THE BROADWAY SCENE-50 YEARS AGO--THE WRAP-UP

The season for comedy was better than most. It began with the Irish playwright Brendan Behan's untidy but often hilarious "The Hostage" boosted by Joan Littlewood's brilliant direction.
Neil Simon made his Broadway debut with the flimsy but hilariously funny "Come Blow Your Horn" and began his career as Broadway's top comedy playright. Jean Kerr gave us the delightfully witty "Mary, Mary" which became the comedy smash hit of the season, and "Rhinoceros" was Eugene Ionesco's dark comedic look at the human race shot into orbit by Zero Mostel's memorable performance.
"Period Of Adjustment" proved that Tennessee Williams[ talented as he is ]was out of his element trying to write a comedy, and "Under The Yum Yum Tree", Send Me No Flowers", "Critics Choice" and "Invitation To A March" had their good points but just were not good enough to compete with the better shows, and "Midgie Purvis" was a rickety comedy even with the great Tallulah Bankhead's brilliantly enthusiastic performance in the title role.
For revues we had "Vintage 60"which was friendly but totally out of place on Broadway and "Show Girl" with Carol Channing brilliantly comic in a number of funny sketches, but it was Mike Nichols and Elaine May with their hilarious two person revue that gave me my best Broadway experience that year. Just two people surrounded by talent.
There were two notable events Off-Broadway. The Phoenix Theatre,s mesmerizing take on "Hamlet" with Donald Madden giving a fine performance in the title role and Gene Genet's stunning play "The Blacks" beautifully directed by Gene Frankel.
For this incurable theatre geek it was a totally worthwhile season.

THE BROADWAY SCENE 50 YEARS AGO THE MUSICALS 1960-1961

It was a busy season for musicals with an even dozen bidding for acceptance. Of the dozen that came to town only two of them seemed truly successful. They were "Irma La Douce" with its' infectious music, brilliant direction by Peter Brook, and a dynamic performance by Elizabeth Seal, and "Carnival "with it's evocative music, brilliantly atmospheric staging by Gower Champion, and a fine company headed by the enchanting Anna Maria Alberghetti.
If the remaining ten were uneven in quality most provided a fair amount of entertainment. "Tenderloin" had a wonderful score and a problematic book. "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" had a weak book, a lively score, and a remarkably energetic performance by Tammy Grimes. "Wildcat" had some rousing songs and an engaging star in Lucille Ball but was otherwise a very weak show
"Do Re Me" had Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker as stars and was good fun because of them, and "Camelot" was stunning to look at but uninteresting to listen to.
"The Conquering Hero" had a funny book [based on a classic film] and a decent score but due to poor management was gone within a week.
"Thirteen Daughters" had a very engaging Don Ameche as star and handsome scenery and costumes, but was otherwise an impovershed salute to the then new state of Hawaii, and "The Happiest Girl In The World"tried to merge Aristophanes with Offenbach, but the result was a melodic but ponderous show.
The seasons' final musical was"Donnybrook" based on the film "The Quiet Man" and it was a pleasantly undistinguished,but decently entertaining show.
The next blog will wrap up the season.

THE BROADWAY SCENE 50 YEARS AGO THE DRAMAS 1960-1961

As we head into another New York theatre season, I thought it might be fun to look back on what was happening on Broadway fifty years ago. I was going into my last year of high school ,was totally in love with theatre and saw quite alot of it that year.

It was a season of fine dramas with great performances. We had Peter Glenville's spectacular production of "Becket" with Laurence Olivier and Anthony Quinn mesmerizing in the leading roles. Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright were stunning in the squalid but riviting"A Taste Of Honey". "Advise And Consent" was an exciting political drama and "All The Way Home" was a lovely play with exquisite performances and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama that year. "The Wall" and " The Devil's Advocate" were both adapted from bestselling novels, but depite fine acting in both plays neither worked as drama and seemed heavy handed and dull as theatre.

"Big Fish, Little Fish" was a distinguished first play by the talented Hugh Wheeler and boasted some of the finest all-around acting of the season. "A Far Country" was an interesting look at the young Sigmund Freud's early experements with the human mind but "Mandingo" was an apallingly tastless look at slavery in the old south with bad acting and inept direction.
While" A Call On Kuprin" only ran 12 performances, it was a good, solid, theatrical look at the cold war, had some stunning scenery by Donald Oenslager, and first rate acting and direction. This was fine and sometimes exciting theatre and deserved a much better fate then it got.
"Face Of A Hero " was a dull, lifeless play that even Jack Lemmon's fine performance could not save but "Little Moon Of Alban" with Julie Harris giving a superb performance was a fine and sometimes moving look at Dublin during the political unrest of the 20s, and was far better than the 20 performances it ran.
My next blog will look at the season's musicals.









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A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC--------------REVISITED

With almost nothing happening on the New York theatre scene until late September, I went to revisit Trevor Nunn's elegant bandbox rethinking of " A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC" with its two new leads Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch replacing Catherine-Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury respectivly.
How do they compare with their predesessors? Well Ms. Peters is a fine actress and a wonderful singer and her rendition of the shows' best song "Send In The Clowns" is devestatingly beautiful,but her kewpie doll looks and generally cheerful disposition seemed at odds with her part and she never convinced me that she was a well traveled actress trying to make amends with her elderly and wise mother.
On the other hand, Ms. Stritch is wonderful as the mother delivering her lines with expert timing and doing her one solo "Laisons" with the skill of the superb actress that she is.
The rest of the show is in tip top shape and Hugh Wheeler's book and Stephen Sondeim's score seem even better now then they did when this production opened ten months ago even if the new orchestrations by Jason Carr don't serve Mr. Sondheim's classic score very well and can't even begin to compare with Jonathan Tunick's superb originals.
But despite certain reservations I may have this lovely rethinking of"A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC" is well worth seeing and provides one of the better theatre evenings in town.
AT THE WALTER KERR THEATRE 219 WEST 48th. STREET N.Y.C.