Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals

Contest - Win a Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill CD

One of my favorite theatrical experiences of this past season was seeing the lustrous Audra McDonald in the play Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, so much so that I went back a second time just to bask in Audra's glow.

Now, the good folks at PS Classics have seen fit to release a live, two-CD set of the the entire show. I just got mine, and I can't wait to settle down a give 'er a listen. 

But I also have a copy to give away, and as I periodically do on this blog, I've come up with a series of trivia questions about Audra, Billie Holiday, and whatnot to make things a little interesting. If you'd like to enter the contest, please answer the trivia questions in the comment section below. (Don't worry: I won't publish your answers until the contest is over.) I'll select a random winner from all of the correct entries. 

(The contest ended Friday, July 18th, 2014 - The winner has been notified. Thanks to everyone who entered. -C.C.)

All right, folks. Ready, set, Audra. 

1. For what show, and for which role, did Audra McDonald win her first Tony Award? [ANSWER: Carrie Pipperidge, Carousel]  
2. With her most recent Tony win, Audra not only won a record-breaking sixth Tony Award, the most of any actor of either gender, she also gained a certain unprecedented Tony distinction. What was that distinction? [ANSWER: She's the first actress to win in all four acting categories] 
3. Lonny Price, the director of the current production of Lady Day, in his earlier days created a significant role in a Stephen Sondheim musical. What was the musical and the role? [ANSWER: Charley Kringas, Merrily We Roll Along]  
4. One of Holiday's most iconic songs was "Strange Fruit." What does the title refer to? [ANSWER: It refers to the lynching of African American men]  
5. Which performer received an Academy Award nomination for portraying Billie Holiday, and in which movie? [ANSWER: Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues]

TIE-BREAKER: In the play Lady Day, Billie Holiday tells a story about confronting a racist restaurant hostess. What action does Holiday take at the end of this confrontation? [ANSWER: The restaurant hostess refuses to let Billie Holiday use the bathroom, so Holiday proceeds to urinate on the floor.]  

Contest - Two Free Tickets to Murder for Two Off-Broadway

You may have heard that the new musical Murder for Two, now playing at the New World Stages, announced today that the production is now selling tickets through July. Take it from me, that's a good thing. I've seen the show twice, and I'm ready to go back for more. (Read my review.) The show is delightful, with a bouncy score and witty lyrics from a new writing team (Joe Kinosian, book and music, Kellen Blair, book and lyrics). The show also features crack comic direction by Scott Schwartz. 

The show is a two-hander in which the performers not only play a large variety of characters, they also accompany each other, and sometimes themselves, on the piano. The two actors in question help make the show a delight, namely Brett Ryback as the "detective," and until recently the formidable Jeff Blumenkrantz playing all of the suspects. Author Joe Kinosian has stepped into the role, one which he played for an extended period during the show's extended Chicago run. Blumenkrantz was so iconic, so I'll be very interested to see Kinosian put his personal twist on the role. 

If you haven't seen Murder for Two already, here's your chance. I have two tickets to see the show, and they can be yours if you answer the following five questions correctly. In the very likely event that there's more than one person who gets all of the questions right, I will randomly select a winner from all the correct responses. Please answer the questions via the comment function below. (Don't worry: I won't publish anyone's answers until after I select the winner.) 

Good luck! 

[The contest is now closed. The winner has been selected and notified. Thanks to all who entered. --C.C.]

1. Murder for Two features one performer who plays all of the murder suspects. Which currently running show contains a role in which a performer plays all of the murder victims?

2. In Murder for Two, when we discover who the real killer is, it's a pretty significant surprise. (In other words, I very much doubt that you'll see it coming.) Which other very recent, small-cast, Off-Broadway musical featured a murder for which the actual killer was kind of a shock? 

3. Jeff Blumenkrantz has been a working performer in New York for many years, but he's also a successful composer and lyricist. In which short-lived musical did Blumenkrantz make his Broadway debut as a composer? 

4. Scott Schwartz is no stranger to directing comic musicals. In which campy, Off-Broadway, bloodbath of a show did Schwartz make his New York City directorial debut? 

5. Murder for Two played a previous engagement under he auspices Second Stage Theatre. Which other two-character musical recently enjoyed a revival at the venerable 2ST? 

Contest - Win Two Tickets to Leap of Faith on Broadway

So, you didn't win the tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar? Well, here's another chance to catch a brand new Broadway show absolutely free.

We've been hearing for a few years now about the stage adaptation of "Leap of Faith," the 1992 movie starring Steve Martin. Now the musical Leap of Faith has finally made it to Broadway, with lyrics by Glenn Slater, music by Alan Menken, and a book by Warren Leight and Janus Cercone. The show is directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. Performances begin at the St. James Theater in New York on April 3rd.

But, of course, as with all my contests, there's a certain price of admission. A trivia contest! Below are some questions regarding the cast as crew of Leap of Faith and their respective theatrical careers. If you'd like to be entered for the drawing, please answer the questions as best you can and submit your answers below via the comment function at the bottom of this post. (Don't worry: I won't publish anyone's answers until the contest is over.)

The voucher is good for two tickets for weekday/matinee performances of Leap of Faith through Sunday, May 6. The contest ends Monday, April 2nd.

Good luck!

[The contest is over and the winner has been notified. Thanks to everyone who entered. -C.C.]

1. Alan Menken and Glenn Slater are certainly no strangers to Broadway. In fact, they already have another show currently running on Broadway. What's the name of this show? And what's the name of the first show that they worked on together that played Broadway? [ANSWER: Sister Act and The Little Mermaid, respectively.]

2. Raul Esparza is one of only two actors who have been nominated in all four male actor categories for the Tony Awards. What were the shows for which he received nominations in the categories for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Featured Actor in a Musical? [ANSWER: Best Actor in a Musical: Company Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Taboo]

3. Jessica Phillips will play the role of Marla in Leap of Faith. Phillips replaces which iconic actress who played the role when the show played its out-of-town tryout in Los Angeles? [ANSWER: Brooke Shields]

4. Co-librettist Warren Leight is yet another in a series of award-winning playwrights who have been called upon to pen musical librettos. For which of his plays did Leight with the Tony Award? [ANSWER: Side Man]

5. Director Christopher Ashley has a long list of Broadway credits to his name. For which currently running Broadway musical did he receive his second Tony nomination for Best Direction of a Musical? [ANSWER: Memphis]

Contest - Win Two Tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar Revival on Broadway

As you may have read, two formidable cultural icons are making double comebacks on Broadway this season: Jesus Christ and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The former is represented by both Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar, while the latter has Evita and...Jesus Christ Superstar.

(Click through on the Godspell link above to read my review. I'll be seeing both Evita and JCS later this week. Watch for my reviews.)

I've been hearing great things about the new Jesus Christ Superstar, which has played successful and acclaimed engagements at both the Stratford Festival and in La Jolla. My sources tell me that director Des McAnuff has breathed new life into the piece, which already features one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most ambitious and accomplished scores, not to mention the sharp and erudite lyrics of Tim Rice. I'm eagerly anticipating seeing the show again, and greatly look forward to communicating my views of the show to you, dear reader.

Now, here's a chance for you to see the show yourself. I have here a voucher two tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar. (The voucher is good for performances from March 27th to April 26th on Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays at 2 pm and 7 pm, and Thursdays at 7 pm)

Below are five trivia questions about the show and its authors. Answer the questions as best you can and I will randomly draw a winner from all of the entries with the correct responses. (You can submit your answers via the comment link below. Don't worry: I won't publish your comment until the contest is over.) The contest ends Monday, March 19th.

Good luck!

PLEASE NOTE: The contest is over and the winner has been notified. The answers to the trivia questions are below. Thanks to everyone who entered. --C.C.

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice worked together on a number of shows in the early years of their careers. What are the names of their two other shows that have played on Broadway? [ANSWER: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita]

2. Before they struck gold with their big commercial successes, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborated on a show that wasn't actually produced until 2005. What was the name of that show? [ANSWER: The Likes of Us]

3. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber have collaborated, albeit infrequently, since they parted ways after Evita. What was the name of the show they wrote for Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday? [ANSWER: Cricket]

4. What was the name of the song that Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote that won them the Academy Award? [ANSWER: "You Must Love Me"]

5. What's Andrew Lloyd Webber's last name? [ANSWER: "Lloyd Webber" is ALW's technical last name, not "Webber," although one observant reader pointed out that "Lloyd" is actually ALW's father's middle name, and that "Lloyd" isn't historically part of the family's surname, but rather a relatively recent addition to same. So there.]

The Best Closing Lines From Musicals

Recently on Twitter, my friend Howard Sherman (@HESherman) started a hashtag topic on the best closing lines from the stage (#beststageclosinglines).

Needless to say, I contributed a few of my own, and I'm sure you won't be surprised that they were mostly from musicals. (Although I did include "Blow out your candles, Laura." Chills.) But after a half-dozen entries or so, I decided that it might be fun to put together a blog post with some of my favorite closing lines from musicals.

Now, I didn't necessarily take the phrase "closing lines" literally. It's a bit easier with plays, but with musicals, you very frequently have a final reprise or a medley. Some of the items listed below are the actual final words uttered during the show, but in many cases, they're simply the last meaningful lines, whether spoken or sung. And by "meaningful," I was simply going for something that was distinctive but not necessarily a giveaway.

So, for instance, you won't find Gypsy represented below, because the last line in that show is, "Madam Rose...and her daughter, Gypsy!" I mean, where's the fun in that? But you also won't find Fiddler on the Roof here, because the last line there is, "Come, children. Let's go." Even I would have a tough time with that one, so I certainly wouldn't want to foist so vague a reference upon you, dear reader. That's not to say that there aren't some hard ones here. Some of these are quite tough.

So, give 'er a crack. No prize this time, but feel free to submit your answers as comments below. I'll only publish the answers in a week or so, at which time I will also publish the correct answers.

Good luck.

1. "Where the devil are my slippers?"
2. "Miss Jones...Take a wire to the White House: Watch out!"
3. "So many possibilities."
4. "Te adoro, Anton."
5. "Happy birthday, Robert!"
6. "I wish!"
7. "Don't deny your beast inside!" 
8. "Achoo!"
9. "You choose."
10. "What adventures we're going to have together!"
11. "Mrs. Paroo! That's Winthrop!"
12. "And I'm very glad we're going to be working together." 
13. "Turn around, girlfriend. And listen to that boy's song." 
14. "Hail, Malthus!" 
15. "You just want to laugh at my French accent. All right, but you've got to help me." 
16. "I'm so lucky!" 
17. "You must always leave the wall." 
18. "I want to remember each man's face as he signs." 
19. "But we are the living examples of what a wonderful country this is." 
20. "Don't feed the plants!" 
21. "I loved you, Julie! Know that I loved you!"
22. "I told ye when ye love someone deeply anythin' is possible. Even miracles."
23. "Yeah, I'm all choked up." 
24. "It was the end of the world...and we were both fast asleep."
25. "Father into your hands I commend my spirit."
26. "You have the power of Pandora's Box, Lee. Open it."
27. "Son, if you are only as happy and your mother and I, my heart will bleed for you." 
28. "I'll tell the world this is a lousy job."
29. "Next!"
30. "Only the last."
31. EXTRA CREDIT: What's the significance of the Curtains logo above?

Contest - Win Two Tickets to Follies on Broadway

I'm not really a summer person. I never really have been. I've always looked forward to the fall, partly because my birthday is in September, but also because, when I was in school, I always looked forward to the the new academic year. (Yeah, I'm kind of a dork.) And now that I'm teaching full-time, I'm filled with that same sense of eager anticipation when August rolls around.

Of course, autumn also brings the promise of the new theater season, and, I don't know about you, but I'm becoming pretty darned excited. Sure, some folks are lamenting the relative paucity of new musicals. So far, the announced crop of new tuners is somewhat thinner than last year's crop. (Watch this space for a preview of new musicals for the upcoming Broadway season.)

But last season there were only two musical revivals on Broadway, whereas this season we're likely to see at least a half dozen. Of course, there's the eagerly anticipated new production of Porgy and Bess, which I'll be seeing twice during its run at the American Repertory Theatre. Plus there's Godspell, Evita, and potentially Jesus Christ Superstar, not to mention a significantly revised version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

But for Stephen Sondheim aficionados, the clear favorite will undoubtedly be Follies, a show that, to date, has found greater success in its recordings and concert presentations than in open-ended, fully staged productions. Follies had a decidedly lackluster revival in 2001, which, despite direction by Matthew Warchus and choreography by Kathleen Marshall, just kinda fell flat on the stage of the Belasco Theatre. For me, the problem was partly one of casting. The four central players -- Blythe Danner (Phyllis), Judith Ivey (Sally), Gregory Harrison (Ben), and Treat Williams (Buddy) -- somehow didn't mesh to create an emotionally moving core for the production, despite the considerable talents of these individual performers.

Ten years later, we have another chance to see Follies on Broadway, under the auspices of the Kennedy Center, where this production played a well-received engagement earlier this year. The production has transferred nearly intact for a limited run at Broadway's Marquis Theatre, with Eric Schaeffer and Warren Carlyle repeating their duties as director and choreographer, respectively. Much of the stellar cast has made the transfer as well, including headliners Bernadette Peters, Ron Raines, Jan Maxwell, and Danny Burstein. The supporting cast features such Broadway stalwarts as Jayne Houdyshell, Terri White, Mary Beth Peil, Susan Watson, and Florence Lacey, not to mention London regular Elaine Paige.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Well, if you're as eager as I am, I'm sure you'd love the chance to win a couple of tickets to see the show. Well, look no further, dear reader. Below are a few Follies trivia questions. Please submit your answers as a comment below. I will select a winner randomly from all entries with the correct responses. (Don't worry: I will only publish the comments after I have selected the winner.)

Good luck!

The contest is over, and the winner has been notified. Thanks to everyone who played!

1. The original working title for Follies remains with the show as the title of one of the show's songs. Which song is it? [The answer I was looking for was The Girls Upstairs, but as many of you pointed out the name of the song is actually "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs." So I accepted either answer.]

2.  Stephen Sondheim and co-director Hal Prince were supposedly inspired to create Follies by a photo of a legendary silent-film star standing amid the wreckage of a demolished movie theater. Who was the star and what was the theater? [The film star was Gloria Swanson and it was the Roxy]

3. As often happens with shows under development, lots of songs came and went during the tryout period for Follies. Which song did the now-classic "I'm Still Here" replace? ["Can That Boy Foxtrot"]

4. Many of the original stars of Follies have passed away, but one of the original leading players is still going strong, and is currently appearing on Broadway in another musical revival. Who is this performer, and which show is he or she performing in? [John McMartin is in Anything Goes. And he's pretty frickin' amazing in it, too.]

5. Sondheim has described most of the songs in Follies as pastiche, i.e. homages to classic songs, or to particular composers and lyricists. For example, "The Story of Lucy and Jessie" was a homage to "The Saga of Jenny" from Lady in the Dark. And Sondheim intended "Losing My Mind" as "a Gershwin tune with a Dorothy Fields lyric." So, what classic theater song is "Beautiful Girls" an homage to? And in which series of shows (hint, hint) did the song originally appear? [The song is "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody," and it first appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies.]

The Fine Print: The tickets are good for Tuesday through Thursday performances between August 16th and September 29th. The contest deadline is midnight EST, Thursday, August 11th, 2011.

Mutiny! - CD Review and Contest

Shortly after I got out of college in the mid '80s, I took my first trip to London. It was my first time out of the country (unless you count my sixth-grade trip with the Boy Scouts to Montreal). Even then, I was a tad obsessive about musical theater, and in the six days we spent in London, we saw five shows.

The only reason we didn't see six shows was that, at the time, there were absolutely no shows that played on Sundays, and even now, there are only a handful. Of course, that number doesn't even begin to rival some of my more recent theatrical jaunts, at least in terms of daily dramatic density, but hey I was young, and short on funds.

Even so, we did get to see a fairly momentous array of shows, particularly in retrospect: Me and My Girl, Chess, Les Miserables, and Starlight Express. Yes, these shows all eventually made it to New York, but here's the important part: I saw them in London. And before anybody else I knew had even heard of most of them. At the time, that was very important to me, and I blush to admit it still holds a certain personal cachet.

We had lined up tickets to Les Miz, Chess, and Me and My Girl ahead of time, but then decided to take in Starlight Express upon arrival. Atrocious though that show may have been -- and still is -- I will never regret the night I spent at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, current home of the London production of Wicked. As I always say, as a teacher and student of musical theater, no night in the theater is ever a waste: I always learn something, even if it's what *not* to do. Starlight Distress, as I have dis-affectionately called the show ever since, taught me quite a lot about what makes bad musicals bad. Quite a lot.

It turns out that that particular trip to London also provided another opportunity to experience the instructive power of truly bad live theater, because we also decided to take in a performance of what was then a new musical called Mutiny!, based on the famed story of the mutiny on the Bounty. I'd like to think that my tastes in musical theater have refined over the decades, but even then, freshly out of college, I knew that Mutiny! was utterly dreadful.

I do have to say that the set to Mutiny!, designed by one William Dudley, was pretty frickin' amazing. Remember that this was the '80s, which was a time when Britain seemed to be coming into its own in musical theater, at least with respect to bloated blockbusters. It was a time of spectacle and excess, and Mutiny! was certainly no exception. The set for Mutiny! essentially comprised a scale replica of the good ship HMS Bounty, which rose on hydraulic lifts, spun around, and opened up to reveal the inner workings and compartments of the ship. When the boat opened up, the hull flattened out to form the playing space. It was an ingenious and impressive mechanical feat, one worthy of a much better show.

The music for Mutiny!, by David Essex, who also starred in the show as a would-be hunky Fletcher Christian, had a certain facile idiomatic flare, but the lyrics, by Essex and one Richard Crane, were utterly puerile and repetitive, sometimes both at the same time. One song, called "Friends," attempts to establish the relationship between Christian and Captain Bligh. Here's a sampling of the lyric:

Friends
You and I we, are friends
Friends right up to the end
We are friends

Once Bligh and Christian get to Tahiti, there's a song about breadfruit, which was the particular quarry and end-goal of the Bounty voyage. A sample lyric:

Breadfruit, breadfruit
Breadfruit trees
Food for the slaves
of the West Indies (with the stress on the last syllable: in-DEEZ)

But, why am I telling you all this? ("And you a...perfect stranger...") Well, because the Mutiny cast recording recently received its first CD release, and it gave me a chance to revisit the amateurish horror that was Mutiny!. I accidentally ordered an additional copy of the CD, and figured I'd offer it as a contest prize for one of my lucky readers.

"Um...wait, Chris. You just spent untold paragraphs trashing the show. Why would I want to win a copy of the CD?" A good question, my perspicacious reader. Because I know that many of you are just as obsessive as I am about musical theater, and equally fascinated with forgotten flops and turgid train wrecks.

So, here are some trivia questions directly and tangentially related to Mutiny! and its staff. I'll select a winner from the names of everyone who gets all of the following questions right, and that reader will become the proud owner of his or her very own Mutiny! CD. Sure to become a collectors item. And, heck, it's not *that* bad. As I said, some of the music is quite good, even if the lyrics are nearly unbearable. And don't tell me that you don't have a CD or two or some godawful shows that for some reason still fascinate you on some level.

[The contest is over. Thanks to everyone who participated. The winner has been notified. --C.C.]

So here goes. And best of luck.

1. David Essex had a fair amount of success as a pop singer in the '70s. What was his only Billboard Top 40 hit? ANSWER: "Rock On"

2. Which iconic historical role did Essex originate in the London production of a particular musical? And who will be playing that role in an upcoming Broadway revival of that show? ANSWER: I was going for Evita and Ricky Martin, but I would have accepted Godspell and Gavin Creel.

3. Name four Hollywood hunks who have played the character Fletcher Christian in movie versions of the Bounty mutiny. (Three are dead, and one might as well be.) ANSWER: Errol Flynn, Marlon Brando, Clark Gable and ::shudder:: Mel Gibson.

4. Mutiny! played London's Piccadilly Theatre. The next production at the Piccadilly will be the musical adaptation of what sentimental 1990 movie favorite? ANSWER: Ghost - The Musical

5. In the text above, I make the following veiled reference: "But, why am I telling you all this? ('And you a...perfect stranger...')" What 1980s musical am I alluding to here? ANSWER: "I Love a Film Cliche," from A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine.

Please enter your answers as comments below. I will only publish the comments after I have selected the winner.

Contest: Win Two Tickets to Night Music With Bernadette and Elaine

As you may know, the current revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music was originally supposed to close in June upon the departure of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. But, subsequent to the show's closure announcement, the producers announced that the show would reopen with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. The new cast has been in previews since July 13th, toward a new opening night on August 1st.

I know that I can't wait to see these wonderfully talented women in their respective roles; I'll be taking in a performance on July 31st. In the meantime, I've also obtained a free pair of tickets for one of my lucky readers. The tickets are valid until September 5, 2010.

Of course, I'm not just going to *give* the tickets away. That would be too easy. Below are five trivia questions related to the show and its lovely new leading ladies. I'll select a random winner from everyone who answers all five correctly. The contest deadline will be midnight EST on Friday, July 30th. You can enter your answers in the comments section below. I won't publish the comments until the contest deadline has passed.

Good luck!

1. Which African American actress took over the part of the Witch in Into The Woods upon Bernadette Peters' departure? [ANSWER: Phylicia Rashad. A number of people said Vanessa Williams, but Williams played the Witch in the revival, not the original production.]

2. Who replaced Bernadette Peters in Song and Dance, only to be replaced by Peters as the Witch during rehearsals for Into the Woods? [ANSWER: Betty Buckley. Quite a few people said Ellen Foley, but Foley was never in Song & Dance, at least according to IBDB.]

3. Which two shows was Elaine Stritch involved in on Broadway in the early 1950s that necessitated her hectic commute from Manhattan to New Haven and back? [ANSWER: Call Me Madam and Pal Joey. Most people got this one right, thanks to Elaine Stritch - At Liberty.]

4. The title of A Little Night Music is an homage to what piece of classical music, and who was the composer of that piece? [ANSWER: Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which is German for...well, I think you can get it from here.]

5. Stephen Sondheim set himself a challenge in composing to the music to A Little Night Music. What was that musical challenge? [ANSWER: To write the entire piece in triple meter, AKA 3/4 time and its brethren. As Sondheim has pointed out, the show does have the occasional non-triple meter thrown in. But most of the show is either in 3/4 or 12/8 or some other variant.]

The winner has been notified. Thanks to everyone who entered! --C.C.

Contest - Win a Life Begins at 8:40 CD

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)]

The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary CD -- Plus a Contest

Well, ladles and jelly spoons, it has officially been a half a century since the Broadway premier of The Sound of Music. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Broadway production, Sony has released a special commemorative CD of the original cast recording.

As is customary for these re-releases, this recording includes a number of bonus cuts, which here include a track from the long-out-of-print Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall. Three years before Julie Andrews would appear in what is now her most iconic role, she sang a parody version of The Sound of Music with Carol Burnett called "From Switzerland: The Pratt Family." The results are moderately amusing, but hardly memorable, but perhaps it will tide us over until Columbia decides to re-release the full CD. 

The two remaining bonus cuts are of marginally greater interest. There's a German version of "Edelweiss" culled from the first-ever Viennese production of The Sound of Music. And perhaps most interesting is the cut with Tommy Körberg, of Chess fame, doing a stirring rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" ("Sök dig till bergen").

And then there's the cast recording itself. Every year, in my musical-theater history course, we briefly (very briefly) discuss The Sound of Music, and I posit the notion that, while the show is a sentimental favorite among theatergoers, it in fact represents a regression in quality on the part of Rodgers and Hammerstein. A number of my students invariably react as though I've kicked a puppy. But these students are likely reflecting their affection for the movie version of "The Sound of Music," which in many respects is a considerable improvement over the stage show. Despite the immense popularity that the film has engendered, neither the film nor the stage play can even come close to the artistry of Oklahoma!, Carousel, or The King and I, nor even South Pacific, for that matter, and regular readers will recall that I consider South Pacific to be the most overrated musical ever.

But I must confess a certain fondness for The Sound of Music. I grew up listening to a bunch of LPs that my parents had of various stage shows and movie musicals, although in retrospect it's strange that they even had those LPs since they never really listened to music at all. But I did, and I greedily devoured the cast recordings to Godspell, Mame, and Oliver, as well as the soundtracks to "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music." That's probably where my obsession with musical theater began, so I guess I have my parents to thank for that. I was particularly taken with "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria," and would flounce around the house singing it incessantly, singing all of the parts myself. (OK, so where does *that* fall on the Gay-O-Meter? Off the frickin' chart, huh?)

But I've never really been a fan of the cast recording of The Sound of Music. Perhaps my own initial fondness for the soundtrack has prevented me from ever truly enjoying the cast recording, or maybe it's because it was at this point in Mary Martin's career that her voice started to show some wear. In the '40s, Martin had a lovely resonance in her low notes and a slight delicacy to her upper range. But by the end of the '50s, Martin's lower range had become overly pronounced and mannish, while her upper range grew thin and raspy. So, I'll probably file this CD in my collection, and if I ever do get the urge to indulge in some old-fashioned R&H treacle, I'll probably just bust out the movie soundtrack or throw in the DVD.

And now, guys and dolls, for the fun part: The first ever EIKILFM trivia contest! I have an extra copy of the 50th anniversary CD to give away to one lucky reader. Below are five questions regarding The Sound of Music. Respond below with your answers, and in the very likely event that more than one person gets all of the questions correct, I'll select a winner randomly from those entries. (Don't worry about tipping other readers off to the answers. I won't publish the comments until I've selected a winner)

Good luck!

SOUND OF MUSIC TRIVIA CONTEST 

1. Name a song from the stage version of The Sound of Music that wasn't in the film.

2. Name a song from the film of The Sound of Music that wasn't in the stage version.

3. What was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together?

4. What role did Oscar Hammerstein *not* perform on The Sound of Music that he did perform on every other R&H show?

5. With what other show did The Sound of Music share its Best Musical Tony Award?

[CONTEST DEADLINE: 11/13/2009]