ALW's song and dance ?

[alxscrz2]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 9:09am

Hey does anyone know if there will be a revival of song and dance ? I listened to the cast recording with bernadette peters in it, and I thought it was great. Too bad I wasn't into musicals when that show was on broadway, lol I would've loved to see it.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 9:51am

You can never count Mr. Webber out when it comes to revivals of his works, even if the work isn't especially acclaimed.

If he wants it, it'll happen. Maybe not right away, but eventually.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 11:08am

There is also a 2 CD set of the London cast (with Marti Webb). The first act (Song) is not identical to the Broadway CD, but the great thing about the London recording is that is has the music from the 2nd act (Dance) as well. I actually listen to Dance much more than I listen to Song.

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 11:52am

Wouldn't you have been about 4 when it was on B'way?

[alxscrz2]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 11:56am

I heard that Sarah Brightman was in a version of song and dance , which was recorded for bbc tv. But I can't find it anywhere. Youtube only has clips of it. I hope it gets released on dvd

[JRybka]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:09pm

There is an updated version that played Washington DC (with Alice Ripley) and in London with Denise van Outen

I wish Alice had recorded it as it would have been awesome

There are so many woman who I would love to hear perform this:

Audra McDonald would be AMAZING

and I have to admit I think Linda Eder would be pretty good at it too... but then again I love Linda.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:12pm

I saw the show twice on Broadway: first with Bernadette and then when Betty Buckley took over. Great show and both were sensational. The 2nd Act is entirely danced (this was my 2nd experience seeing the dancing Charlotte d'Amboise -- CATS was the first). Though the show is great one it is truly a victim of its time/era as it reeks of 1980's -- from the set design, the costumes, the dancing to the most vital ingredient: the music.

Any update would kill the essence of the original production unless they want to remain faithful to the original and pay homage to the 1980's with it.

[JRybka]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:14pm

Didn't Charlotte do it also?

And I have to say that would be creapy if her brother did the dance and she did the song... lol lol

But they have updated it a bit....

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:21pm

Charlotte doesn't have the vocal chops or the stamina to pull off an hour and 10 minutes worth of almost non-stop singing -- at least THAT kind of singing -- nightly (and god my ears would bleed if she tried). She was one of the dancers in the second half.

Peters was incredible -- a true tour de force performance, both vocally and acting-wise. The role's a real killer and she was simply amazing. I'll never forget her with her face streaked with tears and her voice choked with emotion pouring out "Tell Me On Sunday" with so much passion and intensity.

Updated On: 10/26/07 at 12:21 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 12:24pm

Nope. Miss d'Amboise was only in the dance ensemble, along with her brother, Chris. Denise Faye/Pasqual was also in the dance ensemble, as was Scott Wise, Cynthia Onrubia and the late Gregory Mitchell.

Miss d'Amboise's first 'acting' role was playing Chris in CARRIE two years later in 1988. Before that...she was only in dance ensembles.

Maureen Moore was Bernadette's standby, by the way.




Updated On: 10/26/07 at 12:24 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:05pm

This is probably one of my all-time favorite cast recordings. Bernadette Peters is so thrilling throughout the whole album. I read a piece that came out on the New York Times at the time specifically reviewing the cast recording and the critic said that Peters lifted what could have been an okay score and made it great. She gets every song, from the mixture of comedy and hurt feelings in "Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad," to the pain in "Take That Look Off Your Face," to the romantic nature of "Unexpected Song," to her tour de force "Finale" number.
I would love to see Jane Krakowski, Anika Noni Rose, or even Frances Ruffelle play the show at Encores!

[morosco]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:13pm

Is there a connection between the musical SONG & DANCE and the motion picture SLAVES OF NEW YORK? In both properties Bernadette plays an aspiring hat designer.

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:17pm

Wow--- just a reminder that visually, the 80s were cruel.

And Jane Krakowski-- THAT would be cool.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 1:33pm

Having seen SONG & DANCE on Broadway first, I was actually surprised when Bernadette's character Eleanor in SLAVES OF NEW YORK was also a hat designer. Odd and peculiar and delicious.

I believe that Bernadette left SONG & DANCE early to film SLAVES OF NEW YORK.

And to answer your original question, morosco -- nope, there is no connection between the 2 projects.

[alxscrz2]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 7:21pm

Has anyone seen the version of song and dance , with Sarah Brightman ? I heard her sing 'tell me on a sunday' from the show. It made me cry, lol . It was sooo sad, she put so much emotion into that song
Updated On: 10/26/07 at 07:21 PM

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 8:29pm

The recording of Sarah Brightman singing the song "Tell Me On A Sunday" that you really ought to hear is the one she did in 1995 for her "Surrender" album. Full orchestra, and she absolutely NAILS the "Don't run off in the pouring rain..." lines. That recording is what got me into Tell Me/Song & Dance. I have most of the recordings available, even one in German by Gitte Haenning, and I'm actually thinking about putting together a fansite.

The cast recording of "Song & Dance" with Brightman was just re-issued on CD this past summer. The Really Useful Group outdid themselves with the packaging. They kept the original artwork from the LP release, and even added a libretto booklet that has the "Song" lyrics. Each page has a different graphic that sort of goes along with the song. There's a map of Manhattan, NYC skylines, palm trees, subway stations, an American flag, and my favorite... a "park that's covered in trees" for the song "Tell Me On A Sunday" to name a few.

My only problem is that while everything else is in brilliant color, the inside of the booklet is in black and white and would be stunning to see in color. It just looks out of place.

I'm hoping that since they took the time to do such a nice job on the CD re-issue, they'll get around to re-issuing the video on DVD. Keep your fingers crossed!

Updated On: 10/26/07 at 08:29 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 9:53pm

It's unlikely that "Song & Dance" will be revived..on Broadway anyway. EVITA, in many people's opinions, is one of his best 5 works if not the most original and best, yet that got revived in the West End and then was expected to be here (on Broadway) starting on November 10 I believe it was, but now becuase the London production closed after a year, they just are doing that Troka tour. Other than JCS and Joseph... which were both early '70s are his only shows to date to be revived. Oh well, I'd love to see like 6 of his shows from the '80s. Sorry!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/26/07 at 11:14pm

I'd like them to take Act 1 (or Tell Me) and produce it off-Broadway. Perhaps at the Lortel. I think it playing in the Village would be cool.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/27/07 at 4:17am

I think other than at Encores! concert or another kind of random concert staging we can't really expect for a professional production of the show in New York.
I will say that I think Richard Maltby's Jr. contribution made the score a thousand times better than TELL ME ON A SUNDAY is.

[moljul]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 1:29pm

BrodyFosse,

I think you are confusing two of Bernadette's projects. She left Into the Woods early to film Slaves of New York. This is why she was not in ITW at Tony time and it is suggested this also contributed to her not being nominated. Peters came into the show late and only signed on for 6 months because she was already scheduled to do Slaves. This all happened in 1989. Song and Dance was 1985-1986. Bernadette left Sunday in the Park With George at the end of her contract to start rehearsals for Song and Dance. But then she was in Song and Dance for a year.

[JRybka]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 4:40pm

why oh why did i think that she played the part between miss peters leaving and betty buckley's arrival. It might have been a week or somethig but I could have SWORN I remember it.

They could do a Encore's bit and have different women do each song.. that would be kind of cool.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 4:44pm

Well, Encores! doesn't do that kind of concert, though that is something that sounds great for an Actor's Fund Benefit performance a la FUNNY GIRL.
It is not the kind of show Encores! would do, it is also rather recent for them, but I just think seeing Jane Krakowski (who has already been part of an Encores! before) doing the show for only a handful of performances (I doubt her voice would survive an eight-days/week long run) would be heavenly.

[JRybka]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 5:07pm

I wish they had recorded Alice Ripley doing it when it was here in Washington DC.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 5:24pm

Just to clarify, the "updated" version that played London with Denise Van Outen and the DC version are only the first act of Song and Dance, entitled Tell Me on a Sunday (also the title of the newest recording featuring Van Outen). The second act of Song and Dance features only dancing (with a tiny bit of chorus singing in the finale), entitled Variations, and is rarely ever performed. The music incorporates Webber's own variations on a theme of Paganini mixed with variations on themes introduced in Tell Me on a Sunday. There are a few recordings of Variations released on classical labels, the best of which I think is the London Philharmonic.
Variations and Aurora

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/29/07 at 5:39pm

moljul -- thanks for the correction. Of course, you're absolutely right. I messed up INTO THE WOODS with SONG & DANCE.