Baker Street-The Hottest Broadway Musical of 1965!

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 7:46pm

Ok, so maybe the liner notes were wrong, but this show does fascinate me.

Also from the liner notes:

The New York opening took place February 16, 1965 at the Broadway Theatre and the show became an immediate sensation shattering all attendance records in the history of the Broadway legitimate theatre.

If you are going to stretch the truth, you might as well go all the way!

I have the cast album on vinyl, so I am not sure if this made its way to the CD version.

I find it interesting that Bock and Harnick were called in to fix and add some songs, but you wouldn't know it from the album notes. Nary a word.

I also liked this little snippet from wikipedia:

Producer Alexander H. Cohen {the same one who wrote the above liner notes} felt the show as such an event that he announced, prior to the opening, men would not be admitted unless they were clad in jackets and ties, and women would be allowed in only if they wore dresses. This policy quickly changed once the mixed reviews were in and Cohen realized he needed all the business he could get, no matter how it was attired.

Christopher Walken and Tommy Tune made their Broadway debuts in minor roles. You can clearly pick out the unidentified Tune as the one wearing a turban (!) towering over everyone else in a cast shot.

The costumes look great in the photos and Tony-winning set design looks lush.

Have there been any remountings of note of this show? Anyone see the original or a community production? Thought?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 7:56pm

I saw the original and it was an up and down (mostly up) experience.
The choreography and Inga Swenson and Fritz Weaver were truely memorable.
WHAT A NIGHT THIS IS GOUNG TO BE was an incredible number, the OBCA captured a lot of the magic.
ROOF SPACE was a thrilling dance number, I sprained my ankle dancing to it in my living room.
I do believe it is or was released on a CD, but I could be wrong.

I remember it quite fondly.

[Thomas14850ny2]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:00pm

I totally second CurtainPull Downer's comments, having also seen the original production. Anything that Inga Swenson did was wonderful and I can still see the Corontation Parade!

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:01pm

I just checked, and luckily it is released on CD!

For anyone who is interested, you can view it here:

Baker Street OCR

Updated On: 5/21/08 at 08:01 PM

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:14pm

Just to clarify, I collect OBCs on vinyl, so I am not interested in a CD version.

It is great to hear from those who attended! Inga Swenson sounds magical on the stage. It is a shame she never returned. With a name like Swenson and that voice, she would make a great Madame Armfeldt.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:17pm

Oh dear... I saw the original mounting too.

I remember Tommy in the turban!

Wasn't the greatest show but I still enjoyed it because of the fabulous cast.

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:21pm

It's a lovely CD.


I LOVE Inga Swenson's "I'd Do It Again." Worth the price of the album alone.

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 8:59pm

TooDarnHot, I am still cracking up over that turban. I can't recognize Walken in any of the pictures. Shame.

[Thomas14850ny2]

Posted: 5/21/08 at 10:08pm

I totally second CurtainPull Downer's comments, having also seen the original production. Anything that Inga Swenson did was wonderful and I can still see the Corontation Parade!

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 12:36am

I doesn't have any clips from the show in it, but here's the television spot for "Baker Street"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Iv7S-b820

(I thought that "Pippin" was the first Broadway show to have a commercial. Or do they mean that it was the first one to show some of the actual show in the commercial?)

"Baker Street" wasn't the first show for which Bock and Harnick wrote uncredited songs. They also wrote some songs for "Her First Roman". They did it for "Baker Street" to help out Hal Prince, who directed their "She Love Me". Not sure why they did it for "Roman".

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 12:54am

Oh yeah
I'D DO IT AGAIN
is a terrific song and would be great for some of our current young Divas with a voice to do it justice.
It has a wonderful dramatic turn around.

"I'd do it again
Go through it again
If Love would come now
I would break every vow"
Updated On: 5/22/08 at 12:54 AM

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 1:02am

This is one of those musicals that just fascinates me. I wish I would have been around to experience it. They did very recently release the recording on CD which is how I got my hands on it.

And I would LOVE to hear Emily Skinner sing "I'd Do It Again".

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 1:02am

This is one of those musicals that just fascinates me. I wish I would have been around to experience it. They did very recently release the recording on CD which is how I got my hands on it.

And I would LOVE to hear Emily Skinner sing "I'd Do It Again".

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 1:19am

cfmiller...thanks for sharing that interesting piece of theater history! Now, I would love to see another revival for this one!

Since I'm a BIG Christopher Walken fan, it was cool to find out something I didn't know about him (I guess I've never taken the time to review his beginnings), that he made his Bway debut in Baker Street...!
Sondheimboy2, way to go digging up that TV spot! :) You just answeared another trivia question we could have asked here, about the first show to have a commercial... :)
And, geek (did I tell you I think geeks are COOL?!), thanks for posting the link to the CD--not a bad price at all!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 2:47am

We were in town to see other shows and the sign on The Broadway Theater was so amazing, we got tickets. For what it was, it was pretty good but that incredible neon sign was amazing. Nobody matched Alex Cohen for hucksterism.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 5/22/08 at 4:10am

Ohmygod. I just watched the ad and it shows the giant sign over the theater, except it is shot during the day. At night is was all lit up in animated neon and wrapped around the theater.

[stagescreen]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 4:33pm

Does anyone have a picture of any of the Baker Street ads that were still lingering around Midtown until the late '80s/early '90s? Or a photo of any of the Baker Street "street signs"?

My partner remembers seeing an old Baker Street ad on the side of a building around the time Phantom openend in '88...

[puppetman2]

Posted: 5/23/08 at 4:50pm

Saw the original cast after they had replaced one of Swenson's songs with "Buffalo Girls". It was a really fun show, especially for a Sherlock Holmes fan. "Jewelry" was another fun songs.