Hallelujah, Baby! Who else has heard of/seen it?

[midtowngym]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 9:03pm

I was in Washington DC this weekend and caught a revival of Arthur Laurents 'Hallelujah, Baby!' He also directed and rewrote the book for this production.
What a fun piece of musical theater. It trips over the weight of its own civil rights message, which is practically drummed into your head for two hours. BUT, it's funny and the songs are enjoyable, and the talent...what talent. Broadway-level talent in a 400 seat theater. Ann Duquesnay, Suzzanne Douglas (why isn't this woman on Broadway?), Steven Zinnato and Curtiss I'Cook. Plus, Styne-Comden-Green lyrics and music! It runs though 2/13/04 at the Kreeger Theater. Well worth a look if you're nearby.

Updated On: 1/3/05 at 09:03 PM

[Marquise]

Posted: 1/2/05 at 8:29pm

i've heard of it. it starred leslie uggams, who was cast in the role after lena horne turned it down and it was infamous for winning the best musical of the year Tony AFTER it had already closed. i've never heard the score though.

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 4:14am

I just played the Sony Broadway CD of it yesterday morning!

The Jule Styne/Comden-Green score is OK, and Leslie Uggams is wonderful, but the book was considered prehistoric even in 1967.

It won the Tony for Best Musical because the 1967-68 season was infamously week (HOW NOW DOW JONES, ILLYA DARLING, THE HAPPY TIME, etc) and because the Tony cutoff date was moved up because of the televised awards. Because of this HAIR and GEORGE M! were ineligable. Either show would have surely beat HALLELUJAH, BABY! for the award.

I should also note that Off-Broadway was thriving that seasonwith shows like JAQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS, CURLEY McDIMPLE, YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN and the Drama Desk winner (The first for an Off-Broadway musical) YOUR OWN
THING. Plus, there were way too many hit shows from previous seasons still running (HELLO, DOLLY!, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, FUNNY GIRL, MAN OF LA MANCHA, CABARET, MAME, etc).

Updated On: 1/3/05 at 04:14 AM

[wildcat]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 4:42am

There's a wonderful opening song, "My Own Morning" which has become something of a cabaret standard. Interestingly, the song "Witches Brew" (Bubble Bubble...) on the OBC recording has the same tune as "Call Me Savage" from "Fade Out-Fade In" ('64)

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 6:07am

Jule Styne was notorious for stealing from himself & using melodies from one song in one show in a totally different song in a totally different show.

Saws it in high school. I remeber it because the night I saw it Uggams was out & her understudy Freda Payne did it. I always like the score & thought the choreography was quite good.

[wildcat]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 8:19am

And did Freda Payne show the star quality that made her a pop star in later years?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 8:57am

I saw the show a couple of weeks ago and wrote the following critique:

While I'm glad I saw Arena's "Hallelujah Baby" for the rare opportunity to experience the fine score from Jules Styne and Comden & Green and a couple of first rate performances (to go with some mediocre ones), unfortunately, the Arthur Laurents' book is still too dated and I think too much the product of some misguided 60s era white liberal guilt to be sucessfully transferred to NYC for a commercial run. Laurents (who's also directing and was there taking copious notes in the back when I saw it) gave the show a potentially brilliant overall concept, but the execution too often comes off as patronizing and borderline offensive (for whatever reason, half my row walked out at intermission).

The hankerchief-headed bowing and scraping of the black characters in the pre-1930s part of the show (most of Act I) is laid on more than a tad too thick and lacks enough of the proper context to justify its presence and not offend. Beyond there being two black characters who are known as Tip and Tap (who do a number called "Feet Do Yo Stuff"), Ann Duquesnay -- who incidentally stops the show cold with "I Don't Know Where She Got It"; I I never realized how much that number is almost Laurents & Styne's "black version" of "Rose's Turn" -- has been directed to SO overplay the Beulah/Mammy aspects of the Momma character that her shuckin' and jivin' and cornpone accent would have embarassed Hattie McDaniel (it was downright cringe-inducing at times and several people around me, white and black, looked appalled).

At the other end of the spectrum, all of the smaller white characters are inevitably racist in the most cartoonishly moustache-twirling way -- no subtlety or nuance whatsoever. And the one "good" white character ends up being dismissed by Laurents in the book as too much of a bleeding heart and too patronizing. An odd and confused character in an odd and confused book.

This production also felt a wee bit "small" -- cast of 9 with 6 musicians -- and aside from Theoni V. Aldredge's costumes (she does the best she can on appears to be a very skimpy budget), a little malnourished from a design standpoint. Suzzanne Douglas does fine in the lead -- if she lacked the sort of charm and charisma that Uggams was famous for, she's nevertheless a talented all around performer. And Duquesnay, despite the ridiculous directing demands Laurents has made of her, is wonderful whenever she opens her mouth to sing. The rest of the cast is pretty lackluster.

If Hallelujah Baby is to have any future (NYC or other), Laurents needs to toss out that book entirely and hire George Wolfe or somebody like him to write a new one from scratch (Wolfe would have an absolute field day with this material). Keep the concept which is fascinating and filled with potential -- a century in African-American life told through the story of 4 characters who never age over the course of the show -- but Laurents clearly has NO idea how to execute it.

Updated On: 1/3/05 at 08:57 AM

[wildcat]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 9:21am

Hmmm. The man who drove "Nick and Nora" into the ground because he couldn't collaborate is going to throw out his own book and hire someone else to write a new one? Not in this life.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 9:26am

Quite funny Margo! After 'I don't know where she got it', I turned to my friend and said "looks like Laurent is reusing Rose's Turn. I guess overbearing mothers come in all colors.' I couldn't imagine how it won the Best Musical Tony in 1967 until I read there was slim competition that year. And my friend felt cheated--we both realized this was a slimmed-down version. A cast of only nine? For $65? With no sets? But I loved the intimate setting and the talent onstage. One of the performers later told me that they're gearing up for a Broadway run. Sounds like wishful thinking.

Updated On: 1/3/05 at 09:26 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 9:45am

Trust me, I know Laurents would NEVER in a million years let anyone else even tinker with one of his shows, let alone get rid of one of his books entirely and bring in someone else to write a new one. NEVER HAPPEN. But, there's really too much wrong with this one for him or anyone else to fix. One wishes that he would see that and step aside rather than consigning the entire show (including the Styne/Comden & Green score) to oblivion, but that's exactly what's going to happen.

Updated On: 1/3/05 at 09:45 AM

[VeuveClicquot]

Posted: 1/3/05 at 12:50pm

Fascinating analysis, Margo. It would be great to see Wolfe take this show on, but you're right, Laurents would never stand for it.

And Wildcat, that "Bubble Bubble"/"Call Me Savage" thing has always shocked me. Lots of composers are accused of either borrowing from themselves, or using trunk songs or reusing parts of songs from shows that weren't huge successes, but those two are the EXACT SAME SONG with different lyrics. And the shows were only three years apart.

[Razz77]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 7:12pm

I'm thinking of getting tickets to this -- but I saw it was $55- $65, so I was just wondering if it was REALLY worth that...Any input would be dandy...

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:14pm

I saw the original Bwy version of the show with Leslie Uggams and Robert Hooks. Yes, the book was confusing, but the score was enjoyable and Uggams was really wonderful in the role. Also the Civil Rights ballet at the end of the show was an exciting piece of choreography.

I just used "Bubble Bubble" in my Junior classes while we were reading MACBETH. The kids seemed to enjoy it.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:20pm

I didn't realize that this show launched Leslie Uggams career. She got her TV show right after this, it appears.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:24pm

She actually became nationally famous as a featured singer for "Sing Along With Mitch" from the early '60s.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:38pm

Didn't know that. It was before my time (Lord knows i don't get to mention that much!) I only remember her TV show as a (very young )child and that was 1968, right after 'Hallelujah, baby!'

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:44pm

I was too young for it too, but I remember my mom telling me all about Uggams background (I'm not THAT old ....).

[Razz77]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 9:07pm

Has anyone seen the current production at the Arena Stage in Washington...can they tell me if its worth the sixty bucks...

[midtowngym]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 10:40pm

Razz Sweetie, did you read the thread!? It's a dated, far from subtle piece of theater, and this revival has no sets and a reduced cast. However, i thoroughly enjoyed the intimate setting, talented cast and pleasant score. I felt I got my money's worth.

[CastAlbumFan]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 1:21am

Dollypop, I'm rather jealous! I would have loved to seen the original production...except it happend seven years before I was orn! I saw a picture of the show in the book "Broadway Musicals- The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time". It showed a picture of Leslie and the chorus from the "Now's the Time" number. The costumes the chorus wore were a psychadellic delelight!