Turkey Lurkey Time?

[dfwtheatreguy]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 2:41am

just finished watching "Camp" for the first time.

i know "turkey lurkey time" is from "promises, promises" but is it really the best song in the show? from what i saw and heard, it's annoying and silly.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 2:45am

It is hardly the best song in the score, but the staging by Michael Bennett and the performance of it by Donna McKechnie, Baayork Lee, and Margo Sappington makes it one of the most memorable numbers in Broadway history.
Check out the Tony performance on that site, and you'll know what makes it so...mind-blowing.
Plus, how could you not love the song? It's so much fun to listen to, the lyrics are so crazy.

[Daniel2]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 2:48pm

Why would you be under the impression it was the best song in the show?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 3:19pm

Awwww, I love this song. The score as a whole is one of the best out there. Get the OBC Recording. It is back in print.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 3:58pm

First and foremost, "Turkey Lurkey Time" is nothing more than a dance number. It was solely conceived by Michael Bennett to end Act 1 with an explosive high-energy production number. Its the only song/number in the entire score which has no relevance to the show's plot -- its a silly impromptu dance 3 secretaries perform at a Christmas office party.

It is the best song in the score? Absolutely not. Is it a sensational dance number? More than heaven would allow. Sheer blissful perfection capturing everything a dance number should do to a show: stop it.

[junglered]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 4:07pm

I'd love to see a Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. I love the Bacharach / David score in general. "Turkey Lurkey Time" is a fun song and a great dance number. "Knowing When to Leave", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Promises Promises" are much stronger songs overall. Is Promises Promises dated? Perhaps - but if The Pajama Game can sell out a limited run, so can this show if it is staged and cast properly.

[sondhead]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 4:55pm

I think it's dated in that it would be silly to do it as anything but a period piece--but I think if presented as taking place in the time in which it was written it wouldn't be dated at all

[dfwtheatreguy]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 5:20pm

the kids in "Camp" sy backstage that "Turkey Lurkey Time" is the best number in the show - guess they were wrong.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 5:24pm

Not really. Those kids ARE correct.

"Turkey Lurkey Time" IS indeed the 'best' number. Dance number, that is.

Is it the 'best song'? By far NO.

[Daniel2]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 7:58pm

You shouldn't take the kids in camp as experts. But then, when I was in High School and we did Damn Yankees I thought "Thought About the Game" was the best number--now I can't stand to listen to it.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 8:06pm

They never did another show for Broadway.

How about putting Lost Horizon on Broadway? If they can make Xanadu good on stage why not LH?

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 8:34pm

Lost Horizon? Really?!!!

That would be right up there with Carrie the Musical and Annie Warbucks.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 8:39pm

Annie Warbucks was very good & it was too bad it never made it to Broadway. They got it right but apparently ran out of money.

[Sleeper2]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 8:41pm

hahahahahahaha.... yeah, that's right.....

hahahahahahaha. what a laff riot!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 8:52pm

I saw the original and the Tony Award performance only begins to capture the electricity of the number. On stage at The Shubert, the number was in an intimate setting and much more explosive. I'va always said the expressions on those dancers faces was unforgettable. Only in Chorus Line have I seen such pride. They KNEW they were in one mother of a number. It was like they wanted to do the number all over again at the end. In the vast barn the Tonys were in (was it Radio City?) the number looked like it was filmed underwater. The three girls and the pit vocal group were so tight when they sang and the lanky male dancers (where on earth did he buy them?) were amazing when they did that crossover - you really thought they were going to collide in a massive traffic jam - it was fantastic. And I remember saying "cool" to myself several times during the number. Margo, Baayork and Donna danced like one connected person with six legs and six arms. When they swoop backward it was pure choreographic porn. And as Seth Whateverhisnameis says, Donna is an alien with a weirdly jointed body. How does she flip her head like that?

[chris d]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 9:25pm

I'd love to see a Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. I love the Bacharach / David score in general. "Turkey Lurkey Time" is a fun song and a great dance number. "Knowing When to Leave", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Promises Promises" are much stronger songs overall. Is Promises Promises dated? Perhaps - but if The Pajama Game can sell out a limited run, so can this show if it is staged and cast properly.

I agree wholeheartedly. and who could play the O'Hara and Orbach roles?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 9:42pm

If Dionne Warwick had recorded "Turkey Lurkey Time" it would have been a hit. However, she chose "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Promises, Promises".

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:48pm

Dionne didn't choose to sing those songs. She HAD to sing those songs -- contractually speaking.

A little FYI -- Dionne was Burt Bacharach and Hal David's personal demo songstress, hence why her material has always been composed of their songs. The majority of their hits in the 60's were written for her specifically. Even "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was written for her. She hated it and Burt gave it to The Carpenters and we all know how that went.

Also, Jerry Orbach has said that he didn't know how to sing "Promises, Promises" when he was first learning it. He said he learned it by listening to Dionne's version.

[sondhead]

Posted: 11/2/07 at 10:54pm

The '69 Tony Awards were broadcast from the Mark Hellinger Theatre, now the Times Square Church.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 11/3/07 at 3:20am

Thanks Sondhead. The place is a barn. I saw "Sugar Babies" there. Mickey Rooney was dwarfed by the surroundings even more than usual.

I saw "Promises, Promises" from the third row and almost felt like I was on stage. Huge difference seeing that number live.