Broadway 2 A Day: 1955 - 1958 (Finally time for My Fair Lady & West Side Story!)

If you're still reading these, I know you love me because the last 2-3 weeks of shows have been pretty rough to get through. But I am still dedicated to the journey, it's not like I have something more interesting to do in the middle of the pandemic winter. 

Let's dive in - we've got a couple classics this week!

• My Fair Lady 
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I will always watch the movie if it's on TV
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, it was great to hear Julie Andrews
• Synopsis: My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, so that she may pass as a lady. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Show Me
• Bonus interesting article: "Digging in to the Queer Subtext of My Fair Lady"
• Mr. Wonderful
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No
• Synopsis: Written specifically to showcase the talents of Sammy Davis, Jr., the thin plot, focusing on entertainer Charlie Welch's show business struggles, primarily served as a springboard for an extended version of Davis's Las Vegas nightclub act. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Too Close For Comfort
• Finian's Rainbow
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Yeah, this was cute and I would re-visit it
• Synopsis: An elderly Irishman, Finian, moves to the southern United States with his daughter Sharon, to bury a stolen pot of gold near Fort Knox, in the mistaken belief that it will grow. Og, a leprechaun, follows them, desperate to recover his treasure before the loss of it turns him permanently human. Complications arise when a bigoted and corrupt U.S. Senator gets involved, and when wishes are made inadvertently over the hidden crock (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Old Devil Moon
• The Most Happy Fella
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? This was pure pain
• Synopsis: A lonely San Francisco waitress, Rosabella, has a mysterious secret admirer. After months of exchanging letters, she finally asks him to send her his picture. Fearing that she will not love him due to his old age and poor appearance, Tony -- an elderly Italian-American vineyard owner from Napa -- sends her the picture of his young, handsome ranch hand, Joe. When Rosabella finally visits Napa, tragedy occurs. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Somebody, Somewhere (this is actually a great song hidden in a bad show)
• Lil Abner 
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? Hard pass
• Synopsis: It’s a typical day in wretched and picturesque Dogpatch, USA, and the local yokels are up to their usual tricks: brewing moonshine, cuddling pigs, and collecting unemployment. Beautiful Daisy Mae is pining after strong handsome Li’l Abner, an unsentimental youth who escapes her pursuit to go fishing. But when Dogpatch is chosen for an atomic test site, and Daisy Mae is claimed in marriage by dirty wrestler Earthquake McGoon, Li’l Abner has to step up and fight for the things he doesn’t know he loves. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Namely You
• Bells Are Ringing  
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? It was middle of the road for me
• Synopsis: Ella Peterson works for "Susanswerphone", a telephone answering service owned by a woman named Sue. She listens in on others' lives and adds some interest to her own humdrum existence by adopting different identities – and voices – for her clients. They include Blake Barton, an out-of-work Method actor, Dr. Kitchell, a dentist with musical yearnings but lacking talent, and playwright Jeff Moss, who is suffering from writer's block and with whom Ella has fallen in love, although she has never met him. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: It's A Perfect Relationship
• Candide   
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, only because of Kristin Chenoweth
• Did I enjoy it? Only the one song I already knew
• Synopsis: The young and naïve title character is betrothed to the Baron of Westphalia’s beautiful daughter Cunegonde, and along with the maid Paquette and Cunegonde’s brother Maximilian, they all subscribe firmly to the doctrine that has been instilled in them by their teacher Dr. Pangloss: that everything that occurs is for the best, no matter what. Their existence seems to be perfect. Throughout the course of the show, however, this doctrine is constantly called into question as Candide is, in one whirlwind act, exiled, forced into the Bulgarian army, caught up in the Spanish Inquisition, cheated out of a fabulous fortune, shipwrecked on a remote island, and generally being relentlessly torn apart from his love, Cunegonde. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Glitter and Be Gay (watch K Cheno kill it here if opera doesn't scare you)
• Happy Hunting   
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Not really (can you guess what the women are hunting? Husbands of course!)
• Synopsis: "Happy Hunting" concerns a wealthy, widowed Philadelphian, Liz Livingstone, who is snubbed at the Grace Kelly-Prince Rainier Wedding of the Year in Monaco. As a result, she is determined to find an even more impressive husband for her daughter, Beth. She tries to set Beth up with a dashing Duke who turns out to be penniless. Meanwhile, Liz only has eyes for the society lawyer, Sandy. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: This Is What I Call Love
• New Faces of 1956
• Have I heard of it before? Only because we did the same thing back in 1952
• Did I enjoy it? No, all revues have been ROUGH
• Synopsis: Twenty of producer Leonard Sillman's discoveries perform songs, dances and sketches in this musical revue. (Playbill.com)
• Favorite song: One Perfect Moment (only so you can hear Dame Maggie Smith sing)
• New Girl in Town
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Again, I liked Gwen Verdon but little else
• Synopsis:  Chris Christopherson, an old, hard-drinking Swedish barge captain, is thrilled to hear that his daughter, Anna, is coming to visit. He hasn't seen her in over fifteen years and remembers her as a sweet and innocent little girl. At first, the reunion goes well. Anna fits in with her father's friends and even falls in love with a sailor named Mat. However, things turn sour when Chris's common-law wife, Marthy, discovers that Anna is a former streetwalker who has come back to try and rebuild her life. At the neighborhood ball, Marthy reveals the truth about Anna and nearly destroys her dreams of happiness. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: It's Good To Be Alive
• Simply Heavenly
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, it wasn't bad just a little slow
• Synopsis: Simply Heavenly is Langston Hughes’ comedic musical of Harlem life. Scored with music inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, blues, and big band, the company at Paddy’s Bar navigates their way through life, love, social justice, and any obstacle that comes their way. 
• Favorite song: Look for the Morning Star
• West Side Story 
• Have I heard of it before? Of course, it's a classic. Another movie I will always watch when it's on TV.
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, although I actually think the order of songs in the movie makes more sense than the Broadway lineup
• Synopsis: Inspired by the timeless story of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story takes Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, and places them in the vibrant battleground of New York City’s West Side in the 1950s. In the midst of the deep-seated rivalry between the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, and the white gang, the Jets, Maria and Tony discover that ancient grudges are no match for true love. Their warring factions, however, refuse to back down, and the “rumbles”, romance, and resentment lead the bloody path to the lovers’ ultimate, tragic conclusion. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Tonight (Quintet) - although I really think there are no bad songs
• Jamaica 
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No
• Synopsis: Set on an island off Jamaica's coast, a poor fisherman, Koli, loves the beautiful Savannah. However, Savannah dreams of leaving Jamaica for New York Savannah ends up being tempted to marry a New Yorker visiting Jamaica on business. When Koli saves the life of Savannah's younger brother during a Hurricane, she realizes that she wants to stay with Koli. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Pretty to Walk With