Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the first symphony of Edward Rubbra, a Brit composer I never revisit enough. Eleven symphonies, many concertos – but not really of the pastoral school – his music is more visceral and always compelling, and yes, with moments of lovely lyricism. So, I’ll enjoy reacquainting myself with Rubbra. In other news, I watched no movie last night but did watch a nice fifty-minute thing on Walter Matthau, filled with fun interviews with is co-workers, including Jack Lemmon, Neil Simon, Julie Harris, Ossie Davis, Edward Dmytrk (director of Mirage), Herb Ross, and others, including Mr. Matthau. Otherwise, I got over eight hours of sleep, felt I was feeling better and could breathe easier, but that turned out to be fleeting because what happens is the more the day progresses the more the shortness of breath comes back, then it abates, then gets worse. I didn’t cough as much, thankfully, but it really is at its worse the later it gets, like now. I just took it easy all day. For food, I had Uncle Bernie’s again – this time the matzo ball soup, which was excellent and I do think it has healing properties, so I may even go for that again today, and an egg salad sandwich – not great, not bad, but at least they didn’t charge me for putting a piece of lettuce on it. Might try a different sandwich today. I had no telephonic conversation, but we’re pretty much set with the Kritzerland show cast, so that’s a good thing. Trying to set the musical director now and then we can get tickets on sale and do our flyer. In the interesting department (at least to me), I happened to read something on Facebook from an actor who’d appeared in the closed out of town musical, Dumas and Son, out of town meaning the Curran Theater in San Francisco in 1967. It premiered right here in LA at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a commissioned musical from Edwin Lester, who turned to two writers he thought highly of and from whom he’d commissioned many musicals over the years – Robert Wright and George Forrest – always hoping they’d deliver another Kismet (which Lester had commissioned). But they never did, despite many tries. They simply kept going back to the well of Kismet – lyrics to a classical composer’s melodies – Kismet being Alexander Borodin.
I’ll mention their output because it’s certainly interesting. First Lester commission was Song of Norway, set to the music of Edvard Grieg. A hit right out of the gate, selling out in LA and San Francisco, and playing over 800 performances on Broadway. Then came something called Gypsy Lady using the music of Victor Herbert. Big flop, running 79 performances. Then came Magdalena, set to music by one of my favorite composers, Heitor Villa-Lobos. Big flop, running 88 performances. Next, The Great Waltz, which had already run on Broadway for 289 performances and had become an MGM movie musical – but Wright and Forrest had nothing to do with it until – wait for it – Edwin Lester commissioned them to write new lyrics to the melodies of Johann Strauss and Johann Strauss II. That version never played Broadway after its LA and San Francisco runs, but did have a very successful run in London in 1970 at the Drury Lane, and that got a film version in 1972, which received some of the most hilariously bad reviews in movie history – my favorite pull quote was, “Watching The Great Waltz is like sticking your finger down your throat.”
Then paydirt with Kismet – a successful but not earth-shattering run on Broadway, a hit MGM musical and more revivals than you can shake a stick at, with Stranger in Paradise and Baubles, Bangles, and Beads becoming oft-recorded pop hits. Then came Lester again with At the Grand, a musical of Grand Hotel, but this time with original music by Wright and Forrest – a first for the Lester commissions. It starred Paul Muni. It did good business but closed in San Francisco due to Muni’s health. It took Tommy Tune to figure out the issues with Luther Davis’ original book, much tinkering and many new songs by Maury Yeston to help things, Tune turned the show into a hit. All that remained of the Wright and Forrest songs, which got all new arrangements were, as far as I can tell, We’ll Take a Glass Together, I Waltz Alone, What You Need, and maybe a few snippets of other things. Next came something called The Love Doctor – also original music and lyrics – only played London, directed by Albert Marre, and thus far the only project not commissioned by Edwin Lester. In fact, after Anya (set to the music of Rachmaninoff), and Kean (original music and lyrics), the final Lester commission was Dumas and Son. Sorry for the history lesson, but I find their theater career fascinating, and I really enjoyed working with both men on The Anastasia Affaire and then a reading of the musical Betting on Bertie, which had delightful songs and in which I appeared for the all-star reading as Pongo Pilkington. That was fun.
I would like to have seen Dumas and Son – very opulent, set to the music of Camille Saint-Saens. But I was finishing the run of Stop the World – I Want to Get Off at LACC and was a poor college type, although I did manage to see lots of movies in that time frame and I was working at Wallichs Music City if memory serves. But theater tickets were much more than movie tickets. The week Dumas and Son opened, the choice of movies was incredible and as soon as Stop the World closed I had a little time and money to movie hop. Frequently, I worked the evening shift at Wallichs or the day shift which finished at five. I know I saw You Only Live Twice at the Chinese – first Bond I didn’t really love – I’d already seen Blow-Up at my old neighborhood theater, the Lido, I was kind of obsessed with Two for the Road, playing exclusively at the Bruin, Woman Times Seven I’d seen at a sneak preview and hated, Divorce American Style I saw at the Village. I’d seen The Sand Pebbles and The Bible in Cleveland when I was on tour, so didn’t need to see those again, I’d already seen Thoroughly Modern Millie three times, had no interest in seeing Hawaii and to this day I’ve never been able to stand more than thirty minutes of it, Barefoot in the Park was in its fifth week at the Plaza in Westwood and I’d seen it three times, I know I saw the Sinatra movie The Naked Runner but I could not tell you a single thing about it – has it ever been on home video? I’d like to see it again. I also know I saw The War Wagon, but it was not a great movie. For whatever reason, I did not see Don’t Make Waves or Hurry Sundown. Oh, and of course, I saw a preview of The Dirty Dozen at the Chinese, and when it opened across the street at the Paramount, I saw it several times. APA was doing three shows in rep at the Huntington Hartford – I loved their work but I’d never heard of any of the plays, so I didn’t go. In fact, I saw no theater before going back to the new semester at LACC. Barefoot in the Park, trying to capitalize on the movie, was playing at the Las Palmas with Margaret O’Brien, Pat Carroll, Alan Reed, Jr., Alan Reed, Sr. and Sid Melton – it was fifteen weeks into its run.
Well, that was a long detour off a short pier, wasn’t it. That just went on and on, didn’t it? I should think that it’s time to move to today before I go off on another tangential tangent.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully feel a bit better, I’ll eat, I’ll list at least three more items, including some movie stills and a couple of books that might be of interest to folks, as well as a couple more Kritzerland OOP CDs. I don’t think I’ll go anywhere today, just hang out and watch, listen, and relax.
The weekend is more of that, and then Monday I see the neurologist and we’ll see what he makes of my malady. And then we’ll hopefully finish casting, get the actors the music to learn, but I already have resigned myself that we’ve already lost at least a week and a half of rehearsal, which is not good.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, hopefully feel a bit better, eat, list some more items, hang out, and watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray/streaming player? I’ll start – CD, Rubbra. Blu-ray, the Brit Maigret TV series. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall hopefully feel better and my shortness of breath will stop pulling a Grand Hotel – it comes, it goes, like Grand Hotel.