Jule Styne. King.

 Writer of literally hundreds of songs, 

Julius Kerwin Stein was born in London in1905. 

He would go on to collaborate with the best lyricists of the day, 

from Sammy Cahn and Comden and Green to Leo Robin and Stephen Sondheim.

In 1972, Jule would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

 When he was 8, his family emigrated from England to settle in Chicago,

where Jule was hailed as a piano prodigy.

Like Cy Coleman, he performed with well-known orchestras at a young age,

the Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras,

before he was 10.

 An early lyricist collaborator was Sammy Kahn(on the left)...

with whom he wrote "It's Been A Long, Long Time",

"Five Minutes More", "I've Heard That Song Before"

"I Fall In Love Too Easily", and the Oscar-winning song "Three Coins In A Fountain

(and MANY MORE!).

His songs were championed by Frank Sinatra and, I guess,

Jimmy Durante liked his tunes, as well.

 Broadway show-wise, he collaborated with Kahn,

Comden and Green (above), and many others.

Here, waiting at the recording session for Bells Are Ringing.

 At the recording session for Gypsy.

From the left, Sandra Church, Lane Bradbury, Jule, Arthur Laurents, and 

lyricst partner Stephen Sondheim.

 

Partying with Ethel Merman (love those curls, Ethel!)

and Barbara Hutton.

 Funny Girl, 1964.

Jule partnered with lyricist Bob Merrill

to create Barbra Streisand's tour de force.

1905 - 1994

Before Love Boat, There Was Sail Away!

 Noel Coward's Sail Away premiered on Broadway in 1961,

with subsequent productions in London and Melbourne.

Noel did it all: the music, the lyrics, the book...he directed,

even designed the poster.

That's him and Elaine...on the HMS Coronia, bound for the Mediterranean.

Hijinks ensue!

 Elaine started out in a secondary role...

and an operatic type was chosen as the young ingenue

with the love interest.

But thing weren't working, according to Noel.

He rewrote the thing, giving Elaine all the songs,

AND the romance!

 "Didn't I meet you on a summer cruise?"

The show was Noel's penultimate musical, and had only limited success.

But it was a perfect vehicle for Stritch, 

giving her a chance to do comedy, light character songs,

and a couple fabulous ballads.

What do you think of Noel's design?
Guess it's good he had other talents. 

Playlist for Sunday, June 14, 2015: Where's that hammock???

The Broadway blender, having blended, moves on....We have another week of BIG DEAL composers, cuz some got left out last week.  This over-look-ification was not intentional.  You'd just need an entire 2 weeks to do a dedication to Broadway's Best, right?  So this Sunday:  Jules Styne, Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwin boys, and of course Cy Coleman, who has a birthday on Sunday.  Perfect timing, and a perfect excuse, to showcase a bit of City of Angels, Seesaw, Charity, and a little Little Me. 

And Noel Coward!  What about him? He'll be here with his pre-Love Boat cruising show, Sail Away, starring Ms. Stritch as the American divorcee/cruise director who falls for a "younger passenger." Well, that's what the liner notes say.  Leave it to Elaine to make the most of an opportunity. "Didn't I meet you on a ...summer cruise?"

A soupcon of drinking songs, and I ain't talkin' lemonade (Juno, Pump Boys, Ben Franklin) and a quartet of Lazy tunes (definitely get into the hammock for that set!) will help round out the show...with "I Am Adolpho" from The Drowsy Chaperone as our finale.  Ha-cha!


Come To Me (Elaine Stritch, Ensemble, Sail Away)
Use What You Got (Sam Harris, The Life)
I've Got Your Number (David Gold, Little Me)
Lost And Found (Rachel York, City Of Angels)
You're A Lovable Lunatic (Ken Howard, Seesaw)
I'm A Brass Band (Gwen Verdon, Sweet Charity)
Daarlin' Man (Melvin Douglas, Jack MacGowran, Juno)
God Bless The Human Elbow (Robert Preston, Ensemble, Ben Franklin In Paris)
Drinkin' Shoes (Company, Pump Boys And Dinettes)
Treat Me Rough (Eddie Chappell, Girl Crazy)
Bidin' My Time (Mary Martin, Girl Crazy)
Of Thee I Sing (Larry Kert, Maureen McGovern, Of Thee I Sing)
Someone To Watch Over Me (Dawn Upshaw, Oh Kay!)
It Never Entered My Mind (Shirley Ross, Higher and Higher)
I Wish I Were In Love Again (Jason Graae, Donna Kane, Babes In Arms)
You Took Advantage Of Me (Elaine Stritch, On Your Toes)
Bewitched (Frank Sinatra, Pal Joey)
Dear Old Syracuse (Jack Cassidy, The Boys From Syracuse)
Sail Away (David Holliday, Sail Away)
Something Very Strange (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away)
The Bronxville Darby and Joan (Edith Day, Sydney Arnold, Sail Away)
Why Do The Wrong People Travel? (Elaine Stritch, Sail Away)
Lazy Afternoon (Kaye Ballard, The Golden Apple)
Lazy (Marilyn Monroe, There's No Business Like Show Business)
Lazy Moon (Ensemble, Goldilocks)
Up A Lazy River (Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway)
On My Own (Sidney Chaplin, Bells Are Ringing)
Waiting, Waiting (Nancy Walker, Do Re Mi)
Mr. Goldstone, I Love You (Ethel Merman, Gypsy)
I'm Just Taking My Time (Sidney Chaplin, Subways Are For Sleeping)
Don't Rain On My Parade (Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl)
Toledo Surprise (Jason and Garth Kravits, The Drowsy Chaperone)
Accident Waiting To Happen (Sutton Foster, Troy Britton Johnson, The Drowsy
             Chaperone)
I Am Adolpho (Danny Burstein, Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone)

And 3 more of today's offerings....

 

 Leon Green as Miles Gloriosus and Zero Mostel as Pseudolos,

in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

"Bring Me My Bride!" ...or else, it seems.

 

 Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner, in The King and I.

Rex Harrison was sought to do the lead role,

as he did in the movie "Anna And The King Of Siam,"

but he wasn't available.  

Plus Yul was maybe a little hotter.

 Gotta stop that man!

Robert Morse still believes in himself here in the washroom scene of

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

And their creators...

 Composer/Lyricist Jerry Herman

with Carol Channing (above) during the production of Hello Dolly!, 1964,

and Charles Nelson Reilly, one of Jerry's favorites,

working on Parade, 1960.

 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstien, the 2nd...

Previously Richard had worked for more than 20 years with Lorenz Hart,

writing shows like A Connecticut Yankee, Babes in Arms and Pal Joey.

Oscar had worked with Jerome Kern on Sunny and Show Boat,

and Sigmund Romburg on The Desert Song.

 Their partnership lasted for almost two decades,

and brought us Oklahoma!, Carousel, State Fair, The King and I,

South Pacific, Allegro, Cinderella, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music...

not too shabby.

 Frank Loesser started out writing lyrics for popular songs, 

like "Heart and Soul" and "Two Sleepy People."

During his service time in WW2, he began writing shows...

his first show on Broadway was Where's Charlie? with Ray Bolger.

Guys and Dolls followed on apace...the rest is history!

Stephen Sondheim 

(below with Tony Perkins, who initially was going to star in Company)

was mentored by family friend, Oscar Hammerstein...

Oscar asked to see one of Stephen's college musicals, said it was rubbish,

but followed that up with,

"but if you'd like to see why it's horrible, I'll tell you."

That was the beginning of Sondheim's musical theatre education.

He began writing lyrics for shows like Gypsy and West Side Story,

until he found his own musical style.

 John Kander, Liza, Fred Ebb, and Chita Rivera...

two of Kander and Ebb's favorite ladies to write for.

Cabaret and Chicago were their biggest hits,

although they also wrote for television (Liza's specials)

and movie scores (like New York, New York).

One of John's first jobs was as rehearsal pianist for West Side Story.

Fred? He bronzed baby shoes! 

But once they met, they wrote over 20 musicals,

including Zorba, Flora The Red Menace,

Woman Of The Year, Steel Pier, and Curtains.

Just Some of Sunday's "Cast!"

 Joel Grey, who performed the role of the Emcee in both 

the original Broadway production (1966) 

and the movie (1972) of 

Cabaret.

 Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence,

our first Tony and Maria in West Side Story, 1957.

 Gene Nelson and Gloria Grahame...

Will and Ado Annie, in the movie version of Oklahoma!, 1955.

 The Happy Time...1960

David Wayne, Robert Goulet, and Michael Rupert.

 Stubby Kaye, Danny Dayton and Johnny Silver

as Nicely Nicely Johnson, Rusty Charlie, and Benny Southstreet

in Guys and Dolls, 1950.

 Rosalind Russell and the Brazilian Navy,

"Conga"-ing in Wonderful Town, 1953.

Gene Barry and George Hearn,

"With You On My Arm",

in La Cage Aux Folles, 1983.

Playlist for Sunday, June 7, 2015: How Do I Follow This Up?

So I'm locking my quirky side in the cupboard under the stairs this week, and letting the Broadway Classics side of my musical psyche run riot! You see, I was biking along on a lovely day, and had this epiphany that I should do a show focusing on the big composers and lyricists ...a little Jerry, a little Rodger and Oscar, a little Lenny and John and Fred...and to play a few of each of their successes.  (Except for Sondheim, who's as well known for his flops as he is for his "hits." Note quotes.) I may have been suffering from too much fresh air, as I was biking at quite a clip, surrounded by nature, and engulfed in upstate New York's perennial west wind. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, along with all the GREAT STUFF in this show, like the Oklahomas, the Mames, the Guys AND the Dolls, I carved a little time out for Flora The Red Menace (that's quirky, right?), Bounce, and Merrily We Roll Along...I mean, half of me can't stay in the cupboard all week!  My problem will be what to play NEXT week.  I'm using a lot of material for this show, most of it over the top, so how do solve a problem like...Maria? Expect a reaction, like an avalanche of esoteric...or hives.  :)


Wilkommen (Joel Grey, Cabaret)
We Are What We Are (Ensemble, La Cage Aux Folles)
With You On My Arm (George Hearn, Gene Barry, La Cage Aux Folles)
Bosom Buddies (Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, Mame)
Elegance (Charles Nelson Reilly, Eileen Brennan, Ensemble, Hello Dolly!)
Before The Parade Passes By (Carol Channing, Ensemble, Hello Dolly!)
Getting To Know You (Gertrude Lawrence, The King And I)
All Er Nuthin' (Gene Nelson, Gloria Grahame, Oklahoma!)
Sixteen Going On Seventeen (Lauri Peters, Brian Davies, The Sound Of Music)
Some Enchanted Evening (Ezio Pinza, South Pacific)
The Prince Is Giving A Ball (Ensemble, Cinderella)
Conga! (Rosalind Russell, Ensemble, Wonderful Town)
Time Square Dance (Instrumental, On The Town)
Maria (Larry Kert, West Side Story)
Dance At The Gym (Instrumental, West Side Story)
The Oldest Established (Sam Levene, Stubby Kaye, Johnny Silver, Guys And Dolls)
If I Were A Bell (Isabel Bigley, Guys And Dolls)
Joey, Joey, Joey (Art Lund, The Most Happy Fella)
Abbondanza (Ensemble, The Most Happy Fella)
Paris Original (Bonnie Scott, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)
I Believe In You (Robert Morse, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)
Bring Me My Bride (Leon Greene, Zero Mostel, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum)
Bounce (Richard Kind, Howard McGillin, Bounce)
We Had A Good Thing Going (Jim Walton, Lonny Price, Merrily We Roll Along)
Chrysanthemum Tea (Alvin Y. F. Ing, Ensemble, Pacific Overtures)
Not Every Day Of The Week (Liza Minnelli, Bob Dishy, Flora The Red Menace)
The Happy Time (Robert Goulet, The Happy Time)
He Did It (Karen Ziemba, Edward Hibbert, Ensemble, Curtains)
The World Goes 'Round (Brenda Pressley, The World Goes 'Round)
Finale (Joel Grey, Cabaret)