Since Mr Bakalor still hasn't posted the radio show links (has he fallen off the face of the earth? does the earth even have a face? does the earth use make-up?) I will, again, post the links here....
Stan & Kirsten's Website
http://www.stanandkirsten.com/

LML Music
http://www.lmlmusic.com/

Amazon Link to Purchase "A Quiet Thing"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005U8HK/qid%3D1023939884/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/102-5238461-4391310

Posted by Donald @ 06/19/2002 10:32 AM PST

First, now that Hairspray seems to be a huge hit in the making, I think all us Hainsies and Kimlets should barrage the producers with e-mail that the only original cast album producer who could do justice to their material is our own BK. Would you want anyone else recording Harvey Fierstein singing?? I should think not.

My Ask BK question: How does a record producer or label go about getting the rights to the cast album? Do the show producers solicit labels, or do the labels go after the producers?

Posted by Philip Crosby @ 06/19/2002 10:37 AM PST

Huh?

Wha ?

I have an horrendous head cold and P-ND (that's post-nasal drip in internet lingo). The P-ND isn't terribly drippy today, but both nostrils are clogged and I'm breathing through my mouth like so much beached fish.

I feel awful, terrible, disgusting and vile. Wish you all were here!

My questions for BK:

I have been attempting to beef up my Broadway on CD collection (and have been spending WAY too much coin of the realm), but I would like to say that two of my favorite composers are Jule Styne and Charles Strouse and I'm wondering, if BK wouldn't mind, if he would list five or ten "you-must-haves" for each composer.

I've been saving much $ by buying used copies (the Wherehouse seems to be a treasure trove) at Amazon and it's a boon...let's me get several more titles than if I were paying full price. I've bid on a few on eBay, only to find a couple of them going way out of control given their availability at Amazon, so I do my shopping there more often than not.

Could anyone give me one good reason to attempt to obtain the Judi Dench "A Little Night Music"?

I ask because of its rarity and outrageous asking prices for single copies....is it more definitive than the Glynis Johns version?

I have the Jean Simmons London cast and find myself seriously wishing someone on that album could sing. Joss Ackland doesn't.

FTR (that's for the record in internet lingo), my favorite version of "She Touched Me" from "Drat! The Cat!" is actually "He Touched Me" as sung by one Mrs. Josh Brolin back in the 1960s on one of her fantastic TV shows. The album is one I consider a classic.

Ron

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/19/2002 10:41 AM PST

The Judi Dench Night Music is quite a delightful recording and includes (as did the production) a re-worked "The Glamorous Life" incorporating material from the song from the film, and "My Husband the Pig" deleted from the show, in its original rehearsal period, I believe. It is a well-sung recording, featuring Tunick's ingenious chamber-size orchestrations and Dench delivers a marvelous "Send in the Clowns."

It is commanding such high prices, because it is out of print and very very likely never to return to print. It was financed by an agent of one of the performers, apparently, Sondheim is said to not be overly fond of the recording, and the distributing label has gone bankrupt. So scarcity makes the price go higher. I thought the $30 I paid was very much worth it.

Posted by Philip Crosby @ 06/19/2002 11:15 AM PST

Funny, I didn't know Barbra Steisand's step-daughter-in-law sang. In fact, I didn't even know her step-son was married.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 06/19/2002 11:18 AM PST

Since you will be autographing FNM DVDs and BK books next week, I assume they are now available. I was wondering when those of us who bought them on line at this here site will be mailed said DVDs and books?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 06/19/2002 11:19 AM PST

Mr. BK,
It seems that you have been an Internet column writer for some time now. What are the other websites you have written for? Why do you do it? To amuse yourself? To meet new people (internet-wise)? To practice writing? Etc., etc., etc.

RE: GOSFORD PARK - I'm in complete agreement with Donald on this one. I thought it was the best film of 2001. Do get some rest and watch it from the beginning. At the end, I guarantee you'll be compelled to see it again!

RE: THE WOMEN - I saw the PBS airing of the play last night and agree with some of yesterday's posts. I feel many were miscast. For example, although Cnythia Nixon was good, I'd like to have seen Amy Ryan who played Peggy in the role of Mary. Jennifer Tilly was a disappointment. Either she was miscast or directed badly. Jennifer Coolidge and Mary Louise Wilson were wonderful. Especially Mary Louise, who came across the most natural. She was one of the few actresses who wasn't straining to "project" to the back of the audience. And why so much smoking? Taking a drag on a cigarette can be very effective but these actresses were lighting up every time there was the least bit of silence. Too much. I liked the sets and, for the most part, the costumes. Didn't like the curtain call music at all but loved the lingerie. The free-for-all conversations with some of the cast at intermission was fun. I had forgotten what a wonderfully witty script it was. Especially ..."Are you Catholic or just careless?" and "And I thought you were a natural blonde!" What a hoot!

MEMORY LANE: Some time ago, the L.A. County Museum of Art had an exhibit featuring many of the costumes from the film. Scattered throughout the facility were several monitors showing the color version of the fashion show from the movie. Ah...such a graceful presentation...all glamour and tasteful elegance. The clothes of this period had such wonderful details and tailoring.

MORE MEMORIES - Many years ago, I was cast in the play as the Secretary who is secretly in love with Mary's husband. The director and I had some disagreements about how I should do the scene. By the opening, I was so conflicted, I decided the only way to get rid of my frustration was to play the scene my way. As I made my exit, there was a sudden burst of applause. After the show, the director said, "Whatever you did, keep it in. It was perfect!" INTERESTING INSIGHT: The chief wardrobe consultant was an older woman who at one time was Joan Crawford's personal dressmaker. It was fascinating to watch her work as she utilized many of the sewing techniques and details from the 30's and 40's. As an actress, to be surrounded by all that authenticity was so-o-o-o helpful. She told me a great story about Ms. Crawford: One day, while she was helping Joan with a fitting, she accidentally stabbed her finger with a needle. Joan (assuming her feisty chorus girl persona), burst out, "Oh, stop crying and just suck on it!" (PLEASE posters, show a little restraint. Don't hurt my delicate ladylike ears with the obvious misinterpretation of this remark). POST SCRIPT: I was double cast in the play. My other character was completely opposite the uptight and restrained Secretary. I played a walk-on in the Ladies Lounge complete with a Jean Harlow bob and bias cut gown. What fun!

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 06/19/2002 11:32 AM PST

Oh, pook!

Scratch the Mrs. Josh Brolin and make it Mrs. James Brolin.

Thanks for the gentle tease!

I was bidding on a Judi Dench "A Little Night Music" that went well over $100 before it ended. As I was invested in several other auctions at the time, I dropped out of that one. Footlight Records had one for sale -- I'm thinking it was $250, but it may have been half that.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/19/2002 11:32 AM PST

I forgot to address the shipping issue, William E. Lurie. I am told that I will have DVDs in hand by Saturday. I am told I will have books in hand by next Wednesday. As soon as they are in hand I will sign them and ship the same day if possible. Now, very few have actually asked for personalized inscriptions - i.e. "To so and so" - if you haven't and you want it personalized, do e-mail me very soon. Otherwise, I will assume you just want my little old name and that's it.

Posted by bk @ 06/19/2002 11:39 AM PST

Ron -- I was slapping my hand the moment I pushed the post button. Thank you for taking it as the "gentle tease" it was intended to be.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 06/19/2002 11:48 AM PST

I have just received "On the Waterfront On Broadway", Bruce Kimmel's "Original Broadway Soundtrack" CD on the Varese Sarabande label. It features the music of David Amram (a woefully underrepresented composer of stage and film) and I have to say I was nonplussed when I saw that it existed and had never heard of it.

When Amram's "The Manchurian Candidate" was issued a few years back, I don't recall any references to alternative Amram recordings for folks to seek out.

I've been an active participant in the filmus-l discussion list for seven years and have never seen mention of this album.

I'm guessing a fair number of copies of this languished before it was cut out??? My copy was mint, except that it was punched, too.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/19/2002 12:02 PM PST

One cannot help but wonder!

Is there a possible "Cybill does it to Ernest and Meltz" album in the offing?

Or, possibly, "HainesHerWay"?

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/19/2002 12:15 PM PST

BK, I question thee thus

1. What is your favorite animated musical?

2. What are your favorite sequels? Are there any that you think surpass the original? I have my list, but what are some that you think NEVER should have been made (sequels that is)

3. On rare occasions (has it only been Charnin/Strouse?) a musical sequel has been made. What is your opinion on trying to do a stage sequel?

4. When in vegas, did you visit Mandalay Bay? If not, did you dream of Mandalay Bay instead during the trip?

5. DO you like the circus? What is your favorite "act"? Did you ever get one of those flip-up lights that you swung around? Do you even know what I am talking about?

6. Where do you work best (writing, etc)? Is it a particular room, location, etc? Do you have any particular rituals when it comes to writing or a particular way you celebrate a completion of a project?

7. Were there any of your producing projects that took SO much longer than you had anticipated, and any that completed much sooner? Which ones and why was that?

8. I have SPRINT as my cell phone provider, but I have noticed when in LA that service is quite intermittent from block to block. I am assuming you have a cell phone..what service do you use? Is it reliable?

9. Is there a joke that you tell that always a) gets a laugh, or that makes you, yourself crack up while telling it? Can you share it with us?

10. What cds are in your car right now?

Posted by Craig @ 06/19/2002 12:27 PM PST

I'm glad Mr. Pulliam found the On The Waterfront album. Basically, the show closed after a handful of performances and the album was basically a stiff. It wasn't all that expensive, however, and it was nice to be able to put it out because I am a huge Amram fan, first and foremost because of Splendor In The Grass, which is a great score. There are two or three other Amram CDs out - try eBay, or go to amazon.com and search David Amram.

Posted by bk @ 06/19/2002 01:51 PM PST

Dear BK,
Is Guy Haines Jewish?

Posted by Sandra @ 06/19/2002 01:59 PM PST

I had coffee with fellow Hainsie/Kimmlet Laura this morning. Actually, she had coffee; I had Diet Coke. I also met the lovely Sandra, also a fellow Hainsie/Kimmlet. Three H/K's in one place. This could be dangerous!

First question: On the recordings of Guy Haines that feature whistling, does Mr. Hines do his own whistling? Does he use a ghost whistler?

Second: Since we are talking about autographs, my cherished copy of "Haines His Way" is autographed. Did Mr. Haines autograph these personally, or did he have some minion in his no-doubt vast entourage sign for him?

Whenever I get to Los Angeles (which is very rare-- so don't panic), can I take you to dinner or lunch at Dan Tanna's or Musso's? It would be an honor to treat the man who has given me so many treats over the years.

Since we're getting serious here, I have to compliment ou again. I ABLOLUTELY LOVE the hidden track on the Stephen Sondheim Album! When my eagerly awaited copy arrived, my CD player was broken. Luckily I had a road trip planned to drive up north to see one of my sisters, so I saved it to play in the car on the way. The intro to "Not Getting Married" started, and I laughed at the idea of the McGuire Sisters doing Sondheim. And I thought that would be it. Then the orchestra started, and I started laughing. Then the vocalists started, and then I REALLY started laughing. I figured it would just a few bars. Well, it kept going and getting better. I actually had to pull off tthe highway because I was laughing too hard to drive. It's perfect. Although I do think the orchestration and harmonies are much more subtle than the actual McGuire Sisters! I remember seeing the album of them doing the songs from "Subways are for Sleeping" at the time it cam out and then for years afterward in the bargain racks at Newberry's and Thrifty Drug. I'd love a whole album of "The Sisters" doing Sondheim. Or at least a few more hidden tracks. Or maybe a compilation of Steve and Eydie, the McGuire Sisters, Anthony Newley, Buddy Greco ALL doing Sondheim.

And yes, I watched most of (off and on while I did laundry) "The Women" on PBS. And while I'm glad PBS airs such things, I'm very glad I didn't waste a trip to New York and the money for a ticket on that production (which I briefly considered doing when I heard there was going to be revival). Jennifer Coolidge and Mary Louise Wilson and the sets and costumes were the only good things about it. What a waste of talent (not too mention good lines).

OK, next question. Since orchestrators came up yesterday, and youare well-known for your arranging (of songs, not flowers), when you arrange, do you "hear" the orchestrations in your head and give any of this input to the orchestrator?

NOW I'll give you a break and not ask any more.

Posted by Kerry @ 06/19/2002 02:08 PM PST

Gosford Park has Maggie Smith. What else do you need? I did not like the idiocy of the inspector but can see why the plot needed him to be a bit dim. (Stephen Fry's character seemed at odds with the film) A beautiful film.

Ron: The Dame Judi Dench version of Night Music is certainly worth a reasonable price. I know where you can obtain a copy for not much than the postage price!
(from Australia)
Craig: Don't know whether is it known in USA (Hope I am not stealing BK's answer) but there is a sequel to "The Boyfriend" - "Divorce Me Darling". Maybe there should be a prequel to "A Doll's Life"!!!!

Posted by Tom Guest (from OZ) @ 06/19/2002 03:22 PM PST

Seeing as how we're all
eagerly awaiting our copies of
Benjamin Kritzer, my question
is this... How exactly does one
pronounce Kritzer? Is it
KRIH-tzer, or KREYE-tzer? I
ask because my mind has
always heard one
pronunciation, but my ear
heard a fellow Kimlet use the
other.

Posted by Jed @ 06/19/2002 03:55 PM PST

I thought of another question (and you thought you were safe):

When you want to use someone for a recording and you have not yet met them, do you just call them up and say "I'm Bruce Kimmel. How'd you like to make a record?" What is the usual response from people you don't know when approached about making a record?

And I liked Gosford Park. I thought it was one of the more satisfying Robert Altman films I'd seen. Maggie Smith alone is worth it. I like Jeremy Northam, too.

Posted by Kerry @ 06/19/2002 04:34 PM PST

I will add that in my question about sequels, I did leave out William Finn's trilogy...

Posted by Craig @ 06/19/2002 04:38 PM PST

I assume you saw MAZE the movie with Rob Morrow and Laura Linney. what did you think of it??
What is your favourite thing to do on a rainy day?
Do you like the works of one Johann Sebastian Bach? If you do what works do you especially like?
Do you have many relatives? Uncles,Aunts,Cousins by the dozens ??Were you an only child? If not what are your siblings up to?
And most importantly,what does your daughter do(besides being a Great Kid)??

Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 06/19/2002 04:51 PM PST

Kritzer as in "it". I'm enjoying all these questions, and am looking forward to sinking my teeth into them (no mean feat).

Posted by bk @ 06/19/2002 04:58 PM PST

I have a question this week dealing with aspect ratios and "open matte". For me, an open matte is what's out on the front porch for people to wipe their feet on. Anyway, I'm wondering if you could put your Film Director hat on and explain in easy-to-understand terms what "open matte" is, and why, for example, if a DVD is pan and scan that means that sometimes you can see the boom mikes, etc. I'm just plain confused--when they "proportion" a film for its theatrical release, do they chop off a little bit at the top and bottom of the developed film image. I just always assumed that the camera (whatever aspect ratio it filmed in) was how the film was projected in the theater, and then when it was cropped for tv or pan-and-scan, they just cut off the sides of the picture. Your elucidation is most highly anticipated. Remember, keep it EASY for us technology-challenged folk.

Posted by JMK @ 06/19/2002 05:02 PM PST

Do you think West Side Story and A Chorus Line (Two musicals that rely heavily on their original choreography) can be successfully be revived on Broadway with completely new choreography?

or perhaps revivising West Side Story to become "West Bank Story" Pitting the Jews vs Arabs?

2) Do you have a favorite "private" recording that you can share with us and why is it your favorite.

3) Those of us that pre-ordered The First Nudie Musical from HainesHisWay.Com would it be possible to have to the other stars who are attending the signing at Laserblaster also sign the DVD?

4) As someone who has worked in the business called show, I sometimes find hard to enjoy a show that my friends do. I tend to be over critical or see faults that a "non-show business" person might not see. So my question is does this happen to you and if so what do you do to correct it?

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 06/19/2002 05:13 PM PST

No, it's not another question. Michael Shayne mentioned private recordings which made me think of this. Supposedly Ethel Merman had copies of the unsweetened vocals of Rosalind Russell (without Lisa Kirk's help) from "Gypsy" and would dig them out at parties for people to laugh at.

Posted by Kerry @ 06/19/2002 05:44 PM PST

Well, speaking of sinking your teeth into the questions: I am currently reviewing The Second Season of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER! So I guess my question(s) should be:
1. Do either Bruce or Guy watch BUFFY? (they should, since Harry Groener was a semi-regular and Joel Grey has been known to pop up in Sunnydale).
2. Why hasn't Sarah Michelle Gellar won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Buffy?
3. Do you have a favorite character on Buffy? (mine is Spike, but I harbor a secret love for Xander).
4. Do you have a favorite Vampire on film? (I'm very partial to Lugosi in "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.")
5. Have you read any of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles?

6. Almost completely unrelated, but, since I'll be Monster Bashing this weekend with the gang from Scarlet Street, is there anything special you'd like me to say to Richard and Tom?

p.s. - I noticed on the SS boards, that Bruce Kimmel has been interviewed regarding FNM for the upcoming issue! Wow! BK and I in the same magazine at the same time, I am sooooo very honored to be sharing the pages with Bruce!

Posted by td @ 06/19/2002 06:21 PM PST

Bruce- STOP!

Please do not bite into my questions.. they are very worried that you will leave MARKS and we all know the only MARK we want to see (albeit in an unseemly manner) is Mr. Mark "Bitchslapped" Bakalor. I am glad you see at no mean feat (or fean meat for the verbally challenged and those to wix their mords). Perhaps answering all these questions could be the work of HAPPY HANDS!

Posted by Craig @ 06/19/2002 06:50 PM PST

I don't have a question today. I'm getting ready for a much needed vacation so I'm just jumping in to post off-topic (though it was mentioned by Mr. BK so it's actually probably on-topic) to agree w/those who liked Gosford Park. I hope that when you begin to watch it a second time you will enjoy it. I'm usually not a fan of those Diagnosis Murder She Wrote on the Orient Express kind of things but I found this to be great fun. Hope you end up enjoying it.

Posted by Ben @ 06/19/2002 07:31 PM PST

When are we going to get a column 204? We're awfully lonely.

Posted by Columns 203 and 205 @ 06/19/2002 07:55 PM PST

Yeah, what did I do wrong?

Posted by Column 204 @ 06/19/2002 07:55 PM PST

I had the happy opportunity this morning to catch "Goodbye Mr. Chips" on one of the cable stations. Not the drama version, the lovely musical version with the lovely Petula Clark romancing the lovable but fortunately not lovely Peter O'Toole. Although Petula does call him "beautiful" at one point.

What makes this film so wonderful in my opinion is that so much of the romance is carried on through the songs, much of the time performed as voice-overs, letting us know what Pet and Pete are thinking without their telling each other directly. And what beautiful songs by Leslie Bricusse, too! "Walk Through the World," "You and I," "Fill the World With Love," "What a Lot of Flowers," and even "London is London!" I seriously regret not getting this on Laserdisc when I had the chance, because I doubt they'll get to it on DVD. (Drat!)

So, question: What films or stage musicals do you, BK, feel have absolutely romantic scores? The kind that get your heart going all flutterby? (For films, I'll consider orchestral scores as well as song scores as fair game.)

And thank-you for letting us all ask these questions! I really look forward to Wednesdays and Thursdays!

Posted by S. Woody White @ 06/19/2002 08:37 PM PST

Questions for bk

1. On 13 April 2002, you wrote, “When I got home I ate a package of M&M caramels (a new flavor to me, quite nice) and that at least gave my taste buds a little nudge.” Ever since that date I have kept an eye out for them. Perhaps the M&M caramels did not like the eye I left out for them when they came by, but I have not seen them. Not ever. I was beginning to think perhaps I had misunderstood, but then I checked the M&M’s web site and found the product description for M&M’s"® Dulce de Leche~Caramel Chocolate Candies. Where did you obtain them? When did you first have one? Are they available only in Los Angeles?

2. If you had the opportunity to compete on Big Brother or Survivor, would you or would you not, and why?

3. Have you ever worked with Pamela Blair or Patti LuPone?

4. Can you suggest a good project for the LuPone siblings, Robert and Patti? What about The Little Foxes?

5. Are you going to the Sondheim Celebration? If doing so before its run ends, would you go to see Elizabeth Ashley, Keir Dullea and Jonathan Hadary in The Little Foxes at the Shakespeare Theatre?

6. Did you ever see Tallulah Bankhead perform onstage?

7. What living musical-theatre star of old remains capable of recreating and performing a signature role on Broadway?

8. I have friends who live in Chicago whose grandson was just born in Los Angeles. Some might consider them high-maintenance. They would love to spend more time with their son and his family, but they complain that there is nothing to do in Los Angeles when they are not visiting family—no golf, no interesting museums, shopping you can do anywhere, blah, blah, blah. I have never been to Los Angeles, not even once, so I cannot offer an opinion or suggestion. As a lifelong Los Angeleno would you, please?

9. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you have spent a significant amount of time on both sides of an audition, meaning as both auditor and subject. If one is asked by an auditor if one is ready to audition earlier than scheduled due to some unforeseen circumstance, is it ever acceptable and the right thing to do for the job-seeking performer to say, no, I am sorry I am not ready, I need more time, or is to do so to jeopardize the audition?

10. If there were a Broadway musical role that you liked and thought you would perform well, would you audition for it? What do you think of the role of Herbie? (Gypsy, of course.) If you do not like the role for you, is there one in the Broadway musicals cannon that you would like to perform on the Great White Way?

11. The Toronto Star reports Steven Spielberg as saying, “I am really actively looking into making a musical. I’ve wanted to do one for years. I’ve come close to turning a couple of films into musicals. I had nine songs written for Hook and then cut them out of the movie. And 1941 I almost made into a musical.” If 1941 had songs, Spielberg would have directed Patti LuPone in a musical. What are your thoughts on the near musicalization of 1941 and Hook? What motion-picture musical should Spielberg make?

12. Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Renovate or rebuild? If rebuild, retain name or rename?

13. What celebrity most rendered you star-struck upon meeting?

14. If you are turning over the floor, may I have that piece of wainscoting there, please?

Let all Hainsies and Kimmlets be like Steve Martin; let us not have mean feet, but Happy Feet!

For whatever it is worth, I think Cybill Shepherd is a very cool woman.

I very much admire the work of Robert Altman. Mash, Nashville, H.E.A.L.T.H., A Wedding, The Player, and Short Cuts are among my favorite motion pictures. I would have loved to have seen him make a musical. I think he is a tremendously talented director and film-maker; I also think he does not like writers much. In fact, Altman may not even much know from writers. [And I know who his screenwriters have been, and I know what works were the source of Short Cuts.] I appreciated Gosford Park very much and ultimately I liked it. Certainly it did not blow me away, nor did it excite me much, but I enjoyed the creation of ensemble, mood, time, and place. In the end Gosford Park is about the characters and their relations to one another, not about plot or story, obviously. I wish I had not seen the Charlie Rose interview in which Altman said he and Bob Balaban had examined Agatha Christie’s works and discounted them as potential sources for their intended movie-mystery project because they were all so worn-out and tired. The story Altman and Balaban produced for Gosford Park bests no Christie. Had I not seen the interview, my expectations might not have been raised, and I might not have had a preconceived notion of what form the plot would take. Still, Stephen Altman is a talented production designer, and I very much enjoyed the performances of Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles Dance, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Emily Watson, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, and Richard E. Grant, and especially Helen Mirren and Eileen Atkins. I love Atkins!

I was the first to ask about 204 in 205. To 203 and 205 I say, At least you have 202 and 206, respectively, to keep you company. To 204 I say, You do not exist.

Posted by freedunit @ 06/19/2002 09:03 PM PST

You will all have to excuse me. I feel a bit ill. We were watching TV earlier, and there was an ad indicating that Adam Sandler--Adam Sandler!--has filmed a remake of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. I have been feeling creeping nausea all evening.

But on to pleasanter things. I find I play more Bruce Kimmel albums than most anything else, not because I make a point of it. This morning, my Joe requested Bye Bye, Birdie with our coffee--and he seldom requests a musical. I played the Jason Alexander/Vanessa Williams TV version, which is the only one I have on CD (all turntables still being un-unpacked). And I decided to follow it with Bring Back Birdie--the SEQUEL--well lo! and behold! if that isn't a BK album. I'm always discovering that.

Later, to entertain Joe while he worked in the yard, I put on Of Thee I Sing and Let'em Eat Cake, but I don't have the third part of the TRILOGY, Strike Up the Band.

And yes, Questions: Last weekend, as I mentioned, I wowed my Joe with Debby Gravitte's MGM album. The dog bark at the end of "Treat Me Rough" had me in stitches. Whose idea was that? Whose dog?

And then came "2001: a Space Oddessey", and Joe was, "Play it again!" and after that, "Again! Again!"

Who had the concept? How was it arranged, and who participated?

I really LOVE that album.
----------------------

And Mr. Mark (My Words) Bakalor: How come tonight when I hit Back after Preview I lose my message every time? Why? I finally took to copying my whole message to the clipboard before previewing.

Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/19/2002 09:34 PM PST

Dear BK,
1. How did your parents react to your acting career? Were they pleased? Proud? Horrified? Did they live to see the success you have become?
2. Can you sing?

Posted by Laura @ 06/19/2002 09:37 PM PST

To William Orr:
I hope you appreciate your Joe. A man who does yardwork is a treasure indeed.

Posted by Laura @ 06/19/2002 09:39 PM PST

Oh, another Wednesday... What to question, that is the question.

It's so late I'm afraid I'll have to be brief...

In my biography by Nabokov, do ou think that he was referencing Poe's Annabell Lee with Humbert's childhood love, Annabell? Or is that just me? Or does that question make no sense?

What do you think of Opera in general? Especially in English... Many times I just can't get past the fact that no one rhymes...

And finally,

Wheheheheheheeere is love?

Sorry for this waste of space everyone, I'm very sleepy.

Posted by Lolita @ 06/19/2002 09:56 PM PST

Excepting The Godfather, Part II; the James Bond and Indiana Jones series; and Star Wars Episodes V and VI; most sequels should not have been.

I caught the same Falsettos Broadway preview as Stephen Sondheim. I did not like the production, and certainly do not consider Finn to be in the same league as Sondheim.

Not to be pedantic, but being pedantic, with apologies to Tom from Oz, the musical of which Divorce Me, Darling is a sequel of sorts is The Boy Friend, after Rodgers & Hart’s The Girl Friend (1926).

Posted by freedunit @ 06/19/2002 10:05 PM PST

To Freedunit
To answer on question day and by me not BK is a sin. So I will not answer your BK question about Survivor or Big Brother except to say that it is a question already answered. And I cannot tell you how to find it, for that would be giving you an answer and your bitch slaps come all too easily!

Posted by Afraid to be bitchslapped @ 06/19/2002 10:09 PM PST

Yes, one more. You mentioned that you had produced a Joanie Sommers album? Which one? I bought an LP of hers a few years ago (which could be anywhere from 2 to 20- they all seem like a few years ago) of her recorded live in Southern California as a present for a friend of mine. (I think Ishould have kept it) This was, at the time, a new record and not one of here from the 60's. Was this the one? There was a lovely song on there (I believe it may have ended the album) about a star. I know it wasn't "Friendly Star" because that was Judy Garland in "Summer Stock." But it was something like that. I only heard it once, but it made an impression (except for its title)? Do you know this song, by any chance?
How about more records from Ms. Sommers?

Posted by Kerry @ 06/19/2002 10:54 PM PST

By the way, have you noticed how I'm taking the high road today? Not once have I talked about bitch-slapping anyone. I haven't discussed bitch-slapping. I haven't even mentioned bitch-slapping!

Posted by Kerry @ 06/19/2002 10:56 PM PST

Actually, “Afraid to be bitchslapped” (A.K.A. Craig), in 184 you did not ask the same question I did today and my question was not answered in 185, nor was a portion of yours, for that matter. I am sorry that I did not recall your earlier question and cite it in mine. As for your claim that you are afraid to be bitch-slapped, I find it disingenuous, a blatant plea to be bitch-slapped. As I told you before, I am always here for you if you need a good, authentic bitch-slapping. And remember: Look at me when I bitch-slap you!

Posted by freedunit @ 06/20/2002 06:55 AM PST