Saturday, September 24, 2005

Three More DVDs 2 Buy

PBS has been running, usually during pledge weeks, specials in a series called Broadway's Lost Treasures, which feature musical highlights from Tony Awards broadcasts. The shows are kind of fun, though I really wish whoever is releasing these would instead put out DVDs of the complete Tony shows, including the awards and the numbers which aren't special enough to be considered "Lost Treasures." I have some old Tony shows and some of them are terrific...especially the 1971 edition. It was the 25th anniversary of the Tony Awards so they had 25 great musical performances on their stage: Zero Mostel, Robert Preston, Yul Brynner, Gwen Verdon, Angela Lansbury, Paul Lynde, Robert Morse, Alfred Drake, Richard Kiley, Ray Walston, etc., all doing their show-stopping numbers from past Broadway triumphs. Somehow, the producers of that Tony broadcast got in all 25 performances, plus they managed to give out the awards — including two to a kid named Steve Sondheim — in two hours. Today in two hours, an award telecast can just about manage to read the rules and open a couple of envelopes.

Each of the Broadway's Lost Treasures shows pulls numbers from different years, including many from that 1971 show. And each has at least a few things to make you very glad you bought the DVDs. Each DVD also includes three or four numbers not included in the version that PBS televises...and of course, you don't have to sit through endless pledge breaks telling you how wonderful it is that PBS doesn't have commercial interruptions. So here are some links to order these fine collections...

• VOLUME ONE features Jerry Orbach doing the big number from 42nd Street, Angela Lansbury doing "The Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd, Robert Preston doing "Trouble" from The Music Man (oddly lip-synced to a pre-record but nice, nonetheless), Zero Mostel doing "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, and many more. Quite a few of these are from that '71 Tony show I mentioned.
• VOLUME TWO includes Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur doing "Bosom Buddies" from Mame, Jerry Orbach performing a number from Chicago, Robert Morse with "I Believe In You" from How To Succeed, Richard Kiley dreaming "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha and a kick-ass rendition of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from the revival of Guys and Dolls. There's other fine stuff, as well.
• VOLUME THREE is where you'll find Kristen Chenoweth doing her number from the revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, plus the opening number from Ragtime, a real show-stopper from Five Guys Named Moe, Alfred Drake doing "Where Is The Life That Late I Led?" from the original Kiss Me Kate (from the '71 Tony broadcast), medleys by Ethel Merman and Julie Andrews, and other wonderment.

Like I said, I wish they'd just put out the original, unedited Tony ceremonies...and maybe, someday, they will. In the meantime, these are quite watchable and wonderful, and they aren't even that expensive. End of sales pitch.

• Posted at 8:44 PM · LINK

The Politics of Rich

Frank Rich's weekend column is now up on the New York Times website in the "TimesSelect" area. I'm on the 14-day free trial of the service so I've read it. It's about the Bush administration's propensity for staffing government bureaus with cronies of dubious competence, and also about how anyone who tries to blow a whistle or buck the official line gets demoted or fired. Not one of Mr. Rich's best but worth a read.

What interests me now is whether it will stay "pay-only" or if free links and repostings will appear across the Internet. This last week, the columns of Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert, David Brooks and others in the TimesSelect area have turned up where they could easily be read by those who aren't paying the Times fifty balloons a year. I haven't yet decided if it's worth it to me for the other perks but if all the opinion columns are going to be available to me anyway, that will obviously weigh heavily in my decision.

So I'm watching to see if this Frank Rich column is going to be an exception. Let's see how long before someone finds a way to get it without being a subscriber.

• Posted at 7:59 PM · LINK

Sweet Charity

These days, to be a fan of either the Democrats or the Republicans is to have to cringe every once in a while and pretend that the folks on "your side" didn't really say or do what they actually said or did. It's that way with late night hosts, though at least there you don't absolutely have to like only one. I like both Jay Leno and David Letterman but there are large chunks of their shows that I can't watch, especially when it feels like the well-paid star is phoning it in, not trying very hard. I still like Leno's opening monologue and those moments when he seems to be honestly having a good time with a guest that he likes. I still like Letterman's little desk ramblings, especially when they feel like he cares about the topic and isn't just being cranky about something because he needs material for the show. I can't stand either when it feels like they're going through the motions of interviews that don't interest them, or when the show's humor is based on the premise that if you put amateurs and stupid people on camera, they'll make fools of themselves and we can laugh at them. A lot of the comedy on both shows is not that far removed from back on Truth or Consequences when Bob Barker would get people out of the audience, dress them in old-fashioned bathing suits and spray them down with seltzer.

I have mixed feelings about Mr. Leno's current stunt, which is to have his guests and "surprise" walk-on celebrities all autograph a Harley-Davidson which is being auctioned for charity. They did this twice before — once after 9/11 and once for the big Tsunami Relief effort. The first time, they raised $360,000 and the second took in $800,100. Maybe it's starting to ring a little hollow since the current auction isn't doing as well. As of right now, with five days left in the bidding, they're only at $70,200 and there hasn't been a bid in three days. It will surely go higher but will it hit the million bucks Jay keeps saying they hope it'll bring? Maybe...but that might involve somebody at NBC hustling some big corporate bidder in order to make sure they aren't embarrassed by falling short of their stated goal.

The mixed feelings I have are...well, the "up" side is that money will be raised and that Tonight Show viewers are not being allowed to forget that it's needed. The slight cringe emerges when I think that many of the folks signing Jay's Harley could do a lot more for the Red Cross by opening their wallets and donating even 1% of what they made off their last movie or TV series.

Now, we don't know that some of them haven't. In fact, I'll bet some of them have. But the on-screen example is a little tacky: "We need to do everything we can for those poor flood victims so I'm going to go on national TV and sign my name." Is there a lesser gesture you can make and still get applause?

Leave aside that the whole campaign probably does a lot for ratings of The Tonight Show, which remain high even as all else on NBC is crumbling. Leave aside also that some stars probably have Public Relations Specialists who love this kind of thing because it costs nothing yet enhances the star's image as a great human being. Let's just focus on the implication that you're "doing something" if the cost to you, in either money or effort, is so minimal. Charity efforts cannot work off of that mindset.

I'm not questioning anyone's sincerity, especially Jay Leno's. I've been around Jay in the "comedy club" circuit for several decades and met him casually a few times, and he seems to be one of the most honest, generous people in show business. Nor am I suggesting that the stars writing their names on his chopper are just there because it's good for their image and that it's all they're doing. I'm sure they care and I'd be very surprised if some of them haven't written large checks. Checks of all sizes, but especially big ones, are what groups like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and my pet charity, Operation USA, really need at the moment.

What they don't need is multi-millionaires setting the example, even if unintended, of doing the absolute minimum...and only when there's some personal glory attached. Some rich people are quite generous but don't want their giving publicized either because they don't want to seem to be exploiting the donation for publicity or simply because they don't want a line of others hitting them up for cash. But if there are a lot of wealthy and famous folks sending 2% or 3% of their annual incomes to relief efforts, maybe that fact ought to be publicized without naming names. It might make some less wealthy people feel better about donating 5% or 10% of their paychecks to help people in need. That's the kind of effort that deserves applause...not David Spade coming on to plug his new series and sign an autograph.

• Posted at 12:57 PM · LINK

A Kert Reply

Good morning. In 1970, when Company opened on Broadway, the lead role of Bobby-Baby was played by Dean Jones. Mr. Jones, it is said, did not like the show he was in. He was going through some personal problems at the time and Company touched upon themes that exacerbated those problems. He was also having trouble with the role itself, feeling that Bobby was too much the observer and it was difficult to find his emotional throughline. In tryouts and previews, he was struggling and cranky and the producers decided that part of his problem was that he was afraid the show was going to be a hit. If it was, he'd be trapped playing a part he didn't like for a year. So they went to him and said, in effect, "Look, we can't replace you now but if you'll just relax and give us an opening night performance, we'll find a replacement as soon as possible after that." Jones agreed.

Company opened in New York on April 26, 1970. On May 29, Larry Kert took over the part of Bobby. As Pat O'Neill wrote me this morn...

There was even a rushed second version of the cast album, with Kert replacing Jones. They did it, I recall, by simply dubbing Kert's versions in over Jones's, so that occasionally it sounds like both of them are in there, singing. That version of the cast album is no longer available — only the Jones version — but I heard back when I was in college, when Company was brand new and the musical fans in my circle all thought Kert was a big improvement over Jones. Listening now, I'm not sure.

My understanding is that Kert wasn't recorded until a couple years later when he opened in the London production of Company. The "London cast recording" was not really a recording of the London cast, which included Kert, Elaine Stritch and a few other members of the New York production. Instead, they took the New York recording and dubbed Kert over several of the tracks...so, yes, there are two Bobbys heard in there, with Jones also audible. Most references say that only one number — "Barcelona" — was recorded anew with Kert but I think that's wrong, I believe they also recorded Bobby's big solo, "Being Alive," and that's the number that's included as a bonus track on the CD that's now available of the New York Company company.

The London LP with Kert overdubbing Jones was pressed in a small quantity and is hard to find. I know one Sondheim fan who paid megabucks for one and was very disappointed with what he heard. There was a CD reissue of it that is now out of print, and there are rumors it will soon be reissued again.

Pat was one of the folks who e-mailed the correct answer. The other nine of the first ten were, in no particular order: Christopher McPherson, Richard Gersh, John Schrank, Jon Delfin, Mary Drane, Lee Wilson, "Jovial Jo," Rick Biddle and Michael Diminsky. Thanks to everyone for playing Name That Replacement.

• Posted at 10:04 AM · LINK

Second Stars

The folks who give out the Tony Awards have just decided to add a new category: "Best Performance by an Actor/Actress Recreating a Role."

The name's a little misleading. A more accurate one would have been "Best Replacement" but I guess they didn't want to call it that. The idea is to have an award for someone who takes over a star part in a Broadway show. For example, when the new production of Fiddler on the Roof opened, a gent named Alfred Molina was playing Tevye. He would not have been eligible for this award, even though one could certainly say he was recreating the role originated by Zero Mostel. But that was in another production long ago, so Molina was instead eligible in the category of "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical," just as if he was the first-ever Tevye. (He didn't win.)

After a while, Molina left the show and the role was assumed by Harvey Fierstein, which is the kind of thing the award is intended to honor: Taking over and keeping the show running. Fierstein, however, may not be eligible for the statuette since it's for the current season and he started in January of '05. (Broadway seasons run from May to May, a tradition that dates back to the days before theaters were air conditioned and some shows closed during the summer.) A committee will soon decide if he and a few others can get in on the first presentation. So if they were going to be honest, they'd call this new category "Best Peformance by an Actor/Actress Who Replaced Someone in the Last Twelve Months Unless We Make an Exception."

Now, what do we think of this new award? Well, my first thoughts are to note that Tony Awards ceremonies are already too long, don't need another award, and that if this new category endures for a little while, it will probably turn into two and perhaps four categories. Someone's bound to point out that no other acting award lumps men and women together, so they'll break it down to two trophies, one for each sex. Then there will come a season where there's an outstanding replacement in a musical and another in a play and someone will say, "You know, it isn't fair to make them compete. We don't make actors in new musicals and plays compete with each other." Which means we'll wind up with categories for Replacement Actor in a Play, Replacement Actress in a Play, Replacement Actor in a Musical and Replacement Actress in a Musical, even though some years, there won't be enough outstanding contenders to have three nominees in each of the four contests.

But other than that, it's probably long overdue...which makes you wonder why, since shows have had replacement actors since the days of Plautus, this award is just being started now. I have no inside info but I'm well aware that entertainment awards are largely driven by powerful folks who want the categories defined so as to maximize their chance of winning statuettes, usually for financial reasons as much as ego. Spamalot is currently introducing its second-generation cast, The Producers is on its fourth or fifth Bialystock, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is nearing the day when John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz will depart, etc. One wonders to what extent the money men behind one or more current productions decided this kind of Tony might help business and how they pressured the governing body to get it up and running.

Trivia Question: Only one time has the Tony committee bent the rules a bit and allowed a replacement actor to be nominated for Best Actor in a Musical, just as if he'd been in the role on Opening Night. The actor did not win. Who was it and what was the show? I'll post the names of the first ten people who've sent in a correct answer by the time I wake up in the morning. Tomorrow, I'll also try to run more discussion about movie musicals that retained the entire score of the Broadway show on which they were based. That's if I can tear myself away from news coverage of Hurricane Rita. (I just tuned in CNN for a few minutes. Would someone please tell Anderson Cooper that it's humanly possible to cover a big storm without standing in the middle of it and looking like he and the cameraman are about to sacrifice their lives, rather than report from inside a building?)

• Posted at 2:46 AM · LINK