Paint your Wagon question
Gérard Morvan
Star. I said that it had been written for the musical Paint Your Wagon in
1951, he contends that it had been written earlier than that. So, I ask the
experts : was Wandering Star written especially for the musical, or was it
written and released earlier, and then reused by Lerner and Loewe for the
musical (like As Time Goes By was reused for Casablanca)? Thanks by advance
for your answers.
Gérard Morvan
Richard Wall
chief difference is that Casablanca is not a musical, so "As Time
Goes By" was not written for another musical and then placed in
Casablanca. There are several examples of songs written for one
show, cut from it and then used in another musical. The most
famous example, IMHO, if "Say A Prayer For Me Tonight" which was
written for MY FAIR LADY, cut and then put into the movie GIGI.
Richard
Stephen Newport
"screen to stage-ers" would have been better if all the film songs had
been used *before* additions and interpolations.)
Re: Paint your Wagon question
Group: rec.arts.theatre.musicals Date: Mon, Mar 31, 2003, 3:48pm From:
rcw...@mindspring.com (Richard Wall)
There are several examples of songs written for one show, cut from it
and then used in another musical. The most famous example, IMHO, if "Say
A Prayer For Me Tonight" which was written for MY FAIR LADY, cut and
then put into the movie GIGI.
Stephen Newport
the song is introduced briefly-- early in the evening-- and reprised in
its original slot.
Paint your Wagon question
Group: rec.arts.theatre.musicals Date: Mon, Mar 31, 2003, 10:15pm
(EST+7) From: her...@club-internet.fr (Gérard Morvan) the song
Wandering Star. I said that it had been written for the musical Paint
Your Wagon in 1951, he contends that it had been written earlier than
that. So, I ask the experts : was Wandering Star written especially for
the musical, or was it written and released earlier, and then reused by
Lerner and Loewe for the musical......
Thierry
> I'm not aware of it being used previously. BTW, in the licensed version,
> the song is introduced briefly-- early in the evening-- and reprised in
> its original slot.
That would be, the *revised* licensed version, which went into
circulation after Lerner re-did it in the late 1970s. Prior to that,
the Broadway version was licensed (and still is, if you specifically
request that version). The revision also dumped "All for Him" in
favor of another song for Ben, "Take the Wheels Off the Wagon"
(Sort of the anti-"Wanderin' Star"). For the record, in the revised
version, Ben's "Wanderin Star" is sung completely at the beginning of
the show. The original slot for "Star," in Act II, Scene 3, right
after "All for Him" was then given over to "Take the Wheels..." ( but
no longer following the cut Jennifer song). The reprise of "Star" for
the characters of Steve, Jake and the other miners ("Goin' home to
Georgia, back to settle down..." etc) is where it always was in Act
II, as is the finale reprise.
Much of Lerner's rewrite was good, but sticking "Wandering Star" at
the beginning of the show was a really *bad* idea. Having seen two
productions of the original and one of the rewrite, I can attest that
"Star" completely loses its effectiveness as an opening number (and
mitigates the punch of the *real* opening, "I'm On My Way"). The song
is written to be a summation of a character's life, not an
introduction to it...
Thierry
Thierry
> "Wandering Star" was written for PAINT YOUR WAGON. The
> chief difference is that Casablanca is not a musical, so "As Time
> Goes By" was not written for another musical and then placed in
> Casablanca. There are several examples of songs written for one
> show, cut from it and then used in another musical.
I know you were making a point, but it sounds like you are saying that
"As Time Goes By" is not from a musical -- which it is, 1931's
EVERYBODY'S WELCOME
(Starring Hariette Lake --soon-to-be Ann Sothern).
There is actually a cut song from PAINT YOUR WAGON that was used later
--
Ben and Jennifer originally had a duet late in Act Two called "What Do
Other Folk Do?" which was re-written, of course, as "What Do the
Simple Folk Do?" from CAMELOT.
Thierry
Stephen Newport
tour of the original, also reassigns numbers sung by Jake ("Rumson") and
Steve (Mariah!!") to Ben. Drama Book Store used to carry the London
script, which is basically the original Broadway version. I've done the
role of Ben twice- the first was a "hybrid" not directed by me. The
second I also directed, using the requested original. Also, as I recall,
"All for Him" still appears in the published score but not in the
(revised) licensed one. CLEAR DAY and CAMELOT also have revised licensed
versions.
Re: Paint your Wagon question
Group: rec.arts.theatre.musicals Date: Tue, Apr 1, 2003, 12:16am (EST-3)
From: mairzy...@sbcglobal.net (Thierry)
The *revised* licensed version went into circulation after Lerner re-did
it in the late 1970s. Prior to that, the Broadway version was licensed
(and still is, if you specifically request that version). The revision
also dumped "All for Him" in favor of another song for Ben, "Take the
Wheels Off the Wagon" (Sort of the anti-"Wanderin' Star"). Sticking
"Wandering Star" at the beginning of the show was a really *bad* idea.
"Star" completely loses its effectiveness as an opening number.The song
is written to be a summation of a character's life, not an introduction
to it...