| re: let's hear it for bells are ringing! | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 04:46 pm EDT 07/20/24 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 04:31 pm EDT 07/20/24 | |
| In reply to: let's hear it for bells are ringing! - sc2 03:23 pm EDT 07/20/24 | |
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| Sydney Chaplin apparently was stealing the show from Judy (or enough for a star vehicle for the powers in charge to notice) to some extent during out of town previews -- at least judging by audiences response at his bows at the end. It necessitated the songwriters to write the 11 o'clock number "I'm Going Back (to the Bonjour Tristesse Brassiere Company") for Judy which stopped the show; it gave Judy a great number to emphasize her star power near the end of the show. She beat out Julie Andrews in "My Fair Lady" and Chaplin won Best Featured Actor in a Musical that year (1956, by many considered the pinnacle of the Golden Age). Hal Linden, currently appearing off-Broadway now in his 90s, was Chaplin's understudy, eventually getting the role and playing it opposite Judy. He said she was a marvelous and generous stage partner and as he was a less experienced colleague, she subtly pointed/nudged him to cheat his angle more downstage when he was singing a duet with her so his voice would project better to the audience. He's in the movie version leading "The Midas Touch", mostly seen from long-shot, but some DVDs have the cut scenes, and there he's on screen longer and in closer shots. Btw, some DVDs of the film feature the song "Is It a Crime?" for Judy which was in the show, filmed but cut from the released version. It's probably too stage-bound, but still any chance to see the adorable Judy is a plus. Apparently Comden and Green had Holliday in mind when they wrote the character of Lina Lamont for "Singin' in the Rain", but Judy had become a movie star by that point, already having won the Best Actress Oscar for "Born Yesterday" and was under contract with Columbia, so a supporting part at MGM was probably out of the question. Also, while it's a kind of dumb blonde type who's really smart, Lina's also mean and vindictive, and Jean Hagen is so brilliant in the part; Judy had this rather innate lovability which might not have worked in the part anyway. But I can picture Comden and Green having her voice in their ears as they wrote it. |
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