Ethel Merman in ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and Judy Garland sings Sondheim

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:04am

The Sondheim vs. Merman thread got me thinking about her starring in Sondheim shows and as I thought amusingly of her being woefully miscast in SWEENEY TODD or SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE I thought of this one and thought maybe it could have worked.

Does anyone else think she would have been plausible as Cora Hoover Hooper? I can hear her singing the songs in my head but I don't know the book well enough to imagine her in the book scenes.

Updated On: 3/28/15 at 02:04 AM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:14am

If her legend is anything to go by, I think she would be plausible taking over from Clarkson in Top Gear.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:25am

I think Merman was a bit too brassy (both in voice and personality) for Anyone Can Whistle. I really can't see Merman in any Sondheim show. Their styles don't really match.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:23pm

Shows, maybe not, but songs? Definitely.

Merman singing "See What It Gets You" would have been terrific.

Her "Ladies Who Lunch" would have been powerful.

Her "Who's That Woman" would have been thrilling.

Her "Now You Know" might have been definitive.

And her "Last Midnight"...yes.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:29pm

Yeah, hearing Merman's Queens accent sing Sondheim's lyrics would be a real treat.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:34pm

She shoulda done a Sondheim album before she went. If she could do Merman disco why not Merman Sondheim?

[evic]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:38pm

She would probably have ****ed up "A Parade In Town" singing the lyrics to "Before The Parade Passes By". It would have been a riot to hear her belch out "Schoob...Controller Schoob"......

[madlibrarian]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:48pm

How about casting Merman not as the Mayor but as Nurse Fay Apple?

[jv92]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 2:54pm

Oh, to hell with Merman! (Kidding, of course.)

The real tragedy is that Judy Garland never sang a Sondheim song-- music and lyrics. She would have been a terrifyingly brilliant Sally Durant Plummer.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:01pm

Hattie in Follies
Domina in Forum
Celeste in Saturday Night, had she been younger
Mary in Merrily, had she been much younger
Yvonne in Sunday
Jack's Mother, ITW
Emma and Sarah in Assassins, had she been younger
The Shogun's Mother in Pacific Overtures

None of which would have interested her in the least



Updated On: 3/27/15 at 04:01 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:27pm

"The real tragedy is that Judy Garland never sang a Sondheim song"

Those two would have really made some beautiful music together. I can hear Judy singing "Losing My Mind" "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" "Ah But Underneath" "Send In The Clowns" "Everybody Says Don't" and several more.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:48pm

She would probably have ****ed up "A Parade In Town" singing the lyrics to "Before The Parade Passes By".

No, she wouldn't have.

[jv92]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 7:33pm

I can hear Judy singing "No, not a day goes by...NOT A BLESSED DAY..." in my mind all the time. It kills me that she never did.

Anyway, back to Merman... Sorry for the thread-jack.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:30pm

Man I wish Judy had recorded some Sondheim. She would have sung a heartbreaking Losing My Mind, and Not A Day Goes By. If she had played the Witch I think the world would have collapsed. It's also a shame she never did Send In the Clowns. One of my idols for sure.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 10:50pm

If Judy had sung "I'm Still Here"...

https://youtu.be/9MPBkApOQgA

Updated On: 3/28/15 at 10:50 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 10:51pm

If Judy had played Rose in Gypsy...

https://youtu.be/8f_y3pFOOEs

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 10:54pm

Holy cow, I never knew Judy sang Some People on her show. Incredible.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 9:28am

WOW!!!...Judy sounds great singing SOME PEOPLE...

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:21am

Judy had sung it the year before for an album of Broadway songs that was not released until years after she died. Over the years, it was called variously JUDY TAKES BROADWAY and JUDY GARLAND LIVE! The album was recorded live (at what is now the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34h Street):

https://youtu.be/MrXeN8PAS6M


The link below is to a studio demo for the song, recorded at a rehearsal a few weeks earlier. Since she had throat problems the day the album was recorded live, this may just be her best recorded version of "Some People," although I prefer the video from the TV show, even with the lyric flubs.

https://youtu.be/2TgiyNN12io

Updated On: 3/28/15 at 10:21 AM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:40am

"Not While I'm Around" could have been an essential Garland song.

[Fantod]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 12:55pm

Wow PalJoey, thank you so much. So many people try to impersonate Judy, but even on the screen, there is no one like her.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 5:32pm

I'm officially obsessed with that rendition!

Not only is Judy's voice one of the most glorious ever, but on her albums the arrangements are always on fire! So thrilling.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 6:03pm

Why are we limited to Merman and Garland?

What if Goerge M. Cohan had played Bobby in COMPANY?

What if Al Jolson had played Colehouse Walker?

What if Mary Martin had played Fannie Brice?

ETA thanks for the "Some People" clip, Joey. Now I know where Liza got her tempo for the song. Updated On: 3/28/15 at 06:03 PM