Jerry Herman's Best Score — Page 2

In order:

MAME (practically perfect in every way)
HELLO, DOLLY (number two only because a couple of the numbers aren't his)
DEAR WORLD (the title song is a real clunker, but the rest of the score is divine)
MACK AND MABEL (he should be ashamed of BIG TIME)
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (one of his shortest, most repetitive scores, even though it is highly effective)
MILK AND HONEY (SHALOM is lovely but the rest ...?)
THE GRAND TOUR (MARIANNE is breathtaking)

My choice? MAME.

My personal preference for what I have seen/heard (in order and to be honest it is really close between most of them - I love them all!):

Mack & Mabel
Dear World
Mame
Hello Dolly!
The Grand Tour

I havn't seen his other stuff. Yes it is suprising I have not seen or heard La Cage Aux Folles as a show, even though I have properly heard a number of songs individually. Oh well, I guess even somebody as great and magnificant as Mr. Herman have stuff I have not seen (yet).

Is there a few versions out there, or just the original? Has any revival or foreign version get recorded (other then a crappy el-cheapo studio cast I mean)? I am actually a little shocked at how little I know about this show (other then the movies) come to think of it, especially when I have (and like) all three of Jerry Herman's big 70s flops.

I'd have to say Dear World is his best score. Especially for the songs "I've never Said I Love you" "Kiss her Now" and 'The Tea Party' which is so much fun. The title song is indeed terrible.

His worst score in my opinion is La Cage. I find myself listening to Morricone's score for the film far more than Herman's score. I think he took a thought provoking story and made it campy and gaudy (it's Firestein's fault too).

Milk and Honey has some great moments, I'd love to hear a more complete version of the score.

Herman wrote a score about a French whore?

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I got it wrong. Apparently the revival is not on the way....yet.

"* Producer Barry Weissler wanted to revive Jerry Herman's 1970 musical "Mack and Mabel" on Broadway next year. But when Weissler said he wanted to bring in a new book writer to replace Francine Pascal, Herman told him to get lost.

Pascal has spent years reworking the show's script, originally written by her brother, Michael Stewart.

She and Herman are close friends, and he wasn't about to throw her under the bus for Weissler"
REIDEL

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Would the show even 'work for the hoi-polloi' even with a re-write. The sad thing is you cannot change the fact both Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett are rather unlikeable people at the very end of the day. Heck you can't exactly do a dark-but-up-beat thing to it.

Interesting that about five posters say they don't know much of his work, yet have an opinion ... which is why Jerry Herman's music is attractive, just a bit of it can charm.

Me? Hard to choose a "best" but I about fell down at seeing MISS SPECTACULAR mentioned, and enjoyed DEAR WORLD not being forgotten.

Note for Jerry Herman fans: get PARADE and hear how it all began.

(There's a newspaper interview with him, back when his notice was happening from MILK AND HONEY ... he said he was in a market and overheard someone whistling one of his tunes; he felt "gee, just think, I made someone whistle." He has had a lovely life making people whistle.)

Yeah, listen to PARADE.

MACK & MABEL...its a gem. Right up there with MERRILY as one of the best flop scores ever.

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