Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Momma Look Sharp and Molasses To Rum | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 06:01 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: Momma Look Sharp and Molasses To Rum - showbuzz 05:30 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| I think that Jimmy's Mother was dropped before rehearsals. Jimmy's Mother is not in an undated pre-rehearsal draft I have. In that draft, "Momma Look Sharp" is sung by the Drummer Boy, played by Scott Jarvis in New Haven, and the Continentalers (all of whom doubled in New Haven as members of Congress and the Congressional staff). The list of musical numbers in the New Haven program has the song being sung by the Drummer Boy and the Continentalers. At that time, B. J. Slater was the Courier, clearly a much less important role, perhaps with no lines. So when New Brunswick was cut, Jarvis was switched to the Courier, and they found a way to get "Momma Look Sharp" in there, while Slater got a whole new role. Slater was needed as an understudy so they probably wanted to find a way to keep him in the cast, and adding the third voice of the Leather Apron for "Momma Look Sharp" was a perfect solution. The only New Haven cast member who did not make it to New York was Carole Prandis, as Prudence, the "doxy." |
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| the whoring and the drinking | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 11:04 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Momma Look Sharp and Molasses To Rum - AlanScott 06:01 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| It's interesting that in the notes by Stone and Edwards at the end of the published libretto, they mention the cutting of the New Brunswick scene, but add that they expected the scene to be restored for the movie. Having heard "Increase and Multiply" (aka "Doozy Lamb") on the demo, I am truly grateful it was not restored. But I am glad they found an effective way to work "Momma, Look Sharp" in there--it provides a counterpoint to the representatives' role in the rebellion (cue MCNair's quip), and along with the dispatches, the news about Morris' estate and his older boys' enlisting, and the report of the War Committee, it reminds the audience of the true cost of the war. And that makes Dickinson's final scene all the more moving, as well. To say nothing of how it fits with the cultural atmosphere of 1969! Laura |
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| re: the whoring and the drinking | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:18 am EDT 07/06/17 | |
| In reply to: the whoring and the drinking - showtunetrivia 11:04 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
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| Laura, you probably know the answer to this, but there's the scene after all the delegates have left. It's just Thomson, the congressional secretary, and Leather Apron and Courier. Leather Apron says he wants to join the Army, and Thomson says something like: Do you think the members of the Congress would get send themselves to war? Of course not. ... That seemed like such a knock at our modern-day Congress during the Vietnam War. ... Was it based on anything our Founding Fathers said? |
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| re: the whoring and the drinking | |
| Posted by: StageDoorJohnny 10:48 pm EDT 07/09/17 | |
| In reply to: re: the whoring and the drinking - WaymanWong 12:18 am EDT 07/06/17 | |
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| not Thomson, it's McNair | |
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| re: the whoring and the drinking | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 10:27 am EDT 07/06/17 | |
| In reply to: re: the whoring and the drinking - WaymanWong 12:18 am EDT 07/06/17 | |
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| No source that I know about. And yes, it sounds very much like a jab at the modern-day Congress. I doubt any political leaders of the period would ever have said anything remotely like that. And the views of people who were custodians weren't likely to be preserved for posterity. So, yeah, that's Stone and Edwards talking. The other thing we in 2017 often forget is that democracy to Adams and Company and democracy to us aren't the same thing. Universal suffrage and the direct election of senators were a long, long ways away. It's one reason I inwardly flinch when Adams and Rutledge go at it, and John intones, "The people." Well, okay, John, some of the people. More than were running things before,,so it's progress. And we did get there eventually. Laura |
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