Once in America, German composer Kurt Weill had two big hits (out of eight) on B’way before his early death in 1950. The groundbreaking psychological play with music LADY IN THE DARK, and this enchanting & sophisticated entertainment about a statue of Venus who comes to life, causing havoc for the collector who bought her and the young barber who playfully put his fiancé’s ring on her finger. The reps of both shows permanently damaged by lousy film adaptations: LADY a career misstep for Ginger Rogers in ‘44 and a nothing-burger version of VENUS with Ava Gardner in ‘48. With most of the score dropped from each film, it’s always been tough to get a feel for either show. (Both have been recorded complete.*) And for that taste of the work of S. J. Perelman on the book and Ogden Nash for his witty lyrics, we can be grateful for this rather inadequate tv version picked up from, of all places, a Dallas State Fair production. There’s quite a good cast with Janet Blair, looking like Janet Leigh and sounding much like original Venus Mary Martin; George Gaynes, fresh from partnering Roz Russell in WONDERFUL TOWN as the collector; and Russell Nype, fresh from winning a Tony as Ethel Merman’s assistant in CALL ME MADAM. At a spare 80 minutes, the book barely makes sense, but most of the songs survive and most are wonderful. ‘Speak Low’ best known, but ‘That’s Him;’ ‘The Trouble With Women’ (a barbershop quartet sung in a barbershop; ‘Foolish Heart;’ and especially ‘I’m a Stranger Here Myself’ waiting to be rediscovered. This telecast is really no more than a ‘get to know you’ opportunity, but it certainly beats the inept film.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *The complete VENUS score was recorded with Melissa Errico years after she became an overnight NYC Toast of the Town appearing in an ENCORES! semi-staged reclamation of the show.
LINK/DOUBLE-BILL: Weill’s little known wartime musical fantasy, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?/45 (with lyrics by Ira Gershwin his collaborator on LADY IN THE DARK and the brilliant doomed FIREBRAND OF FLORENCE) is a real charmer, with an hilarious tour de force mini-operetta dream sequence in ‘THE NINA, THE PINTA, THE SANTA MARIA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P13CWlPjJ44
No comments:
Post a Comment