Remember in the old Steve Martin movie "The Jerk" when Navin Johnson gets all excited about seeing his name in the White Pages?
"The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!...I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book every day! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity...that makes people!"
Well, it's no great exaggeration to say that's pretty much how I felt earlier today when I received my copies of Life Begins at 8:40, the recent release from PS Classics for which I -- you're not-so-humble blogger -- wrote the frickin' liner notes. (See my previous embarrassingly gushy post.) The CD is available for pre-order now on Amazon and CD Universe, but since the good folks at PS Classics saw fit to send me a few extra copies, I thought I'd give one away as part of a little contest for my readers.
Here are five questions based on the various personnel who were involved in the original 1934 production of Life Begins at 8:40. I'll select a winner at random from the people who answer all the questions correctly. Please use the comments function below to submit your response. (Don't worry about other people seeing your answers. I moderate the comments on my blog, and I won't publish the answers until I've selected a winner.) The deadline for submission is midnight Friday, June 4th. [The drawing has taken place. Thanks to everyone who entered. I will be contacting the winners individually. --C.C.]
Good luck. And enjoy.
1. Composer Harold Arlen would go on to write the music for numerous Broadway shows, including one featuring a feminist storyline about the invention of a certain form of female undergarment. What was the name of this show? [ANSWER: Bloomer Girl (1944)]2. Co-lyricist Yip Harburg was recently represented on Broadway in a short-lived (sniff) revival of what is probably his best-known show. What is the name of the show? [ANSWER: Finian's Rainbow (1947)]
3. Co-lyricist Ira Gershwin took a break from working with his brother George to collaborate with Harburg on Life Begins at 8:40. George was otherwise engaged writing the ambitious score to which Gershwin masterpiece? [ANSWER: Porgy and Bess (1935)]
4. Bert Lahr appeared in a number of Broadway musicals during his long career. For which show did he win a Tony Award? [ANSWER: Foxy (1964)]
5. Ray Bolger was well known primarily for his virtuosic dancing in various revues prior to Life Begins at 8:40, but he became a true leading man when he went on to star in which Rodgers and Hart show? [ANSWER: On Your Toes (1936). Quite a few people answered By Jupiter (1942), but Bolger's role in On Your Toes was a genuine starring role, and it's what solidified him as a leading man in the eyes of Broadway producers. But in deference to readers who didn't think On Your Toes was a starring role, I entered everyone who answered By Jupiter into the drawing as well.]
EXTRA CREDIT: What other project do Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Bert Lahr, and Ray Bolger have in common? [ANSWER: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939)]
I doubt I'm even eligible, but I can never resist this sort of thing!
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
B: The Wizard of Oz (I once played the Lion and to toot my own horn refused to do anything like Bert Lahr and to my amazement it worked!)
Posted by: Kevin | June 01, 2010 at 10:13 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy & Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit: The Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Steven Jones | June 01, 2010 at 10:29 PM
1. BLOOMER GIRL
2. FINIAN'S RAINBOW
3. PORGY AND BESS
4. FOXY
5. HEADS UP
EXTRA CREDIT: THE WIZARD OF OZ
Posted by: Matt Tamanini | June 01, 2010 at 10:37 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
EC: Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Stephanie | June 01, 2010 at 10:51 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy - 1964 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit: The Wizard of Oz!
Posted by: Ally Duncan | June 01, 2010 at 11:03 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. By Jupiter
Bonus: The Wizard of Oz (and btw, its bErt not bUrt. ;-)
Posted by: Scott Breitbart | June 02, 2010 at 12:01 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finnian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit "The Wizard of Oz"
How did I do.?? ;-/Chuck
Posted by: Chuck Walsh | June 02, 2010 at 12:07 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit: The Wizard of Oz
P.S. I saw the concert version of Life Begins at 8:40 at the Library of Congress this March and it was just magical!
Posted by: Patty | June 02, 2010 at 12:20 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian’s Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit: Wizard of Oz
God, I hope I get it!
Posted by: KeithPotts | June 02, 2010 at 12:44 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess, mainly with DuBose Heyward
4. Foxy (I'll be honest... Had to look that one up!)
5. On Your Toes! (Had to look that one up too...)
Extra Credit: Wizard of Oz (the 1939 film, not the 1903 Broadway Show :-D)
Posted by: Neil Reilly | June 02, 2010 at 01:36 AM
1) Bloomer Girl
2) Finian's Rainbow
3) Porgy and Bess
4) Foxy
5) On Your Toes
XTRA CREDIT: The Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Barry | June 02, 2010 at 02:08 AM
Good morning. Enjoy your blog quite a bit.
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
Extra: The Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Tom | June 02, 2010 at 08:00 AM
#1. "Bloomer Girl"
#2. "Finian's Rainbow"
#3. "Porgy and Bess"
#4. "Foxy" - Bert Lahr played 'Jim Fox'
#5. "By Jupiter". He was also in "On Your Toes" in 1936 - but not in a 'starring' capacity/leading man.
Xrta: "The Wizard of Oz"
I JUST found your site and LOVE it!!! We have sooo much in common ... of course your site is such a perfect place ... so well put together. Mine is pure amateur ... but you can see me at: http://brianonbroadway.blogspot.com/
or www.briansemple.com
Posted by: Brian Semple | June 02, 2010 at 09:27 AM
1) BLOOMER GIRL
2) FINIAN'S RAINBOW
3) PORGY & BESS
4) FOXY
5) ON YOUR TOES
EC) THE WIZARD OF OZ
Posted by: Ian Flynn | June 02, 2010 at 09:28 AM
1> Bloomer Girl 2> Finian's Rainbow 3> Porgy and Bess 4> Foxy 5> On Your Toes EC.Wizard of Oz
Posted by: GB | June 02, 2010 at 10:12 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
EC: Wizard of Oz
Posted by: David | June 02, 2010 at 10:28 AM
1.) Bloomer Girl
2.) Finian's Rainbow
3.) Porgy and Bess
4.) Foxy
5.) On Your Toes
EC.) The Wizard of Oz (1939); Arlen/Harburg: score; Lahr: Cowardly Lion/Zeke; Bolger: Scarecrow/Hunk
Posted by: Pobrien | June 02, 2010 at 10:39 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finians Rainbow
3. Porgy & Bess
4. Foxy - 1964
5. On Your Toes
Extra Credit - The Wizard of Oz
Am I disqualified because of the friends and family rule?
Posted by: Michael Weingart | June 02, 2010 at 11:55 AM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. By Jupiter
EXTRA CREDIT: The Wizard of Oz!
Posted by: William June | June 02, 2010 at 01:11 PM
1) Bloomer Girl
2) Finian's Rainbow
3) Porgy & Bess
4) Foxy
5) I think he was in BOTH On Your Toes & By Jupiter
Extra Credit - Wizard of Oz comes to mind
BTW, for an expat New Yorker living in musical starved Portland, OR, I really enjoy reading your blog. If I don't win, I'll certainly plan on buying the CD anyway.
Posted by: David Baer | June 02, 2010 at 03:42 PM
1. Composer Harold Arlen would go on to write the music for numerous Broadway shows, including one featuring a feminist storyline about the invention of a certain form of female undergarment. What was the name of this show?
Bloomer Girl
2. Co-lyricist Yip Harburg was recently represented on Broadway in a short-lived (sniff) revival of what is probably his best-known show. What is the name of the show?
Finian's Rainbow
3. Co-lyricist Ira Gershwin took a break from working with his brother George to collaborate with Harburg on Life Begins at 8:40. George was otherwise engaged writing the ambitious score to which Gershwin masterpiece?
Porgy and Bess
4. Bert Lahr appeared in a number of Broadway musicals during his long career. For which show did he win a Tony Award?
Foxy
5. Ray Bolger was well known primarily for his virtuosic dancing in various revues prior to Life Begins at 8:40, but he became a true leading man when he went on to star in which Rodgers and Hart show?
On Your Toes
EXTRA CREDIT: What other project do Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Bert Lahr, and Ray Bolger have in common?
The Wizard of Oz 1939 Film
Posted by: Brad Reinking | June 02, 2010 at 04:22 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. On Your Toes
EC. The Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Adam Baratz | June 02, 2010 at 08:37 PM
1) Bloomer Girl
2) Finian's Rainbow
3) Rhapsody in Blue
4) Foxy
5) On Your Toes
Extra: The Wizard of Oz
(This may be a duplicate. I've never posted before so wasn't sure it went through when I didn't see it.)
Posted by: Dbricker | June 02, 2010 at 10:43 PM
1. "Bloomer Girl" (1944)
2. "Finian's Rainbow" (short-lived revival, but the Tonys did not forget, at least)
3. "Porgy and Bess" (1935)
4. "Foxy", Best Actor in a Musical (1964)
5. "By Jupiter" (1942)
EXTRA CREDIT
It could only be the film The Wizard of Oz, with Arlen and Harburg writing the songs, and Bert Lahr and Ray Bolger playing The Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow, respectively.
My fingers are crossed!
Posted by: Walter L. Hollmann | June 02, 2010 at 11:02 PM
1. Bloomer Girl
2. Finian's Rainbow
3. Porgy and Bess
4. Foxy
5. By Jupiter (which opened today, June 3, in 1942)
Extra Credt: The Wizard of Oz
Posted by: Craig Butler | June 03, 2010 at 02:56 PM