Forgotten Musicals: "Romance/Romance"- Page 2

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 4/3/07 at 8:42pm

loooove this score!!
i actually love the title song as well! =)
glad someone is giving a shout out to this show, the music is wonderful!
if you've never heard of it, i definitely suggest looking it up and getting your hands on a copy of the cast recording, it will easily become one of your most listened CDs.
i think it might've become lost in the shuffle, because when it was up for best musical and scott bakula was up for best actor.. they lost to phantom of the opera and michael crawford respectively. phantom kind of devoured everything else good from that year, i suppose.

yay romance, romance!

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 4/3/07 at 8:52pm

I'm glad this musical is getting the exposure it deserves (well..at least on BWW).

I think we can all agree that Alison is a highly under used performer. What about "Grey Gardens"? "Drowsey"? "SA"? OK..kidding about the last. Please.

One thing I believe I remember about Hermman and Harrmon is that they wrote an off Broadway show after R/R called (I think) "Zombie Prom" or something like that. I believe it was in the early 90s. I remember reading good reviews about it. Then..like R/R...it's gone.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 8:19pm

And don't forget what major tv star replaced Scott on Broadway!

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 8:42pm

i didn't know they wrote zombie prom?!
i love that show! my high school performed ZP several years ago and it was a major successful and was adjudicated to go to an international conference that year too.. that was before me though. really awesome. any have the cast recording of zombie prom?

anyway. love romance/romance!
... what tv star replaced scott?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 8:58pm

Herrman/Harmon had nothing to do with ZOMBIE PROM. That show was by the decidedly more accomplished Dempsey/Rowe (the former of whom is a lyricist of THE PIRATE QUEEN) who also wrote THE FIX and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, which will be having the premiere produciton of the revised version this summer/fall in Washington, D.C.

Also, there is a short (45 min or so) film of ZOMBIE PROM on the site that cannot be mentioned from time to time. It stars RuPaul and is quite amusing in a REEFER MADNESS sort of way. It has about 6 or 7 of the songs if I remember correctly. I don't know if a complete film version was ever made or if this short film is all that was shot.

Below is a great Dempsey/Rowe resource.

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre
DEMPSEY/ROWE

Posted: 4/4/07 at 9:25pm

https://www.zombiepromthemovie.com/ Is infoon the movie--it was made ojust last year and is under 50 mins, yeah, but apparantly a very good adaption--so far just playing film fests etc...

I love the show--now I wanna see it

Trailer https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlQqs1J_8KE

ANd this is so off topic

[davwir]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 4:55am

I have been searching the web to try to purchase the VHS that A&E was selling years ago, with no luck... But saw your post that you actually have one.. As I am also in LA, and a Video Technology specialist for a living, is there anyway I could borrow your tape? I want to convert it to DVD anyway, would be happy to make you some as well!
Please let me know, you can contact me at [e-mail]
Thanx!
-Dave W

[professor]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 2:49pm

I saw this show on Broadway right after Scott Bakula had left the cast. His replacement was TV's Greg Brady himself, Barry Williams. The other three original cast members were still in it, I think. Love this show. I still have my cast recording on cassette(!)

[SFFrontRow]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 4:40pm

Would LOVE to find a VHS copy of this show - prefer DVD but will take anything.

I saw this show the summer of 1988 (or was it 89?) - the big musicals that year were Phantom and Into the Woods. I got a ticket from TKTS and sat in first row. What a wonderful unexpected show this was. Last summer, I paid $50 on Amazon to get the cast albumn (I had the cassette tape version of this albumn). The show was not the BEST I had ever seen, but it was small and light and fun - and the performers were all wonderful.

As to Allison Fraser, she has been in other things recently (Dedication - with Nathan Lane was the last thing I saw). And by the way, she COULD do Spring Awakening - as a replacement if/when Christine Eastabrook leaves.

Scott Bakula was GREAT in this show as well - really showed off his singing talent pre-Quatum Leap. Plus he is a total hottie.
Updated On: 7/15/07 at 04:40 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 6:36pm

Love this recording SO much. Alison Fraser is amAzing. Between this and the In Trousers recording, she is constantly a favorite on my ipod. And she is so great in Gypsy too!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/19/17 at 11:54am

I only recently discovered that Romance/Romance had a (very) brief run in London in 1997!  It originated at the small Bridewell Theatre and then transferred to the Gielgud, a West End house.

Updated On: 7/19/17 at 11:54 AM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/20/17 at 8:58am

For those within driving distance of Palm Springs, Coachella Valley Rep is doing ROMANCE/ROMANCE as part of next season's (2017-1 subscription series.

I think the first act is an excellent one-act musical (and there aren't many aside from the Marvin Plays). The second act struck me as a let down because its climax takes place offstage, but even in Act II the songs aren't bad.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 3:06pm

I attended the short-lived London revival in 97. I LIVE for Linzi Hateley, but even she could not save this show. It was so terrible that I honestly don't remember anything about it, except this odd vaudeville number where Linzi and one of the guys were singing about old age. Then again, the highlight of that London trip for me was Starlight Express, so my opinion probably isn't worth much. LOL

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 4:35pm

greensgreens said: "I attended the short-lived London revival in 97. I LIVE for Linzi Hateley, but even she could not save this show. It was so terrible that I honestly don't remember anything about it, except this odd vaudeville number where Linzi and one of the guys were singing about old age. Then again, the highlight of that London trip for me was Starlight Express, so my opinion probably isn't worth much. LOL

Two things:

1.  I saw it (with the original cast in NYC) and couldn't believe what a disappointment it was.  I just felt it was an ordeal to sit through, certainly not expected since it got reviews talking about how charming it was and how great Allison Fraser was.  To be honest, she made no impression on me whatsoever, although I remember thinking that Scott Bacula was very good.

2.  I also saw Starlight Express in London and loved it.  I feared that it was going to be another CATS, which I hated, but I just loved the approach to the production.  I never saw the NYC production (because I saw it in London 3 times, and I could just not see it working on a conventional stage, which the reviews certainly said was a contributing factor to its failure  (although I seem to recall it running for almost two years at the Uris / Gershwin.

No accounting for taste.

 

[WestCoastActor/Director]

Posted: 7/21/17 at 4:50pm

I loved that score so much when it came out. I saw the show on Broadway with Barry Williams. Ironically the first show I bought a ticket for myself was the tour of Pippin when I was in college. Barry Williams was the star and he for exceeded my expectations.

[davwir]

Posted: 9/4/20 at 6:27pm

Over the years a few people have asked me if I ever found a copy of the TV version that aired. The answer is YES, on VHS long ago. I digitized it. Its watchable quality, sharing a link here for anyone who wants to download and watch it! Enjoy!

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/GW8NCQ50oLVxjQzhgtIv6LuVmr46pyEi3Eca9GIvUho

 

[missthemountains]

Posted: 9/5/20 at 7:34pm

Ahhhh! Thank you for this!

[tmdonahue]

Posted: 9/6/20 at 3:17pm

Well, I agree the story is weak and some of the songs really good.  It ran 474 performances.  Lack luster by today's standards but not bad.   It's two one-acts, which rarely works to make an evening.  (Song and Dance, or A Day in Hollywood/A Night in Ukraine anyone?  There are always exceptions.  But maybe unwarranted.  Song  ran 474 performance opening in 1985 and Hollywood/Ukraine ran 588 performances opening in 1980.  I must add both theaters for these two shows had more seats to sell than the Hayes.)  But the original production had two things going for it.  It was in the Helen Hayes, the right theater for a show of it's small charms. And it had Scott Bakula and Allison Fraser leading the cast.  I had never seen Bakula before this and fell in deep infatuation with him.

Updated On: 9/10/20 at 03:17 PM

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 9/7/20 at 9:24pm

davwir said: "Over the years a few people have asked me if I ever found a copy of the TV version that aired. The answer is YES, on VHS long ago. I digitized it. Its watchable quality, sharing a link here for anyone who wants to download and watch it! Enjoy!

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/GW8NCQ50oLVxjQzhgtIv6LuVmr46pyEi3Eca9GIvUho

That was very. very nice of you! Thank you very much!

 

[SayNoToJugs]

Posted: 9/9/20 at 5:12pm

God, I hope they do a movie remake or at least a proper OBC/full show recording. I can't find the recordings on youtube