Posted: 7/9/26 at 7:18pm
It’s a shame this beautiful show is hardly ever done. Not only is it a first rate score, but the book by Robert E Lee and Jerome Lawrence is the best of all the Jerry Herman shows. It’s a far superior show than La Cage or Hello Dolly or Mame or Mack and Mabel or The Grand Tour
Posted: 7/9/26 at 9:10pm
The book is messy and talky, the production numbers hurt the intimate feel of the show. Lansbury was fabulous - probably her finest Broadway role, up there with Gypsy and Lovett. The other madwomen, Connell and Matthews, were equally excellent. The garbage=sewer man had no good material, so the trial scene fell flat. But those production numbers should just have been solos for Angela with a concertina or accordion. The lyrics of the title song are awful, and seeing the ensemble dressed as doctors and nurses in surgeons outfits was camp in the worst possible way. But hearing Angela sing I Don't Want To Know is one of the finest musical theatre moments I have ever experienced, right up there with Merman in Everything's Coming Up Roses and Rose'Turn and Martin in Neverland and I Gotta Crow and Alfred Drake in Kismet.
Updated On: 7/9/26 at 09:10 PM
Posted: 7/9/26 at 9:18pm
Fred Mason said: "It’s a shame this beautiful show is hardly ever done. Not only is it a first rate score, but the book by Robert E Lee and Jerome Lawrence is the best of all the Jerry Herman shows. It’s a far superior show than La Cage or Hello Dolly or Mame or Mack and Mabel or The Grand Tour"
There is something wrong with you,
Posted: 7/9/26 at 11:53pm
I saw DW 3 times in early 1969 (pretty sure), once in Boston, twice in NYC. I really enjoyed the show, because of Jerry Herman's score and Lansbury's great performance. Every time I saw it, it actually got worse. The first time I saw Each Tomorrow Morning, I thought it was one of the most beautifully staged numbers I had seen to that point (I was only 18 or 19, but I had seen just about every musical in the prior 5 seasons). They completely changed it twice in NYC.
What was wrong: the book was a disaster, the direction got worse over time (can't remember if they changed directors), the choreography also got worse. Other than Lansbury and Jane Connell, the best you could say about the rest of the case was that they were competent. The title number, despite having a great melody, might be the stupidest title song in Broadway history (sorry for the hyperbole, but it was such a stupid declaration).
No, DW is not the best Jerry Herman musical. First, there are the obvious three: Hello Dolly; Mame; and La Cage. Then there is Milk and Honey, a gentle show that was probably his only other hit Herman had. I loved The Grand Tour, which was flawed, but which the audience loved. Then, maybe Dear World, which was actually better than Mack and Mabel, which -- despite a great score -- was a horrible night in the theatre...the audience barely applauded at the end of that one.
Anyone who thinks DW is his best show is entitled to their opinion, but I still feel sorry for them.
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