All tagged Edie Adams

Remembering Wonderful Town

Leonard Bernstein’s career writing for the American Musical Theatre was an intermittent one, with other things on his plate as a classical composer, conductor and pianist holding equal weight among his interests. However, it was as a musical theatre composer that we best remember him. Bernstein had a knack for conveying the world of New York City through his theatre music, the hustle and bustle of the city and the adventure (and occasionally turmoil) to be found therein. Three of his musicals, On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), and West Side Story (1957) each capture a different aspect of New York City at a different time and place during the first-half of the twentieth century. Today, I am taking a look at Wonderful Town

Broadway Musical Time Machine: Looking Back at L’il Abner

A musical that we do not see many productions of these days, but one that is thoroughly delightful in both its satire and its memorable score, is the 1956 also-ran L’il Abner. At one point, L’il Abner was an extremely popular musical in high schools and community theatres. It was based on the popular Al Capp comic strip of the same name about a town full of colorful hillbillies, poking fun at the government, current events, and Hollywood news items. With a score by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Gene de Paul (music), and a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, the musical riotously captured the cartoonish tone of Capp’s strip

"Jubilation T. Cornpone" - Guilty Pleasure Thursday

"Jubilation T. Cornpone" may do nothing to further the plot or to give us a deeper understanding of a character, but you simply cannot hear this song without tapping your toes and getting caught up in the hillbilly hoopla of this guilty pleasure. It's showstopping fun and in the hands of showstopper extraordinaire Stubby Kaye, the number was the highlight of the 1956 musical Li'l Abner.