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| re: CALL ME MISTER | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 02:04 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
| In reply to: CALL ME MISTER - showtunetrivia 12:51 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
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| Decca's OBC album has 10 of the show's 14 musical numbers. It's a fine recording and Betty Garrett, of course, is great. Northwestern U. did a production of the show in Nov., 2006, and they were actually able to convince Garrett to star in it. The show was a limited run, probably just 5 or 6 performances. As luck would have it, my partner and I were in New York at the time seeing Broadway shows, so we missed catching Betty Garrett in Call Me Mister. The Chicago Tribune panned the production but gave Garrett a rave. | |
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| re: CALL ME MISTER | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 02:09 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
| In reply to: re: CALL ME MISTER - BroadwayTonyJ 02:04 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
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| I love that album. I had the honor of seeing Betty Garrett a couple of times at Theatre West, the LA theatre she and her husband founded with the Bridges clan. They have a musical theatre scholarship named for her, and used to stage concert productions of rare old shows as fundraisers. Laura |
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| re: CALL ME MISTER | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:17 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
| In reply to: re: CALL ME MISTER - showtunetrivia 02:09 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
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| I saw Betty Garrett many years ago in her delightful one-woman show, and the highlight was ''South America, Take It Away'' from ''Call Me Mister.'' It's got one of Rome's most playful lyrics. In his salute to Latin dance, he rhymes ''rhumba'' with ''vertebrae lumba'' and ''cucumba'.'' And he wraps up this comic song with ''All this goin' and comin' to, this fancy Latin drummin' to, numbs my plumbin' .'' |
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| Link | Betty Garrett: 'South America, Take It Awayt'' from Harold Rome's ''Call Me Mister'' |
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| Is there any video of Betty Garrett doing "South America, Take It Away!"? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 03:58 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 03:54 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: CALL ME MISTER - WaymanWong 11:17 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
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| I love that recording. Betty Garrett had already been an understudy to Ethel Merman. But Garrett's terrific performance of "South America, Take It Away!", as well as the rest of her performance in "Call Me Mister" was her ticket to a contract at MGM where, among other things, she co-starred with her on-screen love interest Frank Sinatra in 2 films. Unfortunately, the House Un-American Committee allegations against her husband Larry Parks (and being a loyal wife), impacted her film career in the 1950s and pretty much destroyed his. Apparently the two of them did serve as (perhaps vacation) replacements on Broadway for Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin during the Broadway run of "Bells Are Ringing" at one point. She did have a big career resurgence by becoming a regular on two of the number one tv series of the 1970s, "All in the Family" and "Laverne and Shirley" later on though. She was always a very enjoyable performer, and I'm glad I got to see her in the Roundabout "Follies" where she and Joan Roberts were among the highlights. | |
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| re: Is there any video of Betty Garrett doing "South America, Take It Away!"? | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 06:27 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: Is there any video of Betty Garrett doing "South America, Take It Away!"? - PlayWiz 03:54 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| Link | Betty Garrett: 'South America, Take It Away' (1990) |
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| Thanks so much, Wayman! That's a little-seen, but historic performance! | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 07:43 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Is there any video of Betty Garrett doing "South America, Take It Away!"? - WaymanWong 06:27 pm EDT 04/03/21 | |
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| Betty Garrett still had plenty of voice there, moved great and looks like she remembered a lot of her original staging, so this is a great historic record of her very funny show-stopping number! Thanks again! | |
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| re: CALL ME MISTER | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 02:46 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
| In reply to: re: CALL ME MISTER - showtunetrivia 02:09 pm EDT 04/02/21 | |
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| I was able to see her on stage in the 2001 revival of Follies at the Belasco. The production was very uneven, but it was a thrill to see legendary stars like Garrett, Joan Roberts, Polly Bergen, Jane White, and the others. | |
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