Read Online You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman by Andy Propst - Free Book Online
Authors: Andy Propst
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taste.” Nevertheless, by the time January 1953 rolled around, it wasn’t “The Birth of the Blues” that appeared in the Variety listing of “Songs with Largest Radio Audience,” but rather “Why Try To Change Me Now?”
In retrospect, comparisons between the two sides seem unfair, because each has its allure. The A side is a powerhouse of vocals and brass, with an orchestra led by Axel Stordahl, while the B side is quiet, almost silent in contrast, strings delicately wafting around and under Sinatra’s wistful tones. This combination of vocals, arrangements, and orchestrations established the songwriting team of Coleman and McCarthy and proved an enduring hit for years to come. The song also paved the way for their Broadway debut as a songwriting team, which would come in a new revue being planned by John Murray Anderson.
Anderson had burst onto New York’s theatrical scene in 1919 as the writer, director, and producer of The Greenwich Village Follies . The show was heralded by the New York Times , which enthused about the production’s songs and its visuals, adding, “and where it does not win outright on these points it scores on novelty, burlesque, and comedy.” 8 The show went on to run 232 performances (enough to certify a hit in the days before shows that run for decades) and spawned additional editions through 1924.
After that Anderson went on to larger revues, such as the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 , and new musicals, including a little-known Rodgers and Hart trifle set during the Revolutionary War, Dearest Enemy , and the team’s circus extravaganza, Jumbo.
Anderson’s eye—which could marry taste with extravagance to sublime effect—attracted the attention of Hollywood as well as the Ringling Brothers Circus. From 1942 to 1951 he was responsible for putting together the glamorous three-ring event that thrilled audiences nationwide, and he even staged the musical and dance numbers for Cecil B. DeMille’s 1951 big-top Technicolor epic, The Greatest Show on Earth , which boasted a cast that included Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour, and Jimmy Stewart.
Anderson had anticipated returning to the theater during the 1950–51 season with a revue titled John Murray Anderson’s Almanac , and there were even reports that he had secured Vernon Duke and Ogden Nash to write the show’s songs. But this production never materialized, and instead Anderson directed a new incarnation of Leonard Sillman’s New Faces franchise in 1952, followed by Two’s Company , a revue that brought none other than screen legend Bette Davis back to the stage.
The latter show received decidedly mixed notices, limping through three months of performances on Broadway. With New Faces , however, both Anderson and Sillman were at the top of their game. The production introduced a host of performers who would become household names, notably Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Carol Lawrence, and Alice Ghostley.
Given the runaway hit status that New Faces of 1952 was enjoying, Anderson found that he could once again begin putting together his Almanac revue, and as late as December 1952 producers were vying to back the project, which according to period reports would cost $200,000 (close to $2 million by modern standards) to produce.
For the show’s headliner, Anderson signed Hermione Gingold, giving the noted and quirky British actress her Broadway debut. Across the Atlantic Gingold had built a solid reputation through her appearances in numerous West End revues, most notably the long-running hit Sweet and Low , which opened in 1943 and ended up playing for nearly six years, becoming something of a tourist attraction for American soldiers in London after World War II.
For subsequent generations Gingold’s work in such musical bonbons as this and Almanac was eclipsed by her memorable performances in other roles, on both stage and screen. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the movie musical Gigi , in which she
In retrospect, comparisons between the two sides seem unfair, because each has its allure. The A side is a powerhouse of vocals and brass, with an orchestra led by Axel Stordahl, while the B side is quiet, almost silent in contrast, strings delicately wafting around and under Sinatra’s wistful tones. This combination of vocals, arrangements, and orchestrations established the songwriting team of Coleman and McCarthy and proved an enduring hit for years to come. The song also paved the way for their Broadway debut as a songwriting team, which would come in a new revue being planned by John Murray Anderson.
Anderson had burst onto New York’s theatrical scene in 1919 as the writer, director, and producer of The Greenwich Village Follies . The show was heralded by the New York Times , which enthused about the production’s songs and its visuals, adding, “and where it does not win outright on these points it scores on novelty, burlesque, and comedy.” 8 The show went on to run 232 performances (enough to certify a hit in the days before shows that run for decades) and spawned additional editions through 1924.
After that Anderson went on to larger revues, such as the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 , and new musicals, including a little-known Rodgers and Hart trifle set during the Revolutionary War, Dearest Enemy , and the team’s circus extravaganza, Jumbo.
Anderson’s eye—which could marry taste with extravagance to sublime effect—attracted the attention of Hollywood as well as the Ringling Brothers Circus. From 1942 to 1951 he was responsible for putting together the glamorous three-ring event that thrilled audiences nationwide, and he even staged the musical and dance numbers for Cecil B. DeMille’s 1951 big-top Technicolor epic, The Greatest Show on Earth , which boasted a cast that included Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Dorothy Lamour, and Jimmy Stewart.
Anderson had anticipated returning to the theater during the 1950–51 season with a revue titled John Murray Anderson’s Almanac , and there were even reports that he had secured Vernon Duke and Ogden Nash to write the show’s songs. But this production never materialized, and instead Anderson directed a new incarnation of Leonard Sillman’s New Faces franchise in 1952, followed by Two’s Company , a revue that brought none other than screen legend Bette Davis back to the stage.
The latter show received decidedly mixed notices, limping through three months of performances on Broadway. With New Faces , however, both Anderson and Sillman were at the top of their game. The production introduced a host of performers who would become household names, notably Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Carol Lawrence, and Alice Ghostley.
Given the runaway hit status that New Faces of 1952 was enjoying, Anderson found that he could once again begin putting together his Almanac revue, and as late as December 1952 producers were vying to back the project, which according to period reports would cost $200,000 (close to $2 million by modern standards) to produce.
For the show’s headliner, Anderson signed Hermione Gingold, giving the noted and quirky British actress her Broadway debut. Across the Atlantic Gingold had built a solid reputation through her appearances in numerous West End revues, most notably the long-running hit Sweet and Low , which opened in 1943 and ended up playing for nearly six years, becoming something of a tourist attraction for American soldiers in London after World War II.
For subsequent generations Gingold’s work in such musical bonbons as this and Almanac was eclipsed by her memorable performances in other roles, on both stage and screen. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the movie musical Gigi , in which she
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