Elmer Bernstein's two musicals

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 7:41pm

How Now Dow Jones (1967) and Merlin (1983)...

What were they like? Any posters care to share their opinions/memories?

Thanks.

 

[CorkySt.Clair]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 7:44pm

I'm not really familiar with his musicals, but I'm absolutely thrilled to hear he wrote them! His score for To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite film scores of all time. I'll  definitely try to find those two now. 

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 7:54pm

Yeah, he's definitely one of my favorite film composers - I've been listening to the recent "essential collection" by the City Of Prague orchestra and loving it - so many classics. Hence my curiosity about his ventures into Broadway musicals. I don't expect them to necessarily be in the same league as his film scores, but they surely have some merit.

[Cesare2]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 8:16pm

I saw MERLIN.  There was a song that I still kind of remember  -- "He Who Know the Way" -- sung multiple times by Edmund Lyndeck, who played a wizard.  Apparently no one, though,  knew the way, because the show kept extending its preview period.  (Lyndeck, BTW, a few months earlier, had played Nora's lover in A DOLL'S LIFE, the Hellinger's previous tenant.)  Chita Rivera played an evil queen and Nathan Lane played her cowardly son.  Chita had a big song "Satan Rules," which, IIRC, ended with her -- spoiler alert -- turning into stone.  Doug Henning  as Merlin performed various magic acts.

I think the opening number is somewhere on youtube, as is "Step to the Rear," the big song from DOW JONES.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 8:24pm

I saw both shows.  HNDJ had two good songs, Step to the Rear and He's Here, a comic ditty sung by Brenda Vaccaro.  'He's here, he's here, he's here...I can't find my brassiere, brassiere, brassiere'.  if Merlin had any decent songs, I don't remember them.

I guess he was more effective at movie scores.  Magnificent Seven is one of the greats.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 9:11pm

You have reduced He's Here to doggerel. How Now Dow Jones is a fairly textbook flop 60s score, but one thing it has is a superb set of lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. 

Here's the lyric for He's Here.

He’s here! He’s here! My long-awaited Lancelot is here, my God, he’s here.

Gadzooks! God-what? I’m trembling in my pants a lot. That far he’s not, but near.

And I complained of playing Sleeping Beauty.

And how I nagged you Lord to make it stop.

And how I hated waiting for the other shoe to drop.

So now it dropped. And oh, with dishes in the sink is it of joy I think or fear.

I dreamed someday my prince would come.

The reason’s not quite clear.

How weird. How odd.

I can’t think of a thing to say but oh my God he’s here.

Penelope am I and he’s Ulysses.

The man for whom I’ve waited and repined

Penelope am I ...

But frankly nothing comes to mind.

Except oh hell, my hose are hanging in the john

Should I go pale and wan, or cheer?

And on this magic day of days I’ve worn a torn brassiere.

Oh drat! Oh damn!

He could have sent a telegram and how was he so sure the coast was clear?

That cluck! That clod!

He’s absolutely beautiful but oh, my God...

He’s here.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/2/17 at 9:26pm

I did say that was one of two good songs.  I actually thought that lyric was funny...I remember the audience laughing a lot during that number.  The show was totally stupid.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 7/5/17 at 11:42am

Elmer's last film score was to FAR FROM HEAVEN, which is one of my all-time favorite movies. I know that Frankel/Korie tried to capture its feel with their stage adaptation. I'm curious as to how similar they sound when played consecutively.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/5/17 at 12:42pm

I was visiting Martin Short in his dressing room after LITTLE ME and Nathan Lane walked in. I mentioned that I had enjoyed his performance in MERLIN and Lane responded, " Well, I didn't".