FINIAN'S RAINBOW starring Arte Johnson as Og

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 3/17/11 at 10:47am

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from Milwaukee!

Today I posted a new page on the "Memories of Melody Top" website about a 1974 production of FINIAN’S RAINBOW with Arte Johnson as Og. The cast also featured Wisconsin natives Barbara Williams as Sharon and David Holliday as Woody. Readers of this board who collect cast recordings will recognize those names from THE STREETS OF NEW YORK and COCO. Barbara appeared as Alida Bloodgood in THE STREETS OF NEW YORK, and her vocals on "He’ll Come to Me, Crawling" and "Laugh After Laugh" are highlights of the recording. Listening to the recording of COCO, David Holliday’s big, baritone voice was an asset in two numbers: "Let’s Go Home" and "A Woman is How She Loves."

Please take a look at the site to learn more about this summer stock show. Not only are there photographs from the stage and backstage, but I was lucky to obtain a copy of Arte’s invitation to the opening night cast party. There are also newspaper reviews, cast biographies and an old interview with Arte about his time in southeastern Wisconsin.

Memories of Melody Top (Seein' Stars, Page 4) Updated On: 3/17/11 at 10:47 AM

[beaemma]

Posted: 3/18/11 at 3:33pm

Arte had quite a biography--from would-be icthyologist to BA in journalism to MA in history to Og! I'm sure I saw him in at least three shows at Melody Top, and he was always great! I remember him as terrifically entertaining on stage, just hilarious and a better singer than you'd expect. It was also nice to see something about David Holliday. I know I saw him do a lot at Melody Top over the years, and he was wonderful on Broadway in COCO. The leprechaun invitation to the cast party is priceless! Imagine Arte not only hand writing the invitation but also tailoring it to the character played in the show by the recipiant!

[broadwaydanwi]

Posted: 3/19/11 at 10:28am

Thanks for mentioning David Holliday! He had a fantastic voice, and I witnessed his great performances at Melody Top as Frank in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and Emile in SOUTH PACIFIC. If anyone wants to hear his voice, check out the London cast recordings of NO STRINGS and SAIL AWAY. I know he's also on some studio cast recordings that were made in England and Europe.

By the way, does anyone know if Barbara Williams is still around? I would be interested in hearing her history after the 1970s.