Anyone Can Whistle questions

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 3:32pm

All right, I did a search on here and found no answers to these questions, and listening to the OBCR does not answer them. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable, or perhaps has seen a staging of it, can answer them. I've searched the Internet for answers with no success.

- How do Cora and her cronies stage the phoney miracle? How does the idea occur to them? How exactly do they get away with it?

- What does locking up scores of town residents in a sanitarium benefit Cora and her cronies?

- How does the aborted song "There's Always a Woman" work into the plot? Aside from this, Fay and Cora have little to no contact at all, do they? And doesn't Fay loathe and despise Cora, and perhaps vice/versa? Why would they engage in song? Why do the characters feel so negatively about women? This is particularly hard to understand for Fay.

- This is more historical than plot, but despite the reason given - redundancy - why on earth was "There Won't Be Trumpets" cut from the Broadway staging of the show? Did Lee Remick fight it? It's a big moment for her to show off. Her part seems substantially limited without it.

- What spurns Fay singing "See What It Gets You?" It's a big moment. Does Hapgood let her down? If so, how does he come through for her in the end?

- What happens once the damn bursts? Does the town drown? What happens to Cora and her cronies?

Thanks. :)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 3:42pm

Thank you for this! I've had these questions for a while, but was afraid to ask. Also, I'd like to know why "There's Always a Woman" seems to have only ever been used in the concert version, and it's not part of the licensed score from MTI -- at least it's not listed. Why!? I think it's one of the best songs in the score.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 4:15pm

I read the libretto a while ago so I don't remember a lot of it.
I do know however that "There Won't Be Trumpets" was cut because right before the number, Fay has a huge monologue in which she basically says the same thing that "There Won't Be Trumpets" cover. I think Laurents and Sondheim felt the monologue covered enough of what they were trying to convey and that a song there would be redundant and slow down the action. It's a great song and I agree it should be part of the show.
I cannot remember what exactly prompts the "See What It Gets You" scene, for some reason I think that Hapgood tells Fay that he's leaving and that she can't fully rebel (though I might just be making this up). Can someone clarify Rudy's questions?
BTW, I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming Encores! concert of this show and I really really hope they don't ruin it with the casting (ie please no Christine Ebersole as Cora, love her, but no).

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 04:15 PM

[jewishboy]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 4:39pm

Sorry, can't answer your questions. But, I just wanted to say that I was just thinking about the upcoming Encores! production and thought Michelle Pawk could also make a good Cora...

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 5:04pm

I think Meryl Streep is the most ideal person for the role. But since they will go for Broadway folks, I am hoping for names like Bebe Neuwirth, Tonya Pinkins, Veanne Cox, or Donna Murphy to be considered for Cora. Ruthie Henshall, who has done Encores! before, would be great too but I imagine she's staying put in London.
Laura Benanti or Jenny Powers could play Fay.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 5:07pm

^ I was thinking Laura Benanti for Fay as well.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 6:22pm

**SPOILER**

And I pulled out my copy of the script as published by Random House, so that's what I'm basing this on.

- How do Cora and her cronies stage the phoney miracle? How does the idea occur to them? How exactly do they get away with it?

There's a pump in the rock, that is being hand-operated by them. It's hidden from view, so until they are exposed, no one looks close enough to care.

- What does locking up scores of town residents in a sanitarium benefit Cora and her cronies?

This is conjecture, but they are technically insane, and therefore, when the waters do not heal them, the secret will be revealed. Also, of the one's named, they all connect to someone artistically/historically famous: Susie B. Anthony, Brecht, Chaplin, Dillinger, Engels, Freud, Gandhi, Isben, Mozart, etc.

- How does the aborted song "There's Always a Woman" work into the plot? Aside from this, Fay and Cora have little to no contact at all, do they? And doesn't Fay loathe and despise Cora, and perhaps vice/versa? Why would they engage in song? Why do the characters feel so negatively about women? This is particularly hard to understand for Fay.

I can't answer this one terribly well. My best guess it is because the two of them are vying for Hapgood's attention. And they are speaking of each other, not women in general. Remember, this is the first person Fay has been able to be herself with, so she's pretty attached to him.

- This is more historical than plot, but despite the reason given - redundancy - why on earth was "There Won't Be Trumpets" cut from the Broadway staging of the show? Did Lee Remick fight it? It's a big moment for her to show off. Her part seems substantially limited without it.

I believe, and I could be wrong, the monologue was getting better applause than the song, so they cut it. That monologue right before it is pretty phenomenal, and, IMHO, the best thing Laurents ever put on paper.

- What spurns Fay singing "See What It Gets You?" It's a big moment. Does Hapgood let her down? If so, how does he come through for her in the end?

Basically, yes. She wants him to do something about the fact the miracle is a fake and Cora is winning, and he just can't. SHE has to be the one to do it. And he doesn't come through in the traditional sense. Cora succeeds in getting the Cookies back, and the real assistant that was supposed to arrive shows up, and when she launches in on the "Woman of Science" bit that Fay did at the beginning she calls him back by finally whistling. It's kinda confusing, I know.

- What happens once the damn bursts? Does the town drown? What happens to Cora and her cronies?

The dam (no 'n') doesn't burst. The next town over gets a miracle, so all the pilgrims rush to it, and Cora and Shub decide to turn the whole town into an insane asylum.

Hope this helps.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 6:23pm

I don't know, the only name from your list that I would like to see as Cora is Donna Murphy. My list for Cora would be Debbie Gravitte, Marin Mazzie, Emily Skinner, Christine Baranski, Michelle Pawk, or Vanessa Williams. I would love to see Laura Benanti, Jenny Powers, Celia Keenan Bolger, Judy Kuhn, or Melissa Erico as Fay.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 6:24pm

I still say Donna Murphy as Cora, Jane Krakowski as Fay and Neil Patrick Harris as Hapgood.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 6:58pm

I have a copy of the published script, so I will try to answer as best I can.

- How do Cora and her cronies stage the phoney miracle? How does the idea occur to them? How exactly do they get away with it?

It's never clear how the idea of the fake miracle is concocted. Schub tells Cora e has a plan and the agree to meet at the rock. (The Mayoress calls for a costume change...boys dance on with a change of clothes and jewelry while the set is on the move. AT one point Cora is struggling with a glove and holds up her hand to stop everything - scene change and underscoring - until she gets it on then waves for the change to continue.) AT the Rock Baby Joan discovers the "miracle" (cue for "The Miracle Song" and after this sequence the set rotates to reveal Schub operating a pump to make the "miracle" happen.

- What does locking up scores of town residents in a sanitarium benefit Cora and her cronies?

They just need to show the governor that the "cookies" are back in place and Cora figures any 49 people locked up will do.


- How does the aborted song "There's Always a Woman" work into the plot? Aside from this, Fay and Cora have little to no contact at all, do they? And doesn't Fay loathe and despise Cora, and perhaps vice/versa? Why would they engage in song? Why do the characters feel so negatively about women? This is particularly hard to understand for Fay.


"There's always a Woman" was cut in rehearsals. In the concert at Carnegie, it replaced the ballet which shows Cora and her cronies locking up the first 49 people they find and Fay (as the Lady from Lourdes) setting them free. If the concert version is a guide to where the song went, it would seem to have been replaced by a dance section. Faye and Cora have had some conflict already: teh confrontation that leads to Faye's speech and the cut song "...Trumpets" establishes this.

- This is more historical than plot, but despite the reason given - redundancy - why on earth was "There Won't Be Trumpets" cut from the Broadway staging of the show? Did Lee Remick fight it? It's a big moment for her to show off. Her part seems substantially limited without it.

Lee was not an experienced singer. This was her first musical. She had vocal problems at the time and was having difficulty singing. (I believe I read she went and had her tonsils out after the show closed.) The story that the the speech got a bigger hand is probably true but mainly because she likely didn't have the voice to make the song land.

- What spurns Fay singing "See What It Gets You?" It's a big moment. Does Hapgood let her down? If so, how does he come through for her in the end?

Hapgood has at this point tired of the adoration of the townspeople and wants to just get into the mental institution and escape. Faye doesn't want him to do that. They argue she slaps him and hurries away. (Remember a good deal of the plot doesn't make a great deal of logical sense.)

- What happens once the damn bursts? Does the town drown? What happens to Cora and her cronies?

The lyric "the dam has burst" is metaphorical. It's a signal to all the pilgrims t run because Cora and the cops are closing in on them. Cora and her cronies are left destitute when the townsfolk follow Hapgood (and his trumpet) like the pied piper, off to form a new civilization.

[binau]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 7:14pm

"Lee was not an experienced singer. This was her first musical. She had vocal problems at the time and was having difficulty singing. (I believe I read she went and had her tonsils out after the show closed.) The story that the the speech got a bigger hand is probably true but mainly because she likely didn't have the voice to make the song land. "

According to Arthur's new book (Mainly on directing) this was the case, IIRC.

And Lee Remick certainly did fight it (according to the book), she was threatening to leave, but Laurents promised she'd be the centre of a review/the reviews (can't remember which, and I think there was a more technical term for this), and she was.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 8:20pm

About 10 years ago JAY records recorded the ENTIRE score (with all the dance music and instrumental portions, plus large chunks of the book) for a planned 2-disc completele recording which has never seen the light of day.

Hopefully this revival will revive some interest in this magnificent score and John Yap will finally release it, at least on iTunes. "With So Little To Be Sure Of" may be the most beautiful melody Sondheim ever composed, and "Everbody Says Don't" his most energetically propulsive. "Anyone Can Whistle" is, along with "Someone In A Tree" from PO, the song Sondheim claims is his personal favorite and with good reason given his relationship with Remick.

The unreleased recording stars John Barrowman as Hapgood and Maria Friedman as Cora, both of whose careers have gotten very big since they recorded this so this hold-up is a real head-scratcher... I mean, Barrowman is the biggest musical star of his generation, I'd say, particularly with his recent film/tv/pop success. His performance in THE FIX and COMPANY are up there with the best I've ever seen and he has worked very hard for a very long time to get where he is.

MY dream cast for Encores:

Cora - Vanessa Williams (BORN to play this role)
Hapgood - John Barrowman (or Norm Lewis)
Fay - Ruthie Henshall (or Sherie Rene Scott)

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre

Updated On: 6/5/09 at 08:20 PM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 10:17pm

The "hold-up" as explained to be by John Yap is due to a number of factors.

1. The market has gone very soft. CD stores are vanishing, and it is no longer viable for an independent label like JAY to manufacture and sell expensive 2-CD sets. JAY is looking at offering downloads but at present downloads only account for 20% of the overall sales.

2. Although the sessions were completed years ago, there is still the expensive task of editing, mixing and mastering and it is not worth his while until th3 situation in 1 changes.

3. The studio cast re-creations sell less copies because many fans already have the OCR's or other versions and the JAY 2-CD sets compete in the marketplace with the less expensive single disc versions. For the time being he wants to concentrate on recording new scores.

On this last he has a point. If people can get the OBCR of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE through Amazon for $11.98, are they likely to pay $38.98 for a 2-CD set just because it has some extra music? (And bear in mind little of import is missing from the OCR.)

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 10:48pm

While I understand Mr.Yap's POV and applaud him for recording and releasing new scores instead of older scores... this really seems to be the exception to the rule.

You cannot tell me, for example, THE MUSICALITY OF IVOR NOVELLO would outsell the first complete recording of one of Stephen Sondheim's first Broadway scores starring the biggest musical star in the UK.

Before Barrowman did DE-LOVELY and THE PRODUCERS and became a huge TV star with a series of successful solo albums (two on JAY) the excuse John Yap used was that he was waiting for the right time to capitalize on the material when the market would be best. Well, Sondheim's 75th and (*edit: and very soon)80th birthday celebrations passed, as did THE STORY GOES ON... box set and Maria Friedman crossed the Atlantic to raves (for her Carlyle show and WIW) and here we are with nothing, still.

I mean he has had ONE TOUCH OF VENUS and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE for ten years now and the market is not going to get better so I guess we should just give up hope and pray that maybe Barrowman will put up the funding neccessary to release the recording in some form.

The rights to his recording of this material probably has lapsed as most only have a 10 year window, so that will probably be the excuse given for its non-release once that happens.

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre

P.S. Send the tracks to me and ill edit/mix a fantastic album with ProTools for free, as I'm sure anyone with access to the tracks and ProTools could do.
Updated On: 6/6/09 at 10:48 PM

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 6/5/09 at 11:06pm

Did I miss the 80th Birthday? I thought that was next year.

Yes, he was born in 1930, we've got another year.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 6/6/09 at 2:30am

Hey, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents about this show since I'm one of the few people that's every done this in a professional-esque setting. This show is frickin' cursed!


With regards to the miracle:

The miracle is staged by placing an electric switch. It's an old pump that had been there. The rig it to pump water automatically. That's how they get away with it. The problem is once Hapgood gets there, there's an electrical screw up. So they end up having to hand pump it because throngs of people are demanding it. They don't want to be seen as frauds etc. so they concoct the story about Hapgood causing God to turn off the "miracle".


With Regards to the cookies:

This is a reason why the show never caught. No one is ever clear WHAT the cookies are. They're not crazy. If they were, there'd be no crime in locking them up. What they are are social deviants. Remember this is in the beginning of Civil rights, womans lib, sexual revelution etc. If you look at those names, those are people who are trying to stand up and tell the status quo "you're way is not working". THose are the people rocking the boat (I know this was touched on). So the "establishment" locks them up so they are silenced. THe problem is "how does an actor play that?" YOu don't hear the names until the end of the show. So no one knows who they are. YOu can't play them as regular people because that makes the audience confused. SO they have to have some obvious quirks to set them apart. So then the audience just thinks they're merely crazy. I mean you'd have to listen hard but there is a point where it is explained sort of. It's in a scene I believe.


Anyway that's my perspective. It sucks because once you know all of this, it becomes a REALLY empowering show. The score s brilliant. Those lyrics are kind of damning to the bigots in power. I wish they could find a way to make this show work. It could still be relevant today.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 6/6/09 at 3:13am

Thanks to everyone here not only for your thoughts and answers but also your passion! I have read each sentence. I really enjoy this show and find it nice to hear many of my own feelings, both positive and negative, echoed. :)

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/6/09 at 6:49pm

I don't think the other recording has even been MENTIONED and it must be because its pretty wonderful.

Angela Lansbury does a fantastic job as the narrator and Bernadette Peters and Scott Bakula have a much sexier take on their material, which is especially fun in the breezy (but super-complicated, though not compared to "Simple"!) "Play Wiz Me".

The concert was also videotaped but never shown on TV or video and can be viewed at the TOFT archives.

I'd love to see any pictures from the regional production you were so lucky to be involved with, Jazzysuite! How did modern audiences take to the material (esp. the risque stuff in "Simple" like "cubber",etc.)?!

A Good Nightmare Comes So Rarely,
P genre

[binau]

Posted: 6/6/09 at 8:47pm

Does anyone know the cast that recorded the unreleased JAY recording?

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:38pm

Vanessa Williams, Laura Benanti and Brian Stokes Mitchell must do this show.

I just reviewed the score beginning to end and there's even a line Hapgood says, "I'm a retired Don Quixote" which, of course Stokes is. Imagine his voice and Everybody Says Don't" and "With So Little To Be Sure Of?", Laura would have a series of showstoppers showcasing all her talents from soft to brassy to comedienne (Bernadette Peters proved this is one of the best young female roles).

The score is some of the best stuff Sondheim has ever written... a little COMPANY, a little FOLLIES and a lot of something totally surreal but fantastic all the same.

P

[vassey]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 3:59am

On the unreleased Jay recording, Julia McKenzie was Cora, Maria Friedman was Fay, and John Barrowman Hapgood