Prettybelle?!

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 8:38pm

I just bought the soundtrack and am in love <3 and upon perusing the small amounts of info there is, I saw that (allegedly) sheet music for some of the songs was released. And I want to have "I'm In a Tree" as an option for college auditions, so if anyone has any info on it's whereabouts, or any other info on Prettybelle, it would be vastly appreciated . It's about time we revisited that show......

[jv92]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 8:42pm

Unfamiliar with the show, except that I know Lansbury's big eleven o'clocker was called "When I'm Drunk, I'm Beautiful." I've always meant to buy the album. Don't know why I haven't. Does Encores! do out-of-town closures? Maybe they'll do this some day?

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 8:52pm

So worth it! You can get it on Amazon. "When I'm Drunk" is so funny.

The show could totally find an audience these days too! It really needs a revival. The material is all there- it had so much going for it! I'm so surprised Encores hasn't done it already. I think I'll try to obtain licensing in college to try to rework it

[bschneid76]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:08pm

My favorite number on that Album is "The No-Tell Motel". Very odd score, but it's fun to hear Angela!

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:09pm

The show is fabulous. Far too dark and corrupt for Broadway then or now.

Can you believe it was out of town in Boston and you could catch a matinee of PRETTYBELLE and see FOLLIES at night, witnessing first hand Yvonne do "Can That Boy Foxtrot!" and Alexis do "Uptown/Downtown".

Someone here must know about PRETTYBELLE out of town, I don't know the whole story.

P

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:11pm

I can't really pick a favorite, honestly. I love "Drunk", "To a Small Degree", "I'm in a Tree" and "Manic Depressives", though "No Tell" is hilarious

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:14pm

Holy crap- I never put together that Follies and Prettybelle ran at the same time! But they do have alot of the story of how Prettybelle came to be and not to be in "As the Parade Goes By", a Gower Champion bio. If you type "prettybelle script" into google, the "Inside the Book" preview has most of the section on it. What I'm still looking for is the music- I want that song!

Updated On: 11/28/09 at 09:14 PM

[homeimp]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:16pm

Peter Filichia (Theatermania) is the one to talk to about Prettybelle, out of town or elsewhere. Are you there, Peter? Could this show work now?

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/28/09 at 9:23pm

This is probably a lazy question, but how can I contact him? What's his posting name?

[homeimp]

Posted: 11/29/09 at 12:17am

PM sent to you, myshykobit.

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/29/09 at 5:00pm

thanks ;D

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 11/29/09 at 9:21pm

There is a nice little piece about the show in "Not Since Carrie". The author said Prettybelle, is one of the most coveted cast recordings that is released.

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 9:12am

Haha honestly I've only read Not Since Carrie on the Google preview thing- of course my county library system doesn't have it. Luckily for me, getting cast albums is much easier in the new era of internet

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 11:59am

This is one of my favorite cast albums. "I Met a Man" is my favorite track.

The story would never fly. It's too ridiculous even by today's standards.

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 12:29pm

Correct- it'll probably never be a commercial success- it's very risky. However, I think it should be reworked- just so the material is alive and well in case it could be used. That way we can view it less like "Dear World" and more like... "Bernarda Alba". Not flawed, just impractical for commercial purposes

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 12:53pm

Really? Do you know the story and have you read the script?

I think the score is great and should be kept alive, yes, and I'm very grateful to have an Angie perf. preserved somewhat, but I never need to see it staged. It's most like another Angie flop Anyone Can Whistle...glorious score and performances, horrible story and book.

I certainly wouldnt compare BA's score to either of these.

I wouldnt compare it to Dear World either, which at least had a much loved source.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 1:41pm

This show would be so hilarious if they revived it - or rather, premiered it.

"I Met a Man" is my absolute favorite on the recording. The song is infectious and Angela is so commanding. "I'm In a Tree" is also a song I'm quite fond of.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:02pm

>>>"I just bought the soundtrack and am in love..."<<<

There never was a movie version of this show, so how could there be a SOUNDTRACK?????????????

[Marquise]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:22pm

Isn't the recording for this show actually a studio recording done years after the production closed? Technically it's considered a studio recording, no?

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 2:53pm

***Technically, it WAS recording after, so it would be a "studio recording". But its the same orchestrations, Angela, etc. as the Boston production.

Really, the only thing that makes it a "Studio Album", is that it was recording a little while after the original production.

[myshikobit]

Posted: 11/30/09 at 6:03pm

Haha sorry, I couldn't think of the words "studio recording" so I defaulted to "soundtrack", Ms. Dollypop ;p

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/24/09 at 9:50pm

I've just started listening to this recently, and I like it, a lot.

But here's my question: is there any surviving book? I mean the songs just seem all pretty disconnected. Was there a coherent storyline to begin with? And with her husband coming back from the dead? What was that about?

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 12/24/09 at 10:26pm

And the story it did have screamed "Musical!" to them? I mean really, maybe it's just the way Ken Mandelbaum wrote about it in Not Since Carrie, but it sounds almost too much for Broadway, as shocking as that may seem. My first thought was that it would make a fantastic plot for a soap opera.

[romgitsean]

Posted: 12/24/09 at 10:30pm

I think it's just too ridiculous to be made into anything more than it is...which is a ridiculous musical.

I wonder what the actual book is like. Has anyone here read it? If so, how does it compare?

[Gavin Rehfeldt]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 6:33pm

It's called a cast recording. The cast was reunited to record the score with a reduced orchestra. This show was never going to work, but it did produce an interesting score.

Myshikobit: You should purchase Not Since Carrie used on Amazon marketplace very inexpensively. You won't be able to put it down. Mandelbaum still owes us a vol. 2!