprano. Sutton's so great. Someone please send out a scout on an Appaloosa to course it out, will ya? Send word back. Need the real dirt. All I read For Sure are the nutty ticket prices: $700 to hear that T rhymes with P and that stands for...old news. 

 

Patti vs Katrina

Hugh vs Sutton

I'm complaining when I shouldn't be. My social life is popping...3 events in 1 week? Holy Post Pandemic, Batman, I don't know if I can deal with this whirl! Plus as promised, the prodigal daughter returneth in 1 week, so we'll be concocting a 2 On The Aisle full of duel in the sun Broadway critiques, rants, and raves. And we'll toss all of it at you over the airwaves come March 6!

But more to the matter at hand: This week's playlist celebrates 8, count 'em 8, Broadway Birthdays (that's a lotta cake. And me on Keto?), plus an Opening to commemorate, which is sorta like a birthday of a show, right? I've missed several February natal days, so I have to pay the piper and let the piper play. From Stritch to Peters to Mostel to Ebersole and more, I guess we'll get mighty tired of that irritating birthday song. But so be it. See you on Sunday, and remember: It's BYOBC. Bring Your Own Butter Cream. :) 

I'm Still Here (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty)

It's A Business (Debra Monk, Curtains)

Tips (Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, Pump Boys And Dinettes)

Everybody's Girl (Debra Monk, Steel Pier)

The Hostess With The Mostess (Tyne Daly, Call Me Madame)

Nice (Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, It Shoulda Been You)

Mr. Goldstone, I Love You (Tyne Daly, Gypsy)

Can't Stop Talkin' About Him (Betty Hutton, Fred Astaire, Let's Dance)

You Can't Get A Man With A Gun (Betty Hutton, Annie Get Your Gun)

Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancin' In A Hurry (Betty Hutton)

Free (Zero Mostel, Brian Davies, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)

If I Were A Rich Man (Zero Mostel, Fiddler On The Roof)

Sid, Ol' Kid (Jackie Gleason, Ensemble, Take Me Along)

But Yours (Jackie Gleason, Eileen Herlie, Take Me Along)

Melancholy Serenade (The Jackie Gleason Orchestra)

Take Me Along (Jackie Gleason, Walter Huston, Take Me Along)

The Revolutionary Costume Of The Day (Christine Ebersole, Grey Gardens)

World Weary (Christine Ebersole, Christine Ebersole Sings Noel Coward)

Pink (Christine Ebersole, War Paint)

Time Heals Everything (Bernadette Peters, Mack And Mabel)

Sooner Or Later (Bernadette Peters, Sondheim, Etc.)

No One Is Alone (Bernadette Peters, Sondheim, Etc.)

Are You Having Any Fun? (Elaine Stritch, Stritch) 

I Want A Long Time Daddy (Elaine Stritch, Elaine Stritch At Liberty) 

If You Hadn't, But You Did (Elaine Stritch, Stritch)

Later Than Spring (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away)

Christopher Street (Ensemble, Wonderful Town)

One Hundred Easy Ways (Rosalind Russell, Wonderful Town)

Conga! (Rosalind Russell, Ensemble, Wonderful Town)

Playlist For February 20, 2022: Thinking of Judies!

A non-leapy February! One less day to this frickin' crazy month of -2 degrees, 43 degrees, snow-megadons, Dorothy Gale winds, and flooding basements. And only 1 month left of the Gulag that is Upstate New York Winter. Surely, robins and forsythia and puddles await us, right? Can I get a collective "whew" from y'all?

 

Yeah, I supposed Winter could linger 'til Easter, and has. Makes the eggs easier to find, I guess!

 

I hate "y'all", but it seemed to (almost) work there.

With the exception of my camel-hair coat (the one item of my winter wardrobe that I simply CAN'T wear enough), I await my spring/summer fashions, which seem to have multiplied, bred, and spread in my bulging closets. I have more sleeveless dresses than I had when I was 12. Don't know quite how that happened, especially out here in rural America where Carharts seem to be the go-to garb, but I must have 20 dress, plus skirts, plus flouncy tops and summer slacks (maybe even a jump suit or 7?). So "all dressed up and no where to go" is real.

 None of which has anything to do with the playlist for this week's show! I waxed, (when I shouldda waned) and not poetically. 

This week, another 2-headed monster of a 2 On The Aisle...the first half: Think! As in Aretha! And 15 other thoughtful, thoughtless, and thinking songs. The second half: Judy, Judy, Judy (which Cary Grant supposedly NEVER said in Only Angels Have Wings, but gosh darn it, I can hear him now!). Actually we'll be populated by 5 Judy's, not just 3: Holliday, Collins, Kuhn, Kaye, and Garland...a set of each!

So while we await a new season (and new fashion), tune in and bide your time with Broadway shenanigans and an errant Judy or 5. And dream of muddy robins (confit?).

 

 

 Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think (Louis Prima, Keely Smith)

Think Of The Time I Save (Eddie Foy Jr., The Pajama Game)

Think Pink! (Kay Thompson, Funny Face)

She Is Not Thinking Of Me (Corey Cott, Gigi)

Thinking Of No One But Me (Jane Summerhays, Nick Ullett, Me And My Girl)

Who Would've Thought? (Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, The Goodbye Girl)

I'm Only Thinking Of Him (Mimi Turque, Robert Rounseville, Eleanore Knapp, Man Of La Mancha)

What Do You Think I Am? (Liza Minnelli, Ensemble, Best Foot Forward)

Foolish To Think (Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder)

The Very Thought Of You (Al Bowlly)

I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful) (Doris Day)

I Think I Got You Beat (Sutton Foster, Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek)

I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James & The Shondells)

Thinking Of Him (Karen Ziemba, Ensemble, Curtains) 

You'll Think Of Something (Jill O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, Promises, Promises) 

It's Fun To Think (Ensemble, All-American)

I Think I May Want To Remember Today (Loni Ackerman, Margery Cohen, George Lee Andrews, Starting Here, Starting Now)

Thinkin' (Stephen Wallem, Pipe Dream)

Think (Aretha Franklin)

I Think It's Gonna Rain Today (Audra McDonald, Build A Bridge)

It's A Perfect Relationship (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)

An Occasional Man (Judy Holliday, Trouble Is A Man)

Is It A Crime? (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing)

Both Sides Now (Judy Collins, Wildflowers)

Send In The Clowns (Judy Collins, Judith)

Just Around The River (Judy Kuhn, Pocahontas)

I Said No (Judy Kuhn, Just In Time)  

I Never Know When To Say When (Judy Kaye, Diva By Diva)

Here's That Rainy Day (Judy Kaye, Diva By Diva)

Do It Again (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall)

Nobody's Baby (Judy Garland, Andy Hardy Meets Debutante)

Alone Together (Judy Garland, Judy At Carnegie Hall)

The Man That Got Away (Judy Garland, A Star Is Born)

The Party's Over (Judy Holliday, Bells Are Ringing) 

 

Playlist For Sunday, February 13, 2022: Lemme Call YOU Sweetheart!

There's no getting around it. Since the day after Christmas, the aisles at Wegman's have been chocked full of Valentine's Day candy, pink heart balloons, and (any minute now) roses moved to the FRONT of the store for easy (perhaps guilt-fueled) access. It's been all things Red for a few weeks. And when a Sunday is within 6 or 7 hours of that lovey-dovey "holiday", that means ya gotta do The Love Edition.

So prepare for songs about falling in love. Falling out of love. Heart-sick, heart-broken, heart-not-yet-in-the-know songs. I wish I was, I'm glad I'm not, maybe tomorrow, hopefully not tomorrow, NEVER, ALWAYS, a bit, a lot, too much, not enough. Love in the title, or at least love on the mind. You can just imagine how many songs I had to pick from, from Broadway AND Hollywood. (We may well end up in over time, like a nail-biting football game.) 

 

 Meanwhile, a busy week:
An exterminator visit. Seems my cat's been lazy in the hunting department.

A plumber visit. Frozen water. Then real water. Shooting. Spraying. Outside, then inside. Old houses = Old pipes. That has had to change. Like a fancy restaurant rating: $$$

My car finally fixed after a nasty (FAT) raccoon collision. He dive-bombed my Subaru and took out a goodly portion of front grill work, the car's, not mine.  I was sorry I killed him for about 15 seconds. Then I got over it. 

 

Where he/she took a big bite.

 

The continuing saga of MY grill work. Remember when I cracked a tooth in the summer, on a date pit no less? Well, I'm half a year from the PIT, and half way through the implant process. At least it's not in the middle of my "grill". Date pit, I curse you!

An exciting life, n'est pas? Who ever said retirement was boring? 

But meanwhile, to end that busy week...LOVE. Hope you can dial in this edition. Hugs and Kisses (and hearts and flowers), Me 

 

 

 Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love (Terence Mann, Nathan Lane, Kevin Chamberlain, The Addams Family)

She Loves Me (Zachary Levi, She Loves Me)

You're Just In Love (Donald O'Connor, Ethel Merman, Call Me Madam)

Falling In Love Again (Marlene Dietrich, The Blue Angel)

Love From A Heart Of Gold (Rudy Vallee, Virginia Martin, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)

Love Is Good For Anything That Ails You (Ida McCune)

Almost Like Being In Love (Gene Kelly, Brigadoon)

This Can't Be Love (Jack Cassidy, Portia Nelson, The Boys From Syracuse)

Love Is The Reason (Shirley Booth, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn)

Love For Sale (Ensemble, The New Yorkers)

My Funny Valentine (Trudi Erwin, Pal Joey)

Love Me Or Leave Me (Doris Day, Love Me Or Leave Me)

Where Is Love? (Bruce Prochnik, Oliver!)

Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Carl Switzer, Our Gang)

Make Believe (Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, Show Boat)

A Little Bit In Love (Edie Adams, Wonderful Town)

You Better Love Me (Tammy Grimes, High Spirits)

Love Is In The Air (Stephen Sondheim, Sondheim Sings)

I've Never Been In Love Before (Frank Loesser, An Evening With Frank Loesser)

I Wish I Were In Love Again (Jason Graae, Donna Kane, Babes In Arms)

Who Loves You (Ensemble, Jersey Boys)

I'm Not At All In Love (Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game)

I Can't Be In Love (Don Ameche, Goldilocks)

I Don't Think I'll Fall In Love Today (Nancy Walker, David Craig, Treasure Girl)

Easy To Love (Jimmy Stewart, Marjorie Lane, Born To Dance)

Forbidden Love (In Gaul)(Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, The Apple Tree)

Look Who's In Love (Richard Kiley, Gwen Verdon, Redhead)

I Love You (Sid Caesar, Virginia Martin, Little Me)

Love You Didn't Do Right By Me (Rosemary Clooney, White Christmas)

When Love Goes Wrong (Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

I'll Never Fall In Love Again (Jill O'Hara, Jerry Orbach, Promises, Promises)

Down With Love (Audra McDonald, My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies)

I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You (Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes)

Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (Jessie Mueller, Beautiful)

What I Did For Love (Priscilla Lopez, Company, A Chorus Line)

I'm In The Mood For Love (Darla Hood, Our Gang)

You Made Me Love You (Patsy Kelly, George S. Irving, Irene)