The "On Your Toes" number was one of the best stagings I've ever seen.
And just musically - what a thrilling arrangement. Especially if you consider that we hear the full refrain NINE times, but each one differently. (The intro, where Junior introduces the orchestra, as the dancers mimed the instruments, Frankie's refrain, then the verse, then the choral refrain, then SIX times for the dance - each time with a different inventive orchestration. And the excitement just keeps building.) And in the Boston production I mentioned above, for me, getting to be one of those "first, we hear the two pianos" pianists to start that number off was just so much fun.
It's also wonderful the the cast recording captured practically the entire score (the first section, oddly enough, of "Princess Zenobia" was cut), including that entire arrangement of the title song. And including a section of "The Heart Is Quicker Than The Eye" that was cut in the stage production. (I think I remember Teeter telling me she just couldn't sell it, but I can't be sure.) A few changes in the choral work - it's missing the backups for the verse to "Quiet Night," and the choral refrain of "On Your Toes" is done differently - but otherwise, it's a pretty solid documenting of the score. |
