'Broadway's Lost Treasures II' — with LuPone, Rivera and Lansbury — Premieres Aug. 9 - playbill.com

Agreed. I was thrilled to see Bea and Angie, enraged to see the infamous "I AM WHAT I AM" in a tuxedo...and bored with the rest of the show...(although who doesn't love Patti's gibberish performances? MORE PATTI PLEASE!).

I've always admired George Hearn's voice and acting abilities - but what was he thinking when he refused to do the number in drag as it is written in the show???? That sends a very bad message, if you ask me.

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I like the show. Nathan was so cute with a mustache in Guys and Doll and Jerry Orbach soooooooo young in Chicago.

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That didn't happen to me. I also agree that they should do more worthy performances. I enjoyed about 40% of it. A lot of these aren't "Lost Treasures". The first one had more memorable performances. They should do Gwen in CHARITY, Chita in SPIDERWOMAN the INTO THE WOODS medley. All of these I would pay to watch.

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I WILL be buying the DVD though, I want to see the NINE and COCO performances with passion!

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"I really like the idea of them showing the things taped at the Tony's BEFORE they started televising them."

The original idea behind the Broadway's Lost Treasures series was to put together the numbers from the shows performed during the years Alexander Cohen ran the broadcast -- 1967 (the year of the first national telecast) to 1986 (Cohen's son I believe is one of the producers of this series). The numbers you see that come from pre-1967 musicals are from the various tributes and production numbers that appeared on Tony broadcasts of the 70's and 80's, in which the original stars came back to recreate memorable numbers that they were known for.

Not sure why Les Miz or the 1992 "Guys and Dolls" revival was included given how recent it is (though it's a great number) and I guess they wanted to show "Jelly's Last Jam" in order to honor Hines' untimely passing.

Prior to 1967, the show was broadcast on radio and then starting in the mid-50s, on local NY television (WCBS Channel 2 and WWOR Channel 9). But it was a decidedly low key affair -- usually held in a local hotel ballroom, no production numbers from any of the shows, just a band (Meyer Davis and his orchestra) to play the presenters on and off the stage, and the ceremonies rarely lasted more than an hour or so (Ken Mandelbaum gave a "review" of a tape he came across of one of the ceremonies from the early 60's -- I think he said that the whole show lasted a little more than an hour and from his description it sounded like a decidedly lackluster affair).

In short, there isn't anything to show from the years "BEFORE they started televising them."

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Updated On: 8/11/04 at 07:21 PM

Did anyone notice how yellow Patti LuPone's teeth were?

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Wow. Harsh words. Although I saw a lot of these broadcasts over the years, I still found much to enjoy in this broadcast, largely due to seeing some very sharp choreography again.

- "We'll Take a Glass Together" from Grand Hotel. Since Tommy Tune was a Bennett disciple, he knew how to build a number to the same level of hysteria that Bennett did. "We'll Take a Glass" is thrillingly staged, and Jeter is a joy to watch, nor can I forget his impassioned, heartbreaking Tony acceptance speech he made just a few moments later.

- "Anything Goes" from Anything Goes. Some very sharp tap choreography from Michael Smuin, who also did good work for Sophisticated Ladies, but after Shogun, The Musical, seemed to disappear. (Is he still with us? Anyone know?) Also, it was nice to hear more of the Tom Fay dance arrangements than what's included on the cast recording. And Lupone is just blissfully out of her mind in the clip. I find it incredibly enjoyable.

- "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" from Guys & Dolls. The Guys & Dolls revival was one of the few recent instances where even with some fancy new dance arrangements and orchestrations, the production honored the look, the sound and the text of the original production, while bringing something new to the table. "Sit Down" adds a little bit of build-up material to the ending, but those sound like the original vocal arrangements to me, and the late Christopher Chadman's choreography is crisp and exciting.

- "We Are What We Are" from La Cage aux Folles. It's never been my favorite show, but I did enjoy seeing the Cagelles part of this number again. Good choroegraphy from Scott Salmon, and Jim Tyler's orchestrations and Gordon Harrell's dance arrangements are sublime. I am praying they keep them for the revival. It's gloriously overwritten.

- "Off Time" from Ain't Misbehavin'. Forgot that they did this number, and "The Ladies Who Sing With the Band," since "Handful of Keys," or "This Joint is Jumping" might have been more logical choices. Still, Arthur Faria gets those ladies moving, and while every second of that production was staged within an inch of its life, it was made to look organic, like the performers were coming up with it on the spot. Sure, Ain't Misbehavin' paved the way for a million wildly inferior composer songbook revues, but it was truly one of the great evenings.

- "That's How You Jazz" from Jelly's Last Jam. I still can't quite believe that Gregory Hines is gone. Jelly was a unique piece that I remember started to unravel in Act Two, but you couldn't take your eyes off of it. Fun number, Hines is great to watch in action, and the ensemble manages to create some really individual characterizations. Everyone seems to have something going on, instead of remaining bland and faceless.

Finally...

- "Bosom Buddies" from Mame. When those ladies started going in to the original Onna White choreography, right down to the shimmy playoff, I just went out of my mind. Bea Arthur seems somewhat distracted, but even that works somehow to her advantage. And Lansbury seems to be having a ball.

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