Smile the musical. Does any OBC recording exist? — Page 3

"I remember when I worked in the musical dept of Sam French, we would get calls all the time of people trying to buy the recording...I actually thought I remembered them saying that Howard Ashman did more than the two boys on the recording, I could be wrong...Anyway, Samuel French also had a great demo of Howard Ashman & Alan Menken's GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER where the two of them did all the characters...Howard Ashman was so brillant on it! Priceless! "

I *love* ashman on those demos. Mr Rosewater is a show that really deserves a recording

Wait...so does SF sell copies of the demo??

---

With some major reworking of the book this show could be brought back. The songs are amazing, and the concept is fun. Bring back Smile!

---

Carrie was inspired! But should run off-broadway. Smile with the success of Disney shows now could be mounted and billed "From the Lyricist of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast" come on investors, take a chance! I know you're out there, I saw The Times They Are A-Changin

---

I would like for there to be a full recording of it with full orchestra instead of all those DX7s and pianos and stuff.

---

Having just recently done a concert reading of the licensed version, I think it's pretty damn great the way it is. I've also seen the Lincoln Center archive of the Broadway production and enjoyed it a lot, but I think the licensed version is a better work.

Also, having done a lot of research on it, it's interesting to see that the licensed version is actually quite close to what Ashman had originally written. He was under a lot of pressure from Producers to change things. Apparently they were all enamored with Jodi Benson and wanted her to be the star when Ashman had really intended to have a lot more material with the adults. As a result, the Broadway version reduces Brenda and Big Bob's characters by quite a bit.

The major bits of "new" material in the licensed version were Robin's new letters and the revised Orientation Scene (Very Best Week of Your Lives).

After sitting with both versions, the only thing I really really missed from the Broadway version were some short little scenes between Valerie and Shawn in which Valerie has figured out what Shawn did and we see a little existential crisis going on. Teeny teeny little scenes, but nice. Robin's Broadway letters are such pretty songs, but I like the more nonchalant licensed ones.

In a perfect world, we'll see a cast recording with the Broadway orientation and Robin's Broadway letters as bonus tracks.

I keep expecting Encores to announce it one of these years. It's definitely ripe for at the VERY LEAST a major regional production. When we did it, the audience ate it up--LOOOOved it. I think it's ready.

I LOVE the songs from this on the "Unsung Musicals" album. It was especially cool for me because I had seen Harry Groener and Jodi Benson in "Crazy for You" (my first Broadway show) not that long before I bought the album, if I remember correctly. It was so great hearing them "together" again -- well, "together" in a sort of a kind of a way.

I choreographed a tap number to Groener's "Smile" for my dance group in college one year. I'm not the best choreographer ever -- and I think some of the dancers who weren't as big Broadway fanatics as I was were wondering why we couldn't just tap to some pop song or other -- but I had a lot of fun doing it!

Updated On: 2/23/08 at 07:43 AM

Marvin Hamlisch was in Chicago for a cabaret performance at Davenport's in Sept. 2007. I approached him before the show and mentioned that I loved the few songs from Smile that I heard on the Lost In Boston collection. I then told him that a complete recording of Smile should be released. He grinned. That was it. Not a yes or a no just a very polite grin. I don't think it's going to happen.

---

She was NOT.

from mom of one of the stars.
Where did you get that idea?

HELLO!
She is Ariel.

I have access to the recording if anyone wants it. Just PM me.

---

48 performances. November 24, 1986 - January 3, 1987.