"A Little Night Music"

It's the best version of the show.

It is soooo good. And a wonderful performance by Regina Resnik.

Fuck you people.

Just fuck you.

I'm still sad we never got to see Lee Remick as Desiree in the LA production the next year.

She had to bow out because her cancer returned, and she died that summer.

I know. I loved Lee Remick.

Is there a Lee Remick Appreciation Thread? Beautiful actresses trained in the Method didn’t have the busiest careers but Remick managed it.

I couldn’t make it past the first 10 seconds - shrill shrieking and forced sounds. ICK!

[quote] I know. I loved Lee Remick.

#MeToo

I don’t think she’s really a Desiree, tho... that character’s jaded and somewhat bawdy. She should contrast with the youthful innocence off Anne.

Lee Remick was very naturally refined, even though she played some sexy roles.

Was it Lee Remick that Sondheim wanted to marry?

Stick with it. Seriously, that's just the chorus.

Yes, R9.

Regina Resnick was perfection in this show.

Lois stepped in...

I’m not super into Sondheim or live theater in general, though I like and know most of the famous songs from his musicals. ALNM is the exception though, as I love to listen to the full album. The quartet parts are sooo good, as is Gringold’s Liasons. It’s lovely music and a funny, sad theme of perpetual anticipation.

Thank you!

That drunk, Betty, trying to horn in on LEE’S MAN!

The original production was very beautiful and wonderfully staged by Prince. I saw that City Opera production and it was nothing in comparison to it.

[quote]The original production was very beautiful and wonderfully staged by Prince. I saw that City Opera production and it was nothing in comparison to it.

Well, that's the problem with theater. Unless somebody captures it with a good recording, it's gone.

This is a total ripoff of "A Lot of Night Music".

I believe Norma Shearer was discovered in the stage show “Miss Lotta Miles’ Night Music” (?)

Anyone can whistle.

And sing, too, apparently.

I never got Steve's appreciation of Lee's pipes.

No idea how she’d have handled THIS score!

A big improvement visually, but is anyone else finding it frequently falling out of synch?

Not as well as Miss Merman, r23. I dare say Miss Martin handled this material better.

Lacking Gwen's dancing and vocal skills, Lee compensates with a Chita wig...

R27 I deeply love Lee Remick (and had the great good fortune of meeting her once) but at least in the opening speaking section of that clip, does it not sound like Lola has a Rumanian accent?

Love her too, r28, but she just was out of her element attempting those particular musical roles. But she loved doing them and they cast her.

My favorite Sondheim show. I was fortunate to be able to see this in the summer of 1990. Thanks for posting.

Its roots...

Hi-Ho the glamorous life!

Did you know that “A Little Night Music” was based on “Smiles of a Summer Night" ? Its one of the most sublime and charming comedies ever produced.. It was written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Check out the original film, you’ll be glad you did.

Sian Phillips was the best Mme Armfeldt

Maureen Lipman was great as Madame Armfeldt in the last London revival.

Judi Dench was an angry Desiree.

R31.. Yes! . it’s a must-see film. Delightful in so many ways.

I had NO idea, r33! None whatsoever.

[quote] I had NO idea, [R33]! None whatsoever.

Even on Sunday morning, the gays are sarcastic.

Sarcasm doesn't rest for the Sabbath.

It's just a lack of gin.

If they’re actors, they’ll have to sleep in the stable.

I'll wait for the Lavarious Slaughter production, thank you.

For the film version, Sondheim wrote a new The Glamorous Life to be sung by Fredrika. This is included as a bonus track on the reissued OCR.

It was the most stylish film musical since Gigi!

The script of the Bergan film is so beautiful. The bon mots of Wheeler's book drop like turds into a toilet.

I seem to remember something along the lines of 'Don't squeeze your bosom against the chair. It will stunt their growth and then where would you be?' But they couldn't be that bad.

'Bergman'

L.A. 2004

“The party where your rosebud burst forth, REMEMBER?”

Hey!

After clicking on OP's link this terrible bootleg showed up on my feed. But it's Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.

[quote]But it's Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch.

Both of who were miscast. Bernadette Peters as a world weary European actress? Elaine Stritch as a desired courtesan?

I thought Bernadette was splendid and I caught Elaine (whom I loved in a number of shows) on a good night when she remembered (almost) all of her lines.

"The condition of your ass after I came. Ah how I moaned, and you did the same. Remember."

Lee Remick appreciation thread:

[R52] You think Elaine as Madame A was a stretch. The first touring company had Jean Simmons as Desiree and MARGARET HAMILTON as Madame Armfeldt! Now we love Maggie as the WWOTW, but as a courtesan who received villas, servant and the baron who "when things got a little huffy, deeded [her] a duchy!

I've always wanted a movie remake. Michelle Pfeiffer might have been quite good as Desiree.

A master class on how "Liaisons" should be done.

1977 film version was dreadful....

It gave us Diana Rigg as Charlotte. It's not a total wash.

The Glamorous Life...

Dame Judi Dench in the definitive version of "Send In The Clowns"

So many just don't get this song, and as such they over sing the piece totally missing the point.

Even Frank Sinatra stated in interviews he didn't know what SITC was about.

Send In The Clowns is about being dumped. You've set yourself up so sure of your prey, but he (or she) is all "gee, I'm flattered, but....."

Now you've done it, made a huge fucking fool of yourself, and all you can think of is how to get through that moment. In the circus when something bad happens the clown come in to create a distraction. That's what you need in situations like this, something to get you through that moment of extreme embarrassment, hurt and pain.

Actually have this CD and this is one of my favorite tracks. Can't imagine what key this written in but Elaine Tomkinson is fantastic.

Never heard of it. Is it as great as Hamilton??

[quote] "when things got a little huffy, deeded [her] a duchy!

"Who when things got rather touchy, deeded me a duchy."

Jesse.

[quote] "Who when things got rather touchy, deeded me a duchy."

Sondheim wrote some brilliant lyrics.

"High in a tower she sits by the hour, maintaining her hair."

"I found a casket, entirely of glass — no, it's unbreakable. Inside—don't ask it—a maiden a lass, just as unwakable, what unmistakable agony!"

"I sort of hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?"

Shout out to Laurence Guittard ( Count Carl-Magnus from OBC), still with us at 81 years old!

Damn fine looking man in his day!

Am I not sensitive, clever, well-mannered, considerate, passionate, charming, as rich as I'm handsome, and heir to a throne?

You've got everything maidens could wish for...

Then why no...

Do I know?

The girl must be mad....

You know nothing of madness...til you're climbing her hair and you see her up there as you're nearing her, all the while hearing her...

[quote] Shout out to Laurence Guittard ( Count Carl-Magnus from OBC), still with us at 81 years old!

And heir to a chocolate dynasty.

Elizabeth Taylor did her own singing in that 1977 film version of A Little Night Music?

"According to our records, Laurence Guittard is possibly single."

Any stately theater queens of DL have any dirt?

I mean 81 years old and not whiff of any heterosexual relationship...

[quote]R72 Elizabeth Taylor did her own singing in that 1977 film version of A Little Night Music?

Unfortunately, yes.

They used a dance double in some shots when Liz couldn’t move in the opening number, though.

What a wonderful cast in the Bergman movie. Björn Bjelfvenstam as the tormented son is very sexy.

Elaine Tomkinson dubbed Taylor in some parts, though not "Send In The Clowns" of course.

I think Tomkinson dubbed the low notes for Lesley-Anne Down and sang the entire role of Fredericka (played by Chloe Franks). A different vocalist supplied Down’s higher notes.

I don’t know what was done with Taylor’s voice. (Not enough, I’d say.)

r72, your link lost me at "It was Frank Sinatra's recording of it that turned the song into Sondheim's most popular song."

This lady’s videos are funny:

They actually gave that movie an Oscar for the arrangements. There were so few musicals that year, the only competition in that category was [italic]Pete's Dragon[/italic] and [italic]The Slipper and the Rose[/italic], but this won because they thought Sondheim himself was getting the Oscar and not Jonathan Tunick.

Someone care to walk me though the mental gymnastics on how Elizabeth Taylor was cast as lead in 1977 film "ALNM"?

Know role of Desiree doesn't call for an actress with a legitimate trained voice, but still.

I presume because Taylor's name helped finance the movie...

R82

More like Ms. Taylor's big ole bosom you mean....

I've never been so sick of the sight of woman's cleavage.

[Quote] sick of the sight of woman's cleavage.

Not a rare feeling for you, I suspect.

Elizabeth Taylor's own voice....

If the sun came out , her bosom popped out, if the sun went down, her bosom came out. If the moon came out her bosom came out. I tell you, my whole life I've never been so sick of looking at one woman's breasts

Interesting blog review by Ken Andersen.

Did Tony Perkins really work with Sondheim on A Little Night Music?

No, "The Last of Sheila."

Had Burton and Taylor split by this time? The cast is very unstarry.

NYT was very unkind....

Chatter on Broadway World was less than generous as well.

I don't know where to start about casting for this 1977 ALNM film.....

Elizabeth Taylor was 43 or 44 when film was shot, and in many scenes she looks a bit tired and worn. More to the point Len Cariou is seven years younger than Ms. Taylor, and even with adding touch of grey to his receding hairline still projected far younger.

Leslie Ann Down though only in her middle twenties doesn't quite hit the mark as a virginal teenage newly married bride.

Hal Prince may have been wonderful far as theater was concerned, but his direction of this film wasn't his best effort.

One assumes as with Lucy Ball and Mame, Liz Taylor was brought in, regardless of any quibbles, due to her star power which producers hoped would pull in audiences.

Diana Rigg was an interesting choice. Would think 1970's Americans who knew her at all would be via British television imports (Avengers).

They should have cast Doris Day and Jim Garner!

[quote] I presume because Taylor's name helped finance the movie...

They were as hand-to-mouth with financing as Liz was with the sweets.

How is it possible Glynis Johns was not a big enough name to attract funding for a film version?

Because Johns was never more than a second female lead in the movies - at least in movies outside Britain.

I wonder if they tried for Streisand.

I can easily picture Streisand's "What is she, a bird?"

Sondheim had to ask Streisand to stop covering his songs, so I doubt that would ever have happened.

For those who haven't you really ought to watch "Smiles Of A Summer Night". Even if one does not speak Swedish and or if subtitles are lacking it still is a wonderful film. Ranks with "All About Eve" as one of the finest dramatic comedies on film.

Are you mistaking Barbra Joan for Betty Lynn?

Did any of you enjoy CZJ as Desiree (apart from on the Tonys, obviously)? She would seem too common for the role.

Don't know how much truth there is in it, but they do say La Streisand and Sondheim were collaborating on a film musical version of "The Merry Widow".

Things never got far beyond early days and idea was supposedly soon dropped.

r101

I was wondering that myself

How did "Introducing Lesley Dunlop" come about? Was she sleeping with one of the producers?

R95

Who?

If one of main objections to giving Angela Landsbury "Mame" was that Americans wouldn't know her from Eve and thus not have strong billing power for that film, just what planet would Glynis Johns remotely have a chance for "ALNM"?

Lesley Ann Warren must have been busy.

R106: Yet even with Liz attached to it they still had to settle for Roger Corman as a producer.

That's what the movie needed....Audrey 2!

When I saw Joan Rivers' abomination "Rabbit Test" in Westwood, there was a preview of ALNM and the audience screamed when they saw Liz. I'm certain Rivers was in the audience at various times (which she admitted) and thus the Taylor jokes started.

Lesley Dunlop then was a young "child" actress who had a few television roles after leaving theater school at age 15. ALNM was her first film role followed by a few more.

Thought Ms. Dunlop was rather good as Petra. Since "The Miller's Son" was cut from film version of ALNM there wasn't any heavy singing involved for Petra anyway.

Shame "The Miller's Son" was cut from film, it really is a great song that puts many things into perspective.

R110

One of the many issues with film ALNM was Ms. Taylor's constant weight fluctuations. She goes from bloated to slim, back to bloated.....

But what got Dunlop the "Introducing" credit? It's not like the movie is weighted towards her in any way.

The movie was so overblown, no pun, the score couldn't save it.

I hated the Miller's Son. It has a very unclear message and most of all, it contradicts Sondheim's snobby dislike of I Feel Pretty. He claims it's ridiculous for this uneducated girl to sing "it's alarming how charming I feel", yet he puts his lower-class maid into a song that has the most difficult and convoluted rhymes and logic. It's a very short road to the pinch and the paunch and the pension.

r79 sums up most of the problems. Didn't they look at the dailies?

R114

Don't know inside details, but obviously the good lady's agent and others felt sure enough of her talents to give the coveted "Introducing..." credit.

It would Ms. Dunlop's first major motion picture, and perhaps many foretold a brighter future with that exposure.

R115

What was left of the score you mean...

Yes, new material was added, but several ALNM Broadway numbers were cut. Leaving out "Liaisons" totally reduced role of Madame Armfeldt making it almost a throw away one.

Then again if this (cut version) was the best Hermione Gingold could manage, then it likely was best things went as they did.

They should have had Julie Andrews play Desiree. She’s a bit too twee for the role but her speak-singing would still have been better than Liz Taylor.

Julie might have been a fun Charlotte.

The wig down wears actually ages her.

Julie Andrews was far to virginal to play Desiree.

As the daughter of a courtesan (and a rather grand successful one at that) who became an actress, Desiree is slightly implied to be no better than she should be.

Julie Andrews never could pull off "You Must Meet My Wife"... Elizabeth Taylor didn't either, but that's a whole other matter.

Elizabeth Taylor's "Send In The Clowns" ranks up there with most cringe worthy efforts. And that's saying something given sheer number of those who have tried.

[quote] Elizabeth Taylor's "Send In The Clowns" ranks up there with most cringe worthy efforts.

And right behind it is Glenn Close’s mewling.

If Sally Ann Howes could pull off "You Must Meet My Wife, " Julie Andrews could. Andrews was dead in the water as a movie star by the 1970s so she wouldn't have bee a good commercial choice anyway.

A movie remake with some of the Dangerous Liaisons cast might have been good. Glenn as Desiree (Glenn actually used to fuck Len Cariou), Michelle Pfeiffer as Charlotte (Ok, Carl Magnus passing over Michelle for Glenn might be a bit of a stretch...)...

R127

Oh I don't know...

Good number of men (at least straight ones) prefer experience and skill above simply plain physical beauty and or youth alone.

That was part of the war between Valmont and the Marquise over the young Cecile.

It was also what Desiree thought she had over Frau Fredrik Egerman. Only to be shocked that her former lover actually prefers the charms of his young inexperienced and virgin wife over all that "experience".

[quote]? Elaine Stritch as a desired courtesan?

Exactly. What a ridiculous notion.

You could post pics of an old, bug eyed Anita Ekberg and people wouldn't believe you that she used to be a sex symbol...

Some insider info:

Liz originally recorded all of her vocals. The final version of "Send In the Clowns" was made by editing the song note-by-note from dozens of different takes. Not a single phrase was preserved from any take. Elaine Tomkinson had already been brought in to dub Chloe Franks, and she redid Taylor's bits in "Love Takes Time" as well as dubbing for Leslie-Anne Down. The budget wouldn't allow for another ghost singer, though some people say there was a different voice used for Down's high notes. If she did, she didn't get paid...

Liaisons was prerecorded. Steve Sondheim wrote new lyrics, but the number was scrapped without being filmed.

Len Cariou was a last-minute hire for the film. The cast was already in rehearsal and was going into the recording studio and no leading men had been pinned down. Robert Stephens was in for a short time, but left the project. Peter Finch turned it down. Cariou got it, finally, for the simple reason that he knew the role.

The film was Prince's second (after Something For Everyone). His ideas showed great promise -especially the transitions in and out of the theatre that bookend the film. The production suffered from a severe lack of money, making reshoots almost impossible. Liz didn't help at all -constantly late to the set and causing production delays. The cut of all of the chorus songs ("Remember", "Perpetual Anticipation", etc.) was not done too save money -Prince simply couldn't figure out a way to bring them into the story in a realistic-enough way for film. The setting was changed from Sweden to Austria because some of the film's financing came from the Austrian government.

I provided the various un-dubbed vocals that were posted on YouTube and shared here. They came from the studio vaults, but I wasn't the one who "borrowed" them.

"Rabbit Test" at least has a few intentional laughs; in "A Little Night Music" they are all highly unintentional...

The laughs Diana Rigg generates are unintentional?

Sadly, Dame Diana was no Joan Prather.

This wasn't the only Liz Taylor musical that decade. She was also in the US/Soviet co-production [italic]The Blue Bird[/italic], a remake of that old Shirley Temple movie. I guess the foreign governments funding the films didn't care since she would be dubbed in non-English-speaking countries:

"Rabbit Test" at least has a few intentional laughs"

Joan, how are things down there?

Oddly enough, Liz was much better in The Blue Bird than in A Little Night Music. Blue Bird was one of the all-time stinkers -it made Night Music look like a classic MGM musical.

[quote]Liaisons was prerecorded. Steve Sondheim wrote new lyrics, but the number was scrapped without being filmed.

No wonder. Hermione's version at R119 is dreadful. It's hard to believe it was only a few years after she had done the role on Broadway.

I sent in the clowns.

That movie is why it's good that Jodie Dallas chickened out of his quixotic quest to become a woman on [italic]Soap[/italic], especially since it only drove his boyfriend away.

"Time being money, basic training for new recruits to most Broadway hits is mercilessly brief, and the incorrigible perfectionist in Ms. Stritch has had to summon up the subtext of Madame Armfeldt’s lines on the fly.

“I love rehearsal more than I can possibly tell you,” she said. “But everything happens for the best. It’s a marvelous part: tough, deep, confusing. And she always appears when you least expect it. The solitaire champion.”

Though anxious, Ms. Stritch was also philosophical: “I think I’m getting her. I’m looking in the mirror. Something’s coming alive in me because of Madame Armfeldt. Meeting Madame Armfeldt, I’ve got wings on my heels. I wish I knew my lines better. But if I miss one, I don’t think they’ll give me the chair.” (She missed a few at that dreaded first preview, and brought down the house.)"

/quote

Review in The Observer was a tad less charitable.

That Gingold audio isn't playing at the correct speed.

R143

Thought long and hard before posting that link, but did so despite coming to same conclusion.

This one is a bit better.

Don't forget Elizabeth Taylor's tour de force performance singing "Aida" in Il Giovane Toscanini

Liv Ullman might actually have been better.

Think sound is missing from this clip for copyright reasons.

Did Ms. Taylor ever do anything that didn't show of those big ole bosoms of hers?

" Elaine Stritch as a desired courtesan?"

Elaine Stritch could do no wrong far as her loyal fans were concerned. They'd line up and pay good money to see her do Medea and swear she was best thing since Judith Anderson.

If that were true, Stritch wouldn't have been a second banana (or and "and" creditee) for most of her career.

It was Sondheim himself who personally called Stritch and Peters to ask if they'd take over the roles in the revival. It was originally a limited run set to close after CZJ and Lansbury left. When they agreed, Sondheim took the idea to the producers who agreed to extend based on their names. The production still had to close for two weeks to get Stitch and Peters up to speed.

^ Stritch

R149

Notice I said "loyal fans", not general public.

Still for some reason the woman was an "icon" of NYC theater, so there you are.....

While we're at it am getting fed up with Bernadette Peters as well.

Judge for yourselves.....

That sounds like something a press agent cooked up, r150.

How so, r154?

Maybe so, r154, but Peters, Stritch and Sondheim all told the same story in interviews. it was Sondheim's idea and he called the two before taking it to the producers.

Why would "a press agent cook that up"? It's totally plausible that's how it happened and isn't really newsworthy.

A press agent would cook that up to try to sell a replacement cast as a hotter ticket that the producers know them to be.

How does the fact that Sondheim asked them personally to do it make it a hotter ticket? That's just silly, r158.

It was indeed silly. And BP proved she was no longer box office. Stritch never really was.

Peters was better than Zeta-Jones at least.

I can't believe the actual stage show creators turned it into Eine Kleine Flopmovie.

They didn't even ask Bergman whether he wanted to do it. It was his movie they were adapting.

I loved CZJ but I saw a late preview when she clearly at her best. She would make a great Mama Rose or Mame.

Has she spoken much about her bipolar condition? Perhaps that has kept her from committing to a stage run. There was talk that she may have had a sniff sniff old time during the run of ALNM.

Their casting wasn't silly, r160. What's silly is thinking a press agent made up Sondheim asking them to do it. *That's* silly. And the names Peters and Stritch *did* manage to lengthen the run a bit and pull in a few shekels.

" And BP proved she was no longer box office. Stritch never really was."

Indeed she was, r160....once.

Peters was truly fabulous in On The Town.

Bern&Gwen&Mia

This is interesting:

Mrs. Alpert...

Oooof, Stritch’s super-American pronunciation was horrible for Liasons. Gingold was surely rolling in her grave.

I can't believe they gave Gwen Verdon those lines about only being wanted for her looks... Wasn't Dorothy Malone or someone available?

[quote] Gingold was surely rolling in her grave.

She was already one foot in it based on that film recording.

Like many actors Hermione Gingold never had a strong instrument. She could carry a tune well enough for "spoken" songs, which was fine for most purposes.

About twenty years lapsed between "GiGi" and "ALNM" film of 1977. The good lady was about 80 when she made ALNM film, and indeed would die several years later in 1989 at aged 89.

Hermione Gingold lead a rather fantastic life and professional career. Her long association with Sondheim likely played into her being cast in film version of ALNM.

I'm trying to imagine Dame Judith Anderson as Madame Armfeldt. She did sing a little on screen and wasn't too bad. When asked about coming to America for the first time and seeing the Statue of Liberty, Hermione commented how nice it was for them to build a statue of Judith Anderson in the harbor.

Now that I think about it, Dame Judith on "Santa Barbara" as Minx Lockridge is very Madame Armfeldt and daughter-in-law Louise Sorel as Augusta Lockridge is very Desiree. Victoria Mallory, who played Anne in the OBC had a short term role on "Santa Barbara" as August's sister, Julia's psychiatrist.

Hermione's vice...

Are we sure that they never filmed Liaisons? In one of the Sondheim books (maybe the Zadan one) there is a story that Gingold went to an early screening and discovered for the first time that her number had been cut. That audio provided above is indeed atrocious.

R179

One reads in various sources that "Liaisons" was not used in 1977 film of ALNM, but that does not mean it wasn't filmed.

If that dreadful recording R119 exists shows that Liaisons was at least recorded. Considering how close Sondheim and GinGold were, find it hard to credit the latter signed onto film fully aware her big number was going to be cut.

As stated in post above by 1977 Ms. Gingold was getting on, and there was a feeling in certain circles that a little of the woman went a long way.

When you consider how tight things were budget wise forcing Elaine Tomkinson into overtime dubbing for fair number of female cast members, who could have dubbed a wobbly voiced Ms. Gingold? They do say a never named singer was brought in to do some dubbing for Elizabeth Taylor's numbers (likely things that even Ms. Tomkinson couldn't manage), which sopped up limited resources.

[quote]who could have dubbed a wobbly voiced Ms. Gingold?

Better to cut "Liaisons" than to have Hermione dubbed. What would be the point? Talk about a distinctive voice. Cyril Ritchard is the only actor I can think of who might have been appropriate.

R182

Am not in disagreement. If Ms. Gingold's performance wasn't up to standard in film version of ALNM, and there just wasn't time for her to pull up her socks with endless retakes or whatever, it likely was best all way around for that number to be cut.

Ms. Gingold long had a distinctive sound (brought about by nodules on her vocal cords in part IIRC), and her accent and diction were really from another time. We're not talking about replacing a few high or low notes here and there, but likely entire song would have had to be song by someone else. One thinks Ms. Gingold would have been more upset had she gone to see the film and "Liaisons" was totally dubbed. Especially if replacement vocals sounded nothing like her at all.

I too remember reading that Liaisons was recorded and shot for the film but not used. But that was many years ago. I doubt that anyone would know. Or at least, I don't have any sources or links to support my memories.

Shall I Tell You What I Think of You from the King and I was recorded and filmed but not used. We know this is true because the vocals are on the soundtrack album and there are on set photos of the number being filmed. (The vocals on the soundtrack are a too obvious mix of Kerr and Nixon).

So, it is Gingold on the cast soundtrack, right? She sounds fabulous there.

R182

Cyril Ritchard? Well he did have similar accent, and was about same age as Ms. Gingold, but that's where similarities end.

Ms. Gingold may have had a husky sounding voice, but sending a man to dub her songs would be a bit much.

As an aside, the original London cast recording of A Little Night Music is good but overall inferior to the original Broadway cast recording. The one notable exception is Gingold's Liaisons. Her performance on the LCR is much more subtle, nuanced and deeply felt than on the OBCR. But she had a few more hundred performances under her belt when the LCR was made.

I'm sitting here imagining Merman's Liaisons....

R185

Yes, OBC recording is Ms. Gingold.

Oddly ALNM opened on Broadway on February 25, 1973, and ran until August 3, 1974. The film was shot 7 September 1976 - 29 October 1976 so things began just two years after Ms. Gingold ended her Broadway run.

That her voice deteriorated so much in just two years before filming began, and didn't obviously improve says something.

What is also telling is that the recent ALNM soundtrack recording has several songs recorded in mono sound that were not previously released. "Liaisons" is not among them.

YT has comments disabled and am not joining just for that purpose, but would be interesting to know source of that awful "Liaisons" recording linked above. Something usually has to be really, really bad if not even years later it isn't included on soundtrack releases or anywhere else.

Sorry, forgot link to above post.

[quote]Ms. Gingold may have had a husky sounding voice, but sending a man to dub her songs would be a bit much.

I was joking. Hermione Gingold and Cyril Ritchard used similar inflections in their performances.

Gingold's performance on the OBCR in 1974 is wonderful but it had indeed deepened when she did the part in London in 1975, as reflected on the London recording. It's not exactly a surprise that even a year later when the film was made her performance might have deteriorated. People that age - my age - can decline suddenly. Something I fear.

Doroth Collins was singing parts of her Follies role down the octave by 1977.

By '68, Cook could no longer hit the Glitter and Be Gay money note, so they got Madeline.

The film recording of Hermione was probably a pre-record. It's not like they couldn't have made a different master audio recording even after the scene was shot.

Phil Leeds on Roseanne would have made the best Madame Armfeldt ever!

R71

Well that explains why Laurence Guittard retired from performing (he doesn't even sing at home), years ago and isn't even on theatrical radar far as one can see. If you've got that kind of money in bank then have that sort of luxury.

Laurence Guittard - Oklahoma!,

Damn! LG was one tall cool glass of water.

What production of ALNM was this?

R189, Jesus, they filmed the entire movie in a month? No wonder it looks so shoddy.

R189

When people say financing for ALNM film was shaky and stingy they weren't joking. The Austrian firm providing good portion of the money wasn't in a generous mood. Budgeted for $6 million (USD), ALNM ended up costing nearly $7.2 million (USD) when in the can, and that final number was simply because money had run out, and there wasn't any more to be had.

R195 et al

Various sources state that Sondheim actually wrote new lyrics for "Liaisons", and that song along with "In Praise of Women" were actually filmed. But for reasons unknown with any certainty both were cut from final film. Likely because Austrian firm providing financing put their feet down that ALNM absolutely not run longer than 120 minutes. In end total film time is 124 minutes, but not sure if that includes opening and closing credits.

Let's face it; by middle to late 1970's genre of Hollywood musicals was dead or at least gasping for breath. Had ALNM hit Broadway maybe a decade earlier when Hollywood suits were still willing to invest money on musicals then things may have been different.

Also for R195

Broadway Masterworks re-released soundtrack for ALNM in 2013. You'd think if they were going to include those four numbers originally omitted from film they'd through out a bone and give us "Liaisons" and "In Praise of Women".

Diana Rigg impressed many with her performance in film version of ALNM that when the stage version of Follies finally arrived in West End (London), she was cast as Phyllis Stone.

OLCR recording....

You're welcome....

Just to mix things up a bit.

Hats off to those beautiful girls!

[Quote] West End (Foreign Broadway)

r199

according to the comments, the 95 London revival

Guittard looks like mutton dressed as lamb in that Merv clip.

R206

Thank you....

YT comments are disabled when I view, so cannot read.

There were still other movie musicals around the same time: [italic]The Wiz[/italic], [italic]Grease[/italic], [italic]Pete’s Dragon[/italic], [italic]The Muppet Movie[/italic], and [italic]Hair[/italic] were all released in the late 1970s. The recession cut back on the number of them compared to the previous decade. AIDS cut back on them even further over the next two.

[quote]Damn! LG was one tall cool glass of water.

With a face that looked like a cab driver. Maybe he looked good in the large theater, but up close he looks too old to play Curly, receding hairline and all.

And Merv's audience looks like an average age of 105.

[quote] The original production was very beautiful and wonderfully staged by Prince. I saw that City Opera production and it was nothing in comparison to it.

Broadway productions tend by and large to be better than most other productions of musicals in the US because they have bigger budgets and access to better talent. Moreover, ALNM was written to be sung by singers trained for the musical theater rather than voices trained for opera.

The movie version of ALNM was always going to be an art house film. When you look at other musicals in the decade, you can see the way that trends were headed.

Godspell - 1973

Mame - 1974

Tommy - 1975

A Little Night Music - 1977

The Wiz - 1978

Grease - 1978

Hair - 1979

Laurence Guittard is very sexy in person and very nice as well.

That “Musical Hell” vid at R79 is hilarious and quite perceptive. In all the negative reviews I’ve read of this turkey of a movie, I don’t remember anyone else ever pointing out that of the three times the summer night smiles (as stated at the beginning) the movie omits the last one: Madame Armfeldt’s death.

^^ I am R79, and I approve this post.

My favorite Sondheim. The lyrics, music, and arrangements are fantastic. Now I can't get the song A Weekend in the Country out of my head!

R99 - Oooooo do tell me more! I've never heard that before, but I totally get it. I'm not a fan of Streisand's singing and I don't even want to imagine her singing any of Sondheim's songs either.

That late 70s revival of Oklahoma! was wonderful. There was a lot silly PR about the fact that the Curly was blond and Laurey was dark haired, requiring a lyric change for Jud from "long yeller hair" to "long wavy hair."

But here's one of my Oh, Mary! moments. Looking through the program beforehand I noticed that the conductor was Jay Blackton. Jay Blackton had conducted both the original production and the film. I felt like I was in Bayreuth and Hans Richter was about to conduct The Ring.

OH, MARY!

Streisand wrote her own lyrics for "Send in the Clowns".

r219

I thought Sondheim wrote them for her saying there was something they cut from the show and there has always been something missing from the song

Guittard has been quietly openly gay for decades. He has lots of money and left performing in the 80s.

[quote]I thought Sondheim wrote them for her saying there was something they cut from the show and there has always been something missing from the song

He would say that, wouldn't he?

He also denied that there was a young boy hanging by a leather strap in his basement, even though Julia/McKenzie/Lee Remick/Angela Lansbury opened that door and saw it for herself.

[quote]He has lots of money

Because he was heir to the Guittard Chocolate fortune. I wonder if he forced them to be sold in the bar at the intermission of Oklahoma?

I maybe should post this on the "What gay things did you do as a kid that you had no idea were gay" thread, but the summer I was 14, my family lived in London for the summer (my dad was on an overseas temporary assignment) and one of my Mom's best friends (Auntie Dee, as we called her) took me shopping one day, to lunch, and then to the matinee of A Little Night Music. We had WONDERFUL seats - and loved EVERY minute of it. I was entranced. She even bought be the cast album (which I still have) Jean Simmons, Joss Ackland were the stars. Auntie Dee must have known I was a young gayling. What 15-year-old boy loves musicals who isn't a homo-in-training?

Bob Fosse?

[quote]r216 My favorite Sondheim. The lyrics, music, and arrangements are fantastic. Now I can't get the song A Weekend in the Country out of my head!

I agree.

PS: this one’s good:

[quote]He also denied that there was a young boy hanging by a leather strap in his basement, even though Julia/McKenzie/Lee Remick/Angela Lansbury opened that door and saw it for herself.

Everyone knew about that. When Jerry Herman wrote "Open a new window, open a new door, travel a new highway that's never been tried before," that's what he was referring to: the Hershey Highway.

Jerry had no business commenting after all the fisting songs he wrote.

I Put My Hand in There.

Life is a Celebration with You on My Arm.

The caged boy’s cries of “Open a window! Open a door!” initially inspired the lyrics.

And when my little pinkie wiggles

Some young maiden gets the giggles,

Then I make my knuckles active

My, she says, you're so attractive!

Pressure with the thumbs,

Matrimony comes,

When I put my hand in there!

What the hell *did* they do with the perfume?

Sondheim's wildest kinks were discussed among gay men well before the internet. Word gets around fast.

I watched the New York State Opera production yesterday after finishing Lincoln Center Light in the Piazza. A great double bill of romantic musical drama with light comedy. Regina Resnick is stunning and very Lady Bracknell like. Her story of the wooden ring is told quite touching. Quite a departure for Danielle Ferland who had played Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods as if she was emulating Nellie Oleson. She's quite understated and reigned in which had me liking her even if I was taken aback by her at first. Maureen Moore delivers Every Day a Little Death with suicidal venom which makes it all the more powerful.

[quote] Regina Resnick is stunning and very Lady Bracknell like.

I never thought about it like that, but you’re right.

Wow that was great r226 - how have I never seen that? They should have put all of them right into a full production.

Regina Resnik lived a wonderful full life, and had an equally long and excellent career that spanned over forty years.

She began as a soprano, but when her voice began to darken she switched to mezzo roles completely giving up the former.