When " WHERES CHARLEY?" was first done in 1948 it received middling reviews, but because of it's star Ray Bolger and the popularity of one of its songs it became a money making hit running 792 performances and becoming a sucessful film as well.
It was based on the classic comedy "Charley's Aunt" by Brandon Thomas and if the book by George Abbott was on the rickety side the music and lyrics by Frank Loesser[ his first Broadway score] were charming and revealed Mr. Loesser to be a major addition to the Broadway scene.
The score is the reason for the excellent Encores concert reading presented last weekend at City Center and it was a joy to discover how fresh and meldodic it was and the great Encores orchestra conducted by Rob Berman made the score sound as fresh as ever and the original orchestrations by Phillip J. Lang, Hans Spialek and Ted Royal are a joy to listen to.
The stage direction by John Doyle and the choreography by Alex Sanchez are lively and the cast is full of energy.
While "Where's Charley?" was never considered a classic its' score is delightful and Encores deserves a big thank you for letting us hear it again.
At THE CITY CENTER 131 WEST 55th STREET N.Y.C.
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Five weeks between blogs is too long Jeff.
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