Review(s): DVD The Best of Broadway Musicals - Classic Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show
A Great Trip Down Memory Lane
If you have a real love for the history of musical theatre, this DVD is a must for your collection. There are several highlights that are simply joyous. The Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence "Tonight" duet is heart rendering and a treat for the ears! This alone is worth the price of this DVD. But, add to that the young and beautiful Julie Andrews in her prime as she delivers the quintessential version of "Lovely". And, you will understand why so many raved about Pearl Bailey in "Hello Dolly". When she sings "Before the Parade Passes By", she does not merely sing the music, she also sings the lyrics and this is something Carol Channing never really did. The great Gwen Verdon singing and dancing as only she could from "Sweet Charity", the magnificent voice of Richard Kiley delivering the ultimate version of "The Impossible Dream" and vibrant Pat Suzuki belting out "I Enjoy Being A Girl" make this a special treat. Add to that Celeste Holm's "I Can't Say No" (nobody does it better) and the sight of the legendary Barbara Cook as part of the group (John Raitt, Florence Henderson, Celeste Holm) singing a rousing version of "Oklahoma" and you have one great DVD. The only song that does not come across well is Carol Channing singing a rather forced version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". But why quibble. Buy this infectious delight!
Invaluable
Pretty much without exception, the original cast performances in Broadway musicals are matchless. However, the ephemeral nature of theatre makes it impossible to relive these performances over and over as we do with film, and often Hollywood translations missed out by hiring "bankable" Hollywood names. How lucky that Ed Sullivan led the way in featuring many of the original Broadway greats on his show. Of course, there are MANY more of these segments which I'd like to see make their way to DVD, but the segments presented here are superlative. The running list follows... Almost every one presents a Broadway star who was replaced with an inferior (and dubbed) Hollywood name in the film adaptation.
1.ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1966)
"There's No Business Like Show Business" - Ethel Merman
2.OKLAHOMA! (1955)
"Oklahoma!" - John Raitt, Celeste Holm, Florence Henderson & Barbara Cook
"I Cain't Say No" - Celeste Holm
3.FLOWER DRUM SONG (1958)
"I Enjoy Being a Girl" - Pat Suzuki
4.GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1959)
"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" - Carol Channing
5.MY FAIR LADY (1961)
"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" - Julie Andrews
5.WEST SIDE STORY ( 1961)
"Tonight" - Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert
6.CAMELOT ( 1961)
"What Do the Simple Folk Do?" - Julie Andrews and Richard Burton
7.THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD (1965)
"Who Can I Turn To?" - Anthony Newley
8.MAN OF LA MANCHA ( 1966)
"The Impossible Dream" - Richard Kiley
9.SWEET CHARITY (1966)
"I'm A Brass Band" - Gwen Verdon
10.HELLO, DOLLY! ( 1967)
"Before the Parade Passes By" - Pearl Bailey
Wonderful performances from classic shows
I must respectfully disagree with the reviewer who felt that most of the performances on this DVD were "wooden." My reaction was quite the opposite! I felt that the actors and actresses were really performing the parts, just as they would have done them in the actual shows. I often forgot that I was, in fact, watching a clip from a variety show, and felt as though I were watching the show itself on Broadway (and I have been to many Broadway shows, so I certainly know what that experience is like!)
I especially enjoyed seeing the clips of Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady," Carole Lawrence and Richard Beymer in "West Side Story," and Celeste Holm in "Oklahoma!" Of course, there were a few actors and/or shows which I just don't personally like very much (Anthony Newley, "Man of La Mancha," Gwen Verdon), but that's not to say that their performances weren't well done.
I also enjoyed the narration by John Raitt, and hoped to see more of him (he is just shown singing the title song from "Oklahoma!") There is supposed to be a "Part 2" DVD coming out with more of Raitt included, as well as performances from many other shows. I hope it is released soon!
My only reason for not giving this DVD 5 stars is that the quality of some of the clips isn't very good, but that is understandable considering how old they are.
I would definitely recommend this DVD over "Broadway's Lost Treasures," which I found very disappointing.
Related DVD's The Best of Broadway Musicals - Classic Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show
The follow-up to the original Broadway's Lost Treasures delivers more of the same--historic performances of great moments in American musical theater televised on the Tony Awards--but is a step up in terms of sheer entertainment value. The first volume included only performances before 1987, and while they had bigger stars (Yul Brynner, Robert Preston), some of them were lip-synced and considerably less polished than their feature-film equivalents. Broadway's Lost Treasures II features newer performances that are almost indistinguishable from an actual show, including scenes from splashy, high-energy revivals such as Anything Goes (Patti LuPone and company performing the title tune) and Guys and Dolls (the fabulous "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat"), and new... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Lauren Bacall DVD Release Date: Released the 26 October 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Broadway's Lost Treasures delivers what the title promises: 21 historic performances of great moments in American musical theater televised on the Tony Awards between 1967 and 1986. (Five were not included when the program was broadcast on PBS in 2003.) Unlike some other arts, theater has rarely been well-documented, so it's a treat to see these numbers performed by the original artists rather than experience them through audio recordings or tepid movie adaptations. Sure, sound and picture quality are only adequate, some of the numbers are minimally staged and some appear to be lip-synched, and some of the performances that do have excellent film counterparts (Yul Brynner in The King and I, Robert Preston in The Music Man, Joel Grey in Cabaret) seem rather... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 28 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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It's terribly boring. period.
This DVD makes me fall asleep very easily.
Too many interviews and the video quality is really bad. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Rick McKay DVD Release Date: Released the 09 November 2004 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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Like its fellow PBS series Ken Burns' Jazz, Broadway: The American Musical is an ambitious and absorbing exploration of a unique American art form that has always been best experienced in live performance. Hosted and narrated by Julie Andrews, the six-part, six-hour documentary traces the history of musical theater from its roots in vaudeville, operetta, and minstrel shows, to the dawn of what would become the modern American musical, Show Boat, and on through many changes that seemed to reflect those in American culture itself. Significant creators discussed include Florenz Ziegfeld, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Fosse, and David Merrick, and notable shows (Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, West Side Story,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 12 October 2004 Special Order
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The third volume of Broadway's Lost Treasures continues to mine historic stage performances from the vaults of the Tony Award telecasts. For fans who are used to experiencing musicals only through audio recordings, the benefits are two-fold. First, you can see great stars performing classic songs on stage, including Alfred Drake (Kiss Me Kate's "Where Is the Life That Late I Led"), Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston (Damn Yankees' "Whatever Lola Wants"), and a 33-year-old Jerry Orbach (Promises, Promises' "She Likes Basketball"). Second, you can see more recent, fully staged performances of numbers from shows that you may not have seen on Broadway or on tour, including the opening number of Ragtime, Kristin Chenoweth (You're a Good Man, Charlie... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tommy Tune DVD Release Date: Released the 27 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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