well, That's Show Biz, 01-26-2025 3-42 Fan Favorites 8

Fan Favorites 8

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

1-26-2025

• You are listening to [Station ID].

• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and this is the show that brings you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and commentary all based on a theme.

• I asked fans to send me their lists of Favorite musicals and I would use their lists to create a show.  This is the 8th of those shows which I call Fan Favorites.

• Most of the shows on his list are movie versions which he saw before seeing the stage shows on which they were based so most of the song selections here are from the movie versions.

• This fan’s favorite musical was originally released as a concept album in 1970 before opening on Broadway in 1971. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Jesus Christ Superstar has had a controversial history with many religious groups calling it blasphemous and yet it has had many productions with the original 1972 London production being the longest running West End production until Cats came along. We are going to hear two songs from its film version, “Gethsemane” and “Superstar”. Here’s Fan Favorite Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.

•  You just heard Gethsemane and Superstar from the Fan Favorite Musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

• Most Broadway fans are very familiar with Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man, but less familiar with his other shows. For this set we are going to focus on the film version of Meredith Wilson’s The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which is a fictionalized biography of the life of Margaret Brown who survived the sinking of the Titanic. The movie starred Debbie Reynolds who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Only 5 of the songs from the original stage show were used in the film. We are going to hear “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys” from the film version of the Fan Favorite Musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

• We just heard “Belly Up to the Bar, Boys” from the Fan Favorite Musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

• Fans have sent me their lists of favorite musicals and this is the 8th of those shows based on those lists. The next show on this fan’s list is a specific production that he saw on Broadway. The original 1970 production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company was a concept musical that lacked a linear plot and dealt with dating, marriage, and divorce and was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, winning 6. The 2006 Broadway revival starring Raul Esparza was notable for having the actors also playing the musical instruments and won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. Here is Raul Esparza singing “Being Alive” from the Fan Favorite 2006 Broadway revival of Company.

• You just heard “Being Alive” from the Fan Favorite 2006 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

• The next musical on his list is arguably the greatest musical of all time. I find it interesting that this is also the first time, out of 8 fan lists, that this musical finally makes a showing. With music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Gypsy, based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, is actually the story of her mother. The part of the mother, Rose, is one of the most demanding acting roles in musical theater. Starting with Ethel Merman in 1959, the role has been played on Broadway in revivals by Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, and now Audra McDonald. On television she was portrayed by Bette Midler and in film by Rosalind Russell. There has even been talk of a movie remake starring Barbra Streisand. From the film version, we are going to hear “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “You Gotta Have a Gimmick”. Here’s the Fan Favorite Musical, Gypsy.

• You just heard “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” from the Fan Favorite Musical, Gypsy.

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” on [Station ID].

• I asked fans to send me their lists of favorite musicals, stage or screen, and I would organize a show around their lists. This is the 8th of those shows which I call Fan Favorites. If you would like to hear a show based on your favorite musicals, send me your lists of 5 – 10 musicals to wruushowbiz@gmail.com.

• The next show on this fan’s list cleverly intertwines several fairy tales with an original tale. Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods opened in 1987 and won Tony awards for Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical. Why didn’t it win Best Musical? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera opened that same year. There have been two Broadway revivals, in 2002 and 2022 and a film version in 2014. From the film version, we are going to hear “Last Midnight”. Here’s Fan Favorite Musical, Into The Woods.

• You just heard “Last Midnight” from the Fan Favorite Musical Into The Woods.

• The next musical on his list is a movie with a plot so popular that it has been done 4 times. The first version was filmed in 1937 starring Janet Gaynor and Freric March, the third in 1976 starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and the fourth in 2018 starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The 1954 film starred Judy Garland and James Mason and was highly promoted as Judy’s comeback film after being released from her contract by MGM in 1950. She was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress. From the 1954 version of A Star Is Born here is Judy singing the #11 ranked song on AFI’s list of 100 top songs in films, “The Man That Got Away”.

• You just heard “The Man That Got Away” from the Fan Favorite Film Musical A Star Is Born.

• The next musical on his list has a score by Jule Styne and was his follow up to Gypsy. Stephen Sondheim was asked to also follow up as the lyricist but turned it down as he wanted to compose music and lyrics for his own shows. Bob Merrill eventually wrote the lyrics. Mary Martin,  Anne Bancroft, Eydie Gorme, and Carol Burnett were all asked to star in the show. Eventually they settled on a Jewish girl that had recently appeared in the musical I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Barbra Streisand who won the Oscar for Best Actress from the film version. From the film version of Funny Girl, we are going to hear the song that was almost cut from the original score, “People”.

• You just heard “People” from the Fan Favorite Musical, Funny Girl.

• The next show on his list is the Jerry Herman musical Mame which originally starred Angela Lansbury. When the movie version was going to be filmed, the producers didn’t think that Lansbury was a big enough name even though she had been a Hollywood star before her venture into Broadway musicals and winning the Tony for her performance. They selected Lucille Ball to play Mame even though her singing voice wasn’t very good. Robert Preston was selected to play Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, Mame’s eventual husband, and a new song was written so he would have an additional song to sing. Here is that beautiful song “Loving You”.

• You just heard “Loving You” from the film version of the Fan Favorite Musical, Mame.

• The last musical on his list is often regarded as the greatest musical film ever, ranking first on the AFI’s list of Greatest Movie Musicals and 5th on their list of Greatest American Films. We are going to hear the song ranked third on their list of Greatest Film Songs. Here is Gene Kelly singing the title song from Singin’ In The Rain.

• You just heard the title song to the Fan Favorite Musical, Singin’ In The Rain.

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