'The Happy Time'

I really love the song 'Among My Yesterdays' by Kander and Ebb but know nothing about the show it's from, 'The Happy Time'. Can anyone help put this song in context - it's a great tune and really simple but lovely lyric.

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I am bringing my CD of "The Happy Time" when I go see La Cage this Friday. Does Robert Goulet come out of the Marquis stage door? Where is the Marquis stage door? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

"The Life of the Party" and "A Certain Girl" are also excellent. My mom was at opening night. Too bad the show didn't last long. Maybe they will do it at Encores? With Robert Goulet?

Yup, just the original broadway cast. It's an excellent recording! I definitely think you should buy it.

Thanks for all the help - I just checked Amazon and they have a few copies. I'll be ordering this and will let you know what I think. Cheers.

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Wow, I'd forgotten how sweet this show was. I saw it and even have the OBC on vinyl somewhere but haven't listened to it probably in decades. Bits of "I Don't Remember You" float through my mind at times, it is so bittersweet and such a heartsick defense mechanism. But reading this thread, I popped over to Amazon and listened to the clips...I was amazed how familiar they were to me, and how they tugged at my heart.

I might have to buy that CD.

I have a copy of the script, which seems short on both laughs and plot. The oddest thing about the musical of The Happy Time is that they kept the title, setting and many of the character names of Samuel Taylor's hit play of the same name, but essentially, N. Richard Nash wrote a completely new story for the musical. Gower Champion won praise for the show's physical production (Goulet's character was a famed photographer, and photos would fill a screen at the back of the stage), but I gather that it was at the expense of crafting a compelling show. Nevertheless, the score is quite good, and Goulet and David Wayne are excellent. A warning though, for those hearing the score for the first time: Michael Rupert's "Without Me" with a chorus of screaming schoolboys might be the loudest song ever recorded.

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There's a lot about this show in "Not Since Carrie...." by Ken Mandelbaum, an examination of Broadway flops. I don't have the book in front of me but I seem to recall the show had some major changes during the preview period and then had the misfortune to open during the Newspaper strike, so that while the reviews were actually good, no one got to read them until the strike was ended weeks later.

There were also problems with the design; The show was built around photgraphs taken by the Goulet character, which were staged and photgraphed, but then could not be used for some reason, causing the staging to be thrown out-- or something! Just go get the book, it's wonderful in a million ways!