20 Great Broadway Songs of the Past 10 Years: “Show Off”

The Drowsy Chaperone has a very interesting score, particularly when you consider how the show is constructed. A number of the songs are of a declarative nature, where characters have the opportunity to sing about themselves. These are not typically the best songs in any particular show. For example, two of the songs that always get skipped on my Damn Yankees CD are “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” and “Those Were the Good Old Days.”

Why declarative songs tend to be less interesting is probably due to the flat dramatic nature of the song and situation. In a declarative song, the reliance has to be on humor because, after one verse, the information communicated just gets repeated, but if the humor is of clever rhymes and funny situations being told, that alone usually isn’t enough to garner repeat laughs.

Listen to Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison’s score of The Drowsy Chaperone, however, which is happily repeatable even though its short score contains three significant declarative songs, all of which remain hilarious and/or charming upon repeating listening.

My favorite in the show is “Show Off,” Janet Van De Graaff’s declaration of her desire to give up the stage for married life, all the while basking in the glow of that which she insists she doesn’t want. What tremendously fun lyrics and music (and creative staging) executed with perfection by Sutton Foster.

When I finally saw the show on Broadway, I had seen the number performed on the Tony Awards repeatedly, and not only was it still as exciting as if I had never seen it before, it was beautifully topped with Kitty’s, “Yeah, I’m surprised she didn’t do an encore,” followed by, of course, Miss Van De Graaff’s entrance with, “I don’t wanna encore no more.”

Perfection.

the Broadway Mouth
June 21, 2008

Casting Quandaries III: The Problems Created By Maria

The casting of The Sound of Music became infinitely more challenging when Julie Andrews stepped into the role of Maria for the film. It’s interesting to ponder that Mary Martin was cast in the role in the original Broadway production after playing parts like Peter Pan and Annie Oakley. Those aren’t roles you would ever imagine Julie Andrews taking on.

Since the movie, what stage production will ever be able to live down the memory of Julie Andrews in one of the most beloved movies ever made? In the last revival, Rebecca Luker and Laura Benanti were consecutively cast as everyone’s favorite postulant, casting choices that followed the film’s lead (and both are tremendously talented women). But look at the choice—you could never imagine casting either Luker or Benanti as Peter Pan or Annie Oakley.

Casting a movie can be a very different exercise from casting a stage production. Often the integrity of the role is sacrificed for celebrity by casting someone who can’t sing too well, can’t sing the role the way it was written, or is too old for the part. Casting Julie Andrews as Maria was inspired, though it fits a film’s style more than it would probably fit a stage production (particularly in the way that The Sound of Music was reconceived for film). What the film captures in a close-up with Andrews may have been difficult for the stage to have successful communicated. I never saw Mary Martin on stage, but my understanding is that her performances were full of pluck, energy, and charm. I have a feeling her Maria didn’t abandon those traits (and the show was written to play to those strengths as well).

Yet, stage productions of The Sound of Music are always caught chasing after the beauty and charm of Julie Andrews, rather than going for someone with the plucky cow-town charms of a Mary Martin.

It’s interesting to compare this to the casting of Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie. The original Broadway Millie was going to be Erin Dilly, a very talented and versatile actress in the Julie Andrews vein (who played Millie in the original movie), but the show’s creators realized that they needed something different. It seems to me that their final choice—Sutton Foster—has more in common with Mary Martin than she would ever have with Julie Andrews. But then again, the needs of casting for the stage are something altogether different.

So, if I were to cast a stage production of The Sound of Music, I think it would be interesting to expand my horizons in casting Maria. A great role is open to many different interpretations, but I would love to see what a Sutton Foster type would do with the role . . . if I could only escape the movie.

the Broadway Mouth
May 3, 2008

Amazing Broadway Performer: Sutton Foster

It was with great excitement that I sat down in the Marquis Theatre to see The Drowsy Chaperone last August. More than anything, I was so excited to get to see Sutton Foster for the first time. I had seen her on televised performances from both Thoroughly Modern Millie and Little Women and after seeing those shows on tour had picked up their OBCRs, so I was quite familiar with whom Sutton Foster was.

This woman has it all. I hate to do comparisons, but she’s really become the Gwen Verdon or Mary Martin of our time, able to command the stage with her talent, to tackle a variety of roles extremely well, and she’s managed to do it without long stretches between roles. I greatly admire her dedication to the profession. I would never ever hold it against her for going West if she ever chose, but she’s done what several other major Broadway stars of the past decade could have done—making a career on Broadway—but the difference is that she’s choosing to do it. She’s taking on long runs in new shows and running away with our hearts while she’s at it.

I loved her as Janet Van De Graaff. You couldn’t take your eyes off her. She’s got that magnetic stage presence like a Broadway star must have, and she knows how to work her audience. I ate up every second of her performance.

Website: http://www.geocities.com/suttonfosteronline/



the Broadway Mouth
August 6, 2007