Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast)
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Edition: Music CDFormat: Cast Recording, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2003-05-13
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Prelude
- Me and My Town - Angela Lansbury
- Miracle Song - Angela Lansbury
- There Won't Be Trumpets - Lee Remick
- Simple - Angela Lansbury
- Come Play Wiz Me - Lee Remick & Harry Guardino
- Anyone Can Whistle - Lee Remick
- A Parade in Town - Angela Lansbury & ensemble
- Everybody Says Don't - Harry Guardino
- I've Got You To Lean On - Angela Lansbury
- See What It Gets You - Lee Remick
- The Cookie Chase
- With So Little to Be Sure Of - Lee Remick & Harry Guardino
- I'm Like the Bluebird (bonus) - Stephen Sondheim, piano & vocals (previously unreleased demo)
- The Lame, the Halt, and the Blind (bonus) - Stephen Sondheim, piano & vocals (previously unreleased demo)
- Come Play Wiz Me (bonus) - Stephen Sondheim, piano & vocals (previously unreleased demo)
- Anyone Can Whistle (bonus) - Stephen Sondheim, piano & vocals (previously unreleased demo)
- With So Little to Be Sure Of (bonus) - Stephen Sondheim, piano & vocals (previously unreleased demo)
Free Music Notes for Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: "Broadway musical star on the ascendant, among other pleasures!"
Hit: 5 Stars
The most noteworthy element to come out of the ill fated 1964 musical "Anyone Can Whistle" besides Stephen Sondheim's continuing to burnish and perfect his fledgling talents as both composer and lyricist and Lee Remick's successful musical debut, was the emergence of movie actress Angela Lansbury as the white hope of Broadway's musicals leading ladies. The two reigning champions Mary Martin and Ethel Merman were winding down their distinguished careers, as were the delectable Gwen Verdon and the angelic Barbara Cook. Two worthy successors Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand abandoned Broadway for Hollywood. This left the field clear for Ms. Lansbury, a versatile Hollywood character actress to amaze everyone with her newly revealed musical comedy skills.
It almost didn't happen, there were rumors of her being replaced during the out of town tryouts by Nancy Walker, but cooler heads prevailed. Its run was brief, but "Anyone Can Whistle" was the springboard that would launch Ms. Lansbury to Broadway superstardom in two years in the title role of the musical "Mame". Although nominally her part is secondary to leading lady Lee Remick, it is she emerges with the star wattage, starting with her poised self-assurance in her opening number, the nimble, sassy "Me and My Town". Lansbury delivers and then some; she comes across as a seasoned veteran of the musical stage, rather than a neophyte making her debut. Best is "A Parade in Town", which sounds like a showstopper, effervescent and zippy, Ms. Lansbury & Mr. Sondheim vividly evoking images of tossed confetti, bouncing bright balloons, marching bands and cheering crowds. Her final solo " I've Got You to Lean On" is a sardonic, darkly comic number where Lansbury firmly keeps tongue planted in cheek.
While Angela Lansbury has the stronger vocal instrument, Lee Remick does very well indeed with her numbers utilizing her talent as a fine well rounded actress who excelled in both drama and comedy. The most memorable, "There Won't be Trumpets" sadly, was cut out of town due supposedly to the difficulties Ms. Remick had in singing it, which certainly aren't apparent in this rendition. When recording the album thankfully, she was allowed to include it, and while it wasn't on the original record due to space, it has been restored in the CD. In this number, she is a passionate Joan of Arc, building in intensity, delivering a clarion call for rescue, and serving notice to the villains beware, help is on the way! When singing the melancholy title number "Anyone Can Whistle", she displays a touching rueful quality that helps to make it a classic. In her two duets with leading man Harry Guardino she is drolly seductive, phony French accent & all in "Come Play Wiz Me!" and unashamedly romantic and yearning in the final bittersweet ballad "With So Little to Be Sure Of". Speaking of duets, one for Ms. Lansbury and she entitled "There's Always a Woman" was an out of town casualty, a pity, it would have been a treat to hear the two of them together.
Harry Guardino, the leading man, comes up a distinct third after the ladies in terms of both talent and musical numbers. His singing voice and personality are agreeable and affable, but that little something extra is missing. His showcase number is "Simple'' an extended sequence that involves a good part of the cast, with Guardino doing the lead. I think it's too smug and self-satisfying as if author/director Arthur Laurents and Sondheim were trying to prove their cleverness and superiority to the audience, and it goes on endlessly almost thirteen minutes. Much better are Guardino's two duets with Remick mentioned above, plus his solo number "Everyone Says Don't", which has achieved cult status as an anthem to the joys of risk taking and nonconformity.
There is another lengthy sequence called "The Cookie Chase" which combines dialogue, song and ballet for nine minutes that I think probably needs to be seen and heard to be truly effective. Like "Simple" it doesn't stand well on it's own. The bonus tracks on this are five demo tracks of Sondheim singing and accompanying himself on the piano I believe for backer's auditions. The first three numbers were dropped from the show, listening to them; I have to agree it was a wise choice. The final two are Sondheim's renditions of existing songs from the score. Unless you're a total Sondheim purist they're not worth a second listen. Although he's a superb composer, a singer he's not, and Remick and Guardino do better justice to the songs.
This is yet another treasure from the Columbia Broadway Masterworks series, and an exceptional bargain at $8.98. The remastered tracks all sound wonderful; in addition there are marvelous performance photos and a very informative essay on the show by Richard Ridge.
The once and future hero responsible for this rich legacy of "Anyone Can Whistle" is the late Goddard Lieberson, who was the President of Columbia Records, and also the Producer of all the Original Broadway Cast albums. Contractually Columbia Records didn't have to record the show since it had only run nine performances on Broadway. However, Lieberson recognized how tremendously important and innovative this particular score was and gave the go ahead to preserve it for posterity, an astute decision for which any devotee of the Broadway musical should be eternally grateful!
Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast) Poster
Give credit (and thanks) to Goddard Lieberson and Columbia Records for preserving the original cast recording of Anyone Can Whistle despite a blink-and-you-missed-it run of nine performances in 1964. That's often blamed on the challenging and confusing book, which features a Mayoress (Angela Lansbury) whose town is economically depressed until the fortuitous arrival of an apparent miracle. Unfortunately, the resulting influx of tourists clashes with 49 patients (known as "cookies") from a local mental hospital led by nurse Fay Apple (Lee Remick) when a traveling physician named Hapgood (Harry Guardino) arrives to sort things out. The score is fascinating early Stephen Sondheim and includes numerous songs that have become staples of Sondheim song collections: "There Won't Be Trumpets," the gentle title tune, "A Parade in Town," "Everybody Says Don't," and "With So Little to Be Sure Of." Almost exactly 31 years later, Anyone Can Whistle was recorded as a gala benefit concert, with 20 additional minutes of music and dialogue, an all-star cast including Lansbury and Bernadette Peters, and the excitement of a live performance. For heart, though, it still doesn't measure up to the original cast recording. --David HoriuchiBroadway & Vocalists Music CDs
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