It's a lovely score, and Barbara Cook is just wonderful, especially with her "This Is All Very New To Me". I also like the other ingenue soprano Gloria Marlowe, who had a very pretty voice, who sings "It Wonders Me" and duets with the young juvenile David Daniels (who won a Theatre World Award) on "Young and Foolish". I was reading Cook's autobiography just recently, so I played CDs of "Flahooley", "Plain and Fancy" and "Candide" to listen to again to some of her early theatre recordings. Some really nice songs in "Flahooley" as well, though a really weird show. Her contributions to "She Loves Me" and "The Music Man" are justifiably famous, but not as many folks know her superlative work on the recording of "The Gay Life", a beautiful, tuneful Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz score. Add to that her wonderful work on "The Grass Harp", too from that portion of her career.
A friend of mine some years ago was offered a few roles in summer stock, including Shirl Conway's role in "Plain and Fancy" and asked what I knew about the show and if she should take it. Once she heard "It's a Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair" she knew she had to take it. Plus, I told her, she'd be the only lady basically in costumes that would look glamourous (being the "Fancy" of the title), especially in comparison to the Amish ladies, and that clinched her taking and enjoying doing that role. |
