The Baker's Wife

Patti LuPone got a signature song, Meadowlark, from The Baker's Wife despite producer David Merrick's attempts to cut it. That's about all she got as the show closed on the road. Stein's book spends more time with the Baker than his wife and he's a dull protagonist. We've been left with a pleasant, abridged cast album, and the occasional regional production.

Plain and Fancy

This week's posts have looked at teen rebellion channeled through rock music. The teens of Plain and Fancy rebel in a milder way. Hilda tries on some "fancy" lingerie and  Ezra drinks a bottle of scotch. They return to the Amish community after a quick visit to a carnival.

Plain and Fancy had a successful Broadway run and could prove a worthy candidate for an Encores concert.  The Round Barn Theatre at Amish Acres revives the show annually and the York Theatre Company has revised it for a small cast. Barbara Cook's ballad, "This is All Very New to Me," was the closest thing to a breakout ballad but the score has other lovely moments.

Fiddler on the Roof vs. The Rothschilds

With a time crunch this week I've decided to pay homage to (ie steal) the art style of the site that inspired this blog: Three Panel Shakespeare.

Fiddler on the Roof remains Bock and Harnick's biggest hit show. Six years afterwards they would attempt a spiritual successor. Where Tevye fought to hold on to home and tradition Mayer Rothschild wants to break free. He dies with the ghetto walls still standing but his sons carry on the family business and buy their freedom. Losing three quarters through the show bothered some audiences. The show ran a respectable 505 performances but did not capture the international acclaim of Fiddler.

Zorba

The 1968 Broadway cast recording of Zorba is delightful. On stage it was dismissed as a pale imitation of the award winning film. The angry chorus sang "Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" drawing a sharp contrast with Zorba's insistence that every moment in life be treated like "the first time."

The 1986 revival cast the film actors and ran twice as long. The rewrites, re-orchestrations and non-singers make this album considerably less pleasant. The chorus now sings "Life is what you do till the moment you die." Cheerier yes but Zorba's the only one in this story who should sing that.

Antonio Banderas has been in talks for a Zorba revival for some time but it's hard to say if this is wise. Zorba's love 'em and leave 'em philosophy can come across as cruel to modern audiences. Quinn made him The Life Force but regional revivals have dismissed him as a poor man's Tevye.

Rags

Rags the musical underwent many rewrites and subplots. Rebecca's every-woman continues to grow a social conscience while Bella's factory girl has progressively more to do in the latest published version. The fans still love it while the critics dismiss it as Fiddler on the Roof 2 meets Ragtime Lite.

Read more about Rags' history here and watch Judy Kuhn's fantastic performance on the Tony Awards here.