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| "The Cakewalk" number, with full cast of Rodgers & Hart. |
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| Jimmy Brennan, Jamie Donnelly, Jim Litten. |
A friendly reception greeted this juke box revue’s compilation of 98 songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, called by John Simon “America’s once and still champion songwriting team.” The evening employed a dozen energetic, attractive singer-dancers, six men and six women, all of them put through choreographic and musico-dramatic exercises in acting out the lyrics of each number. The only male performer with enough individuality to emerge from the crowd was Laurence Guittard, while the women fared somewhat better. Accolades accrued for Tovah Feldshuh, Barbara Andres, and Virginia Sandifur. Each of these names made significant contributions to the theatre of the decade. Others in the show were Jamie Donnelly, Jimmy Brennan, Wayne Bryan, David-James Carroll, Mary Sue Finerty, Stephen Lehew, Jim Litten, and Rebecca York
Feldshuh received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Notable Performance by a
Young Player (a recognition that also took into account her performances that
breakout season in Yentl, the
Yeshivah Boy and Dreyfuss in
Rehearsal.)
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| Front: Barbara Andres, Tovah Feldshuh, Virginia Sandifur, Rebecca York, Mary Sue Finerty, Jamie Donnelly; Rear: Jimmy Brennan, Stephen Lehew, Jim Litten, Wayne Bryan, Laurence Guittard. |
The major problem, according to Simon and Brendan
Gill, was a superfluity of material, and a relentless cavalcade of songs
unrelieved by dialogue. The effect, said Gill, was more
like “an oral catalogue” than a show. Simon would have preferred more attention
being paid to the less well-known numbers, most of which were given only a few
bars, but Martin Gottfried thought that it was the obscure songs that
dominated, forcing the revue to fight “an uphill battle.” Clive Barnes and
Douglas Watt had few reservations and each recommended the show as a suitable
tribute to the great musical duo.
A small sampling of the songs: "Babes in Arms," "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "Blue Moon," "Dancing on the Ceiling," "Falling in Love with Love," "Give It Back to the Indians," "I Could Write a Book," "Isn't It Romantic?," "Johnny One Note," "My Funny Valentine," "Spring Is Here," "Ten Cents a Dance," "Thou Swell," and "Zip."
Technically, the show inspired some misgivings. Burt
Shevelove’s staging and Donald Sadler’s dances pleased some and bored others,
but there was a consensus that the David Jenkins set and Stanley Simmons
costumes were cheap-looking and unimaginative.