Broadway 2 A Day: 1957 - 1959 (Music Man, Annie Get Your Gun + more)

Welcome back! We are a month and a half into this challenge and I have listened to and blogged about 67 shows to date. As a reminder, all of my favorite songs from each show can be found on Spotify here, for your distilled listening experience. 

This week we had a few shows lost to time so this is a bit of a shorter list, kind of a bummer but it also gives me a break so I can go back to listening to Phoebe Bridgers, Harry Styles and Miley 24/7 again. We are also starting to get into the territory of shows I have actually seen live now. so I will be noting that as we go. Let's get into it.

• The Music Man
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I saw a high school production as a kid
• Did I enjoy it? I think a couple songs are pretty but the plot is terrible. Harold Hill needs to answer for his actions!
• Synopsis: When smooth-talking con man Harold Hill arrives in a small, tight-knit town in Iowa, he expects to dupe its residents with his elaborate moneymaking scheme: Despite his complete lack of musical literacy, he will convince everyone that he is a brilliant bandleader and recruit all the boys in town to form a band, pocketing the cash for instruments and uniforms. The problem? Some of the town members, especially the stern librarian, Marian Paroo, don’t quite buy Harold’s story. Complicating matters even more, Harold is also falling head-over-heels for the beautiful Marian. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Ya Got Trouble (I love a good patter song)
• Oh Captain!
• Have I heard of it before? No, I don't even remember listening to this to be honest
• Did I enjoy it? 100% in one ear and out the other
• Synopsis: "Oh, Captain!" concerns a proper British couple “ Captain Henry St. James and wife Maud. Captain Henry claims he does not believe in fun and he and Maud live a very plain life. Conflict ensues when Maud discovers that Captain Henry actually has another lover in Paris. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Give It All You Got / Love is Hell
• Annie Get Your Gun 
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, another one I saw a high school production of. I loved it and watched a lot of footage of Reba McEntire's time in the show. The Bernadette Peeters version is the best though. 
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, it's pure nostalgia but has some great numbers
• Synopsis: Annie Oakley is the best shot around. When she’s discovered by Buffalo Bill and persuaded to join his Wild West Show, Annie is plucked from obscurity and becomes the toast of Europe. Annie meets her match in Frank Butler, Buffalo Bill’s leading man and star marksman. She falls head over heels for Frank, but soon eclipses him as the main attraction in the show. Her success with a gun makes trouble for Annie’s chance at romance. This fictionalized version of the life of real-life sharpshooter Annie Oakley and her romance with Frank Butler boasts a score of Irving Berlin gems including “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “I Got Lost in His Arms”, “I Got the Sun in the Mornin’”, “Anything You Can Do,” and “They Say It’s Wonderful.” (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Hard to pick but, I Got the Sun in the Mornin'
• Say, Darling  
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? I listened to this today and already forget everything about it
• Synopsis: Say, Darling is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. Although the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne, all of the songs were presented as either rehearsal or audition material and not as the thoughts or feelings of the characters. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Finale
• Carousel
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, but this is one of the classics I somehow never listened to and felt like a bad theatre kid because of that
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, the plot is sad and a little contrived but the music was gorgeous 
• Synopsis: The story tells of roguish carnival barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan, both loners, who meet and fall in love. Their marriage ends up costing both their jobs, and things go downhill from there. Billy’s desperation makes him violent against those he loves most, and drives him to commit crimes in order to provide for his family. When Billy falls in with con-man Jigger Craigin, he ends up getting caught in the midst of an armed robbery and takes his own life. Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day fifteen years later, and he encounters the daughter he never knew. Louise is a lonely, friendless teenager, her father's reputation having haunted her throughout her young life. Yet Billy is able to instill in both the child and her mother a sense of hope. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: If I Loved You / You'll Never Walk Alone
• Goldilocks  
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? I actually did, it had some fun moments
• Synopsis: Goldilocks tells the story of a film producer/director, Max, and his attempts to woo the beautiful actress, Maggie Harris, who is already engaged to millionaire George Randolph Brown. In the end, Max and Maggie fall in love while George ends up with a studio hanger-on, Lois. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Can't Be in Love
• A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? I think I would have liked to see them do it live and catch all the jokes because this is basically musical stand-up comedy and it's hard to capture that on a recording 
• Synopsis: Lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green (On the Town, Wonderful Town, Bells Are Ringing, Peter Pan) perform many of their classic songs and discuss their careers in this two-person show. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Catch Our Act At The Met