Anyone can Whistle

I have been listening to the Crnegie Hall recording of this show, and I love the score and the idea. I was wondering if anyone knows why it was such a flop when it first opened?

It has a very incoherent book. If you can, read the published script, it gives you great insight on why the show did not succeed.
It has one of my favorite Sondheim scores and three great starring roles but I really dislike the book. It'd be great if it could get a "revisal," I think it could work as a Roundabout revival.

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i agree, it's a fantastic CD but a horrible actual show - the book needs some work...maybe like they did on "Frogs"?

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i agree, it's a fantastic CD but a horrible actual show - the book needs some work...maybe like they did on "Frogs"?

I hope not like what they did on The Frogs, that was a critical failure.

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I usually "get" Sondheim shows. But it wasnt until I heard an interview with Sondheim explaining his and Laurent's intentions in writing the show that I went "oh, thats what it is all about."

I thought the Cookie Jar was an insane asylum. I thought "socially pressured" was a euphemism for "crazy." Actually the Cookie Jar is a sort of rehab center for those who have trouble with the "pressure' of conforming to the accepted social norms of 1964 society.

Sondheim said that that idea is largely irrelevant today, but at the time it brought up a lot of hostile feelings from the audience whose way of life was being challenged.

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The book has a yriad of problems, but it's not incoherent. It's very black humour, taking on societal peer pressure, religious fundamentalism... all manner of things that simply werent "done" in 1960s musicals. Add into the mix that it was a three act show that ended the first act by pretty much insulting the intelligence of the audience, and you have something with definite issues.

It might work better now, but in 1962 it was a bit much for an audience that seemed to prefer lighter fare.

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I'm not a hundred perecent sure, but "THere's Always a Woman" sounds like it is edited/redone to cover her ****up.

Sondheim doesn't hate this show, if anything it was the show that got him to work with Angela Lansbury for the first time and he got to write for and work with Lee Remick whom he loved. It was his first flop but he doesn't speak of this show with the kind of embarrassment he speaks of say "I Feel Pretty."
I wish there was a recording of Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury singing "There's Always A Woman."
"With So Little to Be Sure Of" is in first place along with "Too Many Mornings" as the most romantic song I've listened to.

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Sondheim doesn't hate it, but he prefers not to go to productions becuase he says it brings back many sour memories for him.

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I don't think the book is incoherent, or even bad for that matter. I saw a production a few years back that I thought worked really well. I suppose I understand why the book isn't everyone's cup of tea (which is something I find myself always saying in regard to my favorite Sondheim shows), though.

I do feel that Whistle suffers the same problems as Merrily in that no matter what sorts of revisions are made or what the climate for the show is, it will never overcome the infamy of its original production and never stand a fighting chance of being anything but a cult favorite.


Edited for clarity

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Updated On: 2/22/07 at 01:39 PM

I heard the recording and love everything Madeline Kahn sang. She was one of the best vocalist to ever appear on Broadway and the silver screen. It's a shame she didn't do more musicals on stage and screen.

It is a shame that Madeline Kahn didn't do more musicals on stage, but having seen her in ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY I can understand why. I saw the 4th performance, and she was definitely having problems that early in her abbreviated run. As funny as she was as Lily Garland, she had a very strange energy throughout the show. You could visibly see her withdraw when the focus wasn't on her character, perk up for her moment, and then withdraw again. As it turned out she couldn't sustain 8 shows a week, and after that debacle it was pretty much assured she'd never headline a Broadway musical again. It's too bad. I've always felt that if they had let her do 6 shows a week and let Judy Kaye do the matinees, as she had requested, things would have worked out and the show would have run a lot longer than it did.

Her performance in THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG, however: Brilliance. Absolute brilliance. But that wasn't a musical.

Back to thread.

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Anyone Can Whistle will always have a soft spot in my heart. It seems that every production has some sort of catastrophy associated with it. The one I was in, the entire cast got sick and we had 4 different Fay Apples...yeah.

Anyway I agree the score is brilliant. I think the book is unclear. It's very confusing to see but it's even harder to act. It's not entirely clear what should be played. The cookies aren't really CRAZY but they seem crazy. They're social anarchists of a sort. They're trying to change the world, but how does one play that? It's odd for sure and I'm not sure if it can be fixed without changing the entire show.

It flopped because it was very odd, yes, but bold. It dealt with sexism, racism, religious order, political corruption etc.
Now keep in mind that shows like Hello Dolly! and Fiddler on the Roof were coming out. People wanted escapism from theatre.
Not to mention that it's 1964. The civil rights struggle, Kennedy's assasination, rock music, Vietnam war, the beginnings of feminism were all current in the lives of americans. They didn't want to see that America is filled with corrupt leaders, racists, sexists and bigoted fools. The point of the show was "chances are you are one of these fools and we must change". It is called a musical fable. The end of the act was the cast turning to the audience and basically mocking their complacency.

Sondheim def would rather forget this experience. He doesn't hate the show. He does think it's outdated...but we all know that isn't true. All of those things are alive and well in America

Updated On: 2/23/07 at 01:22 PM