re: A very manly thread about Show Tunes

Posted by Mr. Misanthrope

Cloud 8

Member since Nov 2012

5469 posts

Posted on 11/19/13 at 6:14 pm to Kafka

I'm in: Bing and Danny from White Christmas. The first is mainly manly...

One for the upcoming Yuletide season.

This from the same production.

And my favorite..

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 2/17/14 at 5:30 pm to Mr. Misanthrope

Jack Nicholson with Barbra Streisand - "Who Is There Among Us Who Knows"

Recorded for the film On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970), but deleted from the final print.

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 7/31/14 at 4:17 pm to Kafka

Broadway: The American Musical (2004 PBS Documentary)

quote:
Episode 1: Give My Regards to Broadway (1893-1927) 00:00:00
Episode 2: Syncopated City (1919-1933) 00:59:00
Episode 3: I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' (1930-1942) 01:55:36
Episode 4: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' (1943-1960) 02:52:13
Episode 5: Tradition (1957-1979) 03:48:49
Episode 6: Putting It Together (1980-2004) 04:45:26

Broadway: The American Musical tells two stories: the 100-year history of musical theater and the story of its relationship to 20th-century American life.

Posted by JumpingTheShark

America

Member since Nov 2012

22885 posts

Posted on 7/31/14 at 4:21 pm to Kafka

Les Mis - ABC Cafe/Red and Black/Do You Hear the People Sing?

Love this shite.

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 2/8/15 at 1:47 am to Kafka

Pat Paulsen - "Did I Ever Really Live"

The hangdog comedian from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour performs a straight rendition of this song from the obscure musical flop The Fig Leaves are Falling

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 4/28/15 at 7:44 pm to Kafka

Ezio Pinza with Mary Martin - "Some Enchanted Evening"

Pinza and Martin recreating their great moment from the original production of South Pacific.

This song, from a 1954 TV tribute to Rodgers & Hammerstein, is apparently the only film footage of them in the roles they created.

Posted by Tigertown in ATL

Georgia foothills

Member since Sep 2009

29140 posts

Posted on 4/28/15 at 9:37 pm to Kafka

Love The Fantastiks
Saw it at Sullivan Street Playhouse years ago

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 1/17/17 at 6:40 pm to Kafka

A YouTube link:

West Side Story, the original Broadway Cast - "Cool" - The Ed Sullivan Show, November 2, 1958

quote:
quote:
Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert, the original Broadway leads of West Side Story, on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958:

"Tonight"
The original Broadway cast of WSS, on the same Ed Sullivan show:

"Cool"

Interesting to compare the choreography to the film version.

Director-choreographer Jerome Robbins rehearsing the WSS cast. Let's get ready to rumble!

Posted by Cold Cous Cous

Bucktown, La.

Member since Oct 2003

15042 posts

Posted on 1/18/17 at 6:48 am to Kafka

I really like Cole Porter. Many of these show tunes are actually very solid songs, ruined by the ridiculously cheesy production and arrangement that was in vogue on Broadway. Strings everywhere, just too much instrumentation in general. I guess the theory is they had to be accessible to the guy in the back row.

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 1/18/17 at 1:36 pm to Cold Cous Cous

quote:
Many of these show tunes are actually very solid songs

Well yeah, that's kind of the understatement of the century. The Great American Songbook is the gold standard when it comes to songwriting craft.

"Hey man, nobody ever said we were as good as Johnny Mercer." -- Bob Dylan, 1980s

quote:
ruined by the ridiculously cheesy production and arrangement that was in vogue on Broadway. Strings everywhere, just too much instrumentation in general

I like strings, when they're used properly. Not everything has to be The Ramones.

Posted by Hawkeye95

Member since Dec 2013

20293 posts

Posted on 1/18/17 at 1:50 pm to Kafka

Surprised, that Hedwig and the angry inch isn't mentioned or tommy, which IMHO are the two best musicals although maybe "not show tunes"

LINK

LINK

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 2/28/17 at 7:01 pm to Kafka

Bob Fosse and Tommy Rall - the Alley Dance from My Sister Eileen (1955)

Bob Fosse (who choreographed this number) should need no introduction for musical fans. Supposedly both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly considered Tommy Rall the most talented dancer ever onscreen.

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 9/9/17 at 5:33 pm to Kafka

"Once Upon A Time"

By Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, from the Broadway musical All American (1962)

Frank Sinatra

Bobby Darin

Bob Dylan

Ray Middleton - "The Dubbing (Knight Of The Woeful Countenance)"

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 5/28/21 at 6:16 pm to Kafka

Richard Kiley and Ray Middleton

Posted by Kafka

I am the moral conscience of TD

Member since Jul 2007

141600 posts

Posted on 12/6/21 at 8:45 pm to Kafka

Marvin Gaye - "Maria" (1968)

From West Side Story. Goes a bit overboard on the strings, but compare MG's soulful phrasing to the conventional Broadway delivery of the movie version.