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The Kennedy Center has a series called Performance Plus, mostly interviews and conversations related to their programs. Tonight's presentation involved lyricist Sheldon Harnick being interviewed by Michael Kerker, along with performances of some of the songs he wrote lyrics for. Harnick is one of my favorite lyricists and I was glad to find that he was as engaging a speaker as a writer. He talked about his early career as a violinist and the influence Yip Harburg had on him. He also told several amusing anecdotes of which my favorite involves Jerome Robbins and Zero Mostel. Robbins was one of the people who did give names to the House Unamerican Activities Committee and Mostel was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, so everybody was concerned about how they would work together on Fiddler on the Roof. The first day, Mostel came in, saw Robbins, and just called out, "Blabbermouth!" Robbins laughed and everybody worked fine together.
As for the music, there was a pleasant selection, possibly too focused on love songs. I suspect the problem is that most of the funnier songs are large ensemble pieces, so couldn't work in the constraints of the program. Most of the performances were focused on the well-known shows with Jerry Bock's music. The performers were Kate Baldwin, Karen Mason and Ron Raines, accompanied by Joseph Thalken on piano. The selections included "The Very Next Man" (from Fiorello, "Till Tomorrow" (also from Fiorello and performed by a trio of young Australians who had won a musical competition) and "Far From the Home I Love" and "Now I Have Everything" from Fiddler on the Roof, ). The less familiar material was a lovely rendition by Ron Raines and Kate Baldwin of "Away From You" from Rex (music by Richard Rodgers) and a piece from Jack Beeson's opera Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (also sung by Ron Raines).
Many people think Bock and Harnick's best score was for She Loves Me and there were three songs from that show - "Will He Like Me?," "A Trip to the Library," and "Vanilla Ice Cream." The latter is one of my favorites and I suppose I should be glad they didn't do "Days Gone By" since I can barely think of that song without walking around humming it for several days. (In fact, by mentioning it, I may have infected myself with that earworm.) As a particularly appropriate closing, Ron Raines sang "In My Own Lifetime" (from The Rothschilds).
I should mention that I particularly enjoyed watching Harnick listen to the songs. It's clear that he's proud of his work - and so he should be! All in all, it was a delightful way to spend a couple of hours.
By the way, he mentioned possible revivals of Smiling the Boy Fell Dead (probably with a name change) and Rex. I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if anything becomes of these.
As for the music, there was a pleasant selection, possibly too focused on love songs. I suspect the problem is that most of the funnier songs are large ensemble pieces, so couldn't work in the constraints of the program. Most of the performances were focused on the well-known shows with Jerry Bock's music. The performers were Kate Baldwin, Karen Mason and Ron Raines, accompanied by Joseph Thalken on piano. The selections included "The Very Next Man" (from Fiorello, "Till Tomorrow" (also from Fiorello and performed by a trio of young Australians who had won a musical competition) and "Far From the Home I Love" and "Now I Have Everything" from Fiddler on the Roof, ). The less familiar material was a lovely rendition by Ron Raines and Kate Baldwin of "Away From You" from Rex (music by Richard Rodgers) and a piece from Jack Beeson's opera Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (also sung by Ron Raines).
Many people think Bock and Harnick's best score was for She Loves Me and there were three songs from that show - "Will He Like Me?," "A Trip to the Library," and "Vanilla Ice Cream." The latter is one of my favorites and I suppose I should be glad they didn't do "Days Gone By" since I can barely think of that song without walking around humming it for several days. (In fact, by mentioning it, I may have infected myself with that earworm.) As a particularly appropriate closing, Ron Raines sang "In My Own Lifetime" (from The Rothschilds).
I should mention that I particularly enjoyed watching Harnick listen to the songs. It's clear that he's proud of his work - and so he should be! All in all, it was a delightful way to spend a couple of hours.
By the way, he mentioned possible revivals of Smiling the Boy Fell Dead (probably with a name change) and Rex. I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if anything becomes of these.
