[5/1/2011] Sunday Classics: Frank Loesser pays his distinctive sorts of tribute to the brotherhood of man (continued)

LET'S LISTEN TO ANOTHER PERFORMANCE
OF THE OPENING OF GUYS AND DOLLS

In 1982 Britain's prestigious National Theatre staged a wildly successful production of Guys and Dolls. Their version of the opening underscores the startling juxtapositions, not to mention making a decidedly ragtag musical bunch of the Save-a-Soul evangelizers. Pretty darned funny, I think.

Guys and Dolls: "Music from Runyonland" . . . "Fugue for Tinhorns" . . . "Follow the Fold"

David Healy (Nicely-Nicely), Barrie Rutter (Benny), and Kevin Williams (Charlie), vocals (in "Fugue for Tinhorns"); Julie Covington (Sarah Brown) et al., vocals (in "Follow the Fold"); Tony Britten, cond. Chrysalis, from the Original National Theatre Cast recording, April 1982


STICKING WITH G&D, WE'VE ALREADY MET
MISS ADELAIDE. NOW LET'S HEAR HER LAMENT

One of the three deliriously wonderful comic songs we heard Friday night was a number performed by Miss Adelaide at the Hot Box Cafe, "A Bushel and a Peck." As I mentioned, Adelaide is an all but invariable charmer. Despite the tendency of productions to camp up her funniness, notably her funny-voicedness (which you'll notice is noticeably less extreme in the case of the original Adelaide, Vivian Blaine), it's a good bet that any performance of Guys and Dolls will have the audience eating out of her hand.

Whereas it's a good bet that, unless you have extraordinarily charismatic and vocally well-endowed performers of the Save-a-Soul missionary Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson, the charmer who seduces her on a bet, the show's nominal central relationship will have less of a hold on the audience than the chronically troubled one of Adelaide and Nathan. I promised Friday night that we would hear Adelaide lamenting her nonmarital plight, and here it is, one of Broadway's great solo turns.

Guys and Dolls: "Adelaide's Lament"

Vivian Blaine (Adelaide), vocal; Irving Actman, cond. American Decca, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, 1950
Julia McKenzie (Adelaide), vocal; Tony Britten, cond. Chrysalis, from the Original National Theatre Cast recording, April 1982


CREATING CHARACTERS BY THE TRIO:
MHP'S PASQUALE, CICCIO, AND GIUSEPPE

Preparations are under way at the Napa Valley grape farm of Tony Esposito, "the most happy fella," for the boss's wedding to his soon-to-arrive "correspondence" bride, Amy, whom he has dubbed "Rosabella." Preparations are overseen by Pasquale, Tony's cook and paymaster; Giuseppe, the watchman; and Ciccio, the handyman. Loesser specifies: "It is obvious that [Pasquale] is the head servant and a notch superior to the other two." Note that Pasquale is a baritone, Giuseppe and Ciccio tenors; we'll come back to this in a moment.

The Most Happy Fella: "Abbondanza"

Rico Froehlich (Pasquale), Arthur Rubin (Giuseppe), and John Henson (Ciccio), vocals; Herbert Greene, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, May 1956
Stephen Davis (Pasquale), Alfred Boe (Giuseppe), and Joseph Shovelton (Ciccio); National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards, cond. Jay/TER, recorded 1997-99

We're not going to go into all the plot contortions, but in due time "Rosabella" duly appears. The "dear spouse" is welcomed by the trio.

The Most Happy Fella: "Benvenuta, cara sposa"

Rico Froehlich (Pasquale), Arthur Rubin (Giuseppe), and John Henson (Ciccio), vocals; Herbert Greene, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, May 1956
Stephen Davis (Pasquale), Alfred Boe (Giuseppe), and Joseph Shovelton (Ciccio); National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards, cond. Jay/TER, recorded 1997-99

PUCCINI'S TRIO OF MANDARINS

It's hard to imagine that Loesser wasn't thinking of the trio of mandarins from Puccini's last opera, Turandot, set in ancient China. In Act I, the "gran cancielliere" (grand chancellor) Ping, "gran provveditore" (grand purveyor) Pang, and "gran cuciniere" (chief cook) Pong -- appear, determined to dissuade the Unknown Prince, intoxicated by the beauty of the Princess Turandot, from submitting himself to the surely-suicidal challenge of her three riddles, for which the prize is her hand in marriage, and the punishement for failure, already suffered by countless suitors, death. Note that the clearly superior Ping is a baritone, Pang and Pong tenors.

PUCCINI: Turandot: Act I, Ping, Pang, and Pong, "Fermo! Che fai? T'arresta!" ("Halt! What are you doing? Stop!")

Mario Sereni (b), Ping; Piero de Palma (t), Pang; Tommaso Frascati (t), Pong; Jussi Bjoerling (t), Calaf; Rome Opera Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf, cond. RCA/BMG, recorded July 3-11, 1959

In Act II, Puccini had librettists Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni give the three mandarins a little scene to themselves, as they prepare for the two possible outcomes of Calaf's trial by riddle: Pong for a royal wedding If the stranger wins, Pong for a funeral in the likelier event that he loses. Ping laments what China has sunk to after its "70 thousand centuries," then reflects on his house in Hunan "with a little pond so blue, all surrounded by bamboo." This is the first half of the scene.

PUCCINI: Turandot: Act II, Scene 1, Ping, "Olà, Pang! Olà, Pong!" ("Ho there, Pang! Ho there, Pong!") . . . "Ho una casa nell'Honan" ("I have a house in Honan")

Mario Sereni (b), Ping; Piero de Palma (t), Pang; Tommaso Frascati (t), Pong; Rome Opera Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf, cond. RCA/BMG, recorded July 3-11, 1959

THEN THERE ARE LOESSER'S HANDSOME CHARMERS:
G&D'S SKY MASTERSON AND MHF'S JOEY, JOEY, JOEY

Guys and Dolls: "Luck, Be a Lady Tonight"

As I suggested, the music Loesser wrote for G&D's Sky Masterson really needs more charismatic performance than it's apt to get, but Sky has one all-but-surefire number, which entered the pantheon of the world's best-known songs.

Robert Alda (Sky Masterson), vocal; Irving Actman, cond. American Decca, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, 1950
Ian Charleson (Sky Masterson), vocal; Tony Britten, cond. Chrysalis, from the Original National Theatre Cast recording, April 1982

The Most Happy Fella: "Like a perfumed

woman" . . ."Joey, Joey, Joey"

In MHF, Joe is actually written quite sympathetically -- he's as much a victim as Rosabella in the epistolary confusion. (Tony has sent Amy Joe's picture, which works fine until she actually arrives in Napa Valley.) He resolutely stands by and stands up for Tony. Yet Loesser did a bang-up job of musicalizing his roaming, restless, unable-to-settle-down quality, and in the process got a hit song.

Art Lund (Joe) and Robert Weede (Tony) in the spoken dialogue; Art Lund, vocal; orchestra, Herbert Greene, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, Original Broadway Cast recording, May 1956
Richard Muenz (Joe), vocal; National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards, cond. Jay/TER, recorded 1997-99


BUT THERE'S NO CHARMER MORE CHARMING THAN
HTS'S PONTY, AND HE'LL TELL YOU SO HIMSELF

How to Succeed in Business Without Really

Trying: "I Believe in You"

Robert Morse (Ponty) and company, vocals; Elliot Lawrence, cond. RCA/BMG, Original Broadway Cast recording, 1961
Matthew Broderick (Ponty) and company, vocals; Ted Sperling, cond. RCA/BMG, 1985 Broadway Cast recording, Apr. 2, 1995

How to Succeed in Business Without Really

Trying: "Rosemary"

Still, somewhere inside him -- buried deep in a character who seems mostly surface -- even Ponty has a redeeming touch of magic. Here he suddenly hears music in the name of his ever-loyal, mostly taken-for-granted girlfriend -- and Loesser made magic of the name.

Robert Morse (Ponty) and Bonnie Scott (Rosemary), vocals; Elliot Lawrence, cond. RCA/BMG, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, 1961
Matthew Broderick (Ponty) and Megan Mullally (Rosemary), vocals; Ted Sperling, cond. RCA, from the 1995 Broadway Cast recording, Apr. 2, 1995


AND NOBODY WROTE SHOW-STOPPINGER
SHOW-STOPPERS THAN LOESSER

Guys and Dolls: "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat"

Here's our old friend Nicely-Nicely stopping the show.

Stubby Kaye (Nicely-Nicely) and company, vocals; Irving Actman, cond. American Decca, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, 1950
David Healy (Nicely-Nicely) and company, vocals; Tony Britten, cond. Chrysalis, from the Original National Theatre Cast recording, April 1982

The Most Happy Fella: "Big D"

You remember Shorty? We last heard him with his pals on Friday night, "Standing on the Corner Watching All the Girls Come By." Now the pathologically shy fellow meets Amy (Rosabella)'s friend Cleo, and . . . well, you'll hear.

Shorty Long (Herman) and Susan Johnson (Cleo), vocals; Herbert Greene, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, May 1956
Don Stephenson (Herman), Karen Ziemba (Cleo); National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards, cond. Jay/TER, recorded 1997-99

How to Succeed in Business Without Really

Trying: "Brotherhood of Man"

This grand number eventually erupts into a full-fledged gospel anthem, lifted to even higher heights by Lillias White as Miss Jones in the 1995 recording.

Robert Morse (Ponty), Sammy Smith (Wally Wompers), Ruth Kobart (Miss Jones), and company, vocals; Elliot Lawrence, cond. RCA/BMG, from the Original Broadway Cast recording, 1961
Matthew Broderick (Ponty), Gerry Vichi (Wally Wompers), Lillias White (Miss Jones) and company, vocals; Ted Sperling, cond. RCA, from the 1995 Broadway Cast recording


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