I was very anxious to see that Encores production of Pipe Dream. How could Rodgers and Hammerstein, in their prime, create a musical based on Steinbeck novels, Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, with so few redeeming qualities that the production immediately after closing had had an anchor attached to it and was thrown into the North Atlantic?
The score I thought was surprisingly strong.
"Everybody Has A Home But Me"
"The Man I Used to Be"
"The Next Time It Happens"
"Sweet Thursday"
"All at Once You Love Her"
The last,, the principal love song, is about the only song to have any life beyond the show, and I think it's one of their limpest love songs.
On the other hand, "Sweet Thursday," a song of a type I don't remember, except that Rodger wrote very few of them, is so infectious that I don't see how it could have been forgotten.
This also highlights one of the major weaknesses of the show. Opera singer Helen Traubel miscast as Fauna. Listen to Leslie singing this tune and try to imagine it being sung as an aria.
"Sweet Thursday"
If you're interested in seeing a couple of numbers from the Encores production, someone just put up this video of two numbers live. The first probably didn't contribute a lot to the show's reviews, but the second is classic sturdy R&H.
"All Kinds of People" Will Chase "Everybody's Got a Home But Me" Laura Osnes
Updated On: 6/6/21 at 09:13 AM