How I've Lived Without You All These Months, I'll Never Know

This time last year, I was busy attending the last week of Sweeney Todd. How is it that a year has gone by without it? Sure, I had a few other things to focus on...but oh, how I've missed it. Today, the Sweeney tour kicks off in San Francisco. I'm planning on attending the tale when it hits Boston. In the meantime, there is the Sweeney film to look forward to come December. But it will never be as good for me as it was a year ago.

When I grow up...

I want to be just like my Auntie Sieglinde.

Prepared for Bootcamp, er Third Grade

Word of the Day

Today as OftheKosmos and I listened to the broadcast of Renée Fleming's recital in Keil, Germany (Hartmut Höll at the piano), he taught me a word that I always needed to know. There's this sliding sound that the voice makes, any voice, but particularly Renée's, that I love so much: it's a glissando. Oh, I just love this word.


K (3:31:33 PM): hey! are you listening to the broadcast?
SarahB (4:35:19 PM): no - where is it?
K (3:32:13 PM): http://www.ndrkultur.de/service/livestream20.html
K (3:32:16 PM): just started
SarahB(4:35:57 PM): thanks!
K (3:32:33 PM): i hope sally's recording :/
K (3:32:35 PM): np
SarahB (4:36:59 PM): I hear her! Hooray! Where, when and is this live right now?
SarahB (4:37:05 PM): What language is this?
K (3:33:43 PM): lemme fwd you the program
SarahB (4:37:10 PM): the website I mean
K (3:33:52 PM): german
K (3:34:03 PM): no this is from kiel, germany
K (3:34:13 PM): the recital last week or whenever it was
SarahB (4:37:42 PM): cool
K (3:34:44 PM): she's still warming up...
SarahB (4:42:14 PM): the connection is so choppy
K (3:38:57 PM): use windows media player
K (3:39:02 PM): it's not working on realplayer
SarahB (4:42:47 PM): It was but it stopped - connecting to WM now
K (3:39:28 PM): good
SarahB (4:43:01 PM): where are you?
K (3:39:44 PM): miami, leaving tomorrow
K (3:40:46 PM): everyone's out shopping now, good timing, so can listen to this
SarahB (4:45:49 PM): fabulous
SarahB (4:45:59 PM): I just called home and got my sister to turn it on for my mother
K (3:42:54 PM): oh ^%#$%$#@!, du bist die ruh is on now...mmm
SarahB (4:47:50 PM): I'm swooning
K (3:47:35 PM): that really exceeded my expectations
SarahB (4:51:11 PM): It was so tneder
SarahB (4:51:13 PM): tender
K (3:47:49 PM): it was a perfect performance
SarahB (4:51:26 PM): I wonder what she's wearing? I love her recitals so much.
K (3:48:09 PM): she wore the cream gown
K (3:48:14 PM): this is from the 14th
SarahB (4:54:21 PM): Brahms!
K (3:51:15 PM): yeah..i fwded you the program that someone had posted
SarahB (4:55:19 PM): My email won't open but I heard the announcer say that word. You know me and my multi-lingualism
K (3:52:00 PM): Johannes Brahms
Botschaft op. 47 Nr. 1
Das Mädchen spricht op. 107 Nr. 3
Wir wandelten op. 96 Nr. 2
Junge Lieder op. 63 Nr. 5
An eine Äolsharfe op. 19 Nr. 5
Von ewiger Liebe op. 43 Nr. 1
K (3:52:33 PM): i tried looking up the texts and translations but have been unsuccessful.
SarahB (4:56:25 PM): God I wish we could hear Renee at that little hall attached to Carnegie - whatsitcalled - Sally and I saw Damrau there. Its perfect
K (3:53:27 PM): zankel
K (3:53:36 PM): i wish i could hear her at jordan hall in boston.
K (3:53:39 PM): oh no wait--
K (3:53:44 PM): you mean the smaller one..
K (3:53:47 PM): yeah..
SarahB (4:57:24 PM): Yes - it's tiny and perfect - very intimate and perfect for recitals
K (3:54:16 PM): yeah recitals ought to be in small venues
K (3:54:51 PM): i like these slow numbers with soaring lines
SarahB (4:58:20 PM): You would have loved the one at that small Catholic Univ. outside of Chicago - it was bigger than the one at Carnegie but still quite small and had an intimate feeling
SarahB (4:58:30 PM): me too
K (3:55:12 PM): i miss renee!!!
SarahB (4:58:41 PM): me too!
SarahB (4:58:46 PM): And you've seen her recently!
K (3:55:32 PM): well a couple months ago
K (3:56:05 PM): but i haven't had any other performances :/ the season will come soon though
SarahB (4:59:42 PM): poor thang
K (3:56:20 PM): haha
K (3:56:33 PM): when is your first met opera?
SarahB (5:00:37 PM): Butterfly on Oct 8th but hopefully there will be an open house for Lucia
K (3:57:19 PM): ooooh
K (3:57:32 PM): i heard that dessay will be on the new opera news - has it come out?
SarahB (5:01:07 PM): Not in my mail yet
K (3:57:47 PM): i need to subcribe
K (3:57:56 PM): subscribe
K (3:58:10 PM): if she's half as good as she was in paris, people are going to go insane
K (3:58:55 PM): that is a really great opera--the characters are well-developed and it's a great story. not the norm for bel canto...
SarahB (5:02:47 PM): I really hope it goes well - the Met is really promoting her in this - her picture as Lucia is EVERYWHERE in this city
K (3:59:31 PM): really? how cool!!
K (4:00:12 PM): the production sounds so cool...zimmerman conceived it as a victorian ghost story...spooky!
SarahB (5:03:44 PM): Sept 20 Lucia – Open House
Sept 24 Lucia – Plaza Cast (Wanda & Cordelia)
October 8 Madama Butterfly at the Met (Wanda & Cordelia)
October 11 Kiri Te Kanawa at Carnegie
November 4 Richard Tucker Gala Concert 6:00 Avery Fisher Hall
November 12 Norma at the Met
November 19 Suzy & Iphigenie Guild Talk
November 19 Barbara Cook at Avery Fisher (+ Noah)
November 7 La Traviata (+ Noah) at the Met
December 3 Renee Fleming with BSO at Carnegie
December 5 Iphigenie at the Met (Wanda & Cordelia)
December 10 War & Peace at the Met
January 10 Susan Graham at Avery Fisher (with Sally)
January 29 Manon Lescaut at the Met
Feb 11 Otello at the Met
February 17 Deborah Voigt with Met Orchestra (?)
February 26 Susan Graham at Carnegie
March 5 Audra McDonald at Avery Fisher (+ Noah)
March 12 Deborah Voigt at Carnegie
March 13 Peter Grimes Panel – Guild Talk
March 18 Tristan & Isolde at the Met
March 24 Peter Grimes at the Met
March 26 Joyce DiDonato at Rose Theatre
April 15 Nathan & Julie Gunn at Carnegie
April 21 La Fille du Regiment at the Met
April 24 Dessay & Flores Guild Talk
April 25 Bryn Terfel at Carnegie
May 1 Jessye Norman at Carnegie
May 6 Christine Brewer Stephanie Blythe et al with Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie
May 15 La Clemenza di Tito at the Met (Wanda & Cordelia)
May 29 Emmanuel Ax at Avery Fisher Hall (2 tix)
K (4:01:38 PM): yeah and hoell is such a fantastic accompanist, i love them together
K (4:02:18 PM): oh you got your tix for the tucker?
SarahB (5:06:26 PM): yes
K(4:03:12 PM): omg are they still available?
K (4:03:29 PM): where did you get them?
SarahB (5:07:04 PM): Go to their website - Richard Tucker Foundation
K (4:04:50 PM): you have all these tickets already?
SarahB (5:09:03 PM): Yes - except won't purchase the Carnegie tix until 9/10 when they go on sale to "friends"
K (4:07:03 PM): this is a good schedule...i only have my met tix so far. this will be a scaled back season, but still getting some great things in
SarahB (5:10:48 PM): Renee is not on the Richard Tucker website but she is on the official invitation
SarahB (5:11:05 PM): I'm very excited about this season - its the most I've done yet
K (4:07:45 PM): you have to have an invitation to buy a ticket :/
SarahB (5:11:19 PM): And that doesn't include a few Broadway shows plus concerts that I hope to see
SarahB (5:11:46 PM): No, you don't need an invitation - I just got one for being a guild member or Lincoln Center member I suppose - I'm on a million mailing lists
K (4:08:39 PM): so how did you order your ticket? was it by mail?
SarahB (5:12:40 PM): Yes - Sally, Kari and I - I sent in a check and the check cashed - not sure where we're sitting but it's at Avery Fisher so it doesn't matter that much to me just hopefully not on the side
K (4:09:38 PM): yeah this ticket would have to be ordered using a physical invitation :/
SarahB (5:13:11 PM): So call them on Monday
K (4:10:09 PM): hm. it is a really great line-up. what time is it?
SarahB (5:13:40 PM): That voice - it's so perfect to my ears
SarahB (5:13:49 PM): I think it's a 6:00 performance
SarahB (5:14:01 PM): I believe that there's a post-concert dinner or something
SarahB (5:14:14 PM): There's about 10 names or so on the invitation
SarahB (5:14:22 PM): Damrau, Suzi, Bryn...
SarahB (5:14:32 PM): It's in my office...
K (4:11:16 PM): i'm surprised they didn't put renee on the web site..
SarahB (5:14:56 PM): It looks like its not updated because other names weren't there either
K (4:12:13 PM): die nachtigall...i love this song
SarahB (5:16:06 PM): night something?
K (4:12:52 PM): nightingale
SarahB (5:16:18 PM): nightinggale?
SarahB (5:16:26 PM): yes - oh I'm so smart
K (4:13:04 PM):
K (4:14:47 PM): i don't think i'll be able to do the tucker gala, even if i can get a ticket, that is...i dunno. i can't go away every weekend. and i'll have to take the overnight train back, and i have to teach the next day. at least y'all are going, so i'll get a report. they used to televise the gala concert
SarahB (5:18:31 PM): Yuck on the overnight trip - it's hard
K (4:15:27 PM): oops i tuned out toward the end of nachtigall
K (4:15:38 PM): oh wait this is it
K (4:15:41 PM): i am so out of it haha
K (4:16:06 PM): that last note is so gorgeous
K (4:16:54 PM): renee will probably sing "bel raggio lusinghar" (sp) at the tucker
SarahB (5:22:50 PM): it's quite a line up
SarahB (5:23:19 PM): Renee isn't doing the Sills memorial - so surprised that she won't be there but she has the stupid National Symphony opening that weekend
SarahB (5:23:29 PM): or whatever it is at the KC
K (4:20:16 PM): oh she has a great program for that
SarahB (5:24:03 PM): Wanda invited us to go but it's also lang lang or pong pong or some other 2 named kid plus the orchestra and the tix were $$$$
K (4:20:50 PM): yeah $$$$ is not good...
SarahB (5:24:55 PM): I never mind paying for the top of the house but even at the top they were almost $100 and with as many performances as I am seeing I can't do everything plus travel expenses
K (4:21:56 PM): yes that's part of my problem with nyc next season
K (4:24:58 PM): what is the price range for the tucker again?
SarahB (5:28:40 PM): I think it started at $25 and went way, way up but the high price included dinner I think
SarahB (5:29:06 PM): $1000 ? Not sure - it was really expensive which is why I was so surprised about the $25 center 3rd tier choice
K (4:25:53 PM): yeah $25 is pretty cheap
SarahB (5:29:44 PM): I love to hear people speak German - it sounds humorour
SarahB (5:29:48 PM): humorous
K (4:26:28 PM): they're lucky that all those stars will be in new york
K (4:26:37 PM): you heard the crumb in chicago?
SarahB (5:30:08 PM): ick
K (4:26:46 PM): i haven't heard it live?
K (4:26:53 PM): oh i love it
K (4:27:03 PM): i didn't mean to put a "?"
SarahB (5:31:25 PM): That's when Renee put me on the spot in front of all of those people. She wanted to know what I thought of it. I said, uh, uh, uh, it's interesting. It was my first time to ever hear it, Renee, so maybe I need to hear it again. Mary Nell took a picture of Renee listening to me - it's hysterical. Her hands are on her hips and it looks like she's about to scold me.
K (4:28:17 PM): i remember that photo
SarahB (5:32:09 PM): That's also when she offered to lend me her jewelry, "but I borrowed it myself, so too bad!"
K (4:29:47 PM): oh i love this poem,
K (4:29:58 PM): when lilacs last in the ...
SarahB (5:33:25 PM): It sounds so strange to me
K (4:30:05 PM): it's about abraham lincoln
SarahB (5:33:51 PM): The log cabin rebublican? wink wink
K (4:30:58 PM): can you imagine the partying that the singers will have after the tucker gala?
K (4:31:09 PM): too bad hampson won't be there
SarahB (5:34:58 PM): God - it will probably be late into the night - and with Bryn and Suzi there no telling what all will go on - ahhaha - I was just about to say the same thing about Hampson
K (4:32:03 PM): yeah totally
K (4:32:29 PM): there's a high d in this piece somewhere
SarahB (5:38:11 PM): wow
K (4:34:57 PM): i think i just heard it
K (4:35:03 PM): i really love this piece
SarahB (5:48:19 PM): I think it's finally growing on me
K (4:45:22 PM): yeah it really suits the texts, it's so stimulating
K (4:46:09 PM): i'm really craving a renee recital..she doesn't have a tour lined up this season. i hope she'll do some in 08-09.
SarahB (5:49:49 PM): I bet she will
SarahB (5:50:01 PM): Does she have another album coming out soon?
K (4:46:51 PM): it's nice to hear the korngold without the orchestra. i love the orchestra but it's great to hear the voice like this
K (4:47:12 PM): um i don't think anything's lined up
SarahB (5:51:14 PM): Oh with the orchestra its incredible but sometimes it's difficult to hear it like it is with just piano
K (4:49:00 PM): this piece dips low, and with the orchestra she has to use chest to be heard
K (4:49:12 PM): do you like "summertime"?
K (4:49:16 PM): i'm kind of over it :/
SarahB (5:52:46 PM): yes
SarahB (5:53:01 PM): Oh I love this one!
K (4:49:40 PM): "caecilie" is the best encore ever
K (4:49:59 PM): she sings it up a half-step
SarahB (5:53:36 PM): I wish the volume was louder!
K (4:50:20 PM): mine is pretty loud
SarahB (5:53:57 PM): mine isn't
SarahB (5:54:06 PM): sniff
K (4:50:45 PM): here it comes--i love the ending
SarahB (5:54:53 PM): Brava brava!!!! It's like a, well you know what it's like.
K (4:51:48 PM): yup
K (4:52:32 PM): oh *&%^&^$@! morgen...i need to close my eyes
SarahB (5:56:12 PM): shhh me too
K (4:52:58 PM): ok, closing eyes
K (4:56:49 PM): ok i'm really glad i wasn't there, bc i would have died
SarahB (6:00:34 PM): sigh
K (4:57:21 PM): "summertime" is a nice antidote to that
SarahB (6:01:10 PM): the antithesis though
K (4:58:43 PM): morgen makes you feel elevated, it's so tranquil and precious....summertime makes you relax
SarahB (6:02:17 PM): absolutely
K (4:58:53 PM): she's gonna do some crazy improv on "until"
K (4:59:18 PM): yeah, she went up an octave. i like that
SarahB (6:02:51 PM): Love it!
SarahB (6:03:19 PM): that's my favorite! The slide down!
SarahB (6:03:21 PM): Yes!
K (4:59:59 PM): she used to use a classical approach to this, but lately she's been singing it with a jazzy approach
K (5:00:18 PM): yeah the glissando
SarahB (6:03:44 PM): I know it irritates a lot of people but I don't care - I love it
SarahB (6:03:53 PM): Oh glissando - love that word!

Christmas Wish List

Midtown was crawling with Santa Claus this week. I couldn't resist taking the opportunity to put in my wish list.

Albee in our Row

At Deuce on Sunday, Edward Albee was sitting in our row. Angela Lansbury was in the 1972 production of Albee's All Over in London. She was tapped to play Martha in Virginia Wolfe, but took Gypsy instead. She would have torn up that scenery as Martha no doubt. Marian Seldes won her Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Play as "Julia" in 1967 for Albee's A Delicate Balance. I have only seen two productions of Albee's plays: Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe on July 31, 2005, and Seascape on November 9, 2005. What I remember most about Virginia Wolfe was my feeling of pure astonishment. I didn't expect to be so entertained or so moved. Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin, who won a Tony for the role, made it seem effortless. It was frightening, funny, cathartic and beautiful. My memory of Seascape is less enthusiastic. The best thing about it was Frances Sternhagen, who is one of my favorite actresses. I think I was expecting something on the level of Virginia Wolfe, but it was entertaining nevertheless. After seeing Marian Seldes in Deuce, I became inspired to read the some of the plays she performed in. I started with A Delicate Balance. It was not easy. It's like a nightmare in a wealthy suburban home where everybody is manic, drunk and possibly going crazy. It difficult to ascertain what the reality is. Marian told me that the depth and richness of character that Albee writes is unparalleled and that is an honor and challenge to play them. She also premiered in his Three Tall Women in 1994 off-Broadway. Albee won a Pulitzer for this one too. It's my favorite Albee and I watched the film of it at Performing Arts Library. Albee takes me on a roll coaster journey of laughter and horror and brings me back feeling exhilarated.

Today: Last Deuce on Broadway

Today: Deuce closes. Of course, I'll be there.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The theatre was packed with adoring fans of the grand ladies. They got a standing ovation at the curtain up and of course a long adoring ovation at the end. They were both milking the comedy today and Angela was especially giving it all with those trademark looks of hers. They both shed a few tears and it seemed that Angela was especially emotional by the end. I couldn't help but feel a lump or two in my own throat.

Tonight: A Visit to the Fringe

In Piaf: Love Conquers All, Naomi Emmerson astonishingly channeled Edith Piaf. With a little help from her accompanist, who doubled as the awkward actor for several characters who helped move the biographical piece along, Naomi blew us away as the tragic French chanteur. She sang each chanson with a mixture of pain, humor and beauty. She astonished me at every turn. Her transformation from the young street singer to the tragic diva suffering from love affairs and addiction to morphine was completely believable. I completely forgot that I was sitting in a broken seat, in a very hot and cramped room. The Fringe audience cheered loudly at every chance and gave her a very long and much deserved ovation when the show ended much too soon.

Gone to Graceland

Oh, Elvis. I can't believe it's been 30 years since the King died. Do you think he's really still alive? Who knows...but I still love him. One of my favorite movies and soundtracks is Elvis' Blue Hawaii. I hijacked the record album from my Dad's collection and I still have it. I've seen all of Elvis' movies, but that one is definitely my favorite. Well, it's about my birthland! Anyway, about ten years ago, when Robin was doing her residency in Tulsa, OK, we decided to road trip across the Oklahoma border into the Ozarks of Arkansas. Well, it was extremely boring. So we kept driving to Little Rock. There was nothing to do there either so when we discovered in the Road Atlas that Memphis was only about 140 miles east from Little Rock, off we went. It was an adventure for sure. We arrived in Memphis after dark and after driving around for hours, so finally, tired and lost, we settled on a motel near the airport. When I woke up in the morning and looked out the window, there was cause for alarm. We were checked into a no-tell motel. Robin, wake up! WAKE UP! We have to leave here immediately. So we did leave. Finally we found downtown Memphis. We went to The Peabody Hotel and saw their ducks. We went down Beale Street and saw Sun Records. We had a giant Southern fried breakfast complete with grits (in the South, you don't order grits, grits just come). And then we pilgrimaged to GRACELAND. It's quite a place. It wasn't huge or even that grand, but it was preserved circa 1977. Nothing has changed, except that there are mourners and curious visitors everywhere. The outbuildings full of his memorabilia are more impressive than the house itself - there was one room that had all of Elvis' gold and platinum records. We had quite a time there. That's a road trip I'd do over any time, just not the no-tell motel part.

Song of the Day

Last night we went down to Marie's Crisis to sing along with a basement bar room full of people singing contemporary theatre songs. There was really too much Andrew Lloyd Webber and such power ballading going on, but I have to say that it was quite a thrill to join in with 100 people singing Being Alive at the top of their voice. Click here to hear Bernadette sing this anthem at Carnegie Hall.

Dawdling = Sighting

I was dawdling about on the upper west side this morning when Sam Waterston walked right by me.


2:37 update: Just now my friend Hilda and I were out dawdling on 6th Avenue because the weather is just too good to be cooped up in the office for too long and Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw walked by us. Howie looks beefy. Terry looks goofy but cute.

Song of the Day

On October 14, 1930, Ira and George Gershwin's Girl Crazy opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre, now known as the Neil Simon on West 52nd Street. The score wasn't really remarkable except for that it gave us the standards Embraceable You, But Not For Me and especially I Got Rhythym. Who sang I Got Rhythm? The Merm of course! Yes, that's right, a 22 year old Ethel Merman was in this cast of almost 70 members strong! Unfortunately, these were the days before cast albums. But the trivia about Girl Crazy that I love most about this show is really the make up of the pit orchestra. Future stars of the big band era - Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman were all in that pit! I wonder if nearly 50 years later, the book writer of 42nd Street had this particular pit in mind when his "Maggie Jones" said, "There's a reason we keep them in a pit!" This brings me to Glenn Miller. If you know me like you should, then you know I can't resist the big band sound. Last night, I made it home just in time to watch The Glenn Miller Story on TCM. Oh, I can't help it. I've seen it a 100 times if I've seen it once. My favorite Glenn Miller tune is In the Mood, a big hit from 1940. Click here to hear why it's such a great tune. You'll be dancing in your office with this one!

See, I Told You

This is Nixon's Air Force One and that's me in the blue dress with my cousins* and my Mom.




*Edit: Mom says these are not my cousins - these are Eddy Cuff and Patrick Cuff. We were in Hawaii and it was probably late 1969.

Tonight: A Broadway Play

Tonight I'm finally seeing Frost/Nixon for several reasons really. First of all, at closing night of Gypsy, Frank Langella was there, holding court like a king. And Sally has been pestering me to see it. And Kari saw it and said to see it. Who am I to not do what they tell me to do? I'm a sucker for peer pressure. And years ago, my mother took me to see Air Force One when Nixon visited Hawaii. I don't remember it, but there's a picture documenting the visit buried somewhere in a photo album back home.

Song of the Day and Pour Me Another Cup of Coffee

Well, hallelujah and pour me another cup of coffee. "The more coffee one drank, the better the effects seemed to be on (women's) memory functioning in particular," a French researcher says. So, I say let's drink up and listen to this little song of the day by the Girl Singer herself, Rosemary Clooney.

Manhattan Penthouse

Theatre Near the Nexus of the Universe: Alec Duffy's Dysphoria

Last night I took a trip down to the lower east side (near the nexus of the universe) to catch Alec Duffy's latest play Dysphoria. You know I don't usually leave my neighborhood or my theatre domain unless properly motivated. But when the invitation came my way from my friend Eugene "Gene" Rohrer, I couldn't resist. I told Gene that we were in a different country and he pointed out that one of the best things about living in New York is that you can actually visit a different country and not even leave New York. In January 2005, Gene played Galileo (and played piano for the Schubert Lieder) in Alec Duffy's play The Top 10 People of the Millennium Sing Their Favorite Schubert Lieder. Over two years later, I still think of lines from Top 10 People. It was a brilliant, insightful and hysterically funny look at who the top ten people are or might be and what happens when they get together. Alex is a playwright that has the ability of taking the absurd and turning it into procative and hilarious theatre. Dysphoria didn't do what Top 10 People did for me, but it did entertain and provoke thought of what might happen when five people are in isolated and Pavlovian training for a Utopian-like society. They attempt to put aside self for the good of the society through redundancy. In the end, their personal experience and human emotion lead to realization that humans are not devoid of emotion or selfishness and the society fell apart. Masayasu Nakanishi as "Tomo" stole the show as the self-effacing but most logical and most human of the group. Click here for more insight from the nytheatrecast blog.





The Nexus of the Universe

Let's All Sing a Chorus of Tomorrow

Tonight we gathered to hear Peter Filichia
talk about the revised second edition of his book Let's Put on a Musical. Peter was supposed to talk about his book and intereview composer Charles Strouse but it really turned into all about Mr. Strouse. He told some stories and shared his thoughts of what Bye Bye Birdie and Annie have meant to generations of theatre goers and actors alike. He also told his story about being called in to help out with a troubled Hello Dolly!! when it was still trying out out-of-town. He and his writing partner, Lee Adams, arrived to find the creative team at war and there were all kinds of problems. They took the stage manager's script and read it and started to make suggestions. They went back to New York where they wrote Before the Parade Passes By. They sent it back to Gower Champion and then heard little else. It wasn't for some time until they heard that there was a new song put in where they had suggested at the bottom of the first act but with the same title as theirs - Before the Parade Passes By! Jerry Herman had kept the title but changed the lyrics and music. More fighting broke out, but this time it involved lawyers on both sides of the fence. Strouse and Adams eventually were given 50% ownership of that famous anthem. This was only the second time that Strouse told the story in public. Somewhere along the way, the parties involved made up, even worked together again. Recently, Strouse was at an event honoring Jerry Herman and when he heard Jerry talk about coming up with the idea for Before the Parade Passes By, he knew that he had to tell his side of the story, although he still feels guilty about telling it because he treasures Jerry's friendship. So, he's writing his memoirs. Mr. Strouse then played and sang Once Upon a Time from All American, Put on a Happy Face from Bye Bye Birdie, Those Were the Days from the Archie Bunker Show, I Don't Need Anything But You from Annie and then we all joined in on Tomorrow. I was smiling ear to ear! Annie is my all time favorite movie musical!

Song of the Day

I'm thinking about Pal Joey. Rodgers and Hart's Pal Joey first hit the Broadway boards in 1940 and ran for just under a year. Unbelievable that it didn't run longer really with a cast of Gene Kelly as the young lover Joey, Vivienne Segalas the older woman Vera, Van Johnson and even June Havoc (the real Dainty June!) as Gladys. (It completely cracks me up that June was in the show because there's a song called Zip all that's really all about June's real life sister Gypsy Rose Lee.) These were the days before cast albums. In 1950, Goddard Lieberson, that legendary producer of cast albums, decided that Pal Joey was worthy of a studio recording, with Vivienne Segal reprising her role as Vera but with Harold Langtaking over as Joey. The highly successful recording brought about revival in 1952. Vivienne again took on the role of Vera and Harold was cast as Joey. Helen Gallagher won a Tony for the role of Gladys. Bob Fosse was Harold's understudy! This production opened on January 3, 1952, and ran slightly over a year for 540 performances. Hollywood made a rather unmemorable a movie version of it in 1957 starring Frank Sinatra as Joey and Rita Hayworth as Vera. The stage production was revived twice more in New York, an off Broadway run of only fifteen performances at City Center in 1963 and what is considered a Broadway flop in 1976 that ran for only 73 performances. In 1995, Encores! at City Center staged a production of a cast album starring Patti LuPone as Vera and Peter Gallagher as Joey.

Now there has been talk of a new revival since fall of 2006. Last November, chatters from various Broadway related boards talked of a reading with with Bernadette Peters as Vera, Christian Hoffas Joey and Cyndi Lauper as Gladys. In February 2007, a flight attendant with an online journal reported that she served Bernadette in First Class and that she just happened to be reading "a script of Pal Joey which she is considering." In June, Playbill via Variety reported that Christian Hoff would likely star in a new revival of Pal Joey, but mentioned no other casting news. Now Playbill still surmises that a revival will happen but not until spring 2008. There is still no mention of any other casting. All of these reports, gossip and otherwise, are like a dog with a bone to some of us. Could it be Bernadette? Or some other unemployed musical theatre star of a certain age? I vote for Bernadette. I would love to hear her sing Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, say a few dozen times on the Broadway stage. Of course, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, arguably the most famous tune from this show, has only been covered over a hundred times. I wouldn't mind to hearing Bernadette wrap her signature vocals around What Is A Man. Click here to hear Vivienne Segal sing it.

Relevant update: It's in the news again today. Will Roundabout Save Pal Joey Revival?