Jerome Robbins wanted to cut "Little Lamb"

[chanel]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 9:38am

Also: There is nothing like that Dame. Angela Lansbury is such a cutup.

http://www.out.com/michael-musto/2016/10/03/gypsys-worst-song-angela-lansburys-raunchy-shtick-gay-marx-brother-other

Updated On: 10/3/16 at 09:38 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 10:11am

 

Those anecdotes have a nasty and distinctly un-fun tone to them. Either the book is an unpleasant piece of work or Musto's way of relating the stories is icky. 

 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 11:41am

PalJoey said: " 

Those anecdotes have a nasty and distinctly un-fun tone to them. Either the book is an unpleasant piece of work or Musto's way of relating the stories is icky. 

 

 

"

Had the same thought, none of that was fun to read 

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 1:01pm

I mostly agree but I do have to admit I have often wondered why "Little Lamb" doesn't quite work for me, whether it's the point in the show where it occurs or the style of the song, etc.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 2:55pm

It worked when Laura Benanti sang it.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 3:05pm

I have always hated that song.  It is supposed to show how innocent Louise is.  Style couldn't have come up with something that is not so cloying.  The only mediocre song in one of the greatest scores ever.  

I have to admit that I also am also totally sick of All I Need Is the Girl, but I don't think it is a bad song.  It is just a song I don't like to hear as often as so many of the other ones.  I now have the version I listen to the most setup to skip both of those songs, along with Caroline (or whatever the song is called).  While the latter is always necessary in the show, I don't have to listen to it on the CD.

PS -- And I don't think Laura Bennati made it any more palatable

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 3:33pm

This "Little Lamb" story was already told by Arthur Laurents on the "Broadway: the American Musical" dvd's. 

[SweetLips]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 3:40pm

That entire article was VILE and HATE the reference to 'Broadway queens'--so offensive.

 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 5:26pm

I was kind of indifferent to the song until Benanti's performance. Now I can't think of it without getting misty eyed. She was such a revelation 

[UrNotAMachine]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 5:40pm

Contrary to popular opinion, I've always really appreciated Little Lamb. I think it adds a very important dimension to Louise's relationship with Rose. I find the fact that Louise doesn't even know how old she is to be incredibly heartbreaking and it shows the audience another way that Rose has exercised control over her children's lives. It starts off being a dull lullaby with the primary purpose of softening the length of a set-change but in true Sondheim fashion, the song develops into something much more meaningful and substantive. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 10:28pm

I don't understand why "Little Lamb" invites such hostility. I find it a pleasant break from all the bombast in the electric score.

More importantly, without "Lamb", we don't know who Louise is. She's only been the back of the cow to us.

If we don't know who Louise is, then "All I Need Is the Girl" doesn't work, because it is a musical scene ABOUT Louise, not Tulsa.

If "All I Need" doesn't work, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" doesn't work, because we have to know what a wallflower Louise has been to appreciate the sheer audacity of Rose's decision to make Louise a star.

This isn't uncommon in musical theater: whether you like "Lamb" or not (again, I like it), it is the foundation of a house of cards. Remove it and the rest of the act doesn't work. And maybe the second act doesn't work either.

(Why anyone would choose to hide "Lamb" and "All I Need" (plus the Caroline number) from their playlist is beyond me. If you want a recording of Merman's (or LuPone's) greatest hits, you can buy one.)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 10:45pm

I certainly wasn't there, but that story about Angela Lansbury marching into a gay bar and dragging some poor guy back to the theater rings really false to me. When I worked with her I was also dating a member of her cast and attended several events Angie hosted (including Christmas dinner) as a couple with my boyfriend. There was never a hint that she found this inappropriate.

So I'm comfortable in saying she wasn't homophobic, even in a day when the subject of homosexuality was pretty much unmentionable even to those who were tolerant.

But she was NEVER crass; on the contrary, she was extremely gracious and polite. And let's look at the position that story puts the "fish" pulled from the "gay pond". For all Angie knew, he would have been humiliated when they went back to the theater because the complainer might reject him. There's also the implication that any dick will do when a gay man is horny. The guy in the bar is treated like a piece of meat.

I have trouble believing Angie would do that to anybody. Even when there were disagreements about expenditures or staffing (which put her and me on opposite sides), she was always a "gentleman".

[gypsy101]

Posted: 10/3/16 at 11:53pm

yes, this Little Lamb story has been told before (i believe Sondheim mentioned it in Finishing the Hat). It's not an absolutely dreadful song but I agree it's a little dull (which makes it stick out in a score full of exciting songs).

"The gays in the crowd must have been drooling"...over a penis made of dough? wtf why

Updated On: 10/4/16 at 11:53 PM

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 12:10am

CATSNYrevival said: "It worked when Laura Benanti sang it."

Ain't that the truth.

[TweetyPie2]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 7:54am

I remember listening to "Little Lamb" as a kid when I checked the OBC LP out of the public library. (That's where most of my Broadway background comes from--the scratchy LP's from the library!) I have always loved the song. It's so pretty. I also remember my younger sister scoffing because Louise "doesn't know how old she is." I didn't take that line literally, though--I see it as an indication that she doesn't know where she's going in life.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 8:00am

These stories are sprinkled throughout the book, so don't come off as vile as they  do when published together.  It's a fun read.  

[Theater_Nerd]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 9:56pm

GavestonPS said: "I don't understand why "Little Lamb" invites such hostility. I find it a pleasant break from all the bombast in the electric score.

More importantly, without "Lamb", we don't know who Louise is. She's only been the back of the cow to us.

If we don't know who Louise is, then "All I Need Is the Girl" doesn't work, because it is a musical scene ABOUT Louise, not Tulsa.

If "All I Need" doesn't work, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" doesn't work, because we have to know what a wallflower Louise has been to appreciate the sheer audacity of Rose's decision to make Louise a star.

This isn't uncommon in musical theater: whether you like "Lamb" or not (again, I like it), it is the foundation of a house of cards. Remove it and the rest of the act doesn't work. And maybe the second act doesn't work either.

(Why anyone would choose to hide "Lamb" and "All I Need" (plus the Caroline number) from their playlist is beyond me. If you want a recording of Merman's (or LuPone's) greatest hits, you can buy one.)

 

This is a really "spot on" assessment of the importance of "Little Lamb" to the "Gypsy" score.

 

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 11:53pm

gypsy101 said: "yes, this Little Lamb story has been told before (i believe Sondheim mentioned it in Finishing the Hat). It's not an absolutely dreadful song but I agree it's a little dull (which makes it stick out in a score full of exciting songs).

"The gays in the crowd must have been drooling"...over a penis made of dough? wtf why

 

"

The story goes back farther than FINISHING THE HAT. I think it may have been told in SONDHEIM & CO. thirty years ago.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/4/16 at 11:57pm

TweetyPie2 said: "I remember listening to "Little Lamb" as a kid when I checked the OBC LP out of the public library. (That's where most of my Broadway background comes from--the scratchy LP's from the library!) I have always loved the song. It's so pretty. I also remember my younger sister scoffing because Louise "doesn't know how old she is." I didn't take that line literally, though--I see it as an indication that she doesn't know where she's going in life.

 

"

You know now that she does mean it literally, yes? Rose has been subtracting years from the kids' ages for so long that Louise has forgotten her real age.

But that doesn't negate the metaphorical meaning you found in the line.