Broadway 2 A Day: 1954 - 1956 (more flops and bops)

Here we go again. This week was quite the mix starting with Peter Pan and moving through painful operas, to shows covering everything from baseball to the Amish lifestyle to marine biology. Something for everyone!

One note, if you are an email subscriber I encourage you to head over the blog webpage and see the great redesign done by my friend Emily Yurchison (and go check out her Etsy shop if you're looking for some cool prints).

As we move into February, more classics are in sight from My Fair Lady to West Side Story to Annie Get Your Gun - so we're heading in the right direction. Let's get into it. 

• Peter Pan 
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, but my most controversial opinion is I do not like Peter Pan in any iteration 
• Did I enjoy it? It was a nice change from the rest of the "basic" 50s shows
• Synopsis:  Peter Pan tells the classic J.M. Barrie tale of a young boy who refuses to grow up. On a quest to find stories with which to entertain his young cohorts in Neverland -- an island refuge for “Lost Boys” -- Peter returns to the real world and meets Wendy, Michael, and John Darling. The Darling children accompany Peter back to the magical Neverland, where they learn to fly, get involved in all sorts of adventures, defeat the evil Captain Hook, and are changed forever. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I'm Flying
• Fanny 
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, I don't even remember listening to this to be honest
• Synopsis: Marius and Fanny are blissful, young lovers. When Marius accepts his dream job as a sailor on a five-year voyage, Fanny sends him on his way knowing that she must support his dreams if their love is to be preserved. Soon after Marius leaves, however, Fanny discovers that she is pregnant. In a panic, she soon accepts the marriage proposal of a rival suitor, Panisse. Trouble ensues when Marius returns and attempts to claim both Fanny and his son. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Like You
• The Saint of Bleecker Street
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, I gave up on this one pretty fast
• Synopsis: Annina, the Saint of Bleecker Street, wants to take the veil before she dies, but her non-believing brother Michele tries to prevent her from taking part in religious rites. When Michele refuses to acknowledge his girlfriend Desideria, she accuses him of having an unnatural love for his sister. Michele stabs Desideria to death. Annina goes through with the religious ceremony before her brother can stop her, then dies. (Wise Music Classical)
• Favorite song: Some of the interludes were pretty
• House of Flowers 
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Another one that fades from memory
• Synopsis: House of Flowers is the story of an evil brothel owner, Madame Fleur, and her attempts to murder the fiancé of her star girl, Ottilie. Fearing that Ottilie will leave the brothel, Madame Fleur arranges for men to seal Ottilie's fiancé, Royal, in a barrel and toss him into the ocean. Lucky, Royal escapes the dangers of the sea by taking refuge on the back of a turtle. Ottilie and Royal are married and live happily ever after. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Don't Like Goodbyes
• Plain and Fancy
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? A strong no, listen to "Why Not Ruth?" if you want to be filled with rage
• Synopsis: The plot brings a pair of New York sophisticates, Dan and Ruth, into the Amish country of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to settle a piece of property owned by Dan's family. While there, they become involved with the local villagers, including an Amish girl who wants to marry a young man her own age despite the fact that her father hopes to marry her off to a much older farmer, and an even younger Amish girl who falls into puppy love with Dan. Her attentions, however, only serve to clarify to Dan how much he really likes Ruth, and all eventually ends happily. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I'll Show Him
• Silk Stockings   
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, boring (also 60% of these shows are about Paris - why?)
• Synopsis: Special envoy Nina Yaschenko is dispatched from the Soviet Union to rescue three foolish commissars who have been seduced by the pleasures of Paris. She is romanced by theatrical agent Steven Canfield and eventually comes to recognize the viruses of capitalist indulgence (try not to laugh at that lol.) Other characters include Peter Boroff, Russia's greatest composer, who is being wooed by Janice Dayton, America's swimming sweetheart, to write the music for her first serious, non-swimming picture, War and Peace. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: As On Through The Seasons We Sail
• Ankles Aweigh  
• Have I heard of it before? No, but this is the most clever title yet
• Did I enjoy it? It reminded me a lot of Anything Goes, so that was fun
• Synopsis: The show centers on a Hollywood starlet, Wynne. While she is filming a movie in Sicily, she secretly marries a Navy flyer, Bill Kelley. Disguising herself as a sailor, she manages to stow away on Bill’s ship, the U.S.S. Alamo. However, trouble ensues when Bill’s bitter ex has him implicated in an espionage case. In the end, Bill is absolved and winds up a hero. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Kiss Me and Kill Me With Love
• Seventh Heaven
• Have I heard of it before? Once again, no
• Did I enjoy it? This one was another boring filler piece in my opinion
• Synopsis: Young girl Diane is falling in love with Chico during World War I in France. (Wikipedia) Seriously that's all I can find about the Broadway show, they also made two movies.
• Favorite song: Sun At My Window, Love At My Door
• Damn Yankees   
• Have I heard of it before? Yes!
• Did I enjoy it? I really did, I am obsessed with Gwen Verdon so I was excited to dive into this. If you didn't watch the Fosse/Verdon mini-series on FX I would recommend it. 
• Synopsis: In the Faustian baseball musical, Damn Yankees, Joe Boyd sells his soul to the devil to be the home run hitter that will guide his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to a win against those “damn Yankees.” Featuring the classical musical theatre selections, “Heart” and “Whatever Lola Wants”, follow Joe in his quest to save his team…and his soul. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: A Little Brains, A Little Talent
• Iolanthe  
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, much like Pirates of Penzance (same writers) I found it tedious to just listen to 
• Synopsis: The titular character Iolanthe is a fairy who has committed a capital offense by marrying a mortal; rather than being killed, she was instead banished from the fairy kingdom, never to see her husband again. Twenty-five years later, at the start of the show, the fairies still miss Iolanthe deeply and convince the Fairy Queen to allow her to return. Iolanthe reveals that she bore her mortal husband a son, Strephon, who is a fairy down to the waist but has mortal legs. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: None shall part us from each other
• Pipe Dream 
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? It had a couple cute songs
• Synopsis: "Pipe Dream" is a tale of hard times and star-crossed love on Cannery Row. The musical is populated with longshoremen and "ladies of the evening", who weave a poignant story of the friendship and romance that blossoms among the loners and runaways searching for their dreams on the Monterey wharf. The show focuses on a marine biologist, Doc, and his relationship with a downtrodden defiant waif, Suzy. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: The Next Time It Happens