La Strada

I didn't see it, so all I know is that it only played one performance on Broadway. Bernadette talked about it briefly during an interview and just said something like Lionel Bart (credited with music and lyrics) never came to the US to help with the show. Martin Charnin and Elliot Lawrence are credited with additional music/lyrics.

The review in the New York Times (Dec. 15, 1969) by Clive Barnes is kind of mixed. He says of Bernadette: "In a different show the birdlike and croaky Bernadette Peters would have become a star overnight. ...She looks right, she sounds right, and Mr. Schneider uses her kooky mannerisms, breathily corny modulations of voice and show-biz inflections with great skill. ...I hope that Ms. Peters stays around a bit with this-in any case I think she'll be back soon." He goes on to write that the book is superficial and the music "sheer bland triteness". Ouch.

Two of the Elliot Lawrence/Martin Charnin songs were recorded on a label called Take Home Tunes:

"Everything Needs Something"...Laurie Beechman
"Sooner or Later"...Larry Kert (from the original cast)

It was, of course, based on the wonderful Fellini movie starring Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn and Richard Basehart.

Yes, there was a private tape of a live performance.

Unfortunately only two songs from the Bart recording actually made it to the Broadway production so it really isn't representative of what was actually heard on the NY stage. It's interesting though to compare Bart's version to the private live recording. Neither score to me is all that enjoyable to listen to. I often use to wonder what the score to flop shows of the past must've been like. After purchasing the live Blue Pear CD theatre recordings off of eBay I now know why "Hot Spot", "A Joyful Noise", "Hot September", "Zenda" and "Something More" failed terribly (although I do like Jule Styne's unacknowledged contributions to the latter score).

I think there is a song- maybe it's called Starfish sung by Judy kuhn on the CD Lost in Boston

thanks for correcting me. Get Lost in Boston too though...there are some gems.

Poor Lionel Bart. When he was good, he was very good and when he was bad he could be abominable.

And he had no head for business.

If you want to hear some of his best work, listen to his score for "Blitz"

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I would like to get a copy too. Please PM me. Thanks!