In 1981, the musical version of the film opened on Broadway- 30 years ago today. For Broadway, the story was slightly altered and now the wife was a famous tv journalist and her husband a cartoonist, with the musical told somewhat in flashback.
John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the score and Peter Stone wrote the book. This was Bacall's second outing in a musical having scored very well in 1970 with Applause. While she might not be the best singer, she manages to hold her own with the rest of the cast and has an amazing presence that comes through loud and clear on the cast recording. Bacall won the Tony award for Best Actress.
The show ran for 770 performances and notable replacements were Raquel Welch and Debbie Reynolds with Barbara Eden starring in the national tour. Notable songs are "Sometimes a Day Goes By" and "The Grass is Always Greener" with costar Marilyn Cooper, who won the Best Supporting Actress Tony for her role as the wife of Bacall's ex-husband. Unfortunately the cd is now out of print.
Trailer for the 1942 film
Raquel Welch and Marilyn Cooper sings "The Grass is Always Greener" from the Tony Awards
No comments:
Post a Comment