70, Girls, 70 @ 54 Below

I had the IMMENSE pleasure of seeing 70, Girls, 70 at 54 Below last night and I have to tell you that I'm truly baffled as to why this show didn't have a long original run. Yes the book is a little weird; I completely disagree with any argument that the book songs don't mesh well with the show biz numbers- I mean this like a sister show to Follies and they did the same thing there. Of course, 70, Girls, 70 is a lot sillier than Follies, but the score is rich and wonderful. It surely must be an impossibility for anyone to walk out of the theater and not be singing Boom Ditty Boom!

The great Ernestine Jackson was one of many who brought it home last night. Broadway My Street and Coffee in Cardboard Cup were sensational! What showstoppers! Jim Brochu told a moving story about David Burns and also had a blast performing The Caper. David Cryer, at age 81, can out sing (and out act) most young leading men performing today! Loni Ackerman could still probably belt out Men from So Long, 174th Street with as much vim and vigor as she did on the cast recording. I wish little programs/cast lists had been handed out because I wasn't familiar with a few of the performers and want to look them up.

I'm praying for a full-blown Broadway revival. Too bad I'm not a millionaire or we would have on next season.

I think it failed because after David Burns died onstage during the out-of-town tryout, the very idea of the show seemed a little ghoulish.

I think that comparing 70, Girls, 70 to Follies is a bit like comparing an episode of Three's Company to Hamlet.

70, Girls, 70 is a perfectly cute little show, but all the tunes are the usual (very well-done) simple Kander/Ebb showtunes, and the book is merely a frothy little romp that ultimately goes nowhere. There's nothing wrong with any of that, but Follies is really about something gritty and deep, with a much more complex score.

Updated On: 4/18/17 at 09:20 AM

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Lovely testimonial, Whizzer, and I'm glad that you had a good time. Hey, question- shows at F/54 don't typically have programs, right? I'm actually kind of relieved that you made a mention of this one not having them. In a negative review of my concert back in February, the "critic" lamented that there was no program, which I found a little absurd."

Typically, cabaret shows in general do not have programs. Events like this particular concert are an exception, since the point is to present more obscure work.

After Eight said: ""Of course, 70, Girls, 70 is a lot sillier than Follies"



And a million times better.



I am disappointed that you did not like Follies. Is that because of the book or did you not like the musical numbers? The original production of Follies remains my favorite musical ever (Mame is #2, but it requires a great leading lady, which it got in Lansbury). Any show that has Beautiful Girls, Waiting for the Girls Upstairs, Broadway Baby, Whose That Woman, and Lucy and Jessie has to score some points, even if one doesn't like the more dramatic material, there aren't too many musicals that have that many great great numbers).

I always assume 70 Girls closed so quickly because, in addition to not getting very good reviews, (1) It sounded a lot like Follies at the surface and Follies had just opened, so why not see Follies, which got many spectacular reviews (and we ultimately know that Follies darkness and plotlessness led to a sad conclusion); (2) it needed stars. i always loved Mildred Natwick, but she was a supporting player leading a musical on Broadway (I know this is also true of Lansbury, but Mame was the perfect match of talent and show and discovery of a 'new' talent).

Maybe someone can convince Roundabout to give it a second chance and cast it with names (both big and only known to regular theatre goers of a certain age), who are both young and old enough to do the show, e.g., Bernadette Peters (with age-adding make-up!!), Kevin Kline, Chita Rivera, Joel Grey, Leslie Uggams, Donna McKechnie, Ben Vereen, Priscilla Lopez, Phyllis Newman(?), Florence Lacey, Linda Lavin, etc., etc., and willing to commit for a short run.

Updated On: 4/18/17 at 03:29 PM

Thank you, both, for attending and saying such kind things! I so appreciate it and am so glad you've been enjoying this series. I'm really looking forward to Nick and Nora and Henry, Sweet Henry and so glad you can attend both.

As for programs... I have to confess that time got away from us this round, but there WILL be programs for Nick and Nora! In the meantime, the full cast list is on the 54 Below website with headshots, too!

That may be, but it'd be interesting to know if he hates the whole show or just aspects of it...and simply gets tired of all of the passion and hyperbolic positions taken by many on this site. I have never used the word 'hyperbolic' as I do on this site.

I also have to admit that I have a mixed reaction to Sondheim shows. Loved some shows, e.g., ALNM, hated some, e.g., Passion. I didn't even like the score to a couple, e.g., Assassins).

I am by no means authorized to speak for Pal Joey, but I think his point is that once David Burns died onstage, audiences began waiting for the next casualty instead of embracing the "you're only as old as you feel" theme. (I worked three seasons at a "senior theater" here in Palm Springs and we made lots of jokes about failing eyesight, receding hairlines, sagging body parts, etc., but there were NEVER any jokes about or other references to death.)

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Jarethan: Didn't anyone ever tell you not to feed the bear? If you want an in-depth discussion of FOLLIES, you can find an old thread or start a new one. But you won't get a reasoned analysis from After Eight.

Loni Ackerman. Laurie Beechman. Margery Cohen. Shoshana Bean. Debbie Shapiro. Ellen Foley.Kay Cole. Lenora Nemetz. Teri Klausner. Catherine Cox. Susan Johnson. Ann Morrison.

So many terrific belters who never got that one project that propelled them to the top level.