Posted by Phil @ 11/25/2002 07:57 AM PST

Yesterday's chatter inspired poetics which I now share with my fellow Kims and Hins:

The Yam and The Sweet Potato
by Philip Mein

Once upon a harvest moon
I saw a cow fly over a loon
Not just any old cow pray tell
A cow named Yam from a nearby Dell.

Soon she landed in a pasture. Nu?
Then that cow came home (as cows ALWAYS do)
But can you believe what happened next?
Yam ate sweet potato -- to complete this text.

Yam savored every bite, she gobbled each morsel
Isn't it rich? Worthy of a moo-like yodel?
Hey, what the hell am I talking about? Well,
Who knows? It's not allegory which I pen and tell.

Posted by I Yam...I Said @ 11/25/2002 07:59 AM PST

Only 13 days until BK's birthday!

Posted by The count @ 11/25/2002 08:03 AM PST

Very difficult for me - however I have decided to go with a theme here.

ON THE TOWN

Gaby - Chris Atkins
Ivy - Leif Garrett

Chip - Scott Baio
Brunhilde - Quinn Cummings

Ozzie - Jimmy McNichol
Claire - Jimmy Osmond

With all the new shows on television, I am suprised the P/T wasn't already taken.

Nora Charles' maiden name....anyone...anyone...
Buehler? 8-D

Posted by Jrand55 @ 11/25/2002 08:54 AM PST

That is - the P/T TITLE....I must learn to use the unseemly preview button.
Damn me all to hell. Wait I live in Indiana....done and done.

Posted by Jrand55 @ 11/25/2002 08:56 AM PST

To find a miscast listing for ON THE TOWN all one needs to do is check reference sources for the cast of the revival three or four years ago. I'll be kind and not name them.

Continuing a thread from yesterday...

S Woody: The review you saw of CHEE CHEE on the other site was correct in that the script and score were intigrated (though not nearly as much as SHOW BOAT which followed three months later). But the book was so awful and much of the score so mediocre that it made no difference. For those of you who missed yesterday's postings, check out the "unseemly arcive button" above for my plot summary of the only musical that I know of involving a Eunuch and castration!

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/25/2002 09:47 AM PST

How lucky you were, BK, to have missed the 1987 TV remake of Roman Holiday starring Tom Conti, Ed Begley Jr. and a woefully uninteresting Catherine Oxenberg. Will Hollywood never learn that great movies rarely work twice? There are so many bad movies that deserve a second chance. For example, it took three tries to get The Maltese Falcon right.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 11/25/2002 10:29 AM PST

And I second William's comments about the Public Theatre production of ON THE TOWN. It would have been difficult to find a less appropriate set of leads.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 11/25/2002 10:31 AM PST

Here I am at the library again. I just made some more Xerox copies for that fershluganah research paper. The good news is that the last one is due today! Woo hoo!! No more!!

Now all I need to do is re-number my sources, and then sit for an hour and fifteen minutes and listen to "Mrs. Hee-uh" talk about World War Two.

Posted by Sandra @ 11/25/2002 10:39 AM PST

Willaim E. Lurie,

If I am not mistaken, Mandy Patinkin starred in an OB musical some years back called The Knife, which involved a sex change and made castration central to its story.

And I am not mistaken. For photos of him and Mary Elizabeth Mastroiani in said musical, go to:

http://www.mandypatinkin.net/KNIFE/knifephotos.html

and Mandy talks about the experience and his blue gown at:

http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=2489

It was done at the Public, Lisa Vroman was in the cast, and David Hare wrote the book.

I think there is a rule that all musicals about castration are really bad.

And since I missed Anything Can Happen Day, I must tell you that on Anything Can Happen Day my Joe and I took a nice drive to nowhere, and this tune kept going through my head all day. This tune turned out to be "Reefer Madness" by our own, our very own JMK.

That evening, I insisted on putting on the CD for Joe and found it is a very nice song to dance to. Pity Sinatra never recorded it. He might have balked at the lyrics. He refused to do Cole Porter's lyric "I get no kick from cocaine." Probably because he would have been lying?

Posted by William F. Orr @ 11/25/2002 10:40 AM PST

Since Robert Armin stole my thunder (and he's welcome to it), I can only second his assessment of that woeful enterprise. It was as unnecessary as the made-for-TV remake of "Resurrection" which aped the original shot for shot and still wanted for feeling!

JRand55 -- WHERE IN INDIANA are you?

I lived in Indianapolis for five years...once upon a time. Rather enjoyed it there, too.

I'm still glowing and getting emotional when I think about "the concert" of this past Saturday. Today's San Francisco Chronicle had a rave review of the show.

Something I didn't know was that this show started two years ago here in S.F. in rough form, according to our critic,leading it to other engagements before "debuting" at Carnegie Hall.

I don't know what anyone else's feelngs about the Carnegie Hall CDs are...but the Malcolm Gets segments don't work for me. And "Not While I'm Around" doesn't work for me, in particular. I would love to hear her sing it solo, though.

After relistening, several times, to the Carnegie Hall recording, I thought perhaps I could share a couple of things she told us that aren't on the recording.

When she was about to go into the Berlin song "I Fell Into His Arms," she told us that she had seen it with Bernadette Peters and loved it. After Bernadette left the show, one of her friends called her and began raving about how she must go and see it again with the new star.

Barbara said she is no friend of "twang" and told her friend she'd pass. Still, she was coerced and caught the next to last performance of Reba McEntire's turn at Annie -- and Barbara RAVES about Reba! She's totally awestruck by the natural presence of McEntire and by the fact that this entertainer who had never before acted made the part her own. Barbara said that because she knew the producer, she was able to see the final performance, too.

Before singing "Ice Cream," she recounted the bit about "Glitter and Be Gay," but with a few changes. She asked how many had seen the Vivien Leigh version of "Antony and Cleopatra" by the J. Arthur Rank Organization. Acting, she emoted "Forced to glitter! Forced to be gay? All because of Tatateeta" (or something close that). She had us in stitches. She said she'll never glitter and be gay again and she's not sorry one bit.

She then sang "Ice Cream," after which she laughed and told us how she manages to hit that B natural. She asked if we'd ever watched Olympic pole vaulting...she assumed a stance...and asked if we'd ever seen the look they get as the visualize themselves soaring over that pole...and she assumed a look. THAT's how, she said, standing upright, she hits the B natural -- she visualizes hearing it and it happens. It used to just pop out, she said, but now it takes visualization.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 10:48 AM PST

For clarity's sake, Robert Armin's post about "Roman Holiday" as remade for TV was the last post prior to my starting my own, lengthy goings on.

Sandra: How about those libraries, huh!

So quiet!

And so many books!

(A Bock/Harnick reference).

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 10:50 AM PST

Barbara Cook hasn't been doing "Glitter and Be Gay" for at least 20 years. I saw her in concert in the early 80s and she did a whole Bernstein tribute but did not include this song that she had introduced.

Of course that concert was during the stage of her career where she did not do any song she had sung on Broadway (not even "Ice Cream") because she felt that she had "Been There, Done That". I am glad that she has rethought this position. And despite what she says, I'm sure she could still blow the roof off the theatre if she decided to try "Glitter..." again.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/25/2002 11:01 AM PST

All right, all right, all right (that is three all rights) - forget On the Town - let's do wrong casting for our very own revival of Damn Yankees. If that doesn't work, roll your own, as my brother used to say.

Meanwhile, the hours are going by and soon we will all be chatting away in a particularly live fashion (pedal pushers and brown pumps). Don't forget, if you've got friends or neighbors who you think would be interested, do tell them and have them get me their AIM names. And Ron Pulliam, you need to download your AIM software so you can partake. It's quite easy and I'm sure one of our dear readers can help you do so.

Posted by bk @ 11/25/2002 11:01 AM PST

I'm so glad you changed the bad casting, BK. I saw "On the Town" at our local community theater, and I fell asleep. So I really don't remember the show at all.

Bad casting for Damn Yankees:
Lola: Carol Channing

Posted by Laura @ 11/25/2002 11:35 AM PST

Going against the captain's wishes, I can't help mentioning ...
Did you see the wreck of a remake of SABRINA? no, No, NO (that's three noes) remakes of Audrey Hepburn films - PLEASE!

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 11/25/2002 11:56 AM PST

William F.:
Yes THE KNIFE contains castration as a means to an end, but it is not the thrust of the whole story. Also, there are no Eunuchs is THE KNIFE. (Although there is a phony Eunuch in FORUM)

DAMN YANKEES - Jerry Lewis as Applegate... oh wait... Never Mind.
(To be perfectly fair to Mr. Lewis --- which from what I understand CBS was not last night --- when he took over the role from Victor Garber, he tried to play the character straight but audiences were expecting him to play his usual Jerry Lewis persona so as his run progressed he became less and less Applegate and more and more The Nuttty Bellhop. However the revised book was so bad it didn't matter who played the role. George Abbott, who wrote the original, was still alive but was told to keep out of it when he tried to get the book changed back to something resembling the original.)

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/25/2002 11:58 AM PST

Regarding "Roman Holiday," quite a number of years ago, probably in the late '60s, there was quite a bit a talk of a Broadway musical version. Elliott Gould was mentioned as the male lead and I remember him even talking about it on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I seem to recollect that Richard Adler was to be the composer, but nothing ever came of the venture. I don't think they could have captured the essence of Rome on the stage in a manner comparable to how they did on film, and the city of Rome seems so integral to the story told in the movie. As a mere youth and Audrey Hepburn fan, but too young to have seen it in its original run, I remember anxiously awaiting its first TV showing on what I think was NBC's Saturday Night at the Movies in the mid '60s. I caught the last few minutes of Charade on TCM last night. (The remake reportedly is a dud). Hepburn was certainly one of the screen's most captivating actresses.

Posted by steveg @ 11/25/2002 12:01 PM PST

By the way, when done right (unlike the George C. Wolffe fiasco) ON THE TOWN is a hellava show. I enjoyed the revival in the 70s with Donna Makechnie (SP?), Bernadette Peters, Phyllis Newman, Marilyn Cooper, Ron Husman, Remark Ramsey and Jess Richards even without the original Robbins choreography.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/25/2002 12:04 PM PST

I want to clarify something I said above. I inaccurately reported that Barbara Cook said she saw Bernadette Peters in "Annie Get Your Gun" and loved her. She said she saw Peters in the play and Peters won a Tony for it.

I don't mean this correction to intimate anything negative -- only to be accurate about what was said or wasn't said. She was very clear that she didn't want to see a "country" singer do the part (or any part). Thus, when she saw Reba and loved her, she raved about her and made sure we knew she went back on closing night.

That can be read many different ways, of course. But there it is.

BK: I have not missed all the AIM gee-gaws of popups and other unwanted advertising since banishing my AIM connection. I know I was given directions on how to get rid of them and still retain AIM courtesy of AOL.

I'll re-read the instructions when I get home this p.m.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 12:21 PM PST

ron - I live south and west of Indy in a town called Mooresville....and just to make MB jealous - every summer I go to Greencastle home of DePauw and do four shows IN A BARN!!!!

Posted by Jrand55 @ 11/25/2002 12:33 PM PST

Mooresville is a more picturesque area...folks rave about Mooresville in the Fall.

I lived north and east of Indy in Lawrence. I taught at the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harrison from 1979-1984.

Who is MB and why would MB be jealous?

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 12:44 PM PST

I'm just curious what the new Penn and Teller tv show Bullshit, is about. I remember only seeing them on tv once when they did a magic act on a comedy show. I enjoyed what I saw. Also has anybody seen their movie Penn And Teller Get Killed? And if yes, is it good?

Posted by Brandon @ 11/25/2002 01:11 PM PST

In re Jerry Lewis.

I have never been able to abide his screen personality.

On the other hand, I thought he was magnificent in The King of Comedy, playing a comedian who is totally humorless. He never cracked a smile. I think he could have been a good dramatic actor if he had gone that route. As I understand it, Johnny Carson was offered the rôle and turned it down.

Did anyone see Jerry's live talk/variety show in the 70s? Talk about train wrecks. It lasted one night. At one point he was doing a comedy bit pretending to lose his temper, and when the tech people didn't cue an audio tape, he really did lose his temper. Not a pretty sight.

Posted by William F. Orr @ 11/25/2002 01:16 PM PST

The King Of Comedy, was great. Jerry Lewis, played a character that you begin to hate in like the first ten minutes. He did a very good job in that film. I'm glad that it will be released on DVD in December.

Posted by Brandon @ 11/25/2002 01:18 PM PST

Re Martin and Lewis - I tuned in for ten minutes and could not believe how bad it was. The Jerry guy was just awful, beyond awful (yes, Virginia, I like Jerry, he is a guilty pleasure of mine from way back), and the scene I saw between Jeremy Northam and Kate Leavering (he's lying on the bed and she's trying to insert herself into his ear) is one of the most ineptly directed scenes ever.

Posted by bk @ 11/25/2002 01:23 PM PST

Boy, what a flashback! I was actually an extra in the TV show sequence early in Penn and Teller Get Killed. I'm not on camera and never include it in my credits, but I remember the day quite clearly. Unfortunately, it wasn't a particularly good movie, but it was quirky if you like their sense of humor, and Caitlin Clarke was a very unique and appealing actress (Dragonslayer had probably her best film role).

I also remember sitting next to Teller on a long train ride and having a very pleasant conversation with him. A nice guy.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 11/25/2002 01:30 PM PST

I didn't bother wasting my time with the Martin & Lewis movie. One of the New York papers gave it 1 Star and another Half-A-Star. About eight or nine years ago one of the cable stations (I think it was either AMC or The Disney Channel - 2 stations which were once great and are now unwatchable) did a Multi-Part Martin & Lewis documentary with clips going as far back as their Copa days and the Colgate Comedy Hour and that was great. I used to like them when I was a kid, but they split about the time I developed more adult taste and now I don't even care for their old movies which I once found very funny. When I was managing a movie theatre in the 60s we used to have Kiddie Matinees on the weekends, and we always did good business with a Martin and Lewis film.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/25/2002 01:31 PM PST

Tom!!

Great news.. Hairspray and The Producers are coming your way..

Click on my name for the link to the story...

Posted by Craig @ 11/25/2002 02:03 PM PST

Who played Jerry Lewis in that movie?

Was it Sean Hayes?????

Re: Rome as a character in the film "Roman Holiday" -- one of the best visits I made to Rome during the 9 1/2 years I lived in Italy was my last one -- where I actually found and had my photo taken at the Boca de Veritas (the mouth of truth).

A behind-the-scenes tale told about the shooting of that scene had it that Peck was going to be tentative about sticking his hand in...but would pull it out unscathed. They started shooting and Peck stuck his hand in the mouth and pretended it was taken off. Hepburn's reaction is said to have been real...and they kept the take and used it.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 02:07 PM PST

Okay...here it is. That hinky part of the day when the list seems to enter a sort of stasis with hours passing between posts.

Doing my little bit here...

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 03:04 PM PST

Rave about it in the fall, do they? Well then I wish they were HERE and I was in Rome.

MB is Mr Mark Bakalor who went on and on about putting on a show in a barn in last week's radio show. 8-D

Rome...Rome....I heard the same story about Gregory Peck and his hand.

BUT my favorite Rome picture is Rome Adventure with Mr Troy Donahue and Miss Suzanne Pleshette and a lovely Max Steiner score interpolating Al Di La - where is the DVD....where is the CD? My video and LP are wearing out.

Posted by Jrand @ 11/25/2002 03:11 PM PST

What, are we all having our afternoon siestas? Are we having our afternoon lull? Let's get some action, baby.

Posted by bk @ 11/25/2002 04:15 PM PST

To those joining in our chat, I will be "ushering" in our mystery guest. We might just make a game of it at the beginning to see who can guess WHO it is first. For those not participating.. you will indeed have to flog yourself with sliced cheese for missing the chat AND our special guest.

Posted by Craig @ 11/25/2002 04:25 PM PST

For the horror he perpetrated on TV last night, Sean Hayes should be SLAPPED.

Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 11/25/2002 05:29 PM PST

Rosie O'Donnell as Lola

Need I say more?

Posted by Jed @ 11/25/2002 05:55 PM PST

I'm still lauging at the idea of Carol Channing doing Lola in "Damn Yankees"!

I hope to join the chat tonight, so maybe I'll see all y'all then.

Posted by Kerry @ 11/25/2002 05:58 PM PST

I'm still LAUGHING even

Posted by kerry @ 11/25/2002 05:58 PM PST

Dehhhvuhhhls ahhhr a girlzzz best ffihreeend!

Posted by Carol @ 11/25/2002 06:02 PM PST

Kiri Te Kanawa as Lola and Jose Carrreras as Joe Hardy.

Posted by Jrand55 @ 11/25/2002 06:55 PM PST

Talking to our mystery guest right now.. get online and get ready for a fun chat!

Posted by Craig @ 11/25/2002 07:16 PM PST

Oh, thanks, that reminded me of another bit in Cook's concert.

I don't remember what it was in reference to, but Cook was talking about Kiri Te Kanawa and called her "Kiri Te Kanawa the opera singer"...then stopped, slapped herself on the head and said..."as opposed to Kiri Te Kanawa the plumber." It was a cute moment.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 07:17 PM PST

Oh, what a lively and fun chat we're having! Come one, come all, and join our merriment!!! And a delightful mystery guest, to boot!

Posted by Jed @ 11/25/2002 07:51 PM PST

We are having way TOO MUCH FUN for any of you to be left hanging out in your rooms.

Come hear the music play!!!

E-mail me if you need to learn how to get an AIM log-on, etc.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 11/25/2002 07:52 PM PST

Robert Armin, thanks for your story on Penn And Keller Get Killed. I saw the trailer for the film at http://www.videopipeline.net/player/VpNetPlayer.asp?Cmd=3&videokbrate=100&Publishedld=3855&Customerid=51215 and I like the director Arthur Penn, who directed the great films Alice's Restaurant and especially Bonnie And Clyde. I also like dark comedies so I'm sure it will be right up my alley. Thanks again for the info.

Posted by Brandon @ 11/25/2002 08:00 PM PST

A very special thank you to Miss Donna Lynne Champlin for stopping by our chat!

Posted by Craig @ 11/25/2002 08:09 PM PST

Oh what a gal,
a real pipperoo.......

Posted by mark rothman @ 11/25/2002 08:22 PM PST

And still the chat lingers on... oh yes, it lingers on...

Posted by Jed @ 11/25/2002 09:07 PM PST

Yes, it just won't die.

Posted by Laura @ 11/25/2002 09:14 PM PST

Almost like something out of one of Susan Gordon's movies.

Posted by Jed @ 11/25/2002 09:27 PM PST

I don't know On The Town that well, nor Damn Yankees. But if we're going to miscast, how's about ROMAN HOLIDAY, THE REMAKE: starring Madonna and Steven Segal!

Swept away, or swept under the rug?

Posted by S. Woody White @ 11/25/2002 09:31 PM PST

I sooooooo wish I could have made the chat. But, alas, twas not to be tonight for me...

-Had second orchestra rehearsal, and it's coming along nicely. Sitzprobe is on Sunday.

As for On the Town casting... I knew some of the people in that show, and they couldn't believe they were cast in the roles they were cast in.

As for more bas casting ideas, and of the big boy bands could rotate their members among the male leads, and the same could be done with the female leads with groups such as Destiny's Child, etc.

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 11/25/2002 09:47 PM PST

Well, I missed the chat yet
again! I was stuck in the
dress rehearsal from hell. Oh
well, concert tomorrow then it
will all be over and I can relax
for a bit. Dear Reader Jed
informs me that I missed a
delightful chat. 'tis a pity...but I
shan't miss the next one. Until
then...

Posted by Ann @ 11/25/2002 09:48 PM PST

I am a war with my computer today. It is winning. Back to the shop it goes. I have been trying to post for 10 hours. Next week I guess. Happy holiday everyone.

Posted by Tom from OZ @ 11/25/2002 11:22 PM PST

Ron, I do not know who Russ is, but unlike some who can lead double lives, I am only one person. I am Errant Truant; I am definitely not Russ.

Bruce, posts attributed to a person named Russ can be found in the Notes of September 20. Do you have reason to believe that that is a different Russ than the Russ who appeared on November 21? Why the fuss about Russ anyway? Why did his post mystify you? Did my post mystify you as well?

By the way, my original quest continues -- would the real Jigsaw Puzzle Poster please stand up? Then, while standing, please explain to us who the characters are in your fairytale. For those Kimlets and Hainsies who missed it, here is the post to which I refer. It was anonymously posted to the November 14th Notes:

Once upon a time, there was a nice lady. She always tried to be nice, honest, helpful, friendly, and patient. She had been spending a lot of time trying to help someone put the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. She was very persistent and very patient. One day, a young man came along and with one fell swoop, he swept all the puzzle pieces onto the floor and ruined the puzzle forever. The nice lady was very disappointed when she found out what happened, but the owner of the puzzle said, "Oh, but I love him!" The nice lady wished someone would come and kick the young man's butt to the Netherlands, and she decided never to bother helping anyone with puzzles ever again. The end.

Posted by Errant Truant @ 11/26/2002 01:21 AM PST

THANKS CRAIG. SORRY ABOUT ONLY UPPER CASE. I AM ABOUT TO KICK THIS COMPUTER TO MOONEE PONDS OR FURTHER (DAME EDNA TERRITORY) DAME EDNA'S CLOSE FRIEND BARRY WAS INTERVIEWED ON LOCAL RADIO THIS MORNING - HE APPARENTLY STAYED WITH SS IN NEW YORK. THEY ARE QUITE GOOD FRENDS. BARRY'S NEW BOOK IS A CHRISTMAS RELEASE HERE.

Posted by Tom from OZ @ 11/26/2002 02:53 AM PST

Well, I was there for a while (the chat that is) until I was unceremoniously dropped from the Internet. Tom, I hear ya! My home computer needs some help, too, so with the help of my tax return, I'm planning a purchase in the new year. Amazing how after a mere 4 years a major purchase like a computer can become almost obsolete. Oh, well. While I was there last night, I had a good time. I hope to be there this Sunday after Thanksgiving. At that point I will be on vacation (my last day at work is TODAY) until January 1st!

Posted by Ben @ 11/26/2002 04:10 AM PST

Everyone in the chat was jiggy, I tell you, jiggy with excitement.

Posted by Kerry @ 11/26/2002 04:40 AM PST

So true...Miss Donna was charming and responsive!
Jiggy!
Glad those of you wid duh bling bling r getting gnu computers.
Wish I was!

Posted by Jrand55 @ 11/26/2002 05:04 AM PST

I'd love to be able to join the chats, but not with AOL. I started to download it per the instructions on this here site before the first chat and it started going through my entire address book - crashing halfway through. When I re-booted I got a lot of AOL crap which I closed, but this happened everytime I turned on my computer and I finally removed it all. If you switch to some other method I'll be there almost every time.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 11/26/2002 06:06 AM PST