BBC Radio ALNM

[Ke3]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:06pm

Stumbled upon something about a BBC radio broadcast of Night Music with Betty Buckley. Couldn't really find more info, but I did find this page which made me even more interested. It says, "part of a series of recordings of classic musicals specially recorded for the radio, which also included the dialogue adapted for the radio".

I was wondering if anybody knows what other shows were a part of that series? Any memories of the broadcasts? I'm assuming they all took place around the 90s when this one did. I tried googling around, but couldn't find much about a series of these BBC radio play adaptations.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:36pm

They went on for most of the 90s and well into the 2000s, but the 90s were really a golden age for BBC Radio Broadcast of musicals. Some highlights were:

1994: Sweeney Todd with Dennis Quilley (Sweeney Todd), Julia McKenzie (Mrs. Lovett), Adrian Lester (Anthony), Sheila Reid (Beggar Woman), Carol Starks (Johanna), Philip Curtis (Bird Seller), Christopher Benjamin (Judge Turpin), Barry James (Beadle Bamford), Adriana Lewis Morgan (Tobias Ragg), Nick Holder (Adolfo Pirelli), Stephen Hanley (Jonas Fogg).

1994: Call Me Madam with Tyne Daly (Mrs. Sally Adams), David Kernan (Cosmo Constantine), Shona Lindsay (Princess Maria), John Barrowman (Kenneth Gibson), Don Fellowes (Congressman Wilkins), David Healy (Sen. Gallagher), Dan Russell (Sen. Brockbank), Bob Sessions (Pemberton Maxwell), Freddy Lees (Hugo Tantinnin), Alan Benson (Dean Acheson/Court Chamberlain), Kim Grant (Henry Gibson/Grand Duke Otto), Pamela Cundell (Miss Phillips/Grand Duchess Sophie)

1995: Carousel with Mandy Patinkin (Billy Bigelow), Deborah Myers (Julie Jordan), Shezwae Powell (Aunt Nettie Fowler), Janie Dee (Carrie Pipperidge), Barry James (Enoch Snow, Sr.), John Altman (Jigger)

1995: The Music Man with Jim Dale (Prof. Harold Hill), Claire Moore (Marion Paroo), Antony Hamblin (Winthrop Paroo), David Healey (Mayor Shinn), Chris Gazzard (Tommy Djilas), Joan Savage (Eulalie Shinn), Carla Crossla (Zaneeta Shinn)

1996: My Fair Lady with Katrina Murphy (Eliza Doolittle), Tom Conti (Prof. Henry Higgins), Peter Bardeworth (Col. Pickering), Ron Moody (Alfred P. Doolittle), Margaret Courtenay (Mrs. Higgins), Robert Meadmore (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Elizabeth Seal (Mrs. Pearce), Jane Reeve (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill)

1996: Follies with Donna McKechnie (Phyllis), Julia McKenzie (Sally), Ron Moody (Buddy), Dennis Quilley (Benjamin), Angela Richards (Carlotta), Joan Savage (Stella), Libby Morris (Hattie), Elizabeth Seal (Solange), Eileen Page (Heidi), Oscar Quitak (Dimitri), Teddy Johnson (Theodore), Pearl Carr (Emily), Shona Lindsay (Young Sally), Michael Cahill (Young Buddy), Lori Hayley Fox (Young Phyllis), David Bardsley (Young Ben), Carie Ellis (Young Heidi), Stephen Hill (Roscoe)

1996: Jesus Christ Superstar with Tony Hadley (Jesus), Roger Daltrey (Judas), Frances Ruffelle (Mary), Gary Martin (Caiaphas), John Barr (Simon), Julian Clary (Herod), Jeff Shankley (Pilate), Stephen Hill (Peter)

1996: Mame with Julia McKenzie (Mame Dennis), Libby Morris (Vera Charles), David Kernan (Beauregard), Claire Moore (Agnes Gooch), Robert Meadmore (Patrick Dennis), Eiji Kusuhara (Ito), Jon Lee (Patrick Dennis at 10), Jean Reeve (Madame Branislowski/ Mother Burnside/ Mrs. Upson), Bob Sessions (Mr. Babcock), Howard Attfield (Mr. Upson), Stephen Hill (Uncle Jeff), The Stephen Hill Singers

1996: The King and I with Joss Ackland (King of Siam), Barbara Cook (Miss Anna), Shezwae Powell (Lady Thiang), Daryl Kwan (Kralahome), John Lee (Louis), Naomi Atami (Tuptim), Mario Frangoulis (Lun Tha), Kim Grant (Sir Edward Ramsey/Captain Orton), Bia Julakasiaun (Prince Chulalongkorn), The Children of Sylvia Young Theatre School, Stephen Hill Singers

1997: Anything Goes with Tyne Daly (Reno Sweeney), Tim Flavin (Billy Crocker), Anne Wakfield (Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt), Helen Way (Hope Harcourt), David Soul (Moonface), Simone Jones (Evelyn Oakleigh), Samantha Shaw (Erma), Howard Atfield (Elijah Whitney).

There was also a Guys and Dolls with Mandy Patinkin as Sky in 1994 and A Touch of Venus with Paige O'Hara in 1997

Updated On: 4/18/22 at 10:36 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:39pm

Jesus, those casts! Were they presented as live stage concert performances, or just recorded in a booth for radio? And do archival recordings exist? I know portions of the McKenzie Mame have shown up on YouTube. 

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:44pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jesus, those casts! Were they presented as live stage concert performances, or just recorded in a booth for radio? And do archival recordings exist? I know portions of the McKenzie Mame have shown up on YouTube."

I think most of them were performed in front of an audience at places like Royal Festival Hall or even Royal Albert Hall. Most of these survive, I included some clips in the previous post

[Ke3]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:44pm

imeldasturn said: "They went on for most of the 90s and well into the 2000s, but the 90s were really a golden age for BBC Radio Broadcast of musicals. Some highlights were:

1994: Sweeney Todd with Dennis Quilley (Sweeney Todd), Julia McKenzie (Mrs. Lovett), Adrian Lester (Anthony),Sheila Reid (Beggar Woman), Carol Starks (Johanna), Philip Curtis (Bird Seller), Christopher Benjamin (Judge Turpin), Barry James (Beadle Bamford), Adriana Lewis Morgan (Tobias Ragg), Nick Holder (Adolfo Pirelli), Stephen Hanley (Jonas Fogg).

1994: Call Me Madam withTyne Daly (Mrs. Sally Adams), David Kernan (Cosmo Constantine), Shona Lindsay (Princess Maria), John Barrowman (Kenneth Gibson), Don Fellowes (Congressman Wilkins), David Healy (Sen. Gallagher), Dan Russell (Sen. Brockbank), Bob Sessions (Pemberton Maxwell), Freddy Lees (Hugo Tantinnin), Alan Benson (Dean Acheson/Court Chamberlain), Kim Grant (Henry Gibson/Grand Duke Otto), Pamela Cundell (Miss Phillips/Grand Duchess Sophie)

1995: Carousel withMandy Patinkin (Billy Bigelow), Deborah Myers (Julie Jordan), Shezwae Powell (Aunt Nettie Fowler), Janie Dee (Carrie Pipperidge), Barry James (Enoch Snow, Sr.), John Altman (Jigger)

1995: The Music Man withJim Dale (Prof. Harold Hill), Claire Moore (Marion Paroo), Antony Hamblin (Winthrop Paroo), David Healey (Mayor Shinn), Chris Gazzard (Tommy Djilas), Joan Savage (Eulalie Shinn), Carla Crossla (Zaneeta Shinn)

1996: My Fair Lady withKatrina Murphy (Eliza Doolittle), Tom Conti (Prof. Henry Higgins), Peter Bardeworth (Col. Pickering), Ron Moody (Alfred P. Doolittle), Margaret Courtenay (Mrs. Higgins), Robert Meadmore (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Elizabeth Seal (Mrs. Pearce), Jane Reeve (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill)

1996: Follies withDonna McKechnie (Phyllis), Julia McKenzie (Sally), Ron Moody (Buddy), Dennis Quilley (Benjamin), Angela Richards (Carlotta), Joan Savage (Stella), Libby Morris (Hattie), Elizabeth Seal (Solange), Eileen Page (Heidi), Oscar Quitak (Dimitri), Teddy Johnson (Theodore), Pearl Carr (Emily), Shona Lindsay (Young Sally), Michael Cahill (Young Buddy), Lori Hayley Fox (Young Phyllis), David Bardsley (Young Ben), Carie Ellis (Young Heidi), Stephen Hill (Roscoe)

1996: Jesus Christ Superstar with Tony Hadley (Jesus), Roger Daltrey (Judas), Frances Ruffelle (Mary), Gary Martin (Caiaphas), John Barr (Simon), Julian Clary (Herod), Jeff Shankley (Pilate), Stephen Hill (Peter)

1996: Mame withJulia McKenzie (Mame Dennis), Libby Morris (Vera Charles), David Kernan (Beauregard), Claire Moore (Agnes Gooch), Robert Meadmore (Patrick Dennis), Eiji Kusuhara (Ito), Jon Lee (Patrick Dennis at 10), Jean Reeve (Madame Branislowski/ Mother Burnside/ Mrs. Upson), Bob Sessions (Mr. Babcock), Howard Attfield (Mr. Upson), Stephen Hill (Uncle Jeff), The Stephen Hill Singers

1996: The King and I withJoss Ackland (King of Siam), Barbara Cook (Miss Anna), Shezwae Powell (Lady Thiang), Daryl Kwan (Kralahome), John Lee (Louis), Naomi Atami (Tuptim), Mario Frangoulis (Lun Tha), Kim Grant (Sir Edward Ramsey/Captain Orton), Bia Julakasiaun (Prince Chulalongkorn), The Children of Sylvia Young Theatre School, Stephen Hill Singers

1997: Anything Goes withTyne Daly (Reno Sweeney), Tim Flavin (Billy Crocker), Anne Wakfield (Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt), Helen Way (Hope Harcourt), David Soul (Moonface), Simone Jones (Evelyn Oakleigh), Samantha Shaw (Erma), Howard Atfield (Elijah Whitney).

There was also a Guys and Dolls with Mandy Patinkin as Sky in 1994 and A Touch of Venus with Paige O'Hara in 1997"

Thank you so much!! I couldn't find a comprehensive list of which shows were done. Interested to know how well adapting them to a new medium worked? Follies as a radio play sounds thrilling!

These sorts of radio broadcasts seem to have been much more popular in Europe than they were here in the US. 

 

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 10:54pm

Thank you so much!! I couldn't find a comprehensive list of which shows were done. Interested to know how well adapting them to a new medium worked? Follies as a radio play sounds thrilling!

These sorts of radio broadcasts seem to have been much more popular in Europe than they were here in the US.

"

Some worked better than the others. Sweeney Todd remained virtually the same and was superbly performed by pretty much the whole cast of the excellent NT revival of the previous year. Follies was a bit clunky because they had to acknowledge the ghosts and it was very weird and handled pretty poorly - when Young Ben and Young Sally start talking in the middle of In Buddy's Eyes Julia McKenzie and Denis Quilley said something silly like "Look!" "it's us".

Betty Buckley as Desirée was a last-minute replacement. She was currently playing Norma in Sunset Boulevard and replaced Diana Rigg, who in turn was supposed to replace Faye Dunaway

Updated On: 4/18/22 at 10:54 PM

[Ke3]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 11:11pm

Not to be that annoying person who keeps bumping their own thread, but I found the full Guys and Dolls performance. Thought I'd share!

https://archive.org/details/guysanddolls

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 4/18/22 at 11:14pm

Ke3 said: "Not to be that annoying person who keeps bumping their own thread, but I found the full Guys and Dolls performance. Thought I'd share!

https://archive.org/details/guysanddolls"

Yes they also have the BBC versions of Sweeney Todd, Kismet and Jesus Christ Superstar https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22BBC+Musical%22

[colbol2005]

Posted: 4/19/22 at 5:50am

John Wilson did a live one night recording of Andre Previn & Johnny Mercer’s ‘The Good Companions’ in 2009, for BBC Radio 3. Does anyone know if this is available anywhere? Would love to hear it. Thanks

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/19/22 at 9:06am

They did Threepenny Opera also, with Peachum played by Zubin Varla.

I love the BBC Superstar; it’s certainly not definitive, but it’s a rare occasion of a Jesus and Judas singing like themselves in their own way and not trying to fit the molds set by the Brown Album or the movie.

[willep]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 1:11pm

Thanks for sharing those links! I listened to the Guys and Dolls yesterday. Fascinating casting, Patinkin as Sky. The cartoonish accents by everyone around him were pretty rough. The Adelaide was pretty much unbearable. But I still am glad such a thing exists! I’ve been excitedly scrolling through all the BBC shows on that site, what a treasure trove!