Yes, the Lost In Boston series is a treasure trove of great cut material - it was such fun to do them, and we're actually about to do a trial fully-staged production combining Lost In Boston and Unsung Musicals (one act each) at the end of this year.
""Evenin' Star" from 110 in the Shade, which was restored for the 2007 revival. I think it really defines the character of Starbuck in an intriguing way."
Very few people know the story of how this came to be. It's not quite accurate to say it was "restored" for the 2007 revival (it had been in other productions just prior to that). So, here's the real story:
I'd wanted to record Evening Star on the very first volume of LIB - and then on the second and third - I wanted my close personal friend Guy Haines to sing it. And every time I'd listen to it there was just something that didn't work for me and I couldn't put my finger on it. But I knew whatever was bugging me about it was why the song had been cut in the first place and why every director who's done the show since had tried to work it in only to end up not using it.
When we got to LIB IV, I listened again and it finally came to me - I finally figured out that the song was simply not complete. It had two A sections and a short two-line coda. I called Harvey Schmidt immediately and told him about my brainstorm. He wasn't immediately convinced and hemmed and hawed, but I'm quite pushy when I believe in something and I was determined to do the damn song. I asked him to think about it overnight and that we'd talk the next day. The next day arrived and so did a Fed Ex package containing a cassette. On the cassette was the most perfect bridge for Evening Star - it made the song - and it made the song complete, at long last. I was in tears. Of course, it was only the music.
I called Harvey and told him it was absolute perfection. He then told me that he'd spoken to Tom and Tom had said he would never write a lyric to it. I told Harvey to just remind Tom about all the Schmidt and Jones songs I'd recorded, as well as the revival cast of I Do! I Do! and a studio cast album that Tom really wanted done, Collette Collage. I told him I'd be happy to call and be pushy, but Harvey said he'd call but not to get my hopes up. Later that afternoon I got a fax with that wonderful lyric. We recorded it, they loved it. And the next thing you know, it went into a production in Washington and then LA (with Marin Mazzie and Jason Daniely) and now it is an official part of the show. Sometimes it pays to be pushy :)
And now, I'm about to hear it again as we're rehearsing for a Schmidt and Jones evening that plays tomorrow night at the Gardenia in LA - for any LA folks we've been doing these Kritzerland at the Gardenia shows (all based on albums I've done) for a year now - they're grand fun. We have great casts, and I'm told Guy Haines will be there to sing Evening Star :). We also have Will Collyer, Michael G. Hawkins, Michaelia Leigh, Lauren Rubin, and Camille Saviola, along with Melody Hollis and special guest Rex Smith.
Updated On: 8/2/11 at 07:35 PM
