Musicals on TV - Annie Get Your Gun (1957)

NBC, 1957

Starring Mary Martin, John Raitt, Retta Shaw, and Donald Burr

Directed by Vincent J. Donehue

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Three years after Satins and Spurs failed to catch on, NBC tried another musical western, this time a Broadway adaptation with a somewhat more likely performer. Native Texan Mary Martin had been a stage star since the late 30's. She was a huge success in the 1947 national tour of Annie Get Your Gun, winning a special Tony for "bringing Broadway to the masses." After her Peter Pan was a ratings smash in 1955 and 1956, they returned to another role she was associated with. Does her version come off better than the 1950 theatrical release with Betty Hutton? Let's head to Ohio, where Buffalo Bill's (William O'Neal) Wild West Show has just gotten into town, and find out...

The Story: Annie Oakley (Martin) is the best shot in all of Ohio. She's so good, she shoots the stuffed bird off the hat belonging to Frank Butler's assistant Dolly Tate (Shaw). Manager Charlie Davenport (Burr) talks her into a marksmanship competition with their shooting star Frank Butler (Raitt) for them to win rooms at the local hotel. 

After Annie beats Frank hands-down, Charlie and Frank convince her to join the show as another assistant. Frank is so delighted with her work, he's smitten with the straightforward young woman, until Charlie gives her an act of her own. She's heartbroken when he takes Dolly and her daughter Winnie (Barbara Luckey) and joins Pawnee Bill's (Robert Nash) rival show. Sitting Bull (Zachary Charles), on the other hand, adopts her into his tribe. 

When Buffalo Bill's European tour produces acclaim but no profit, Sitting Bull comes up with the idea of putting the two shows together. Annie and Frank are all for it...until they start arguing about who's the better shot again. The duo finally take part in one last competition to see for once and for all who really is the best sharpshooter in the world.

The Song and Dance: At the very least, we get some songs that didn't make the cut in the film version and more of a sense of what this was originally like onstage. Raitt is a sexy and very manly Frank Butler and sings better than most of them. Reta Shaw makes the most of Dolly Tate's expanded role, including her reaction when Annie shoots that bird off her hat and her trying to sabotage her gun in the finale. Mary Martin sounds wonderful. Her "I Got Lost In His Arms" is especially lovely, and she works great with the kids. 

Favorite Number: We open with the crowds cheering "Colonel Buffalo Bill" as Charlie and Dolly tout the delights of the Wild West Show. Frank claims "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" to the ladies as he boasts about being thrown out of half the towns in the Midwest. Annie and her siblings say they're only "Doin' What Comes Naturally" when she brings perfectly shot poultry to the hotel owner. Frank tells her that she's not enough woman for him. "The Girl That I Marry" will be feminine through and through. Annie laments that "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun." 

Charlie, Frank, and Buffalo Bill convince Annie to join them with Irving Berlin's show business anthem, "There's No Business Like Show Business." After singing her siblings and two Native children to sleep with "Moonshine Lullaby," Annie's thrilled when Frank says he'll give her billing. They discuss how "They Say It's Wonderful" to be in love. Frank for his part can't believe "My Defenses are Down" and he's fallen for this straight-shooting hillbilly. Annie reprises "Show Business" in the spotlight in front of her image on the poster. Sitting Bull and his tribe literally kidnap her to appear in their big elaborate tribal dance. Annie seems more dazed by their "I'm an Indian Too" than anything.

Annie readily admits she's fallen for Frank, even if he isn't happy about her being a star. "I Got Lost In His Arms," she realizes when they arrive in New York. She sings "I Got the Sun In the Morning" with the crowd at the reception for Pawnee Bill's show after there's talk of merging the two Bills. She and Frank are less thrilled at their competition. Annie points out that "Anything You Can Do," she can do better - including trick shooting.

Trivia: This, too, was broadcast in color for those few who had color TVs in 1957. It was filmed at NBC's new color-equipped studios in Burbank and broadcast to New York. Unlike the Brooklyn studios, the Burbank Studios continue to be used for television filming, though they're no longer owned by NBC.

This would get a TV remake in 1967 based around the 1966 Lincoln Center revival, this time with original stage star Ethel Merman. Alas, that version remains lost at the moment other than one brief clip of her singing "I Got the Sun In the Morning." 

What I Don't Like: First of all, the problems inherent in most versions of Annie pertain to this one, too. It still doesn't treat women and especially Natives well. The Native Americans are still played for comic relief, the lyrics on "I'm an Indian Too" are still condescending, and it's obvious even in the black and white kinetoscope currently available that they're all played by white actors in bad red makeup. It's also very far from historically accurate. In real life, Annie was a soft-spoken and gentle woman who did needlepoint, and Frank quickly realized she was the better shot and stepped down to become her manager. 

Martin is too dainty and feminine to make a great Annie. She does better after Annie cleans up than in the opening when she's supposed to be a hillbilly. Though this does retain the characters of Winnie Tate and Tommy Keller, it eliminates their songs "I'll Share It All With You" and "Who Do You Love, I Hope?" leaving Barbara Luckey and Norman Edwards with nothing to do. And yeah, this is obviously a TV production, with cardboard sets and minimal movement besides two good dance routines on "I've Got the Sun In the Morning" and "I'm an Indian Too." 

The Big Finale: If you love Martin or Annie Get Your Gun, this is worth seeing as a recording of most of the original show prior to that 1966 revamp. 

Home Media: It is on DVD and Blu-Ray, but VAI's discs tend to be expensive. Your best bet currently may be YouTube.

DVD

Blu-Ray

YouTube

Musicals on TV - Satins and Spurs

NBC, 1954

Starring Betty Hutton, Kevin McCarthy, Guy Raymond, and Gus Chandler

Directed by Max Liebman and Charles O'Curran

Music by Jay Livingston; Lyrics by Ray Evans

Westerns and musicals ruled the airwaves during television's first flush of popularity in the 50's and 60's. Prime-time was saturated with every variation on the oater you could imagine, from kids' shows to hard-hitting dramatic westerns to satires of them. Musicals too were at their zenith in the mid-50's. Most of the television industry still centered around New York then, making it easy to bring in stage stars and film scenes from the latest Broadway smash. Westerns and musicals came together for the first 90 minute color "spectacular," featuring movie comedienne Betty Hutton as a cowgirl who falls for a photographer. How does this look today? Let's begin on a very stage-bound Broadway and find out...

The Story: Rodeo rider Cindy Smathers (Hutton) and her cowhands Tex (Raymond) and Dick (Josh Wheeler) have come to New York to play a big rodeo at Madison Square Garden. Cindy's manager Ollie (Edwin Phillips) insists on her doing a big publicity stunt for her show. Life Magazine sends photographer Tony Barton (McCarthy) and his assistant Ursula (Mary Ellen Kay) to do an extensive photo shoot on a cowgirl loose in the big city. Loud, brash Cindy isn't like the haughty models Tony is used to dealing with, and Cindy's tired of Tony complaining about her not being a lady. Love - and Life Magazine - win out when Cindy sees her picture in the papers and realizes that maybe New York and Tony aren't so bad after all.

The Song and Dance: Hutton tries her hardest with the fluffy story in this live show. She's obviously having a ball, whether she's singing about her grandfather's exploits in the Wild West or trying to learn how to talk "fancy" from a record. Some of the mid-50's costumes are gorgeous, too, especially those evening gowns and ballet dresses at the fashion house, not to mention Hutton's spangled cowgirl costumes and her heavily beaded poncho that she calls a dressing gown. Her idea of being "slinky" is hilarious, too. 

Favorite Number: We open with a jazzy ballet depicting everyday New Yorkers in Times Square, including three gamblers and their ladies. This leads straight into Cindy's entrance with her boys, "We're a Different Kind." They stick out like a sore thumb in their glittery western outfits, brandishing their pistols as a brass band joins in at Madison Square Garden. Cindy jumps up and down on the bed in her hotel room as she tells Tony and Ursula about her grandfather "Wildcat Smathers," to their general shock and annoyance.

Cindy arrives at the big fashion house in time for a showing of evening gowns that turns into an elegant ballet, with three young women introducing gowns called "Ballerina." Cindy and her boys are more interested in tell them how she may be a cowgirl but "A Girl Is Still a Girl." Genevieve, a real-life French chanteuse, appropriately sings a French number at the night club, "Donne-Moi." The high-class night club crowd is less impressed with Cindy's brayed "Little Rock Rhythm and Roll." Her flop there leads Cindy and Tony into the combative "I've Had Enough of You." 

Upset after Tony tries to turn her into a lady, Cindy wanders into a rainstorm, watching happy couples and sadly lamenting "Nobody Cares." Tex reprises "Little Rock Rhythm," first with a country group, then as a jazzier instrumental number for a group of far hipper dancers at a local restaurant. Tex takes over again,  his eccentric dance bringing it back to country. Dick puts out a far gentler desire to be "Back Home" for the group. Tony finally convinces Cindy that "You're So Right for Me"in a charming duet. It ends with the now-Broadway star Cindy performing the big finale "Hey Boys" with a group of tap-dancing sailors. Hutton concludes everything by stepping out of character to reprise "You're So Right for Me" in front of the camera.

Trivia:  The show concludes with Steve Allen taking the audience around the then-new NBC color studios in Brooklyn. NBC would continue to film programming at those studios until 2014. The buildings are now a children's home and family services and a self-storage facility. 

Yes, this was originally broadcast in color for those very few who had it in 1954. 

What I Don't Like: This looks less like a TV spectacular and more like something a couple of producers threw together to fill air time between bigger shows. Some of the songs are charming and the costumes - what little can be seen of them in the degrading kinetoscope copy at YouTube - are lovely, but the sets are obviously fake with absolutely no real New York flavor. Most of the numbers go on for too long, and the big dance pieces and that random ballet at the fashion show feel tacked on and have nothing to do with anything.

McCarthy has all the charm of a dead fish, acts about as well as one, and has no chemistry with Hutton. He would work out far better back in Hollywood two years later as the scientist who discovers the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Hutton, for her part, is trying too hard. Her brash personality is way too big for the small screen. The big screen could barely contain it in the 40's. Much like her character here, she was just too noisy and rowdy for the genteel TV audiences of the 1950's. 

The Big Finale: TV history aside, unless you're a really huge fan of Hutton or the big, brash comic musicals of the 50's and 60's, I'd pass on this one. 

Home Media: Only available in a degrading and washed-out copy on YouTube at the moment.

YouTube

Musicals On TV - Bloomer Girl

NBC, 1956

Starring Barbara Cook, Keith Andes, Carmen Matthews, and Paul Ford

Directed by Alex Segal

Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by E.Y Harburg

Operetta was not normally Harburg and Arlen's turf, but Harburg in particular was a passionate liberal who supported his many causes in his music. Cook was the next big thing on Broadway when this show debuted, having just come off the short-lived but well-remembered Candide and a year before her breakthrough in The Music Man. How well does she do in this recording of the 1944 Broadway hit about the fictional niece of real-life feminist and early black rights supporter Amelia "Dolly" Bloomer (Matthews)? Let's begin with the five older Applegate sisters and their mother Serena (Nydia Westman) and maid Daisy (Patricia Hammerlee) as they wait for their hoopskirt salesmen husbands to come home to Cicero Falls, New York in 1861 and find out...

The Story: Those five older Applegate sisters may be content to marry salesmen and sit around in hoopskirts, but that's not enough for youngest sister Evelina (Cook). She thoroughly believes in her Aunt Dolly Bloomer's (Matthews) views on women's and black rights, including the right to more comfortable clothing. Her frustrated father (Ford), the owner of a hoopskirt factory, encourages southern gentleman Jeff Calhoun (Andes) to court her. Evelina will have nothing to do with him until he frees his slave Pompey (Rawn Spearman). 

Jeff's more than happy to do so at first, until his brother Hamilton (Frank Overton), who thoroughly believes in the right to own slaves, protests. Evelina's father is even more upset when his daughter turns up in bloomers on a Sunday and insists on her aunt's right to perform Uncle Tom's Cabin with her girls. The women end up in jail, until Governor Newton (Paul McGrath) admits he supports their cause and lets the show go on. The show - and Evelina and Jeff's relationship - is disrupted by the Civil War. The war, however, brings many positive changes, including making Jeff see the light about the importance of freedom for all.

The Song and Dance: By far the best things about this are the period-perfect costumes and the rare chance to see Cook in her prime and Agnes deMille's original choreography, including the dramatic and much-lauded "Civil War Ballet." Cook is an adorable whirlwind, coquettish with Jeff, then easily standing up to her father and the sheriff in defence of her aunt and the causes she supports. Matthews is just as strong-willed as her aunt, and Ford is a blustery delight as her conservative father. Considering how wonderful the dancing is here, I really wish more of it had been retained. Love the costumes, too. We have full-on, period-accurate hoopskirts and bloomers for the ladies, tight suits and Civil War uniforms for the men, and tattered clothing for the slaves and black men who sing "I Got a Song."

Favorite Number: We open with "When the Boys Come Home" as the Applegate sisters and mother await the arrival of their salesmen husbands. Jeff sings about his "Evelina," but Evelina isn't impressed. Dolly, Daisy, and the Bloomer girls who work at Dolly's newspaper claim "It Was Good Enough for Grandma," but they want a lot more than sitting at home in a lively, adorable dance. Pompey declares "The Eagle and Me" equally deserve freedom. For Jeff and Evelina, everything is "Right as the Rain." 

"Sunday In Cicero Falls" starts off quietly for the chorus, until Dolly and her girls come high-stepping along with an encore of "Good Enough for Grandma" to advertise Uncle Tom's Cabin. "I Got a Song," says Pompey and two of his friends as they explain that they can't laugh, but they can sing. Dolly and Evelina sing a "Lullaby" to the ladies while in prison. Daisy prances to the upbeat "I Never Was Born" while dressed as Topsy for the Cabin production, blackface and all. The brief "Man for Sale," with an auctioneer (David Aiken) "selling" off a black man during the show. It's interrupted by the announcement of the Civil War, which leads into the stirring "Civil War Ballet." James Marshall leads the dance corps, many from the 1944 show, as they depict the men going to war, and what happens when they come home.

Trivia: Bloomer Girl ran a year and a half on Broadway in its original production, respectable for the time. Celeste Holm played Evelina; Dooley Wilson was Pompey. Its only New York stagings since then were a brief City Center revival in 1947, an off-Broadway revival in 2000, and an Encores! concert in 2001.

Brock Peters has a small role as Pompey's friend Alexander; he can be heard in "I Got a Song" and "Man for Sale." He would go on to star as Crown in the 1959 Porgy and Bess, the wrongfully accused Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, and as Joseph Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

Amelia "Dolly" Bloomer was a real-life feminist and abolitionist who lived in small-town upstate New York and advocated freer, looser clothing for women and did run a newspaper advocating her causes in the 1850's. By 1859, she'd actually moved to Iowa and had resumed wearing longer skirts, since hoopskirts and heavy petticoats were being replaced by that point by crinolines. 

What I Don't Like: There's a few reasons this is rarely seen nowadays, despite the wonderful music and dance and still-relevant subject matter. Some of the dialogue, especially concerning African-American rights, comes off as condescending or overly stiff today. There's also the second half hinging around a performance of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Though it's downplayed from the original show, where it was a major set piece that included an expanded "Man for Sale" and a sequence derived from Eliza crossing the ice, we still get Hammerlee's too-goofy blackface "I Never Was Born" number. 

The Uncle Tom's Cabin sequence wasn't the only one to be cut down for television. Most of the other dance routines were dropped as well, along with numbers for Evelina's brothers-in-law and the men in Cicero Falls ("The Farmer's Whiskers," "Pretty as a Picture"), a solo for Daisy ("T'Morra, T'Morra"), and a third duet for Evelina and Jeff ("Rakish Young Man With the Whiskers"). Also, basic warning that this is a fuzzy black-and-white recording of a show originally broadcast live and in color. Considering how many such shows have been lost to time, we're lucky to have this at all.

The Big Finale: The terrific music and ballets and the fact that this doesn't turn up often onstage nowadays makes this rare program worth checking out for fans of Cook, Harburg and Arlen, or the folksy Americana shows of the 40's and 50's. 

Home Media: It's in print, but like all VAI International DVD releases, is expensive online. You're better off checking eBay or other used venues for this.

DVD

Musicals On TV - Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert (2018)

NBC, 2018

Starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Alice Cooper

Directed by David Levereux and Alex Rudzinski

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Tim Rice

Of course, The Passion was far from the first rock musical retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus Christ Superstar remains one of Webber's most popular shows...but it's also fairly controversial for its depiction of the Crucifixion as a modern rock opera. Does that approach work with a live TV musical, or were audiences right to avoid this one? Let's begin on a bare stage of pipes and wood, as the cast comes out for their performance, and find out...

The Story: Jesus (Legend) is the most popular among God's disciples. Judas (Dixon) worries he's gotten too popular. He's forgotten his mission to spread hope among the poor, and worries his outspoken followers could attract the Roman legions. Judas isn't crazy about his relationship with wordly Mary Magadeline (Bareilles), either. Mary's not worried, but it turns out Jesus and Judas have a good reason for concern. Several priests think Jesus may be priming the people for rebellion, and Jesus himself is becoming overwhelmed with the people's demands. Judas turns him in to the Romans, and he's condemned to die by King Herod (Cooper) and governor Pontias Pilate (Ben Daniels). Jesus knows, however, that even if they kill him on a cross,  his followers will never forget him.

The Song and Dance: This is more like it. This is a fully live staging, with excellent performances across the board. Legend is powerful enough to make you understand why his people follow him, but gentle and kind with Mary. Bareilles is a lovely Mary; her two tender solos are a highlight. The simple and intimate production allowed for an immediacy and an intensity that you don't get from the epic film or many more lavish stage versions. 

Favorite Number: We open with "Heaven on Their Minds" as Judas admits his concerns to Jesus. His followers wonder "What's the Buzz?" while Jesus and Mary comment on these "Strange Things Mystifying." Mary insists "Everything is Alright," but the guys are more worried. Priest Caiaphus (Norm Lewis) hears Jesus sing "Hosanna" and wishes he wasn't quite so popular. "I Don't Know How to Love Him," admits wordly Mary when she admits she has her own fears about Jesus. 

Jesus, Judas, and their followers sit down to "The Last Supper," which takes a turn for the tragic when Jesus reveals that someone among them is a traitor in "Gesthesmane (I Only Want to Say)." Alice Cooper's big number is the vaudevillian "King Herod's Song," complete with showgirls who try to tempt Jesus. Mary and Saint Peter (Jason Tam) ask "Could We Start Again, Please?" before the trial. The show ends with the rock standard "Superstar" as Judas points out his friend was born in the wrong time period, right before "The Crucifixion."

Trivia: NBC ran the show again on Easter 2020. Though it went over well with critics, it wasn't popular with audiences during either of its runs, possibly due to the dark themes and lack of stars. 

What I Don't Like: This show has always been controversial, thanks to its depictions of Jewish priests as the bad guys and religion as a rock concert. If that offends you, don't go here. This is also a rock opera, with no spoken dialogue. It's not for folks who aren't rock fans, or who are looking for a more typical and upbeat fling. 

It's not for fans of bigger shows, either. This is not a lavish, star-filled extravaganza, It's performed on a bare, industrial metal and pipe stage, with everyone in normal modern clothes except for Cooper and his girls. 

The Big Finale: Terrific Easter viewing for fans of rock, Webber, or those who are looking for something different and intense after Easter dinner and don't mind the controversial themes. 

Home Media: Currently found only on DVD.

DVD

Musicals On TV - The Passion: New Orleans

Fox, 2016

Starring Jencarlos, Trisha Yearwood, Sean Daughtery, and Tyler Perry

Directed by David Grifhorst

Music and Lyrics by various

This one stems from an unusual source. This retelling of the Passion Play as a jukebox musical featuring current songs began as a BBC special set in Manchester in 2006. From there, it became an annual event in the Netherlands, played as a musical drama in different Dutch cities. It came over to the US in March 2016 as Fox's second live "event" musical after the wildly successful Grease Live. Does it live up to that show, or should it be sent to prison? Let's begin at a concert in New Orleans with black movie director and impresario Perry and find out...

The Story: Jesus (Jencarlos) is an extremely popular carpenter in New Orleans. He tells his best friends at their last supper together that he believes one of them will betray him. Sadly, he's very right. Judas Escariot (Daughtery) turns him in for the reward money. Though his mother Mary (Yearwood) believes in him, he's put on a sham of a trial by governor Pontieus Pilate (Seal). His rebirth, however, becomes a catalyst for his followers to carry on his legacy.

The Song and Dance: Some decent performances here, mainly from Seal as the judgmental governor, with some of the most passionate singing of the night, and Daughtery as the conflicted Judas. The sequences filmed in New Orleans itself shows off the city fairly well, especially the Last Supper. The Resurrection, staged on top of the Westin New Orleans, was also fairly effective thanks to its use of a powerful chorus. 

Favorite Number: We open with Jesus and his followers on the New Orleans waterfront, banding together for "Love Can Move Mountains." Jesus insists to Peter that this will always be his "Home," and even when he's not there, he's still with him. Jesus gathers his followers "With Arms Wide Open" and questions his own faith with "Calling All Angels." Judas does some questioning of his own in "Bring Me to Life." It's his "Demons" that ultimately come between him and Jesus when the cops come in during the Last Supper. 

Young fisherman Peter (Prince Royce) wonders what "The Reason" for all this is while repeatedly claiming he has no idea who Jesus is. Trisha Yearwood gets four solos of her own on the mainstage as Mary recalls her son's birth and worries about his future, "My Love Is Your Love," "I Won't Give Up," "Broken" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." Pilate reveals why he sentenced Jesus in "We Don't Need Another Hero" at the trial and "Mad World" afterwards.

What I Don't Like: First of all, despite the title, this isn't a fully live musical. The segments in other parts of New Orleans were pre-recorded, and are edited awkwardly with the live segments. Most of the other performances are deadly dull. Jencarlos looks and sounds less like a poor carpenter and more like a guy on his way to Starbucks to hang with his buddies. Yearwood never interacts with the rest of the cast, which makes her songs sound disjointed. Some of the song choices are a little odd. "Walk Alone" is an old Rogers and Hammerstein number that sounds a bit out of place among the rock songs, and some of the rock songs are clearly ballads with little relation to anything religious. Tyler Perry's narration is mostly wooden and dull, though he does perk up when describing the gruesome Crusefixtion. 

The Big Finale: In the end, this is really more of a concert with a story than a musical, and is really too disjointed to be good. Interesting enough time-waster at Easter if you want to see another version of the Passion Play or are a fan of any of the stars involved. 

Home Media: Easy to find on DVD and streaming; the latter is currently free with commercials on Tubi.

DVD

Tubi

Musicals On TV - Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration

Disney, 2022

Starring H.E.R, Josh Grogan, Joshua Henry, and Rita Moreno

Directed by Hamish Hamilton

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice

This is Disney's second shot at a hybrid live action-animated special after their Little Mermaid from 2019. Beauty and the Beast actually turned 30 last year, but no matter. It remains one of Disney's most beloved films, and one of their biggest properties. The live-action version was a smash in 2017; the Broadway stage show ran for 13 years and turns up frequently in regional theaters. How does this version measure up to those? Let's start with Groban and the chorus as they perform a prologue showing how the Prince became the Beast and find out...

The Story: Belle (H.E.R) feels out of place in her small French village. She's too intelligent for most of the peasants, including boastful hunter Gaston (Henry). After her eccentric inventor father Maurice (Jon Jon Briones) stumbles into the Beast's castle, Belle agrees to trade her life for his. All of the Beast's servants, who were turned into household objects, hope to bring the two together...but Gaston and his buddy LaFou (Rizwan Manji) are determined to force Belle to marry the muscle-bound lunk, whether she wants to or not.

The Song and Dance: Disney not only went all-out on this, they did a somewhat better job of integrating the animated and live-action sequences than they did with Little Mermaid. It's especially apparent in the opening, where we see Belle's original animator at work in the Disney Studios. Sketches blown through the door take us and Belle out into the courtyard, where the real story begins. I liked seeing the original sketches and some of the voice cast at work in between numbers, too. And the dedication to Mrs. Potts' original voice artist Angela Lansbury (who passed away in October) at the end of the title song was so sweet. 

Speaking of Twain, she ended up being the biggest surprise of the show. She made a warm and friendly Mrs. Potts, and her rendition of the title song was stunning. Martin Short and David Alan Grier had fun the few times they were allowed to interact as Lumiere and Cogsworth (despite the off-and-on French accent from the former). H.E.R was not only a lovely Belle, but is likely the only version of that character to ever get to play her title song on electric guitar. 

Favorite Number: As mentioned, they did a great job with the opening number "Belle." Sketches of the village provide the backdrop in the Animation Courtyard for the lavishly costumed characters as they sing about their day. There's even children "sheep" for Belle to read to. 

The reprise of "Belle" now celebrates all women who wish they could be so much more, as Belle imagines the women and girls of the town dancing with her. Disney hasn't done the pub stomp "Gaston" wrong yet. The hilarious paean to Gaston's over-the-top masculinity is as much of a hoot as it is in the animated and live-action movies, with Gaston knocking the table down and lifting a beer barrel barbell. "Something There" has an adorable touch with the kids dressed as birds dancing with Belle...but the Beast's stylized costume makes it hard to get any expression or figure out what he's singing. 

"Be Our Guest" is just as colorful here as it is in the film. I suspect the disembodied hands in the table tossing the food around may be a reference to the invisible servants in some versions of the original fairy tale. The amazing costumes here are particular stand outs, with candles popping out of tables and Short manically jumping all over. The title song is done simply, with Twain singing it over the animated sequence, but it does come off as a touch of elegance. Groban gets the equally elegant ballad "Evermore" as the Beast wishes he could figure out how to get Belle to love him.

Trivia: "Evermore" is from the live-action film. 

Look for Paige O'Hara (the original voice of Belle) as the book seller and Richard White (the voice of Gaston) as the baker in the "Belle" number. Composer Alan Menken can be seen as the piano-playing peasant in the opening and playing "Beauty and the Beast" with Twain. 

What I Don't Like: The animated sequences are somewhat better-integrated...but they're still there, and they're still not necessary. Disney does the live portions so well, I wish they'd go all the way and make a fully-live musical that doesn't rely on animation. The stagy numbers don't work with the animation, and the animation often undercuts the stage routines. And I love Rita Moreno much as the next woman, but you could see the bits with the actors recording their roles and the sketches on the DVDs for the animated films. Once again, it takes away from the live show. Disney needs to either do the stage show, or just show the animated movie, not both.

The Big Finale: In the end, while I liked this somewhat better than The Little Mermaid Live, I still think it's mainly for huge fans of Beauty and the Beast or Disney. Everyone else is fine with the live-action or animated versions. 

Home Media: It can currently be found streaming on Disney-owned ABC, Hulu, and Disney Plus, the latter two with subscriptions.

ABC

Disney Plus

Hulu

Musicals On TV - The Little Mermaid Live!

Disney/ABC, 2019

Starring Auli'i Cravalho, Graham Phillips, Queen Latifah, and Shaggy

Directed by Hamish Hamilton

Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater

Disney took its sweet time getting into the live musical craze. It was 2017 before they announced a live version of their beloved 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid as ABC's next big special. Technical difficulties caused it to be pushed off the schedule for two years, until it finally made it to the air in November 2019 in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original film. With another live-action Mermaid coming out next year, how does this initial attempt at doing the story with living actors fare? Let's begin with dancing sailors singing about the stories of mermaids and fantastical creatures who live in the "Mysterious Fathoms Below" and find out...

The Story: Ariel (Cravalho) is a mermaid who lives under the sea, but she longs to see the world on land. After she falls for the human Prince Eric (Phillips), she goes to the sea witch Ursula (Queen Latifah) to give her legs. Ursula will, but for the price of her beautiful voice. Eric only heard her sing and doesn't recognize her as a human. Now she and her friends Flounder the fish, Skuttle the seagull, and Sebastian the crab (Shaggy) have to find a way to prove to Eric she's the real deal, whether she can sing about it or not.

The Song and Dance: I really wish Disney didn't chicken out on the technical problems and went full-on live with this. What we see of the physical production is gorgeous and creative, with some nifty costumes for the mermaids and Ursula and incredible oversized sets. The split "If Only" ballad for Ariel and Eric, showing her wishing she could sing for him in her bedroom while he's "outside" on the other side, was very well done. 

Favorite Number: "Mysterious Fathoms Below" turns the opening number into an elaborately choreographed routine for Prince Eric and his sailors as he returns home and they tell him about mermaids and their siren voices. Amber Reily introduces the "Daughters of Triton" in their flashy sequined mermaid costumes. Cravalho pours her heart into a lovely "Part of Your World" in a beautifully recreated and detailed underwater grotto. "Under the Sea" has Shaggy in a simple red jacket wiggling through pure chaos as we see everything from acrobats on the ceiling to puppet fish to people in huge foam fish costumes playing "the toot of soul." 

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" is staged largely the same as in the film, with a gold light representing Ariel's voice and two huge puppets standing in for Ursula's eels. Making their debuts here are "Her Voice," a touching solo for Eric after Grimsby reminds him that he's just chasing a fantasy, and "If Only," a duet for Ariel and Eric where he wishes he could find that dream girl, and she wishes she could tell him. "Les Poissons" becomes a huge dance routine for everyone in the kitchen as they chase huge crabs in foam costumes for dinner, including John Stamos as the crazed Chef Louis.

Trivia: "If Only," "Her Voice," and the reprise of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" are from the stage Little Mermaid that debuted on Broadway in 2007. 

What I Don't Like: Once again, I really wish Disney had gone full-on live. As much as I enjoy the animated film, it really takes away from the stage production. They either should have let the stage show stand on its own, or ditched the live version permanently and just re-ran the animated film. It's too bad, because some of the performances are excellent. Latifiah in particular has a ball as Ursula, and Cravalaho makes a charming and sweet Ariel.

The Big Finale: This is cute, but could have been so much more. You're better off showing your kids the animated film again and waiting for the live-action version to come out next year. 

Home Media: Streaming exclusive at the moment. Disney Plus has it with a subscription.

Disney Plus

Musicals On TV - A Christmas Story Live!

Fox, 2017

Starring Andy Walken, Maya Rudolph, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Tyler Wladis

Directed by Scott Ellis and Alex Rudzinski

Music by Benji Pasak; Lyrics by Justin Paul

Jean Shephard was a humorist best known for his home-spun reminisces of his childhood in Indiana in the 1940's on the radio and in print. His In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash became the movie A Christmas Story in 1983. It was a major flop in theaters, but the simple homespun comedy about one normal boy's quest for the ultimate Christmas present became a staple of cable and home video...so much, that TNT and TBS still run the original 24 hours from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day. How does this retelling of the stage musical from 2012 compare? Let's begin with an older Ralphie (Matthew Broderick) as he recalls Christmas the way it was when he was a kid and find out...

The Story: All Ralphie Parker (Walken) wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB Gun (with a compass and a stock and a thing which tells time). He first tries to ask his mother (Rudolph), but she's not big on the idea of guns to begin with. He then writes about it in a paper for his teacher Mrs. Shields (Jane Krakowski), but she gives it a low grade. Even Santa (David Alan Grier) seems reluctant to let Ralphie have his dream gift. His Old Man (Diamantopoulos) is too busy fighting with the neighborhood dogs and obsessing over his "major award" to pay much attention to Ralphie's desires...and Ralphie may not survive childhood pitfalls like bullies and accidentally blurting bad words long enough to make it to Christmas Day!

The Song and Dance: This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be from the reviews. The kids are the real winners here. Not only are they all amazing singers and dancers, but they seem natural as normal school kids in 1939 Indiana. Some of Ralphie's fantasy sequences featuring his classmates bring Bugsy Malone, another musical set in the 30's featuring a lot of talented kids, to mind. Walken and Wladis are just about perfect as the Parker boys; Sammy Ramirez and JJ Batteast are hilarious as Ralphie's best friends Schwartz and Flick, too. Terrific costumes and sets perfect recreate 1939 small-town Indiana, especially the huge one for Higbee's Department Store. 

Favorite Number: Ralphie, his family, and everyone in Hohman reveal their hopes and wishes for the holidays as "It All Comes Down to Christmas" and the revealing of Higbee's front window displays. Ralphie's father declares himself to be "The Genius of Cleveland Street" in a spoof of radio game shows when he enters a crossword contest. His wife is less impressed, especially when his "Major Award" turns out to be a plastic lamp shaped like a leg in a fishnet stocking. After dealing with the bullies, the kids explain that you have to be on your toes "When You're a Wimp." It's "Ralphie to the Rescue" in a drawn-out fantasy sequence where he saves his teacher from gangsters and his family and school mates from bandits. Ms. Shields leads the kids in the 30's movie musical spoof reminding Ralphie that "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" after he sees his grade. 

Mrs. Parker has two lovely solos, "What a Mother Does" as she shows us her many duties around the household, and "Just Like That" as she assures Ralphie after his fight with Scut Farkas that this will all pass, and he'll be fine. "At Higbee's" and "Up on Santa's Lap" is the big number with the kids trying - and frequently failing - to tell Santa what they want. Ralphie and Randy hope to settle their parents' quarrel by fixing the broken leg lamp themselves "Before the Old Man Gets Home." The Parkers finally decide it's been "A Christmas Story" for the ages in the heartfelt finale. 

Trivia: A Christmas Story: The Musical debuted on Broadway in 2012 as a limited run through November and December. It reappeared the next year at Madison Square Garden, once again in a limited run. To my knowledge, it hasn't been back to New York since, but the national tour has continued every holiday season, and it's popular with regional theaters around Christmas.

What I Don't Like: The adults don't work out nearly as well as the kids. Randolph's good as Mrs. Parker, but Diamantopoulos is less gruff than you'd like as Ralphie's old man. Krakowski's a bit too much of a ditz to be teaching a class full of kids who stick tongues on cold poles, too, and Grier overdoes the jerk Santa to the point of being annoying. Broderick's narration works better on the big screen, where you can't see him, than it does when he's doing it right there. And at three hours, this movie is way, way too long. Some of the musical numbers should have been trimmed, especially Ralphie's two big fantasy sequences. 

The Big Finale: It won't displace the the original, but it's a fun one-time watch on Christmas Eve for families and fans of the film with a spare two and a half hours on their hands. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Family Fun Saturday - Annie Live! (2021)

NBC/Sony, 2021

Starring Celina Smith, Harry Connick Jr, Taraji P. Henson, and Nicole Scherzinger

Directed by Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski

Music by Charles Strouse; Lyrics by Martin Charnin

Live TV musicals made a tentative comeback at the end of 2020 with a live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (which we'll look at later this month). NBC went with Annie, which given its family-friendly pedigree and Christmas settling, was a perfect fit for their next project. Is the fourth time the charm for the beloved 1977 musical? Let's begin onstage at Bethpage, New York, as a group of girls prepare one to play the ultimate orphan, and find out...

The Story: Annie (Smith) is an orphan in 1933 Manhattan who is determined to find her birth parents. She's constantly escaping from the orphanage where she lives, but the police always find her and bring her back to drunk and abusive Miss Hannigan (Henson). Shortly after one such incident, Grace Farrell (Scherzinger), the secretary of billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Connick Jr), comes to the orphanage looking for a child to live with Warbucks for the holiday. She's taken with Annie's spunk and chooses her.

Warbucks, who wanted a boy, is a bit reluctant at first, but he too eventually warms up to Annie and even tries to adopt her. Annie insists that her parents are still out there, prompting Warbucks to launch a national search to find them. Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan's con-artist brother Rooster (Tituss Burgess) and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Megan Hilty) come up with a scheme of their own that'll get their hands on Warbucks' cash.

The Song and Dance: We get a real "new deal" with a show that's tailor-made for a small screen family audience. Smith is a charming and sassy Annie, Henson's an especially wacky Miss Hannigan, and Hilty and Burgess are appropriately oily as the conniving criminal couple. (And Hilty was a last-minute replacement for an ailing Jane Krakowski.) The costumes beautifully convey both the uptown mansion glamor and downtown squalor of Manhattan in the early Depression era. 

I also appreciate that this is the first airing of the full stage score, including the chorus numbers "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" and "A New Deal for Christmas" that were dropped from previous screen versions. We even get the two best numbers written for the 1982 film, "Sign!" and "We Got Annie." 

Favorite Number: "It's a Hard-Knock Life" gets a terrific run-through early on as the girls make their beds and do silly imitations of Miss Hannigan to start their day. Annie wanders among hobos and fruit sellers displaced by the Depression who bitterly claim "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" for destroying their way of life. Henson gets "Little Girls" even as they drive her crazier. Warbucks shows Annie how wonderful "NYC" is as he and Grace explore the town with her, even as a "star to be" (McKenzie Kurtz) claims she'll soon be famous. 

Burgess, Henson, and Hilty really get into "Easy Street," while Scherzinger makes the most of her two big chorus numbers with Warbucks' staff, "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" and "We Got Annie." The second version of "Tomorrow" as Annie leads Congress (including real-life polio survivor)  Connick Jr. hits the piano for the ballad "Something Was Missing," and the little girls have a ball with their adorable kick line to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." 

What I Don't Like: There's a few technical gaffs; the kids are sometimes hard to hear, and it's pretty obvious that the tall New York sets means some audience members can't see the show.  Connick sings and plays well (his "Something Was Missing" is lovely), but otherwise lacks the gruff authority needed to put over a mercurial businessman. Everything moved a little too fast, especially in the beginning, skipping past needed information (like how that cop caught Annie) and barely leaving time for the cast to catch their breath, and went on for a little too long. The finale made up for the lack of big action sequences with at least three endings too many, including how Sandy comes back.

The Big Finale: Some critics complained about this playing it too safe, but that might be what people need right now. While I still prefer the 1982 film, this is miles above the 2014 modernized remake and is probably on par with Disney's 1999 TV version (which we'll also see later this month). 

Home Media: To my knowledge, this is currently exclusive to NBC's website. 

NBC.com

Back to School Again - Grease Live!

Fox, 2016

Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Julienne Hough, Aaron Tveit, and Carlos PenaVega

Directed by Thomas Kali and Alex Rudzinski

Music and Lyrics by various 

Most of the live TV musicals made to this point were hit-or-miss. The Wiz went over well; Peter Pan didn't. The Sound of Music seemed to have been slightly better-received by audiences than critics. Fox took a chance on doing a remake of a beloved hit, one of the most popular musicals made in the last 40 years. How well did they pull it off? Let's start at the Warner Bros Studio in Burbank, California as singer Jesse J performs the title number and introduces us to the cast and find out...

The Story: It's September 1959, and Sandy Young (Hough) just moved from conservative Utah to sunny Burbank in time for the school year, after spending the summer falling for lifeguard Danny Zucco (Tveit). She befriends Frenchie (Carly Mae Jepson) on the first day. Frenchie introduces her to her friends, the Pink Ladies. Ultra-cool head of the group Rizzo (Hudgens) thinks she's "too pure to be pink" and too sweet to be hip. 

Danny seems to as well, at first. His buddies the T-Birds, Rydell's greaser gang, aren't sure what to think of Sandy. Frenchie's worried about getting through beauty school, while pretty and tough Marty (Keke Palmer) is more interested in playing pen-pal to the entire US Marine Corps. Rizzo's fed up with her immature boyfriend Kenickie (PenaVega), who is more interested in the car he's remodeling than her.

The Song and Dance: Neither rain nor the death of Vanessa Hudgens' father the day before could daunt this production. Everyone did a fabulous job. Kudos to Hudgens for her truly touching Rizzo, Hough as a lovely and affecting Sandy, and Palmer as sassy Marty. Wendall Pierce has a few funny moments as Coach Calhoun, especially dealing with Danny during "Those Magic Changes," and Ana Gastmeyer and Haneefa Wood are hilarious as Principal McGee and her overly enthusiastic secretary Blanche. The colorful costumes are perfect for the decade, and the complicated moving high school and bedroom sets won Emmys. They even manage to integrate the live audience watching the show as extras. They even corrected some problems I had with the original movie, like giving the rest of the cast more to do and re-adding a few stage songs dropped from the film. 

Favorite Number: We kick off with singer Jessie J performing "Grease (Is the Word)" in the real rain as we get a glimpse of the cast under bright red and yellow umbrellas. "Summer Nights" gives us Sandy and Danny's versions of what really happened during their summer romance on opposite sides of the gym. "Freddy My Love" is a dream sequence for Marty where she imagines herself singing for the USO in a slinky sequined dress, with the Pink Ladies in uniform providing background vocals. "Those Magic Changes" is originally a song composed by group musician Doody (Jordan Fisher), but turns into background for Danny's transformation from greaser into jock. Hughes pours her grief into an especially moving and effective "There are Worse Things I Could Do." 

Three big dance routines anchor the movie. The school dance has as much energy as the famous number from the original film. Boy group DCNE (featuring Joe Jonas) put out a vibrant "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" and "Born to Hand Jive" as everyone shows off some great choreography. The male dancers tear into "Greased Lightning," which makes up for sanitized lyrics with vibrant choreography and imaginative lighting effects. Sandy in particular makes the most of "You're the One That I Want," slinking around the school fair and knocking around the drooling boys with aplomb. 

Trivia: Didi Conn, who played Vi the Waitress, and Barry Pearl, who played National Bandstand producer Stan Weaver, were Frenchie and Doody in the original movie.

What I Don't Like: Tveit is a fine dancer and singer, but lacks John Travolta's irreplaceable charisma. The additional song "All I Need Is an Angel" was tossed in to show off pop singer Jepson's capabilities, but it and Boyz II Men's performance of "Beauty School Dropout" sound too 21st century for this very mid-20th-century story. The cast still look too old for the roles they're playing (though not to the degree of the original film), and though they try to integrate it a bit better, Sandy's about-face at the end is still a bit too sudden and, frankly, dated. (Apparently, there were audio problems on the original broadcast, but those seem to have been corrected or aren't as noticeable on the copy currently at Paramount Plus.)

The Big Finale: Grease is still the word, even 50 years later. Vibrant performances, a fabulous production, and terrific dancing makes this a must-see for fans of the cast, Grease, or live musicals. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats; as mentioned, it's currently on Paramount Plus with a subscription. (It's on Blu-Ray bundled with the other two Grease movies.)

DVD

Blu-Ray - The Grease Collection 

Paramount Plus 

Musicals On TV - A Christmas Carol (1954)

CBS, 1954
Starring Fredric March, Ray Middleton, Basil Rathbone, and Sally Fraiser
Directed by Ralph Levy
Music by Bernard Herrmann; Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson

This was the very first musical Christmas Carol made for television. Originally part of an anthology series called Shower of Stars, it proved to be such a hit, it was repeated at Christmas for the next two years and had a popular soundtrack album. How does this piece of holiday TV history stack up to other versions of this beloved tale? Let's join Scrooge (March) in his counting house to find out...

The Story: Ebeneezer Scrooge is the miserly owner of a loan company who hates Christmas and everything it stands for. He refuses to go to Christmas dinner with his nephew Fred (Middleton) or let his clerk Bob Cratchit (Bob Sweeney) have even a little bit of coal for stove. That night, the ghost of his former partner Marley (Rathbone) appears, insisting that two more ghosts will come to change his ways. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Fraiser) and Present (Middleton) takes him into his youth and to current London to visit Bob and his family, including his sickly son Tim (Christopher Cook). It's not until he realizes that the sweet boy may not live to see another holiday that he considers changing his views on charity and the holidays.

The Song and Dance: The most interesting thing about this one is the sheer history on display. The copy I have comes complete with the original commercials for Chrysler cars and the intros by William Lundigan and Mary Costa. Considering how many programs from the early years of television are gone for good, just having this in any shape is probably a treat, especially if you remember the original broadcasts or have any interest in the history of the mid-20th century. March isn't bad as Scrooge; Sweeney and Queenie Leonard are even better as the Cratchit parents.

This is also the only version of this story I've seen go the unique route of having Nephew Fred do a double turn as the Ghost of Christmas Present - and Scrooge does comment that the ghost resembles him.

Favorite Number: The chorus song "The Spirit of Christmas" is performed several times, including in the opening sequence and before the commercials. Belle (Fraiser, dubbed by Marilyn Horne) and Young Scrooge (Craig Hill) get a decent duet at Fezziwig's ball, "What am I Giving My Love For Christmas?"

Trivia: That's a young Bonnie Franklin as Martha Cratchit in the present segment.

This was originally broadcast in color, but the kinetoscopes currently available are only in black and white. It proved to be so popular, it would be rebroadcast in 1955 and 1956.

Basil Rathbone would play Scrooge in another TV musical two years later, The Stingiest Man In Town.

What I Don't Like: The story has been compressed to fit in an hour slot. The segment with the Ghost of Christmas Future has been eliminated all together - a bird leads Scrooge not to his own gravestone, but Tiny Tim's. The past is just Fezziwig's party, and Belle rejects him almost directly after their duet - frankly contradicting most of the song. Ironically, considering Fred's importance to the opening segment, his party is missing from the Present sequence. Despite that hit soundtrack, the music is really very boring (and March sings none of it).

The Big Finale: Only of interest to fans of March, A Christmas Carol, or early broadcast history. There are frankly much better versions of this story - including musical versions - out there.

Home Media: As a public domain film, it's easy found on DVD (the 1955 broadcast is also available).

DVD

Musicals On TV - Peter Pan (1960)

NBC, 1960
Starring Mary Martin, Cyril Ritchard, Joe E. Marks, and Maureen Bailey
Directed by Vincent J. Donehue
Music by Moose Charlap and Jules Styne; Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green

This was NBC's third go-around for this adaptation of the 1954 Broadway show. They broadcast live versions in 1955 and 1956, but this was their first taped showing. We saw Disney's animated retelling of this story back in January. How does a live-action version - with a woman playing Peter - look now? Let's head back to the Darling family's home in London and find out...

The Story: Wendy Darling (Bailey) loves telling her brothers Michael (Kent Fletcher) and John (Joey Trent) stories of Peter Pan (Martin) and his exploits in the magical island Neverland. Their father (Ritchard) isn't as amused by them, their noise, or their nursemaid dog, Nana. Mrs. Darling (Margalo Gilmore) says she frightened off a boy who flew in the window, but he won't hear it. Turns out the boy was Peter Pan himself, and he wants the shadow Nana got off him. After Wendy sews the shadow back on, he shows them all how to use the pixie dust from his fairy friend Tinkerbell and fly to Neverland.

Wendy is shot down by Peter's Lost Boys, who think she's a bird, almost as soon as she arrives. After Peter admonishes them that she's to be their mother, they build a home for her. Thankfully, she's fine. She even stops them from eating cakes that were left by Peter's adversary Captain Hook (Ritchard), admonishing that they aren't good for them. Having been foiled in that plot, Hook tries again, kidnapping Tiger Lilly the Indian princess (Sondra Lee), but Peter, and then her Indian braves, rescue her.

Wendy and Peter play mother and father, but Peter's sad song at this point reminds the Darlings of home. They want to go back, and the Lost Boys insist on coming with them. Peter has no desire to grow up and insists on remaining. Hook and his boys are still determined to get the Boy Who Won't Grow up and take him out for good, but Tinkerbell won't let that happen!

The Song and Dance: You'd think Martin, a middle-aged woman, would be creepy as Peter. She's actually a lot of fun, especially when she's goading Hook with "Mysterious Lady" or leading the Boys in capturing the Indians. Ritchard easily matches her as a hilariously mincing Captain Hook. There's some nifty choreography too, especially with Lee and the Indians right before the kids arrive and Hook and the pirates towards the end.

Favorite Number: Jerome Robbins' dances were recreated for the first three versions in all their rousing glory. "I'm Flying" has Peter showing the Darling children how to take off, and it's pure joy (even when you can see the wires in the flying harnesses). Richard, Joe E. Marks as Smee, and the pirates have a great time with all their numbers, especially "Hook's Tartanella" and "Captain Hook's Waltz" on the ship after they've captured the Lost Boys and Wendy. The Boys and Peter get the lilting "Wendy" as they put up her little home. The most iconic number besides "I'm Flying" may be "I Won't Grow Up," Peter and the Boys' rousing manifesto as they seek adventure and claim they'll always remain young and have fun.

There's two lovely lullabies here. Mrs. Darling sings "Tender Shepard" to her children as she sets them down to sheep, just prior to Peter's arrival. "Distant Melody" is Peter's response to a request for a song as he gently explains why he wants to remain a child.

Trivia: Peter Pan debuted on Broadway in 1954, with Martin and Ritchard in the lead roles. The show was actually closed early to film for television with its original cast in 1955, and again in 1956. It was even more successful in a 1979 revival with Sandy Duncan. Gymnast Cathy Ridgby made several short-lived appearances in Broadway revivals throughout the 90's. Her last appearance was filmed in 2000. Peter Pan showed up in another live NBC broadcast with Allison Williams as Peter and Christopher Walken as Hook in 2014.

What I Don't Like: While the campy Indians depicted here are slightly less offensive than the ones in the Disney version (their big song sticks to nonsense lyrics like "ugga wugga meatball"), they're still obviously white dancers playing Native Americans in stereotypical costumes. I find Martin to be charming and funny, if a bit noisy, but some folks may think her too old or creepy for the role. Older TV prints cut a reprise of "Wendy" and a dance sequence with the housemaid Eliza and the animals of Never Land.

The Big Finale: Worth seeing for Martin and Ritchard's performances and the spirited choreography alone.

Home Media: The 1960 broadcast is currently DVD-only.

DVD

Musicals On TV - The Sound of Music Live

NBC/Universal, 2013
Starring Carrie Underwood, Stephan Moyer, Christine Bennati, and Audra McDonald
Directed by Rob Ashford and Beth McCarthy-Miller
Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein

Hoping to promote more live events, NBC made The Sound of Music their big holiday special for 2013. At the time, it was a big gamble. A live musical hadn't been seen on television since the 1960's. Not only that, but their staging was based on the original Broadway show, using only one of the songs from the film. How well did they do? Let's return to those famous Austrian hills...or a stage approximation...to find out...

The Story: Maria Rainer (Underwood) is a novice nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Austria, but she's too spirited for the order. The Mother Superior (McDonald) sends her to be a governess to the stern Captain Von Trapp (Moyer) and his seven children. The Captain uses a whistle to call them and expects Maria to do the same, but she gives them respect and plays music with them instead, gaining their trust. The Captain comes home to discover his children and Maria are running around in clothes she made from her discarded curtains. He dismisses her after she points out that he barely knows his children...but changes his mind when he hears the children singing for his good friend Max Detweiller (Christian Borle) and fiancee Countess Elsa Schrader (Benatti).

He holds a party for them and dances a lander, an Austrian national dance, with Maria. Realizing she's in love with him. Maria runs off, but the Mother Abbess realizes she's hiding and sends her back. Meanwhile, the kids are upset and no longer feel like singing, and the Captain is disgusted by Max and Elsa constantly insisting that he should go along with the Nazis and their taking over Europe. Maria says she'll stay until they can find another governess, but the Captain has realizes that he loves her.

The Nazis invade Austria while they're on their honeymoon. When they return, they discover that Max has entered the family into the Kaltzenburg Festival and the Captain has been commissioned into the German Navy. Maria convinces the Nazis to let them sing at the festival...but it'll take all their know-how, and some help from the nuns at the Abbey, to allow them to escape over the mountains to freedom.

The Song and Dance: The supporting cast really shines here, with Broadway stars McDonald, Borle, and Benatti the stand-outs as the warm and wise Mother Abbess, sarcastic Max, and self-centered Countess. Ariene Rinehart and Michael Campayno are lovely as Von Trapp's eldest daughter Lisel and her sweetheart, too. I actually like that the story returns to its original contours. "The Lonely Goatheard" makes more sense as a way for Maria to cheer up the children than as a random number for them and puppets.

Favorite Number: Underwood and the kids have a great time marching in place as she teaches the kids "Do-Re-Mi" and still follows their father's orders. Rinehart and Campayno are adorable rolling down the hill in "Sixteen Going On Seventeen." "The Lonely Goatherd," with the kids hiding under the bed as Underwood sings the story, is just too funny. We get to hear more from Elsa and Max, who point out the inevitability of invasion in "No Way to Stop It" and "How Can Love Survive?"

What I Don't Like: While it is nice to hear two songs that didn't make it into the film, they also put more emphasis than needed on Max and Elsa and less than you'd like on Maria's relationship with the kids. Despite mostly sticking to the show, they actually did sneak a movie song in, "Something Good." The scenery, while lovely, can't match the very real Austria in the film and lacks the intimacy and warmth it displayed.

The biggest problem is the leads. Underwood is a wonderful country singer, but she's not much of an actress, and her instrument is totally inappropriate for Broadway showtunes. Moyer's stiff and dull opposite her.

The Big Finale: Underwood is no Julie Andrews, but the supporting cast is good, and it gets far closer to the original Broadway show. If  you're a fan of Broadway or the cast or are willing to check out a different  "Sound of Music," this is worth at least a look.

Home Media: Cheap and easily found on DVD and a few streaming services.

DVD
Amazon Prime (buy only)

Musicals On TV - Anything Goes (1954)

NBC, 1954
Starring Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, Bert Lahr, and Sheree North
Directed by Sid Smith
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

We debark from the romantic Grecian isles to take a cruise to London in the 1920's. This is an early live TV version of the Cole Porter show, which had been a big hit with Merman in 1934 on Broadway. The Colgate Comedy Hour did this as a "special" in 1954, the only pairing of Merman and Sinatra. How does this tale of mistaken identity on the high seas look today? Let's head to the docks, where the ship is about to set sail, and find out...

The Story: In the 1920's, stage star Reno Sweeney (Merman) takes a cruise to London to marry her stuffy aristocratic fiancee, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Arthur Gould Porter). She's followed by her ex-boyfriend Harry Dane (Sinatra), who badly wants her back. Meanwhile, Moonface Martin (Lahr), the fifth most wanted hood in America, and his bubbly blond girlfriend Bonnie (North) are also on the boat, avoiding the police and trying to move up to the fourth most wanted. Moonface is disguised as a missionary after he got the real one (Nestor Palva) arrested. Harry ends up with the ID of the number one most wanted gangster in America and seeks help from Moonface to avoid the cops, while trying to make his case with a reluctant Reno.

The Song and Dance: I suspect this is the closest most people would get to see a live version of this onstage until the rise of YouTube. Despite being streamlined, the story is still closer to the Broadway show than either of the film versions. Lahr revels in the intimacy of the small screen, mugging and joking and having a ball. The glittery costumes for the most part nicely reflect the glamour of sea travel during the Roaring 20's, with North and most of the women wriggling in beads and sequins and Merman resplendent in several furs.

Not to mention, there's the simple history involved in seeing a big TV musical from the 1950's, since many live productions from the time recorded on kinetoscopes have been lost.

Favorite Number: The show kicks off nicely with Merman performing the title song to explain the lunacy of the era. She and Bert Lahr have a lot of fun with "Friendship," and her "You're the Top" with Sinatra isn't bad, either. Sinatra's best solo is "All Through the Night" when he's in the brig; Merman's best solo moment is the rousing "Blow, Gabriel Blow" (which becomes a plot point when she uses it to point out Sinatra hiding among the guests).

Trivia: Merman was Reno Sweeney in the original Broadway production in 1934, with stage comedians William Gaxton and Victor Moore as her co-stars. The show would be revived off-Broadway in 1962, and successfully on Broadway twice, in 1987 with Patti LuPone as Reno, and in 2011 with Sutton Foster in the role.

Every version of Anything Goes since the original has added songs from his lesser-known shows of the 20's and 30's. This one includes "You Do Something to Me" from Fifty Million Frenchmen, "Just One of Those Things" from Jubilee, and "Friendship" from DuBarry Was a Lady.

Speaking of DuBarry, Merman and Lahr first performed together in the original 1939 Broadway cast of that show.

What I Don't Like: There's a reason this would be the only time Merman and Sinatra appeared together. They have no chemistry whatsoever, making Billy and Reno's constantly being pulled apart and thrown together even less believable. Their singing and performance styles are totally different; it's not as obvious in the comic "You're the Top," but their attempts at ballads in a reprise of "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "You Do Something To Me" have all the heat of two dead fish. The condensed show combines Reno with the ingenue role...which doesn't really work with Reno's character or Merman's tough personality. Lahr's attempts to bump up his notoriety are more interesting than Reno and Harry's romance.

And why was this set in the 20's? Every version of this since then has been set in the 30's, when the show and songs were written and first debuted.

The Big Finale: An interesting curiosity if you love Merman, Sinatra, Porter, or 50's musicals. Everyone else is better off listening to Merman and Sinatra's solo recordings of these songs.

Home Media: Out of print but not that hard to find on DVD; it can also be found on streaming.

DVD
Amazon Prime

Musicals On TV - The Wiz Live!

Universal/NBC, 2015
Starring Shanice Williams, Elijah Kelley, Ne Yo, and David Alan Grier
Directed by Kenny Leon and Matthew Diamond
Music by Charlie Smalls and others

The live TV musical made a comeback in 2013 with the surprise success of The Sound of Music Live! While it and a subsequent NBC live Peter Pan were at least somewhat popular with audiences, they went over less well with critics. We've already seen an earlier version of The Wiz that had trouble with miscasting and an inappropriate director flop...but this one was an even bigger hit, one of the most popular of all the recent live musicals, resonating big with audiences and critics. Were they right, or should it have a house dropped on it? Let's head to a farm in Kansas, where one young lady is about to run smack into a twister that will change her life, and find out...

The Story: Thirteen-year-old Dorothy Gale (Williams) is tired of living with her Auntie Em (Stephanie Mills) and their three goofy hired hands on a dull farm in Kansas. She wants to go back to Omaha to her school and friends. Before she can leave, a twister takes her and her home and drops them in the magical, rainbow-colored world of Oz. Turns out she saved the Munchkins from the nasty Witch of the East, Evarmean. The blue-clad Witch of the North, Adaperle (Amber Riley) sends her along the Yellow Brick Road to ask the Wizard of the Emerald City to get her to Omaha.

Along the way, Dorothy saves a scarecrow (Kelley) from being attacked by crows, hears the tragic tale of a tin woodsman (Ne-Yo), and reassures a cowardly lion (Grier) that he's not such a scaredy-cat after all. She and her friends manage to get past the Emerald City's stuffy gatekeeper (Common) by pointing out the silver shoes Adaperle gave to Dorothy and remind him that she killed the witch. The Wizard (Queen Latifa) insists that they kill another witch, the even more wicked Evilene (Mary J. Bilge) before she'll give them what they want. It's Dorothy who manages to find the courage to destroy the Witch...and with the help of Glinda, the Witch of the South (Uzo Aduba) realizes where her "home" really is.

The Song and Dance: Yeah, this is much better. Not only is this closer to the original 1975 Broadway show, but it's pretty close to the actual Oz books. The costumes are some of the most amazing creations I've ever seen on television. This is more of a live-action Dr. Seuss movie than the ones that came out a decade ago, with brilliant primary colors and swirling lines on every character. As good as Williams (who was chosen after a national search) is, the movie is anchored by fine performances by its three witches. Riley is an adorable and very funny Adaperle (especially when she keeps getting Dorothy's name wrong), Aduba is an absolutely gorgeous Glinda, and Bilge reeks slinky, sassy evil.

Favorite Number: Aunt Em explains why she wishes Dorothy would stay in the touching "The Feeling We Once Had" in the opening. Grier has almost as much fun as Bert Lahr with his "I'm a Mean Ol' Lion" and his duet with Williams, "Be a Lion." The Emerald City Ballet (Psst) shows off some of those incredible costumes as Dorothy and her friends try to find where the Wizard is, only to learn that they hide and seem to be some kind of monster. Bilge really tears into her "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," while Aduba has a really lovely "Believe In Yourself." Dorothy, the Wizard, and her friends perform the new-for-the-show "We Got It!" before the Wiz takes off.

Trivia: Stephanie Mills (Aunt Em) was Dorothy in the original 1975 Broadway cast of The Wiz.

Those awesome costumes won an Emmy; the production design, lighting, hair and makeup, and direction were nominated.

What I Don't Like: I still kind of wish we could have seen more of Evilene before she's introduced; that problem seems to be built into The Wiz. The tornado that brings Dorothy to Oz is depicted by dancers in whirling costumes, fairly cheap special effects, and Dorothy flying up into the air. It looks kind of weird, especially compared to the better effects in Oz, and the black lines on Dorothy that are helping her fly are pretty obvious.

The Big Finale: I'm so glad they did this. It's a marked improvement on the film version of this show, with a great cast in amazing Emmy-winning costumes having a lot of fun with the enjoyable score. Highly recommended if you're a fan of the show, the cast, or live musicals.

Home Media: The solo DVD is out of print, but it can be found on a few streaming platforms or bundled with the 1978 theatrical version of The Wiz.

DVD
DVD - The Wiz/The Wiz Live! Double Feature
Amazon Prime (buy only)