Happy 50th Anniversary to GOLDEN RAINBOW!

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 1:01am

It opened 50 years ago on this day at the Shubert Theatre in 1968.

The show starred married recording sensations Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence and was adapted from the 1950s film "A Hole in the Head," about a single father in Las Vegas. The show clumsily changed the married Aunt and Uncle to a single Aunt to allow a romance between Gormé and Lawrence, which made her appeals to adopt the boy a bit absurd.

The score was by Walter Marks, whose only previous Broadway credit was the 1964 flop BAJOUR. Lawrence's big ballad "I've Gotta Be Me" became a hit for Sammy Davis, Jr., and many songs from the show were released by Steve and Eydie as singles.

The show is one of the 1967/68 shows covered in William Goldman's book The Season, and while I don't have my copy on hand to reiterate his views, they were not positive. The show received only two Tony nominations, one for 11-year old Scott Jacoby as the son and another for the scenic design by prolific set designer Robert Randolph, winning neither. It ran just under a year, doing solid business with Steve and Eydie at the helm.

While I've always enjoyed the score's mix of groovy 60s-isms and easy listening ballads, it sounds like a total mess dramatically, though the production seems to have been quite flashy! Did anyone see it back in '68?

Publicity/Rehearsal Photos:









 

Production Photos:

 

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 1:04am

Promotional appearance by Steve & Eydie, performing two songs from the show:

 

Tony Awards Performance (they curiously chose not to showcase Steve nor Eydie:

 

Singles by Steve & Eydie, with very different arrangements:

 

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 10:24am

Happy 50th Anniversary GOLDEN RAINBOW!  

One musical several years before my time (my first Broadway show was in 1972: PIPPIN.  I was 7 years old), but I've enjoyed the cast recording for ages.  I discovered this gem via production photos in Broadway reference books and after years of doing my own "24 Hours a Day" production number in my bedroom, it was a surreal experience when I finally saw the full number for the first time when the 1968 Tony Awards performance surfaced on YouTube.  Nothing like that could be topped so they were wise to use this to represent the musical at the Tony Awards instead of the expected Steve & Eydie medley of songs from the show.  Seeing a pre-A CHORUS LINE Kelly Bishop in that white sparkly beaded headdress costume and that infinity white feather boa still is breathtaking, especially when the stage floor rises up to create that ramp.  That electric energy of that number is insane.  You can literally feel the entire roof of the Shubert Theatre explode. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 10:35am

If ever a show merited consideration as a guilty pleasure, it was this one.  I saw it twice when it played in (I guess it was) 1968.  It was one of those shows that really was bad and really was enjoyable most of the time.  I assume that was exclusively due to the married leads, who ad-libbed quite a bit in Act 2.  I seem to recall that the ad-libbing was scripted, i.e., it was identical both times I saw it, which is really an admission that the core entertainment was lacking.  

The opening number-- 24 Hours a Day -- was sorta tacky and sorta entertaining.  There was one song for Steve, Eydie, and the boy who played Steve's son that was fun.  Steve had I Gotta Be Me, which was a decent song badly staged.  Eddie had one song, He Needs Me Now, which wasn't bad.  And that was it.

Ultimately a bad show...without Steve and Eydie, it would have run a week or two, which was not uncommon in those days

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 10:29pm

In THE SEASON, IIRC, William
Goldman complains about the
pre-planned "break ups" and
ad libs. He uses his chapter
on GOLDEN RAINBOW to
invoke the adage, "The trouble
with washing garbage is that
when you are done, it's still
garbage."

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/4/18 at 11:52pm

Absolutely perfect observation.  I remember laughing during the scripted 'ad-libbing', all the while knowing it was cheating and trying to detract audiences from focusing on how bad the show was. I wondered what they did when Eydie missed performances (I seem to recall that occurring fairly frequently), since the banter was about them.