A Close Second

[Trindy]

He doesn't have one. LOL.

Anyway, as long as we're on the musical thing...I would like to say that one of the neat things I think Rodgers & Hammerstein ever did was take those toe-tappin' tunes from Bizet's "Carmen" (as opposed to OUR Carmen) and make them into musical songs in their all-African-American musical, "Carmen Jones." It's just genius the way they used those melodies, and created original English lyrics to replace the French ones from the opera, to tell the story from an American point of view. I have the movie version on tape (with Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte and Pearl Bailey) and still enjoy watching it.

I think it's another example of how, if you write a good melody, then just about anything can be done to it and it will be interesting.

Oh, and another piece of musical glory that I just love is "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue," by Richard Rodgers' other collaborator, Lorenz Hart. It's one piece of music that's actually better known than the musical it's from ("On Your Toes"). Just wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So many moods in just one piece.

[CubbiefanMike]

Eric Have you heard the "Songs of West Side Story" album? It was made in 1996 Which song would you have recorded if asked. Phil Collins did Somewhere.

[Eric Carmen]

I LOVE Slaughter On Tenth Avenue!!!!! e

[smittie]

It's funny that you mentioned Rogers and Hammerstein's made for TV production of Cinderella. Always my favorite as a little girl in the mid 60's, I just rented it from Netflix and had a wonderful afternoon reliving the memories and enjoying the beautful music and lyrics. Today's kids would probably find the production dated and slow moving (no amimation), but to me it warmed my heart just as it did those 30 some years ago. I could still sing along with all of the songs, I guess your memory does remember everything! I believe this originally aired in prime time and ran for 2 hrs. Can you imagine this in today's prime time line-up?

[Sally G]

I, too, enjoyed that tv production of "Cinderella!" Didn't occur to me to check on if it's available now. I did discover a soundtrack cd of it a few years ago! It's wonderful!

All The Best,

Joyce

[raspberrywine]

Mick Ronson could have played a decent Cinderella.

[susana]

Tommy, the Soliloquy from "Carousel" is awesome....and what an incredibly difficult number. I wouldn't even want to try and perform it.

I agree wholeheartedly about how terrific "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Somewhere" are...also must submit the whole "Shall We Dance" scene from "The King and I". (Another show I was in - beat mellie to that one!) That whole sequence is one of the most romantic in musical theater without being overtly so.

We're certainly on one of my favorite topics here when we're talking musicals...:::sigh::: An underrated number from recent years is "There's A Fine, Fine Line" from (of all things) "Avenue Q". Yes, quite an irreverent show overall, but that number....darn...beautiful in its simplicity and nails it. Leaves me with a pit in my stomach feeling every time I hear it. Love it.

As for my time in "West Side Story"...lol...I played Graciela...but a rather padded version of the role because, being high school and all, they had to do that. Had the major dance number in the Dance Hall Sequence. Amazed me I was allowed that much because I was on call for the pit if the flautist went down.

Not a lead in large part because I wasn't a soprano - knew that going in - that's just how it was there. Even their Anita was technically a soprano!

S*

[susana]

This thread also made me think of "Leonard Bernstein's New York". Has anyone else seen it? I think perhaps cd's and vhs (not sure about dvd) might still be found on Amazon.

S*

[darlene]

I remember dancing around as a little kid to my sister's record of "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue." I adored it. She sang and, even as a teenager, had a *great* record collection. Our older cousin, Sonny, was crazy about the theatre and theatre music, and influenced her musical taste.

--Darlene

[TOMMY TUNES]

susana said:

Tommy, the Soliloquy from "Carousel" is awesome....and what an incredibly difficult number. I wouldn't even want to try and perform it.

I agree wholeheartedly about how terrific "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Somewhere" are...also must submit the whole "Shall We Dance" scene from "The King and I". (Another show I was in - beat mellie to that one!) That whole sequence is one of the most romantic in musical theater without being overtly so.

We're certainly on one of my favorite topics here when we're talking musicals...:::sigh::: An underrated number from recent years is "There's A Fine, Fine Line" from (of all things) "Avenue Q". Yes, quite an irreverent show overall, but that number....darn...beautiful in its simplicity and nails it. Leaves me with a pit in my stomach feeling every time I hear it. Love it.

As for my time in "West Side Story"...lol...I played Graciela...but a rather padded version of the role because, being high school and all, they had to do that. Had the major dance number in the Dance Hall Sequence. Amazed me I was allowed that much because I was on call for the pit if the flautist went down.

Not a lead in large part because I wasn't a soprano - knew that going in - that's just how it was there. Even their Anita was technically a soprano!

susana,

If you think "Soliloquy" is awesome just give Sinatra's version (from the album "The Concert Sinatra") a spin. Francis Albert takes it to a new level.