Broadway 2 A Day: 1967 - 1969 (Hair & Promises Promises Both Have Good Revivals)

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Back at it again with a short week, only six shows had available recordings since I last blogged. I will admit a short week is always nice for me because when I actually have to listen to two shows every day it can be overwhelming. 

This week we had two shows I already know I like, a couple duds, and a couple sleeper hit songs. Let's dive in.

  • Golden Rainbow
    • Have I heard of it before? No
    • Did I enjoy it? There were some classic Broadway-style songs in here that I really liked
    • Synopsis: The show concerns a man living in Las Vegas, Nevada and raising his son alone; his late wife's sister arrives and tries to bring stability to the boy's life, but unintentionally falls in love with her brother-in-law. The show starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé for its entire run until it closed in early 1969. (Wikipedia)
    • Favorite song: I've Gotta Be Me (very Sinatra sounding)
  • Hair
    • Have I heard of it before? Yes! My mom and I saw a community theatre production of the show a few years ago and had a great time.
    • Did I enjoy it? Yes, there are some really good songs in between all the drug references
    • Synopsis: It’s 1967: the Vietnam War raging and the Age of Aquarius is dawning. Claude, his best friend Berger, their roommate Sheila, and their Tribe of friends struggle to balance the demands of the harsh and violent world with their dream for a more beautiful and peaceful world. When Claude receives his draft notice, he must decide whether to join his friends in resisting the draft, or bow to the pressures of society and his conservative parents, thereby sacrificing his ideals and, possibly, his life.  (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: The Flesh Failures (finale) - this is an unconventional choice but I find the song haunting and beautiful 
  • Promises Promises
    • Have I heard of it before? Yes, only because of the most recent revival with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes
    • Did I enjoy it? It's cute, classic Broadway tunes but a weird plot
    • Synopsis: The year is 1962 and the place is New York City. Chuck Baxter is a young, ambitious clerk working for the New York insurance company, Consolidated Life. Chuck is eager to climb the corporate ladder but, unfortunately for him, he’s the type of guy no one really notices. However, he hits on a plan: in return for allowing the firm's executives to use his midtown apartment for their extramarital love affairs, they agree to sing his praises to the company managers. However, trouble occurs when Chuck discovers that the object of his own love, Fran Kubelik, is caught in a complicated love affair with the powerful personnel manager, J.D Sheldrake...to whom Chuck has just lent his apartment... (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: You'll Think of Someone 
  • The Megilla of Itzik Manger
    • Have I heard of it before? No, I'm not sure anyone has to be honest
    • Did I enjoy it? It was hard to follow since it was in YIDDISH
    • Synopsis: The Old Testament's Book of Esther, in which Esther marries a Persian king and ends his persecution of the Jews, is re-set in a modern shtetl as a Yiddish-language musical. (Playbill)
    • Favorite song: Overture (that's as far as I got)
  • Maggie Flynn
    • Have I heard of it before? No, I thought we already listened to this but I was thinking of Hazel Flagg
    • Did I enjoy it? No, the music and plot are both awful. I expected more from a show starring Shirley Jones.
    • Synopsis: During the American Civil War, Maggie Flynn, a young Irish woman living in New York City, marries Phineas, a charming scoundrel who leaves her to join the circus. Maggie runs an orphanage for black orphans and soon is engaged to Colonel John Farraday, a steady and faithful beau. However, Phineas, now called "The Clown," returns to win back his wife. They become caught up in the New York Draft Riots of 1863, and the orphanage is burned down. (Wikipedia)
    • Favorite song: Mr. Clown
  • Zorba
    • Have I heard of it before? No, but I'm guessing it's Greek
    • Did I enjoy it? It was better than the last two shows but that's not saying much
    • Synopsis: The story follows Zorba as he talks his way into traveling with Nikos, a young American who has inherited an abandoned mine on Crete. Eventually, Zorba falls in love with a French woman, Hortense. Meanwhile, Nikos falls in love with The Widow. Tragedy ensues when Zorba loses all of his money to a belly dancer. Further, a mentally unstable man, Pavli, commits suicide after witnessing Nikos and the Widow together. Then, a member of Pavli's family murders The Widow. (Stage Agent)
    • Favorite song: Life Is

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