Happy 50th Anniversary to THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE CROWD

It opened 50 years ago today at the Shubert Theatre.

Intended to be the smash follow up of Bricusse and Newley's earlier hit STOP THE WORLD - I WANT TO GET OFF, it was received poorly in England but David Merrick brought it over anyway (knowing it would be cheap to run) where it would go on to run a respectable 231 performances before closing later that year.

Did anyone see it 50 years ago, either in the UK with Norman Wisdom or in the US? The score is of course lovely and featured the evergreen classic "Feeling Good."

The silhouetted playbill:

The poster from the unsuccessful UK tour:

Production shots:

From the recording studio:

The cast album was actually recorded well before the Broadway opening in order to sell on the road, as Merrick had done with OLIVER some years before.

Updated On: 5/16/15 at 03:30 AM

Tremendous score. Weak book. Did not see on Broadway but a production at the Paper Mill Playhouse was deadly. The next Merrick-Newley-Briccuse musical was going to be Cyrano with Newley as Christian. Never happened, but Hollywood called and the two writers took off.

Great pics. Thanks.

Indeed, Nina Simone’s version of Feeling Good is used in the trailer for the upcoming documentary about her, What Happened, Miss Simone? She had an uncanny way of taking a show tune and turning it into a Nina Simone song (to be later covered by other artists).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moOQXZxriKY

Updated On: 5/16/15 at 11:06 AM

Saw the original Bway production on a class trip after Anthony Newley had been replaced by Orson Bean, whom I had known only as a game show panelist. He was surprisingly good and sang well. This was only my second Bway show. I have fond memories of that evening--loved the score, especially Gilbert Price's powerful "Feeling Good."

Also one of my first shows...LOVED the music, I remember buying two albums because I wore out the first one. I remember singing/acting out the chorus members parts (a group of young urchins/girls) in my bedroom with the music blasting...LOL

I do remember one of the girls - Kay Cole -really stood out in the chorus to me and then just a few years later I saw her again singing At The Ballet in Chorus Line at the same theater...the Shubert.

Can also remember a number of scenes and visuals from the show - including the amazing silhouette pose of the two leading actors at the end. I remember the audience sort of gasping at that moment...

And Gilbert Price - who died too young. It was confirmed that he actually died in a sleep due to a faulty space heater. What a huge loss..

Memories..

Updated On: 5/16/15 at 01:30 PM

Of all of the covers of songs from this wonderful show, this one has to be the most jaw-dropping:

Updated On: 5/16/15 at 03:33 PM

I saw this at the Shubert theatre from the second balcony on a Saturday matinee. I am not sure that I understood it, but I had a good time. The score was the real star...'Who Can I Turn To', 'Feeling Good', 'On a Wonderful Day Like Today ', 'Put It In The Book'. "My First Love Song' we're all terrific numbers; and 'What Would You Do Without Me' was a bona fide show-stopper.

Despite the score, there was an obvious reason for the short run...it was very affected / absurdist...was it really necessary to do a show in the same vein as 'Stop the World' so soon after it?

Since it had a small cast, I am guessing that it might have been more successful in a smaller house. It was just too precious for a long run at the Shubert.

Other than official scripts from Tams Whitmark, I've never scene a book of the libretto, Charley.

It probably wouldn't make sell many copies, since much of the dialogue is pure (and intentional) nonsense. (Or, in the Beckett sense, "absurdist".)

Still, how many musical comedies actually take class warfare as their subject? I don't mean how many have characters engaged in some sort of class struggle, but musical comedies where class struggle (its history, strategies and effects) is literally the action AND the theme of the evening.

Basically, two men, Sir (a parody of an English upper-class man) and Cocky (the opposite--the similarity of "Cocky" and "Cockney" is quite deliberate) play a nonsensical game in which Sir constantly makes up new rules so that he always wins. A chorus of street urchins align with Sir and mock Cocky through most of the play.

Etiquette, history, criminal records ("Put It in the Book"), religion, taste and education are used by Sir to make sure Cocky remains cowed and downtrodden.

Dramatic tension increases when Sir "buys" Cocky's true love, The Girl (and basically rapes her), and increases again when The Negro enters to ignore Sir's changing rules and thereby win the game ("Feeling Good").

Cocky takes his cue from The Negro (just as many leftist movements in the West took their cue from the African American Civil Rights movement) and finally unseats Sir as the perennial game winner ("Nothing Can Stop Me Now"). As Cocky prepares to leave Sir behind and alone, each realizes he is really dependent on the other and the curtain falls as the two quarrel over which way to travel next. It is very much reminiscent of WAITING FOR GODOT in the sense that neither character seems to have anywhere to go or anything to do outside their quibbling and competing with one another.

(The songs are not random, but as I said, much of the action consists of Sir pelting Cocky with nonsense, so it would take me quite awhile to recall the motivation for each song (especially those by the Urchins).)

But if a specific song or two puzzle you, I'll do my best to remember the context(s)....

I'll agree the book is demanding: it is not only absurdist, but an extended allegory (which some would argue is a contradiction in terms); however, demanding is not the same as bad.

GREASEPAINT is one of the few great small musicals. Perhaps people have trouble reconciling the very pop score with the more experimental book, but Brecht did the same thing (and his audiences often had the same problem reconciling the two). That's not the same as being "bad".

I figure any time you can make people cry and think, you have to be doing something right. IMO, this is not a candidate for "revisal"; unless you discard the entire story along with the libretto, I doubt you can make the story any more palatable (especially to American audiences who like to pretend we have no "classes").

***

Wilmington, if you don't remember "Feeling Good", there was something very wrong with your production. The Negro's (I hope it's clear I'm using the terminology from the play) victory is a major turning point. It's also a beautiful song, even when sung as a theater song rather than a pop song.

Updated On: 5/18/15 at 08:58 PM

"who could you turn to to do Newley's part?"

Haha!

If it were revived, what are the demands of the main roles? I'm sure they would be right in someone's wheelhouse. Think it would be a good idea, maybe Off-Broadway?

Also here are some clips by the original UK cast members.

"...I'd lvoe to see it revived, but who could you turn to to do Newley's part?"

Cheyenne Jackson?

I don't know about vocally (because I just know enough) but as actors, I can picture either Kelsey Grammar or Roger Rees as Sir maybe. Cocky...hmm..I have to think about that more...

I saw the first tryout engagement which was a 4 perf stand in Wilmington before it headed out to DC, Philly, Boston and one or two more cities totaling about 12 weeks before it came in in mid-May. I think the small cast, single set show paid off prior to the New York opening or very shortly thereafter.

To my unsophisticated 14 year old eye, the show was great even though the symbolism was rife and obvious even to me (Noel Coward famously said, "I hate stooping to symbolism."). The score was the thing however, with one hit after another.

Gilbert Price singing Feeling Good was a high point and that voice filled the theatre in those pre-body mike days.

Joyce Jillson was the Girl and later wrote the horoscope column for the Daily News for about 25 years.

More:

After Stop the World, Newley was a big star (note first billing ahead of Ritchard) and this show ran only as long as he was in it. Orson Bean did take over, but the show lasted only maybe another month.

Updated On: 5/21/15 at 11:09 AM