It seems as though we just went through the holidays, and we’re already starting February! To that end, we’re welcoming the month with overtures and opening numbers from ten February musicals on this week’s Dress Circle (2/1 7:00 p.m.).
Our overtures come from some interesting musicals including Jerry Herman’s “Dear World” based on the play “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” a vehicle for Steve Lawrence with music by Ervin Drake entitled “What Makes Sammy Run?”, a “Sherlock Holmes” musical, “Baker Street” by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel, and what is touted as the world’s first “murder mystery musical,” “Redhead” which had music by Albert Hague and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
Many modern musicals have foregone overtures and replaced them with opening numbers that set the stage for what’s about to occur. To that end, we’ve scheduled the opening number from the recent musical starring Idina Menzel, “Redwood,” the 1999 revival of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” in which Clark Gesner’s charming score was adapted and altered by Andrew Lippa, the original cast of “The Canterbury Tales” based on Chaucer and including a short overture followed by a prologue by Martyn Green as Chaucer along with the “Song of Welcome” from the company.
We’ll also sample two other revivals, the 2006 Roundabout Theatre production of “The Pajama Game” which features the title song as part of the overture and the opening and title song that sets the scene for the 2008 Menier Chocolate Factory transfer of “Sunday in the Park with George” featuring Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell.
All of these shows opened on Broadway in February, and our “odd man out” is a musical that never made it to New York but had its opening in Boston in February. The legendary “Prettybelle” was a musical by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill based on the highly satirical and acerbic novel “Prettybelle: A Lively tale of Rape and Resurrection” that stunned the audiences in Boston. Although liked by many, there were just too many problems with the production for leading lady, Angela Lansbury, to want to be a part of a Broadway transfer, and it died in Boston.
