My Musical Theater Voyage of Discovery; The Kander and Ebb Files -- Woman of the Year
WOMAN OF THE YEAR holds such an incredibly special place in my life. I don’t know what it was that made me want to see it when it was on Broadway – I imagine it was Lauren Bacall and Kander and Ebb. I loved them because of Cabaret and Chicago and I loved her because of Murder on the Orient Express. So when I was in Switzerland, reading about the happenings on Broadway that season, and I read about Woman of the Year, I told my dad I just HAD to see that show. My parents were extremely generous and gave me money to see several shows each summer that we came home to the States. So my daddy got me a ticket to see Lauren Bacall in Woman of the Year. It was my first show at The Palace, my first live Kander and Ebb, my first Lauren Bacall (I have seen her two or three times). It was one of those magical moments in life you never forget.
I listen to my Woman of the Year cast album all the time. I love every note of it, from the overture to the finale. I love every single song and I even love the way Bacall sings those songs. I listen to that cd and I relive every moment of that spectacular night back in the early 80s when I learned what true star power was all about.
There was also the little matter of Marilyn Cooper… I couldn’t fathom that kind of talent, that kind of humour, that kind of power over an audience – and it was all her power. Bacall was wonderful but it was Coopie who had the audience in the palm of her hand; it was Coopie who made them laugh harder and harder until the entire theater was screaming. It was the first time in my life (and never, since, has it gotten to be as big as it was with Coopie and the number The Grass is Always Greener) that I saw something onstage cause the audience to get more and More and MORE carried away with laughter as it went on.
I bought the record album of Woman of the Year and took it back to Switzerland with me and played it til it was all scratched up. I had to replace it a couple of times over the years until, finally, it came out on cd.
The summer after I saw Woman of the Year with Lauren Bacall, I returned to New York with my family – and that year I got to see the replacement for Lauren Bacall: Raquel Welch. Her replacing of the legendary silver screen star got international coverage and I, for one, wasn’t about to miss my current favourite musical with the woman I had loved ever since The Three Musketeers!
And guess what?
She was STUNNING. It was a glamourous and memorable night in the theater.. AGAIN. For years I have searched for a dvd bootleg of that performance. Never found one – though I WAS lucky enough to score the original cast. Yay me.
In my Ipod I have an audio bootleg of Raquel Welch’s performance.
AND I have an audio bootleg of Debbie Reynolds’ performance in Woman of the Year.
And guess what?
AMazing.
That’s right. In spite of the legendary tale of Debbie Reynolds’ disastrous appearance in this Kander and Ebb musical, I happen to have listened to every word (the bootleg is the entire show, including scenes) and it is A- Mazing.
It isn’t every show that makes it into my Ipod THREE times.
This show is special to me.
I listen to my Woman of the Year cast album all the time. I love every note of it, from the overture to the finale. I love every single song and I even love the way Bacall sings those songs. I listen to that cd and I relive every moment of that spectacular night back in the early 80s when I learned what true star power was all about.
There was also the little matter of Marilyn Cooper… I couldn’t fathom that kind of talent, that kind of humour, that kind of power over an audience – and it was all her power. Bacall was wonderful but it was Coopie who had the audience in the palm of her hand; it was Coopie who made them laugh harder and harder until the entire theater was screaming. It was the first time in my life (and never, since, has it gotten to be as big as it was with Coopie and the number The Grass is Always Greener) that I saw something onstage cause the audience to get more and More and MORE carried away with laughter as it went on.
I bought the record album of Woman of the Year and took it back to Switzerland with me and played it til it was all scratched up. I had to replace it a couple of times over the years until, finally, it came out on cd.
The summer after I saw Woman of the Year with Lauren Bacall, I returned to New York with my family – and that year I got to see the replacement for Lauren Bacall: Raquel Welch. Her replacing of the legendary silver screen star got international coverage and I, for one, wasn’t about to miss my current favourite musical with the woman I had loved ever since The Three Musketeers!
And guess what?
She was STUNNING. It was a glamourous and memorable night in the theater.. AGAIN. For years I have searched for a dvd bootleg of that performance. Never found one – though I WAS lucky enough to score the original cast. Yay me.
In my Ipod I have an audio bootleg of Raquel Welch’s performance.
AND I have an audio bootleg of Debbie Reynolds’ performance in Woman of the Year.
And guess what?
AMazing.
That’s right. In spite of the legendary tale of Debbie Reynolds’ disastrous appearance in this Kander and Ebb musical, I happen to have listened to every word (the bootleg is the entire show, including scenes) and it is A- Mazing.
It isn’t every show that makes it into my Ipod THREE times.
This show is special to me.
posted by StephenMosher at 7:48 AM
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