HEY, LOOK ME OVER! - Encores — Page 2

The fact that Mr. Viertel, a truly untalented fool, won't even consider Drat! The Cat! for an evening such as this tells me all I need to know about him and his taste. And he has no idea how to assemble anything, be it show or revue. This is a man who for much of his earlier life told writers how they should "fix" their work - but when he attempted to be a book writer on Time and Again let me tell you how many people he listened to when smart people were telling him how to fix his wretched, wrong-headed book: 0

Saw it last night, I found it overall dull with moments of brightness. The highlight for me was the beautiful "Once Upon a Time." My other favorite parts were the bits from Wildcat, Push de Button, Why do the Wrong People Travel, and both songs from Mack and Mabel. I confess I was most excited to see and hear Douglass Sills, as Scarlet Pimpernel was my first TKTS show and I still fondly remember the cast and the music. The second act dragged so much, too many book scenes that didn't really tell me a whole lot and I found Greenwillow especially boring. Hearing these songs, you begin to realize why these shows flopped. They really nailed the ending though, special guest and all.

That said, even though I didn't love every part I did appreciate the opportunity to hear these songs sung with a full orchestra, as well as some rarely played overtures. That alone was worth the TDF buy, and I'm glad I went.

I might have gone to this if Douglas Sills were singing "I Won't Send Roses."

So for those of us on the other side of the country who have no chance to see this...who was this special guest who shows up in "Give My Regards to Broadway"? (I have a guess, but I'd love confirmation)

I have my doubts about the ALLEGRO story above. The show was already done by Encores. It was the second show in its first season. Back then these were strictly concert form, using a narrator between numbers. The night I saw it James Hammerstein was the narrator. Another night Sondheim was the narrator. I think it was maybe Celeste Holm's last stage appearance. John Doyle did a reduced version in his first season at CSC. IIRC, Doyle's production wasn't that well received.

While there is some veracity in Mr Nowack's post, the show was not ALLEGRO.

To me the ALLEGRO story made sense to me because for the 20th anniversary they also did a repeat from the first season, FIORELLO.

Whizzer Marvin, you are a dear man to fulfill my wish for having the list of songs performed from the shows represented in "Hey, Look Me Over" at Encores City Center. If I had known earlier, I would have enjoyed hearing this list performed; but there are still other songs from some of these shows that I would have preferred being selected.

From "Wildcat," I would have chosen "What Takes My Fancy," "One Day We Dance," and if there was a more comedic minded performer playing the Lucille Ball role, "Tippy, Tippy Toes."

From "All American," I would have chosen "If I Were You."

From "Greenwillow," "Could Have Been A Ring," Summertime Love, " "What A Blessing"

From "Milk and Honey," "I Will Follow You," "Hymn to Hymie"

From "Sail Away," "Something Very Strange," "Go Slow Johnny"

Since I haven't seen "Subways are for Sleeping" since its pre-Broadway Philadelphia tryout in 1961, if the weather cooperates, I hope to come up to see on a Saturday matinee at Musicals in Mufti at the York Theatre Company.

All the Best,

Bruce Winston, avid musical theatregoer since "Gypsy" in 1959.

Saw the show tonight and it was, as StageStruckLad said, delightful. It was a wonderful evening. All the show presented with interesting and fun. You could see how some of the shows in totality were not very good but had some wonderful numbers in them. I was blown away by Clifton Duncan’s voice in “Never Will I Marry” especially. I’m always amazed at how much charm and grace Bebe Neuwirth exudes.

After a number of negative posts here I was expecting a drab show so I was pleasantly surprised. I reallly enjoyed the book parts too and Bob Martin really tied everything in very well.

Finally, the orchestration was great and there was no surprise guest. Oh, and I liked the political undertones throughout the show too.