Fiorello!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:03pm

I'm at the Edmonton Fringe Fest (the first and still largest in North America), and just saw a chamber version of Fiorello--down to 90 mins and 9 cast members. I really enjoyed it, and the cast was great, but I completely understand why people say this show is un-revivable. I admit that I barely knew the score in fact the one song I knew the most, Where do I Go From Here, which was cut was only played as underscore. Anyway I'd be intrigued to hear what people think of this show.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:24pm

"I Love a Cop", "Little Tin Box" and "The Very Next Man" are great comedy songs. Otherwise, I've never understood the appeal, unless the show drew New York audiences who remembered the real-life LaGuardia.

(I should admit the above is my highly subjective opinion. I've seen the show once, but haven't studied it closely.) Updated On: 8/20/12 at 08:24 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:28pm

I love the score. My favorite song is "Marie's Law."

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:34pm

I love the OBCR and listen to it often. I was just talking with a friend about the recording and we remarked how the songs seem truncated, though the performances are wonderful.

For a show about Fiorello, and for winning a Tony, Tom Bosley doesn't appear to have much to do. I guess he carried the book scenes, but he doesn't make an impression on the recording. The score is all about the women. Pat Stanley, Patricia Wilson, Eileen Rodgers and especially Ellen Hanley are all wonderful. Still it's hard to follow their plot arcs vis a vis the score. Stanley gets one little (fun) song and nothing else. What happens to Hanley's character? Did Rodgers just come out to sing that sort of novelty number or did she have a larger role?

Did they cut songs for the 90 minute version? Was it only with a piano? The orchestrations are so beautiful and ballads so lush I think it needs more than a piano; perfect for Encores though.

"'Til Tomorrow" is a favorite melody of mine. Too bad Hanley didn't have a bigger career.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:37pm

I've never seen the show, but am really looking forward to the Encores! production this season. I definitely agree that the cast recording is all about the ladies (and why has no one mentioned When Did I Fall In Love?) But I must admit that I totally get Tom Bosley's appeal in the role through The Name's LaGuardia.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 8:41pm

"When Did I Fall In Love" is indeed wonderful. The women all get to shine. I wonder who Encores will cast as the four women.

After the '63 "Boys From Syracuse" Hanley fell of the map. Did she retire or did something happen to her? Her imdb page said she made one television appearance in 1950, but never appeared in a film or on tv again. It's a shame we don't have more documentation of her immense talent.

Updated On: 8/20/12 at 08:41 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 9:37pm

The IBDB informs us that Ellen Hanley was a standby in The Fig Leaves Are Falling and a replacement in 1776 and the revival of Anything Goes.

All you need do is make the slightest of efforts.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 9:44pm

Thanks for the info- I went to her wikipedia page and castalbums.org. Looks like "Boys From Syracuse" was the last thing she recorded. That's also where her wiki bio stopped. The next sentence was that she passed in 2007 with no mention of what happened between 1963-2007.

Would have LOVED to ask her about "Fig Leaves!"

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 9:45pm

God, you are an insufferable twit. Truly, After Eight makes me long for the "Block" button.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 10:00pm

I love "When Did I Fall in Love?" Especially Audra McDonald's version

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 10:15pm

Wynbish- Audra does a nice job with the song, but IIRC she cuts the "There he goes, my congressman" section. Hanley is so glorious it's hard not to judge anyone else harshly on her interpretation though!

I know she might be a little too old, but for Encores I'd like to hear Melissa Errico sing it. She's 42, but plays younger and her voice is better than ever.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 10:17pm

"Little Tin Box" and "The Very Next Man" are really terrific songs. It's a wonderful score.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 8/20/12 at 11:37pm

NYU Steinhardt is doing this show this fall.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 2:04pm

"Did they cut songs for the 90 minute version? Was it only with a piano? The orchestrations are so beautiful and ballads so lush I think it needs more than a piano; perfect for Encores though. "

It was only with a piano--I definitely missed an orchestra, but the pianist was a pro. There were 12 songs (and two reprises) in the program, so I suspect the main cuts were with dialogue--a lot of it did feel like "now we'll explain what happens next so that we can get to the next song" although there was a lot of good comedy with the cop. Whizzer, as usual you're right, the standout songs were almost all for the women, saving Little Tin Box which was a good comic song. I'm really glad I saw it, I just realize more than ever what people mean about it being un-revivable. There would be zero commercial prospect, even with a great cast.

When Did I Fall In Love was particularly gorgeously sung.

[daredevil]

Posted: 8/21/12 at 2:17pm

It was kind of an unknown quantity when it opened on Broadway in 1959. It didn't have a large advance sale. But Brooks Atkinson,the Times reviewer, loved it, as did most of the other daily paper critics. I saw it twice on Broadway, once on the road; not a great musical---possibly overrated by the critics, but certainly an enjoyable one. Bosley's performance dominated the show; he may not have sung much, but he was omnipresent as the determined underdog LaGuardia. Howard da Silva was terrific as Ben Marino, the politician ("Little Tin Box"). I don't think it has much staying power, but if done well, can be entertaining.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 4:38pm

Thanks for that context, Daredevil. What you say about the show makes a lot of sense with what I saw--it does sound like it might be worthy of revisiting by Encores (wasn't it one of their earliest productions?) Also interesting that the same creators seemed hoping to duplicate its success with the thematically similar Tenderloin. Even more surprising than Fiorello's shawinr the Tony, I admit is its Pulitzer for drama, though I'm not sure what else was considered that year. I also didn't realize that the librettist, Jerome Weidman is the father of John, who of course also wrote political musicals with Assassins and Pacific Overtures (and Road Show to a lesser extent).

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 10:05pm

"wasn't it one of their earliest productions?)"

It was their first production.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 10:45pm

Thanks for the correction.

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 10:48pm

It was not a correction.

It was a clarification.

But you're welcome.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 11:01pm

Thank you for the correction on the clarification.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/22/12 at 11:27pm

There was clarification that the correction was actually a clarification