Encore's Hey Look Me Over Rehearsal

[Neil]

Paula Stewart on the Ed Sullivan Hey Look Me Over segment did not appear "lame" at all.  I wonder if this was on purpose just for the Sullivan show.

Nor does this "Janie", but this show is just excerpts, I hear.

 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/BWW-TV-Watch-a-Sneak-Peek-of-Carolee-Carmello-in-Encores-HEY-LOOK-ME-OVER-20180130

[Luvsbway]

This Janie looks so bewildered and then, okay crazy lady with the drum, I'll get in your car. 

[HarryCarter]

I'm excited to see this in a couple weeks. 

Janie was lame in the barely staged production I saw several years ago. 

[Brock]

What's the point in doing excerpts rather than a re-staging? I thought re-staging was Encore's "thing."

[HarryCarter]

17 minutes ago, Brock said:

What's the point in doing excerpts rather than a re-staging? I thought re-staging was Encore's "thing."

 

This is supposedly to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They are presenting excerpts from shows they haven't done yet. Perhaps this is just a money saving measure.  They are including two Jerry Herman shows, Milk and Honey and Mack and Mabel. Supposedly Jerry would not grant them the rights to do any of his shows because he wanted full scale Broadway revivals. Maybe they wanted to do Wildcat, but knew the audience would be disappointed by the book so they decided to do it this way. Or perhaps they have plans to do Wildcat in its entirety next year.

 

[HarryCarter]

I haven't seen "Hey, Look Me Over!" yet, but here is the New York Times review. 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/theater/review-hey-look-me-over-encores-city-center.html?referer=https://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2409503

Wildcat excerpt:

Mr. Martin cedes the stage to 

the peppy overture and dull opening scenes of “Wildcat,” a 1960 Lucille Ball vehicle with a score by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. That show’s big number, which provides the evening’s apt overall title, is as catchy an earworm as Broadway ever produced, and having Carolee Carmello belt it (with assistance from the newcomer Britney Coleman) is a delight.

But if seven or eight minutes of “Wildcat” is long enough to reveal how bad the show is otherwise, it is not long enough to let us understand how it might also have been a little bit good.

[Luvsbway]

I've read a few comments over on the Bway boards about this Encores production and they all sort of say it's a mess. Wonder if it's the lackluster material or if the whole evening is just put together badly. 

[HarryCarter]

I saw the showl tonight. They opened with the show that gave the evening its name. They performed the first two scenes of Wildcat: the overture, "Oil!", and "Hey, Look Me Over!" It was great to hear the Wildcat overture played by their huge orchestra. The production I saw in 2010 only had a piano and drum! It was very cool to hear the incidental music that proceeded "Oil!" and came between the two scenes. The other shows that were presented were All American, Jamaica, Milk and Honey, Mack & Mabel, Subways Are for Sleeping (only the overture), Greenwillow, Sail Away, and George M!. They were fully staged with costumes and choreography. Bob Martin hosted the evening as his "Man in the Chair" character from The Drowsy Chaperone. He really only said who wrote the shows, so Lucy or the original stars of the other shows (Lena Horne, Ray Bolger, Anthony Perkins, Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters - who was in two the shows and is still the Toast of Broadway!, Joel Grey, and Elaine Stritch) were not mentioned. Overall I thought All American (by Charles Strouse & Lee Adams with a book by Mel Brooks) and Mack and Mabel (by Jerry Herman) came off the best. Green willow (by Frank Loesser) was the longest and, in my opinion, least successful segment. I thought it was a very enjoyable evening. 

[Brock]

13 hours ago, HarryCarter said:

I saw the showl tonight. They opened with the show that gave the evening its name. They performed the first two scenes of Wildcat: the overture, "Oil!", and "Hey, Look Me Over!" It was great to hear the Wildcat overture played by their huge orchestra. The production I saw in 2010 only had a piano and drum! It was very cool to hear the incidental music that proceeded "Oil!" and came between the two scenes. The other shows that were presented were All American, Jamaica, Milk and Honey, Mack & Mabel, Subways Are for Sleeping (only the overture), Greenwillow, Sail Away, and George M!. They were fully staged with costumes and choreography. Bob Martin hosted the evening as his "Man in the Chair" character from The Drowsy Chaperone. He really only said who wrote the shows, so Lucy or the original stars of the other shows (Lena Horne, Ray Bolger, Anthony Perkins, Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters - who was in two the shows and is still the Toast of Broadway!, Joel Grey, and Elaine Stritch) were not mentioned. Overall I thought All American (by Charles Strouse & Lee Adams with a book by Mel Brooks) and Mack and Mabel (by Jerry Herman) came off the best. Green willow (by Frank Loesser) was the longest and, in my opinion, least successful segment. I thought it was a very enjoyable evening. 

Very interesting! Thanks for the review. Were you able to make mental notes on audience reactions to the Wildcat portions?

[HarryCarter]

23 minutes ago, Brock said:

Very interesting! Thanks for the review. Were you able to make mental notes on audience reactions to the Wildcat portions?

The audience seemed to really enjoy the overture. "Hey, Look Me Over!" got a warm reception. Since Wildcat was the first show up, I think the audience still wasn't sure what this evening was about. The guy behind me sang along with several of the songs during the night (), but not the Wildcat numbers. 

[Neil]

"But if seven or eight minutes of “Wildcat” is long enough to reveal how bad the show is otherwise, it is not long enough to let us understand how it might also have been a little bit good."

That's an odd statement.  I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  A book of Broadway review excerpts also has a "scorecard" characterizing the reviews into one of 5 categories.  Pan, Unfavorable, Middle, Favorable and Rave.  It's hard to believe but in 1960 there were SEVEN major newspapers in New York City.  (Are there more than TWO now?)   Wildcat's scorecard:  3 favorable, 4 unfavorable.  Pretty good for a show that has gone down in theater history as a "flop".  Uniform praise for Lucy, but problems with the lackluster book.  All the critics, even the "unfavorable"'s,  conceded that there were moments when the show came to life.  Although Hey Look Me Over proved to be the only enduring song, the number that bowled over the critics was the Wildcat/Sookie "What Takes My Fancy" duet, evident in the OBC Album/CD.  That track is Broadway at its best.  The scene leading up to HLMO on Ed Sullivan is well written and witty.  Evidently N. Richard Nash didn't keep up this level of writing for the whole evening. 

"The guy behind me sang along with several of the songs during the night ()".  I HATE it when someone does that. 

[Luvsbway]

Broadway boards are reporting Joel Gray was in a few performances.

[HarryCarter]

4 minutes ago, Luvsbway said:

Broadway boards are reporting Joel Gray was in a few performances.

Joel was not at Saturday night's. He was in Thursday, which was the night the critics saw the show. The rumor was he was sick the rest of the week, but did perform at the last performance last night.