Replies: 35 Unseemly Comments
Well... Aside from the outstanding dynamic duo of Meltz and Ernest (everybody's natural choice if we can't have Sondheim). I think I would invite Cy Coleman and David Zippel.
Posted by Craig @ 07/01/2002 10:11 AM PST
I would have Kander & Ebb. Not only my favorite composing team, but also brilliant performers. If they were sick, then Comden & Green, of course.
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by Paul Fairie @ 07/01/2002 10:14 AM PST
BTW (By the way) I must say that although I haven't actually watched TFNM yet (well not since many years ago on cable) I have watched the documentary twice. If you don't own TFNM yet.. get it if only to see this documentary. One of the best "extras" I have had the pleasure to enjoy. Not having ment our own BK in person just yet, it was great to SEE and HEAR him in all his glory. Hard to see the abs of steel, and impossible to see his buns of steel (he was sitting down in THE CHAIR) - but a treat nonetheless.
Bruce - what was up with one of the final interviews where it looked like someone was behind the tinted "window" looking back and forth towards the camera...??
Posted by Craig @ 07/01/2002 10:18 AM PST
I want to pick Mr. Kander and Mr. Ebb, and as a special treat, I'd like to have them create a song right there at the party, because I've heard how they work togother, and I'd just like to watch.
Second would be Comden and Green with any composer at all. Yes, they could be the whole party.
If "living" weren't a criterion, I'd invite Cole Porter and Noel Coward and have them compete in writing a song that would insult each of my party guests, me, and each other.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/01/2002 10:19 AM PST
William.. and at the end, naturally you would request "The Party's Over" ?
Posted by Craig @ 07/01/2002 10:21 AM PST
Comden and Green: They are real performers, and nobody sings their songs like they do.
Kander and Ebb: they have such an engaging stage presence. I actually prefer some of the cuts on their "An Evening with..." CD to the cast recording versions.
And for one dead man: Frank Loesser. He had an engagingly unpretentious, melodic style, though you can tell that his voice isn't trained. (Sheesh, I sound like a critic!)
There is an excellent CD "An Evening with Frank Loesser" which has archival recordings of many of his songs, some in very different forms, and some of which were cut (like the excellent "Travelling Light" from Guys & Dolls), not to mention an early version of the opening sequence of "The Most Happy Fella," which has tons of cut material. Though most of the cuts were deserved. A really great CD, I recommend it strongly.
Posted by Hapgood @ 07/01/2002 10:56 AM PST
Comden and Green, of course. We must cherish them while they are here. And they're still great performers.
Noel Coward or Cole Porter would be fun to see (if they were alive, of course). Gershwin (either one) would also be a thrill.
Sheldon Harnick is always a delight and getting him together again with Jerry Bock would be a real coup.
Kander and Ebb, too, are a most entertaining duo.
Least, but certainly last, would be Irving Berlin. Great song writer -- excrutiating singer and not a very good pianist from what I hear.
Posted by Robert Armin @ 07/01/2002 11:32 AM PST
Ooh, boy: decisions, decisions, decisions...
... having had the pleasure of seeing Schmidt and Jones live, I could only imagine the thrill of them in my living room. Ditto Comden and Green, but you know what? If I could raise the dead, then I'd go slightly outside the musical theater world, and have Harry Chapin. His songs have moved me from day one, and his dedication to his causes has inspired me greatly.
If I had to stick with living people, then I'd have to have the magnificently brilliant Tom Lehrer regaling us with tales of poisoning pigeons.
Posted by Elan @ 07/01/2002 11:46 AM PST
I would have Kander and Ebb as long they promise NOT to sing New York New York and Cabaret
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 07/01/2002 11:51 AM PST
I must confess, I have two songwriters I'd enjoy hosting if they would perform. Stephen Schwartz, for one, and Jimmy Webb, for the other. Not only are they both great craftsmen, they also are interested in helping others develop their craft. I'm not sure if I'd want them both performing at the same time, however, at least not in the same room. The idea of Webb playing "Highwayman" at the exact same moment as Schwartz would be playing "Life Goes On," well, I'm pretty sure they aren't even at the same tempo. Talk about sonic confusion!
Posted by S. Woody White @ 07/01/2002 11:58 AM PST
Der Brucer just chimed in with another vote for Comden and Green. If he could raise the dead, he's adding Howard Ashman to our list, in a reunion with Alan Menkin. (If anyone has ever heard the four-disc collection "The Music Behind the Magic," which includes many of their demo tapes for their work with Disney, I'm sure you'll agree that they would be a very entertaining duo!)
Posted by S. Woody White @ 07/01/2002 12:03 PM PST
Either Cy Coleman, if I were in a jazzy mood, or Marvin Hamlisch, because he is such a talented musician and because he knows everybody else’s songs, too!
Why was I absent the past few days? Where was I? Was I off bitch-slapping? Was I making cake? No, I was at the Ravinia Festival for the debut of my hometown girls Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway! They performed a version of their show Sibling Revelry, which included two Merman duets, two Mame songs, a Gypsy medley, two Sondheim songs, “Meadowlark,” “Blues in the Night,” and the Big Medley. The Callaways were wonderful!
Posted by freedunit @ 07/01/2002 12:18 PM PST
Hmmm...Songwriter or songwriting team at my party entertaining...let me see...
LIVING
Kander & Ebb
Comden & Green
Marvin Hamlisch
Bock & Harnick
Jerry Herman
IN MUSICAL HEAVEN
Johnny Mercer
Harry Warren
Jerome Kern
The Gershwins
Dorothy Fields
Lerner & Lowe & Lane
Sammy Cahn
Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Leonard Bernstein
Cole Porter
Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein
NOTE TO MICHAEL SHAYNE RE JULY SONG: Have you consulted a book titled, "The Green Book of Songs by Subject: The Thematic Guide to Popular Music" by Jeff Green? Here's a link to Amazon about it http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0939735202/qid=1025551863/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7600367-2915819
Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 07/01/2002 12:32 PM PST
In case Kander and Ebb insist on singing New York New York and Cabaret I'd rather have Bruce Kimmel.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 07/01/2002 12:47 PM PST
No, I have changed my mind entirely. Therefore, I retract my prior response and answer one living singer-songwriter and only one living singer-songwriter:
Ann Hampton Callaway
What was I thinking earlier?
Posted by freedunit @ 07/01/2002 01:06 PM PST
Freedunit. I am glad you thought long and hard about that. It's a crime to have premature retractions!
Posted by Craig @ 07/01/2002 01:19 PM PST
I'd have Bruce Kimmell singing and playing selections from THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL and his other works. Of course the refreshments, party favors, dances, etc. would have to be the official Haines-His-Way selection, but they would be that anyway.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/01/2002 01:37 PM PST
I thought I was supposed to try to avoid premature elucidation. Now I have something else to worry about.
Ann Hampton Callaway is my answer and I am sticking to her.
Posted by freedunit @ 07/01/2002 02:33 PM PST
I think I'd like to have Bacharach & David (plus other Bacharach collaborators). These would be great fun people to have performing -- and to be able to sing along with.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/01/2002 02:57 PM PST
I'm going out on the proverbial limb here, to say that if I could have any living SONGWRITER over for a party (and all that a party entails), I would have Miss Janis Ian. Miss Ian tells many tales in her songwriter, and in concerts she tells the tales behind the tales. Anyone who only knows her early material would be greatly surprised to hear the humor in her songwriting ("Night Rains" and "Restless Eyes") contain some very clever rhymes. At the end of the evening, I would insist on Miss Ian singing "Stars." Should Miss Ian not be available, then I would go the gentlemanly route and invite Mister Tom Waits. Anyone who has ever listened to "Nighthawks at the Diner" knows just how funny and entertaining this songwriter can be. For an added bonus, he would bring Bette Midler along to duet with him on "I Never Talk to Strangers."
Songrwriting teams I would like to have as entertainment: no contest! MENKEN AND SCHWARTZ!!
Then someday, hopefully, a very talented Mister BK would want to perform all of his FNM songs at a party, too.
Posted by td @ 07/01/2002 03:10 PM PST
Kander & Ebb for before dinner and for after - Paul Simon & Randy Newman (at least they have worked together once).
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 07/01/2002 03:33 PM PST
I rather think I'd enjoy Carole King at my party simply because at the moment I am in a bit of a Carole King phase. As far as Broadway, though, it would have to be the hip and very cool Cy Coleman.
Posted by Lolita @ 07/01/2002 05:14 PM PST
July 1... PADIDDLE!
Posted by PadiddleMaster @ 07/01/2002 07:20 PM PST
Well...it seems the weekend came and went without mention of Donald's new show which is GREAT as usual. Check it out -- Dueling Diva's!!!
Posted by Craig @ 07/01/2002 07:52 PM PST
Songwriting Team? Comden and Green would be great fun.
Single Songwriter? Jerry Herman.
I would also like to have David Friedman or John Bucchino if Jerry Herman were not available.
I think we were to supposed to choose a single OR a team, but we all had to do it our own way.
I cannot wait for my DVD of TFNM.
Posted by Kerry @ 07/01/2002 08:12 PM PST
I feel Mr. Donald Feltham was both errant and truant and also truant and errant. He should be posting what his new radio show is. How am I supposed to know what his new radio show is? I think we are going to have to bitch-slap Mr. Donald Feltham if he doesn't get on the ball and pay us a visit every now and then, that's what I think.
Posted by bk @ 07/01/2002 08:13 PM PST
THE FOLLOWING IS MY REVIEW FOR BENJAMIN KRITZER. I DO NOT THINK THERE ARE ANY SPOILERS BUT JUST IN CASE YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP OVER IT.
Bruce Kimmel has written a bittersweet remembrance about growing up in fifties Los Angeles. Kimmel who is an actor, writer, director, composer and record producer has not written a typical show business memoir, but instead he a written with great passion and humor about pre-teenager Benjamin Kritzer a young boy I suspect much like himself also grew up in the Los Angeles of the fifties. It’s a nostalgic trip as he described a Los Angeles of the past, the great and not so great films of the fifties. The movie theaters when they weren’t multiplexes, when there was something called double bills and you could watch a movie over and over again. Where there songs kids liked were like “Bernadine”, “Que Sera Sera”, “The Twelfth of Never”, “Young Love”, and “When the Red, Red Robin Come Bob Bob Bobbin’ Along”.
Kimmel deftly creates and breathes life into the people that surround Benjamin’s life including his annoying older brother Jeffrey with whom he has to share a bedroom and to Benjamin’s disdain likes to eat bananas in bed. Benjamin’s mother who loves to pile on the guilt and must takes her parenting skills from Joan Crawford when it came to wooden hangers. His father likes to sit around the house half naked. Benjamin is convinced his parents are Martians ans he was adopted because there were no baby pictures. Benjamin seems to be out of place in his household. He loves movies, movie theaters, music, and pickles out of a barrel and is able to great each day with humor and a sense of awe.
Into this chaos walks Susan Pomeroy a girl he meets in school. Benjamin and Susan become inseparable. They begin an innocent and chaste romance. He introduces her to movies, Pat Boone and the best hot fudge sundae in Hollywood. Kimmel has expertly crafted each of his characters. He has given them their own soul and his dialogue is natural and is especially well written for the juvenile characters. The story moves along a brisk pace and is a page-turner. Kimmel’s characters and their story keep my interest from beginning to end.
One of the subplots of the stories is when Jeffrey has is Bar Mitzvah the Jewish rite of manhood. Despite Jeffrey becoming a man is a child. It is Benjamin, however, that has his own private Bar Mitzvah and becomes a man. The young innocent boy of the single digit age is left behind and he will probably never be the same Benjamin Kritzer we were introduced at the beginning of the novel. He has discovered that his life is like so many of his beloved movies, especially the serials, to be continued. Just as Benjamin is looking forward to what life will bring him; I am looking forward to the next installment of Bruce Kimmel’s Benjamin Kritzer saga.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 07/01/2002 08:37 PM PST
Yesterday's discussion of casting for the movie of Benjamin Kritzer had me envisioning an open-casting call for the part of Grandpa Gelfinbaum:
"Next!"
"Number forty-six."
"What is it, fish?"
"Thank you. We'll call you."
"Next!"
"Number forty-seven."
"What is it, fish?"
"Thank you. We'll call you."
"Next!"...
Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/01/2002 09:18 PM PST
Michael Shayne take note:
Joan Crawford used a wire hanger.
Minnie Kritzer used a wood hanger.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/01/2002 09:22 PM PST
Hi, all from hot, steamy Minnesota (record breaking hot temperatures today). I just had to post today because as Anthony (my partner) and I were antiquing in Stillwater, MN this hot, muggy Monday morning, what should I hear on the radio as we peruse old sheet music and 78 RPM records but "Pick Yourself Up", not by the inimitable Mr. Guy Haines, but by the equally lovely and talented Miss Ella Fitzgerald. It's almost like I was listening to the Broadway Radio Show! Coincidence??? I think not.
Back soon with more posting. In spite of the heat I'm having a wonderful time.
Posted by Ben @ 07/01/2002 09:33 PM PST
I know that Joan usd wire hnages. But Jewish households don't know from wire hangers. I was just trying to point out that both mother hits their children with hangers wire or wooden which I consider heinous regardless of the material they are made of. I don't be;ieve in any kind of corporal punishment when it come to children.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 07/02/2002 03:16 AM PST
I know what a hangar is. It is where the jet is parked.
Posted by freedunit @ 07/02/2002 05:17 AM PST
Michael.. I agree.. Corporal punishment is heinous. I am much more a fan of Lieutenant punishment. And Private Punishment.. but that's another story...
Posted by Craig @ 07/02/2002 05:25 AM PST
I a fan of a good staff sergeant, and also of rhyme and punishment.
Posted by freedunit @ 07/02/2002 08:41 AM PST
On the count of three, everybody groan.
Posted by Puns 'R' Us @ 07/02/2002 09:22 AM PST
