Well, dear readers, this week is flying by, like a gazelle looking for theatrical representation. As you dear readers know, I saw a production of Hello, Dolly in Washington, DC a couple of weeks ago – you’ll note that I purposely left off the exclamation point for reasons you can probably figure out. So, a little history here, for those who like a little history here. I first heard Hello, Dolly! via its cast recording and I really loved the score a lot, most especially Put On Your Sunday Clothes. Then when the show came to Los Angeles, I saw it at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Miss Carol Channing and I believe David Burns. And there I fell in love with the show itself, but most of all with the direction and choreography of Mr. Gower Champion, which I thought were absolutely brilliant and unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Every number was breathtaking, whether huge or small – the detail in them was extraordinary. His dances all told a story – there wasn’t an extra step in any of them – they were perfection. And when that title song erupted after the already amazing Waiter’s Gallop, I could not believe that a number could build like that – build and build and build and then top itself in the last minute or so. I saw the show twice more at the Chandler – Channing left and was replaced by Ginger Rogers – I still loved the show although I did not love Miss Rogers. Then I saw Miss Rogers’ understudy, whose name I don’t recall, and I thought she was great. I also saw the show in the round at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium starring Miss Dorothy Lamour – that was bad.
Flash forward to my first night in New York in 1969 – I get my then wife and I two good orchestra seats for the show five minutes before curtain. The show now features an all-Black company, headlined by Miss Pearl Bailey and Mr. Cab Calloway. I loved it all over again, although it had lost just a bit of the precision I’d seen in Los Angeles. Still, Miss Bailey was great as was Mr. Calloway. Then I saw it one more time on Broadway, this time with Phyllis Diller who, in certain ways, was the best of them all. I have never since seen the show on stage without its original staging, although the various tours that I saw with Miss Channing never had the bite and the precision, which was irritating, actually. And as you know, I produced the Grammy-nominated revival cast recording, which was kind of a very special thing for me.
Because I’d heard such terrible things about the film version, I never saw it in its roadshow engagement, but did catch up with it at some point. And I loathed it. Mostly because it didn’t have Mr. Champion’s brilliance. I found it labored and lumbering, I thought Miss Streisand had no business playing the role, I liked Mr. Matthau, thought Michael Crawford looked touched in the head, and thought Irene and Minnie were lackluster. And I found Michael Kidd’s choreography not a patch on the butt cheeks of Mr. Champion, despite the two or three nods to some of the original steps. The Washington production was not Hello, Dolly to me at all.
All this by way of saying that last night I watched the new Blu and Ray of Hello, Dolly! And because it’s a pretty terrific transfer with wonderful color off the Todd-AO negative I was drawn into it in a way I haven’t been before. So maybe it was the dreary brown production I’d just seen that caused me to appreciate a big and loud film version but I found myself really enjoying it. Miss Streisand is twenty years to young to be playing the role – it makes no sense on any level despite screenwriter Ernest Lehman’s attempts to make it make sense. But I found her fun to watch this time around, and Matthau really made me laugh. I kind of just gave myself over to it. And whatever one things about the overdone elements of the film (and there are a few), Mr. Gene Kelly knows how to shoot a musical number, and given the tripe that has called itself musical film in the last two decades, in which the directors have not a clew as to how to shoot a musical number (note to directors – it’s not by setting up twelve cameras and making the number in the editing – it’s by specifically designing the number for the camera – one camera), one appreciates it even more. But it was bad timing for Hello, Dolly! back then – audiences were not in the mood for elephantine – they wanted something else, things like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy. But seen today, it’s opulence is probably a plus. And then there’s Michael Kidd’s dances. I have been a huge fan of Mr. Kidd and when he’s on he’s spectacular, as in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. But in putting his own stamp on Dolly he creates business instead of cleanliness, and just a lot of steps – many, many steps. Many steps do not equal great choreography and that, for me, is where I draw the line with this show. Gower’s dances were clean and told a story. Adding twenty people and having them go nuts does not a number make. So, that remains, for me, the most disappointing thing in the film and its why after a very enjoyable first half, it quickly goes downhill. There’s a lot of heavy breathing in the title song but nothing like the excitement and bravura of Champion’s original (they do do the famous arms, so at least we get that). Mr. Crawford remains totally weird as Cornelius. I saw Danny Lockin play Barnaby in the LA production (I also saw Harvey Evans do it) and liked him and he’s enjoyable in the film. The Irene is still oddly bland and I guess she didn’t have much of a career, but I did kind of like E.J. Peaker better this time around. Tommy Tune is tall and I thought the Ermangarde was appealing – she, too, did only three or four things and then completely disappeared. People are already complaining about the transfer – I must have seen a different one because I thought it was pretty wonderful with accurate color (for the first time on home video), very sharp and very detailed. The sound was robust, but a couple of people are complaining that there’s not enough bass. They complain about white’s being blown out and I just don’t see it and wonder if they saw the film projected. You can’t really blow out the whites without hurting other things and, as I said, I just don’t see it. I’ll compare it to the DVD if I can find it in the garage. Anyway, if you like these kinds of big productions I should think you’d be pleased with this presentation. Oh, and here’s one bit of trivia about the film of Dolly – when they were shooting Before the Parade Passes By they advertised in the newspaper for extras – this was in 1968. I went down there but the line was so huge, I left. Had I stayed, it would have been my film debut – but thankfully I didn’t and I’ve never been an extra.
Prior to that, I got up early, did a three-mile jog, answered e-mails and then went to a lunch meeting with Mr. Nick Redman, his Twilight Time partner Brian Jamieson, and director Stuart Cooper and his wife, all to discuss an upcoming Twilight Time release called The Disappearance, which I wrote about a few weeks ago. It was a fun lunch at the local Thai place and I finally had to leave after two hours to go pick up some stuff. Then Nick came over and got his How Green Was My Valley CDs (we shipped all those, and A Time for Singing is supposed to be here this morning – really hoping that’s the case). Stuart and his wife Kelly came over, too, and we discussed some other stuff we’re going to do together.
After that, I had to approve some packaging and get it in for the studio’s approval – for our next release. Then I watched Dolly, after which I began to watch another film, which I won’t finish until tonight. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get a good night’s beauty sleep and hope my allergies get gone.
Today, it will be a jog, and then writing liner notes – I still have three sets to do, but once those are done we’ll actually be ahead of the game a bit. I’ll also hopefully pick up some packages, we’ll ship A Time for Singing, and at some point I’ll relax.
Tomorrow is our second Kritzerland rehearsal, another evening affair, Friday I have to make a brief appearance at the funeral for my ex mother-in-law, Saturday is our stumble-through and then I’m seeing the STAGE benefit, and Sunday is sound check and show.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, write, ship, eat, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall put on my Sunday clothes on Wednesday.