i'd agree about "Miss Baltimore Crabs" in HAIRSPAY. They went through several versions of a song for her, and i'd like to evaluate the others someday. It's a tough spot for a song regardless...
"Little Lamb" is very hard to sing if you want a belter to later do "Mama Gets Married" and "Let Me Entertain strip version." What i don't understand is not changing (lowering) the key so a performer can act it better. i know Sondheim, and probably Bernstein, have some theories about "key psychology" for characters/moods (and i do respect them as artists), but the bottom line is that the number would be more entertaining and more indicative of the performer's talent if it was in a range they could be more expressive in. Though beautifully acted, "Lamb" is the lowest musical point in the current GYPSY.
"Hand In" from DOLLY can be very funny (as was the replacement song for the film) if handled correctly. It is just not musically very inventive. There's a lot of songs like that. The landlady's song in MILLIE could fall into that category, but Harriet Harris plays it so well, it still works. Interesting to see what happens on the tour.
i think the appeal to me is seeing what a good director/actor/choreographer/arranger can do with what heretofore was known as a "dud" or a potential "dud." "Baltimore Crabs", however, just seems hopeless to me.
Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys.
"I guarantee that we'll have tough
times. I guarantee that at some point
one or both of us will want to get out.
But I also guarantee that if I don't
ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for
the rest of my life..."
