PROMISES, PROMISES

[Schmack]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 10:54am

Is this show good? I recently saw the movie CAMP and I loved the "Turkey Lurkey Time" number, and then of course the song "Promises, Promises" but I was wondering if anyone could give me any insight into the plot, the characters and so forth. Also does anyone know who controls the rights to this show because I've yet to find them. Thanks!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 11:14am

I saw the original production when I was in high school. At the time, the music -- Bacharach used pit voices! -- was cutting edge. It may seem like a sexier -- and sexist -- clone of HOW TO SUCCEED these days. The Encores production with Martin Short, clearly designed to test it, showed the strengths (role for short, the music) and weaknesses (dated book about good ol boys in corporate America networking to get laid -- wait, did I say dated?) They also tried it out at Goodspeed.

Jill O'Hara and Jerry Orbach were very charming in the original, and it does have "I'll Never Fall In Love Again." O'Hara's music, emotional outbursts about rejection/the evils of foolin' around with married men, might now be called, pejoratively, "power ballads." I still love 'em, and listen to "Knowing When to Leave" now and then. Watch THE APARTMENT, and then picture a lighter, joke-driven version of that, and you'll get the idea of what Simon did to the story.

When I was 17, it was hip and magic. "Sophisticated." But its story likely creaks. The men all cut throat to achieve executive positions while women remain relegated to secretarial jobs before Mr. Right shows ... well, maybe they could reverse the genders to make it fresh.

Updated On: 11/27/03 at 11:14 AM

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 11:19am

PROMISES, PROMISES opened on Broadway in the late 60's. It is based on the movie "The Apartment." Chuck Baxter is a single guy, working for a New York firm, and he has a small batchelor pad that is in great demand by some of the married co-workers in his firm. He loans it out to them so that they can have some fun. Eventually, Chuck's boss also asks to use the apartment, and he wants exclusive use of it. In the meantime, Chuck has his eyes set on a young lady in the firm - Fran Kubilik (sp?). But Chuck is shy, and doesn't really think that she will care for him. One night, Chuck comes home late to his apartment and finds Fran in his bed. She has taken an overdose, and he realizes that she is the one his boss has been bringing to the apartment. Chuck gets his neighbor - a doctor - to treat Fran. They bring her around, and eventually a relationship starts to blossom between her and Chuck. But until the end, the audience is in suspense as to whether Fran will return to her relationship with Chuck's boss or fall in love with him. It has an entertaining Bachrach score, a book by Neil Simon (so lots of laughs), but some of the story is frozen in an earlier era (especially when it comes to dealing with women in the work place) and that is, I think, the main reason it isn't produced as much.

Hope this summary helps.

[Belasco07]

Posted: 11/28/03 at 9:26am

Personally, I am a little bit wary of this musical...while films like THE PRODUCERS and MILLIE were improved upon on the musical stage, THE APARTMENT, as a film, is virtually flawless and singularly compelling. Although I probably shouldn't compare the two mediums (film and stage) I just can't seem to help it...