Song and Dance

[Yankeefan007]

Song and Dance#0

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:32pm

Recently heard of this....and that the only cast member included on the album is Bernadette Peters. What is the origin of this show?

[munkustrap178]

re: Song and Dance#1

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:42pm

The album with Bernadette is only half the show.

Act one is songs, act two is dance - therefore, Bernadette would be the only one singing anyway.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

[Gothampc]

re: Song and Dance#2

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:44pm

It started out in London as "Tell Me On A Sunday". It was then expanded to a longer show which was: Act 1 Song (which is a slight reworking of Tell Me On A Sunday") and Act 2 Dance, which is all dance.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

[munkustrap178]

re: Song and Dance#3

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:45pm

There is an entire album of the show avilable, in 2 discs, with Marti Webb of the London cast. It's worth picking up, if you like the show. I love some of the dance music, although they all are just variations of each other - that's the point.

"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson

[flamingo]

re: Song and Dance#4

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:51pm

This show has long been one of my "guilty pleasures". I didn't see it with Peters, but I frequently listen to her cast CD--a little hard to know what's going on sometimes, but the variety of moods she shows as she sings, and the sheer emotion of the songs, really gets to me.I gather that Peters was quite funny on stage but that does not really come through on the CD.


I saw Alice Ripley do just the "Song" portion a few years ago at the Kennedy Center, she sang/acted it rather well I thought.

http://www.reallyuseful.com/rug/shows/song/cast/NoteDonBlack.htm

(And if you happen to have the video of "Hey Mr. Producer" you can see/hear Peters do "Second Letter/Unexpected Song", from S&D, which breaks my heart every time.)



Updated On: 3/19/06 at 03:51 PM

[Smaxie]

re: Song and Dance#5

Posted: 3/19/06 at 3:51pm

There is a London recording that includes the music for the "Dance" half (though it's Webber's reworking of Variations on a Theme by Paganini). Also too, the Broadway version of Song & Dance was reworked quite a bit from the London original, and an attempt was made to link "Song" with "Dance". "Song" was about an English girl's romantic misadventures in America. At least on Broadway, "Dance" was about a male dancer in red boots (played by Christopher D'Amboise), who was one of the lovers of the character from "Song"/Act One. And while there was mostly no singing in "Dance," I seem to recall there was a reprise of "Unexpected Song" when Bernadette Peters made a brief reappearance near the end of Act Two.

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

[MargoChanning]

re: Song and Dance#6

Posted: 3/19/06 at 4:06pm

I saw the show and thought Peters' performance was pretty remarkable, especially vocally. A full hour of uninterrupted singing and acting alone on stage. Quite a feat.

Peter Martins ballet in the second act was well-danced by some of the best dancers on Broadway at the time (Cynthia Onrubia, Gregg Burge, Charlotte D'Amboise, Scott Wise, Gregory Mitchell et al), but seemed more tacked on than a truly necessary and integral part of the whole. And Webber's music was mostly just variations on a theme by Paganini than his own compositions (though there was a brief interlude of "Unexpected Song"). Overall, an odd idea for a show, but it was well performed.

"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie [http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/] "The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney

Updated On: 3/19/06 at 04:06 PM

[Eastwickian]

re: Song and Dance#7

Posted: 3/20/06 at 7:32am

It's one of my guilty pleasures as well, though I urge you to buy the complete London recording - the OBCR suffers from some appalling sound issues (inconsistant volume levels and wobbly orchestra) and was recorded when Bernadette Peters was in poor vocal health (and it's fairly obvious). The OLCR was recorded live at the Palace Theatre London, and that energy from the audience makes the show - especially the second act - sound much more 'alive'.

[alterego]

re: Song and Dance#8

Posted: 3/20/06 at 7:41am

The worst thing about the Broadway Cast Album is Bernadette Peters. Her British accent is so appalling it makes it almost unlistenable. Get the Original London Cast (as described it is Act's 1 & 2) or at least the revival CD (Tell Me On A Sunday only) from a couple of years ago.

[clarky]

re: Song and Dance#9

Posted: 3/20/06 at 7:41am

there is an offical video of the West End Production, starring Sarah Brightman and Wayne Sleep. You may find it on ebay. Sarah Brightman is just............find out yourself!