Kean with Alfred Drake

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:15pm

Going through my recent OBC vinyl purchases, I uncovered this one. I managed to pay the whopping sum of $2! Wikipedia states this is one of the rarest OBC's, but it's not.

I know this is from 1961, but did anyone see this? It sounds like a real trainwreck from what I have read.

This show is based on the life of the English Romantic Actor Edmund Kean, and most of the action takes place in the 1820's.

Book is the first by Peter Stone, who adapted Jean Paul Satre's comedic play. Stone would later go onto to write the screenplays for Charade and Father Goose. He had a long and storied career as a book writer for musicals, writing Skyscraper, 1776 (Tony), Sugar, Woman of the Year (Tony), My One and Only, The Will Rogers Follies, Titanic (Tony), and was writing the book for Curtain when he died and Rupert Holmes took over.

Score and Lyrics were by Robert Wright and George Forrest, who has already had success with Song of Norway and Kismet, and would the original writers of Grand Hotel, later "joined" rather famously by Maury Yeston.

Alfred Drake plays the lead role. He returned to the stage after a 7 year absence. His last role was in Kismet, but this began a string of flops for him, never to be broken. He is in fine voice, but can't rise above the material.

Choreography is by Jack Cole, famous for his jazz dance stylings. Not appropriate here, and wonder about the content of the choreography.

Christopher Hewett gives support as what else, a supporting actor. He would later portray Roger in the original film version of "The Producers," and of course, was Mr Belvedere.

The back cover of the LP has a great picture of Drake putting his hands between the soon to be coming to blows Joan Weldon and Lee Verona.

Sets and costumes look nice, but overwrought. Apparently that was the problems with the whole production, because this LP is just was too much for me.

Has anyone seen any sort of production of this show? Anyone?

[allofmylife]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 12:37am

Wright, Forrest and Alfred Drake. Dances by Jack Cole. Smells like another Edwin Lester show and yet it isn't. Wright and Forrest, following "Kismet" tried many times to get another big hit featuring their re-working of classical music (Borodin for "Kismet" and Grieg for "Song of Norway.") And almost every one starred Alfred Drake, who was, I guess their muse.

This particular show was produced by Robert Lantz, a very VERY big talent agent in the fifties who only produced two shows (both flops) but also partnered with Joseph Mankiewitz to produce two great movies "The Quiet American" and "I Want To Live." Lantz had a very thick mittel-European accent and probably chose this show because it vas eazy to pronunz.

I have programs for at least four, maybe six shows that died on the road by W&F. Most were produced first by Edwin Lester at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opers, where "Song of Norway" and "Kismet" began.

If you don't know about the amazing history of the LACLO, which is very important in the historyu of Broadway, tell me and I'll expound.

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 7:11pm

Allofmylife, great thoughts. I can always count on your for tidbits from this era. Isn't it amazing how so many teams recycle the same ideas, it seems to work for a while, and then suddenly it doesn't. I guess some things never change.

I guess you can't fault a team for making Alfred Drake thier muse, but then a question occurs. How many other composers/teams have had male muses?

The only one who seems to have

And I would love to hear about LACLO, in either this thread or another post.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 11:50pm

I really enjoyed Drake's performance and a good amount of the score from the recording. Would love to hear more from some who saw the original production.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/28/08 at 12:00am

Here's a video of Judy Garland doing a song from Kean on her 1963-63 television series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZsYSKPBoo

[cfmiller]

Posted: 5/28/08 at 9:52pm

Great video PalJoey! If only the original version was as good as Judy's.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 5/28/08 at 11:24pm

The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera was founded, I believe, in 1938 to present exact reproductions of Broadway Shows in Los Angeles. They very quickly did a deal with The San Francisco Light Opera to share the expenses and the shows. Typically, the production would play four weeks in Los Angeles, either at The Biltmore Theater or the Philharmonic Auditorium, then travel to San Francisco where they played at The Curran.

I found a great article about the LACLO at Broadway LA.com.

Here is the link: http://www.broadwayla.org/info/lester.asp

In my copy of the program for 1940 production of "The Red Mill" (they alternated operetta and musicals) I noticed one of the dancers in the chorus was young Gwendolyn Verdon.