My Musical Theater Voyage of Discovery; The Jerry Herman Files -- Mack and Mabel

MACK AND MABEL, I have been told, is Jerry Herman’s favourite of his scores. I don’t know if that is true or not, having never been told this by the man himself; but I do know that it is one of MY favourite scores. I have also been told (and read) that Mack and Mabel was a complicated show, one with many obstacles to overcome – obstacles that it has never been able to overcome. I don’t know about that either. I only know that, from the moment the Overture begins to final strains of music on the cast album, I am made happy by the listening experience that is Mack and Mabel. Mr Herman manages to capture the mood of the era and of the artform that was silent fim making (Movies Were Movies), as well as staying true to the traditional Broadway belt (Big Time). In this score you find the traditional Herman ballad (I Won’t Send Roses) and one of the greatest torch songs ever written (I think it is in the top 5) – Time Heals Everything. My favourite, though, is the excitingly dark Tap Your Troubles Away (I don’t know how it was done on Broadway but when I saw a production of the show in the 80s, there was a murder and the company came out and tap danced around the dead body while this song was belted out by the local version of Lisa Kirk).

I don’t know or care why Mack and Mabel was a flop. It’s one of the best cast albums you are likely to find. And for extra pleasure, you can dig up the concert version with the likes of Debbie (Shapiro) Gravitte, George Hearn, Stubby Kaye, Tommy Tune, Frances Ruffelle, Denis Quilley, Paige O’Hara, Robert Meadmore and with Georgia Brown doing Time Heals Everything. Oh, and Jerry Herman. It’s a good one!