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[bk]

Well, you've read the notes, you know all about our prancing about in socks and pantaloons and our month-long celebration, so now it is time to post until the October Cows come home.

[Panni]

I'm not prancing about - but I tried to post in the last batch to respond to FS Pogue about Bush's story about the poor woman (Cissy?) in the debates. That was a lowpoint even for Bush. Calling it manipulative (unsuccessfully manipulative) and REALLY stupid wouldn't be doing it justice.

[Panni]

I must be drunk on Oktoberfest brew. I used "about" 50 times in my last post.

[Panni]

I kept falling asleep today. And now - surprise - I'm not sleepy.

[S. Woody White]

Car CD player:  Guys and Dolls, the '92 revival recording, and A New Brain, which is kinda neat because Kristen Chenoweth is doing chorus work through the whole thing, paying her dues.

DVD: Still working on the Darth Lucas Star Wars set.  The fourth disc is interesting, with the featurettes.  But I haven't figured out where the easter eggs are located, and I've read there's a blooper reel hidden in there somewhere.

[Michael]

Since I will be seeing Karen Mason and Jason Graae on Sunday I will be listening to them in the car Cd player and in the home.

[Michael]

Jay:

In response to your question of the 1929 Show Boat.

It is a part talkie version. It really is a hybrid of the stage musical and the novel. It mixes songs from the score and new songs written for the film.

Universal released the film,

from the imdb website

Universal had originally intended to release the part-talkie version with authentic black spirituals and work songs only. When they realized that this could potentially backfire on them, they obtained the rights to the Kern-Hammerstein musical, incorporated some of the score into the film, reshot two scenes so that Laura La Plante could "sing" (with a dubbed singing voice) two hits from the score of the Broadway show, and, finally, in desperation, filmed a two-reel prologue in which three stars from the stage version of "Show Boat" sang five numbers from the show, two of them being the ones that Ms. La Plante performed in the film. The strategy did not work, and the 1929 film version of "Show Boat" was not successful.


Some of the other songs not written by Kern and Hammerstein



"Down South"
(Ravenal's Theme Song)
Music by William H. Middleton
Lyrics by Sigmund Spaeth
Information on vocal not available



"Deep River"
Traditional
Sung by Eva Olivotti dubbing Laura La Plante



"I've Got Shoes"
Traditional
Sung by Eva Olivotti dubbing Laura La Plante



"Coon, Coon, Coon"
by Leo Friedman and Gene Jefferson
Sung by Eva Olivotti dubbing Laura La Plante



"Ol' Man River"
Sung by Eva Olivotti dubbing Laura La Plante



"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"
Sung by Eva Olivotti dubbing Laura La Plante



"The Lonesome Road"
Music by Nathaniel Shilkret
Lyrics by Gene Austin
Sung by Jules Bledsoe dubbing Stepin Fetchit

[Michael]

And don't forget about the 1989 Papermill Playhouse production that was filmed for PBS in 1989. I guess as close to an archival recording of the show one is going to get.

[Michael]

Car CD player:  Guys and Dolls, the '92 revival recording, and A New Brain, which is kinda neat because Kristen Chenoweth is doing chorus work through the whole thing, paying her dues.

DVD: Still working on the Darth Lucas Star Wars set.  The fourth disc is interesting, with the featurettes.  But I haven't figured out where the easter eggs are located, and I've read there's a blooper reel hidden in there somewhere.

Hidden Features Website

Star Wars Trilogy
On 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Lucasfilm’s release of the original 'Star Wars Trilogy' you can once again find a cool little hidden feature.

To find it insert the fourth disc of the set, the one containing all the special features. From the Main Menu go to the 'Video Games and Still Galleries' section. On the following screen use your remote control to type '11' and then press the 'Enter' key. Depending on your DVD player model you may have to press the '10+' and then the '1' key. Next, type '3' followed by the 'Enter' key and then '8' once again followed by 'Enter.' This will give you access to an almost 5-minute long blooper reel with the DVD credits, consisting of hilarious clips from all three films.

All three movies also have three different kinds of menus that are selected at random when you boot up the disc. If you want to switch to any particular menu set, you can do so with a little trick, too. To get the first menu, simply press the 'Audio' button on your remote control while the FBI logo is visible. To boot up the second menu, press the '2' button during the FBI screen and in order to get to the third menu layout, press '12' – it may be '10+' and '2' depending on your player – and then press the '2' button once again. This Easter Egg is a contribution from our reader Terribly Mauled and Drew Denson

[Ben]

Another picture from the Science Museum. Anthony in a "You are Here" pose.

[Ben]

Right now I'm listening to Patti LuPone Matters of the Heart. It's a BK Executive Produced Varese Sarabande CD. I also have The American Songbook Series Dorothy Fields, a compilation CD ranging from early recorded performances of Field's songs to Maureen McGovern doing Make the Man Love Me. I have the original Broadway cast (Robert Alda, et. al.) of Guys and Dolls. Also at work, Tony Randall's Oh Captain and Cole Porter's Aladdin, a recording of the DuPont Show of the Month, broadcast on CBS Television on February 21, 1958. It features the vocal talents of Sal Mineo (not Sal Simbulan), Cyril Ritchard and Anna Maria Alberghetti (Geoffrey Holder is also in the cast). I am well stocked for work today.

[Dan (the Man)]

I loves October!  It's always been my favorite month.  The cool crisp air.  The beautiful palette changes in the foilage.  Everyone seems a little more positive, purposeful and energetic.  While September usually brings to me feelings of new beginnings, October is the time when those beginnings seem to actually come into play.  I love it!

[Ben]

DTM, you are the proud owner of message 68,000

345      68000  Today at 05:39:37am in Re:OCTOBERFEST
by Dan (the Man)

It will be gone when I post this but you hit a mark. Maybe it's because October is smiling on you.

I didn't capture the screen quite so beautifully, but you get the picture.

[Noel]

CDs: a demo of a musical called Spin; Wicked

Listeing to Wicked is a chore (in more ways than one).  I'm part of an interview with the composer on Monday.  Someone I know is writing a book about the making of Wicked, and, feeling unversed in the language of music, has invited three composers to pepper Schwartz with questions.  And so I must listen.  I liked the show on stage but find the CD hard to get into.

[Dan (the Man)]

DTM, you are the proud owner of message 68,000

345      68000  Today at 05:39:37am in Re:OCTOBERFEST
by Dan (the Man)

It will be gone when I post this but you hit a mark. Maybe it's because October is smiling on you.

I didn't capture the screen quite so beautifully, but you get the picture.

Coolio!  

[Stuart]

And don't forget about the 1989 Papermill Playhouse production that was filmed for PBS in 1989. I guess as close to an archival recording of the show one is going to get.

Plus the Drabinsky/Prince version, archived at the Lincoln Center library, of course.

[William E. Lurie]

What is with all the ads for "Heel Pain" and "toe pads" at the top of this here site?

CD - 2 recently released "first time on CD" reissues of LPs: the 2 CD Jacques Brel singing most of the songs that ended up in JB IS ALIVE... and a few others; and Blossom Dearie sings Broadway.

DVD - More old television - "December Bride" (still a delight) and for nostalgia purposes "Super Circus" with Claude Kirschner and Mary Heartland

VHS - Nothing

And speaking of old tv on DVDs, they are going to release season-by-season sets of MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY, but starting with Season 5, Marjorie Lord's first season!  None of the Jean Hagen years will be included.

[elmore3003]

finally, in desperation, filmed a two-reel prologue in which three stars from the stage version of "Show Boat" sang five numbers from the show, two of them being the ones that Ms. La Plante performed in the film. The strategy did not work, and the 1929 film version of "Show Boat" was not successful.

I'm hoping this "prologue" is shown since it's the only filmed documentation of Tess Gardella, who played Queenie in blackface.

[Dan (the Man)]

CDs: a demo of a musical called Spin; Wicked

Listeing to Wicked is a chore (in more ways than one).  I'm part of an interview with the composer on Monday.  Someone I know is writing a book about the making of Wicked, and, feeling unversed in the language of music, has invited three composers to pepper Schwartz with questions.  And so I must listen.  I liked the show on stage but find the CD hard to get into.

I do, too, and feel the same about the recordings of almost all of Schwartz's shows.  It seems to me that when it comes time to record one of his shows, Schwartz flexes his arms and manages to get the recording producer to emphasize only the music and stripping out any feeling of personality and theatricality that the score has in performance.  As a result, his recordings are on the sterile side and his music is not nearly as interesting as it is in the theatre.

[Noel]

One of the powers-that-be from Chicago was in town for a faculty meeting, and I anticipated that I'd have to scream (or just talk sternly) at him about the lack of support and lack of publicity that leads to our classes being cancelled right and left, at the last possible moment, because we don't have the minimal enrolment.

To nobody's great surprised, he announced that the school will be going out of business.  Our "parent" is a for-profit company that's clearly unwilling to invest the funds to run an outpost in New York.  For years, we've been doing it on the cheap - so cheap, in fact, that nobody knows we're here.

And, as fall ends, the public perception will be correct.  We're not here.

[elmore3003]

Good morning, all!  I have to hit 14th Street now and work on more Eubie Blake today.   I didn't realize the 1929 silent film of SHOW BOAT incorporated songs from the score; I thought that was only in the prologue of scenes from the Broadway production.  Interesting.

Media report:
  CD:  Menotti operas: AMAHL (crutches, ya know), THE TELEPHONE and THE MEDIUM, Delibes' SYLVIA and COPPELIA. Guy Haines His Way ("Here You Come Again" kept me happy for the past two months' misery).
  DVD:  I don't know yet, maybe NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
  VCR:  nothing

Have a great day, all!  I'll be back this afternoon after I start the laundry.

[Dan-in-Toronto]

I haven't seen Wicked (it plays Toronto in the spring), but have come to enjoy the CD thoroughly. (It did take awhile.) For this CD I tend to use the Random mode - I like the unexpected juxtapositions of the songs. I find the score theatrical enough, and now feel I know the characters quite well.

[Ben]

Noel, is this the Circle-in-the-Square theatre school that arose (or stayed around, I'm not sure) out of the ashes of the old Circle-in-the-Square Theatre Company?

[Matt H.]

I haven't read the notes yet because I wanted to answer DR Jay's question about SHOW BOAT, but I see DR Michael Shayne and others have beat me to the punch. Let me just add, DR MBarnum, that this 1929 version is the one I would LEAST want you to see. I've had the three SHOW BOATS on laserdisc for a long time, and after watching that first one once, I had NO interest ever in seeing it again. The wonderful thing about the 1951 SHOW BOAT in the laserdisc boxed set is that one can choose to have either Ava Gardner's real vocals as Julie or Annette Warren's dubbed vocals which were used in the theatrical release. Why they didn't do this for the DVD release, I'll never know.

The 1936 James Whale directed version is certainly the most faithful to the show, and has incomparable performances from Irene Dunne, Helen Morgan, and Paul Robeson, among others. But the slickness of the 1951 version, and William Warfield's unmatched singing on "Ol' Man River" still make it my choice.

Now, back to read the notes.

[Dan (the Man)]

The Me Me Me Media Check

CD Player (at home):  Brian Wilson--Smile.  OMG, this is awful!  The music critics were falling over themselves this week praising this CD as the second coming, but to me it's loud, unvaring noise.  I don't know how (or why) I listened to the whole thing.

CD Player (at work) Sissor Sisters.  Now this is good music!

DVD Player:  Nothing, actually.

VHS:  Nothing there, either.

[Jay]

Thank you, Dear Readers elmore 3003, Michael Shayne and MattH for the 411 on the 1929 Showboat.  I learned something today.

[Jay]

I do feel it is my duty to declare for the record that my house has just not been the same without the pitter-patter of the feet of Dear Reader Jose.

[Dan-in-Toronto]

Pitter, patter, what's the matter with me?
Pitter, patter, rain is all that I see.

Where is my raincoat?  It's here somewhere.
Why wear a raincoat?  The weather's fair.
But ever since I saw him depart
It's been raining, raining in my heart.

[Matt H.]

I do, too, and feel the same about the recordings of almost all of Schwartz's shows.  It seems to me that when it comes time to record one of his shows, Schwartz flexes his arms and manages to get the recording producer to emphasize only the music and stripping out any feeling of personality and theatricality that the score has in performance.  As a result, his recordings are on the sterile side and his music is not nearly as interesting as it is in the theatre.

That's certainly true about PIPPIN which has no theatrical flavor to it at all. But I don't think that's true with the WICKED cast recording. And I find it very easy to get into. Loved it from the first moment I heard it.

[Ben]

Mr. Porter's television soundtrack for Aladdin did little to impress. I like the Supermarket in Old Peking number but I didn't find much else about to listen again.