Evening Primrose??

#1

Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:10pm

So I just heard about this show today and found it extremely odd. Does anyone else find it bizarre that it's a show about a secret group of people living in a department store....I mean doesn't that sound like a SNL skit or soemthing haha. Maybe I'm missing something here but does anyone have thoughts or wanna defend this show??

#2

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:15pm

It's not really a "show", per se; it was presented on television as part of Playhouse 67. It only has four songs, and two of them-"I Remember" and "Take Me To The World"-have become cabaret staples. I think the music is beautiful, personally, and would find it very interesting to see the show in maybe a cozy Off-Broadway theatre. My ideal casting would be Malcolm Gets and Alice Ripley.

#3

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:18pm

The music is gorgeous, all of it (If You Can Find Me, I'm Here; I Remember; When?; and Take Me to the World). The only cd featuring the score together is The Frogs/Evening Primrose CD; Neil Patrick Harris plays Charles and Theresa McCarthy as Ella.

#4

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:20pm

I LOVE the music for this....

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"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

#5

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:20pm

Theresa McCarthy has the PERFECT voice for these songs. She sings them so beautifully. Someone needs to write her a show.

By the CD; read Frank Rich's great liner notes.

#6

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:25pm

There is a recording of Evening Primrose on the same disc as the original recording of The Frogs. I think that EP has wonderful music and I would suggest it to anyone.

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Question: Will Esparza win for The Homecoming? BobbyBubby: I hope so. If only for the mental health of many people on this board.

#7

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:53pm

I adore Evening Primrose too.
It's actually also performed in it's entirety on Mandy Patinkin's "Dress Casual" album with him playing Charles and Bernadette Peters playing Ella.

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"We are engaged in two wars, one on drugs and one on terror, that can never be won. I mean, one is a group of inanimate objects and the other is an emotion. We might as well fight a war on pasta, which I guess the Atkins people are actually doing."

#8

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 9:57pm

Mandy and Bernadette do it wonderfully.

#9

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 10:02pm

Oh don't they? I can listen to it over and over...

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"We are engaged in two wars, one on drugs and one on terror, that can never be won. I mean, one is a group of inanimate objects and the other is an emotion. We might as well fight a war on pasta, which I guess the Atkins people are actually doing."

#10

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 10:12pm

Me too. Mandy's voice just wraps around the part and totally envelops it.

#11

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 10:15pm

I'm peeved I'm at work now cause I really want to listen to it.
"Take Me to the World" makes me cry. Actually most of it makes me cry, but then I'm a terrible wuss.
Makes me wish Mandy and Bernadette would do everything together.

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"We are engaged in two wars, one on drugs and one on terror, that can never be won. I mean, one is a group of inanimate objects and the other is an emotion. We might as well fight a war on pasta, which I guess the Atkins people are actually doing."

#12

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 11:02pm

I saw one of the few (only?) copies of Evening Primrose at the Museum of Television and Radio. It was very poor quality, but i was enthralled. Anthony Perkins SINGS, and does so beautifully. It's a bizarre story, but well acted and directed. It probably would seem stranger today on TV, considering The Outer Limits and Twilight Zone etc. were running at the time.

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'The Devil be hitting me!'--Whitney Houston

Updated On: 4/23/05 at 11:02 PM

#13

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 11:07pm

I'm so jealous. I would have love to see it.

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"We are engaged in two wars, one on drugs and one on terror, that can never be won. I mean, one is a group of inanimate objects and the other is an emotion. We might as well fight a war on pasta, which I guess the Atkins people are actually doing."

#14

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/22/05 at 11:08pm

Yeah, it's weird. And I bought the recording of The Frogs/Evening Primrose and I absolutely hate it. I can't bear to listen to it. The only song I remotely like is "I Remember".

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A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

Updated On: 4/22/05 at 11:08 PM

#15

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 12:40am

I'm singing Take Me to the World with my singing teacher. It's such a beautiful song, I love singing it.

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"This is what I trained to do, and this is what I love about theater. What I love about being an actress is being able to really look into myself and understand another human being. And out my own self, to shape and form and fashion a real human being--and to present that in such a way that people see something of themselves or their own understanding in that human being." --Phylicia Rashad

#16

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 1:20am

that black and white at the TV Museum is scarey!
as i am sure it was mean't to be
Anthony Perkins is Perfection
there's elevators, no escalaors and windows and that score and typewriters i think
the print I saw was in very good condition
the actors playin the mannequins still hang out at the Equity Lounge
nothing wrong with that
it's worth the watch
and both recordings are very special
Peters and Patankin really build it
and McCarthy and Harris bring a great freshnesss to a young writer's so promising score
I like it alot

Updated On: 4/23/05 at 01:20 AM

#17

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 1:21pm

i sang take me to the world from this, ive never seen it tho, it does sound weird

#18

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 2:23pm

I seem to recall a Varese Sarabande recording called "Sondheim at the Movies" in which Gary Beach and a gal whose name eludes me sang the EP score in it's entirety as well.

Ya never know, since Sondheim is apparently uninterested in writing new shows, maybe he'll add to the EP score like he did for THE FROGS.

#19

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 4:11pm

Who says that Sondheim is uninterested in writing new shows?

He spent four years trying to fix and rewrite Wise Guys/Gold/Bounce and said at the time of his recent 75th Birthday celebrations that he has a couple of new projects he's presently working on.

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"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

#20

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 4:18pm

Liz Callaway is the woman singing with Gary Beach on the CD Sondheim At The Movies. She has one of the most perfect voices.

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The truly beautiful should be lawfully restricted from wearing clothing; and the truly butt-ugly should be lawfully mandated from going naked.

#21

re: Evening Primrose??

Posted: 4/23/05 at 7:11pm

My favourite Sondheim song is "I REMEMBER ( SKY)" - such a haunting melody and such crisp lyrics.

I love the way Anthony Perkins sang it and I was very pleasantly surprised to hear Barbra Streisand sing it as a Christmas song ( with additional lyrics from Stephen Sondheim to make it fit her Christmas theme album).