CD Reviews: Angel Musicals
by Cary Wong
Oklahoma *****
RICHARD RODGERS & OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN
Angel 7243 5 27350 2 0
22 tracks - 76:41
Carousel **** 1/2
RICHARD RODGERS & OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN
Angel 7243 5 27352 2 8
18 tracks - 70:04
The King and I **** 1/2
RICHARD RODGERS & OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN
Angel 7243 5 27351 2 9
21 tracks - 75:49
When it comes to creating movie-musicals, the songwriting tandom of
Rodgers and Hammerstein is artistically unmatched. Most of their movies
(with the exception of State Fair) are based directly on their hit
stage musicals, but these film versions have always been expanded to make
full use of the newer media, incorporating state-of-the-art technology
with sweeping locations and grand images. These adaptations were smart,
but it's the music itself -- especially the efficient and groundbreaking
use of songs to propel the action -- that have made Rodgers and Hammerstein
endure in popular culture. Countless R & H songs have become standards.
True, due to their simplicity, some of these tunes have been the butt of
disdain and parody ("Getting to Know You" and "Do-Re-Mi" come to mind),
but they are intentionally such because many of the shows involve children.
Considering the popularity of the Rhino Records releases of MGM musicals,
it's about time that other record labels with equally impressive catalogues
started to release expanded versions of these treasured shows. Angel Records
had taken up the challenge and their premiere releases are indeed the cream
of the crop. Oklahoma, Carousel and The King and I
(all three Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals) each have from 20 to 35 minutes
of additional music -- usually dance music or reprises. This is indeed
a cause for celebration since it has always been a travesty that dance
music, which plays such a vital role in most any successful movie-musical,
was usually omitted from various LP releases. Since legendary choreographers
like Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins recreated their theatrical dances
for the big screen, the accompanying pieces of music are not merely incidental;
they are as vital (and almost as memorable) as the song numbers.
Agnes de Mille created vital and historic dances for Oklahoma,
and to finally have dance music like "Out of my Dream" for the first time
is like finally getting Aaron Copland's Rodeo, de Mille's signature
ballet, after decades of non-release. Rodgers' skill as a dance music composer
has always taken a backseat to his songwriting triumphs; hopefully the
release of Rodgers' five dance pieces from Oklahoma will change
people's perceptions. Plus, the sound quality of this new release is magnificent
considering the masters are over 45 years old.
Oklahoma is the quintessential movie-musical and was one of the
first movies to use the Todd-AO film process. This not only enhanced the
realism of the picture but also the quality of the sound. Still, Oklahoma
belongs to a specific generation, and as such is often ridiculed by future
(and current) generations as being unhip and square (terms which, incidentally,
have been since deemed "uncool"). Oklahoma is based on a simple
story of a girl torn between two men (actually, it's the simple story of
two separate girls torn between two sets of men) with the backdrop of the
celebration of the new statehood. Like many groundbreaking shows, the actual
plot of Oklahoma is its main weakness. For all its hit songs and
memorable images, the second half doesn't perk up until the wonderful title
song is rousingly performed by the entire cast (including the engaging
Gordan McCrae and the beautiful soprano of Shirley Jones, in her film debut).
Carousel has the opposite problems of Oklahoma. Carousel
is a relentlessly dark and brilliant musical, and although the1956 movie
version had many positive virtues (the reunion of Gordan McCrae and Shirley
Jones being one of them), it's a flawed adaptation. The worst change brought
over to the film version is the addition of an It's A Wonderful Life
prologue between Carousel-barker Billy Bigelow and a voice from Heaven
(which turns the entire film into a flashback). The audience's knowledge
that Billy is actually dead deludes the energy of his convictions in his
wonderful "Soliloquy," since it's apparent that he will fail in the upbringing
of his unborn child. Billy Bigelow is one of musical theater's all-time
losers. However hard he tries, he will never be able to free himself from
his tragic destiny. When compared with the relentless cheerfulness of something
like Oklahoma, the brooding Carousel, with its conditional
love songs ("If I Loved You") and melancholy anthems ("You'll Never Walk
Alone") stands out as a one-of-a-kind Rodgers and Hammerstein creation.
Carousel also boasts one of the finest musical passages in all
of Rodgers and Hammerstein's shows: the beautiful waltz that opens the
musical and introduces us to the characters. Quoted by the rock group Dire
Straits in their song "Tunnel of Love," Carousel's waltz was also
the most memorable part of the 1994 Lincoln Center revival where the actual
carousel is built before our eyes during this extended prologue. Thankfully,
this waltz has always been readily available on album. On the other hand,
there's a notable piece that was missing from the old soundtrack: the beautiful
"Louise Ballet," which follows Billy's daughter's troubled life on Earth
(this was also choreographed by Agnes de Mille, but Ron Alexander choreographed
the rest of the movie). What starts out as frenetic soon slows into a beautiful
instrumental rendition of "Soliloquy" and "If I Loved You." As with the
rest of the bonus material offered by the new Angel releases, it would
have been great to have these numbers without the incidental spoken words
and sound effects (apparently these bonus tracks are lifted from the DVD),
but the almost 10-minute cinematic "Louise Ballet" is a joy to have in
any form.
Though both movies were filmed in CinemaScope55 in the same year, The
King and I would eclipse Carousel, receiving bigger acclaim
and Oscar nominations including Best Picture. The King and I was
a true spectacle, transporting the viewer to an exotic, foreign land. Combining
simple tunes ("Getting to Know You") with complicated love songs tinged
with sadness ("Hello Long Lovers"), Rodgers and Hammerstein crafted one
of the most beloved movie musicals of all time.
Based on the novel, Anna and the King of Siam (twice been adapted
as a non-musical, the latest being the 1999 version with Jodie Foster and
Chow Yun-Fat), the stage version of The King and I was written as
a vehicle for Gertrude Lawrence, who plays a widowed school teacher who
brings a little Western sensibility to Imperial Siam. She was bypassed
for the 1956 screen version for Deborah Kerr (and sung by Marni Nixon),
while her stage co-star, Yul Brenner, was allowed to recreate his regal
role for the big screen. Brenner would find the role of a lifetime as the
King (he won a Tony for Featured Actor on stage, and also won the Leading
Actor Oscar!).
In considering these albums, special mention should be made of Alfred
Newman's contribution to the world of film musicals. As with Carousel,
Newman conducted and collaborated on the incidental Rodgers music for The
King and I -- he won his first Oscar for the latter. As there are few
dances in this movie, the dramatic underscore became more important. Newman
handled this with deftness and professionalism, incorporating songs to
highlight the action, as in his previously unreleased "Garden Rendezvous"
which reprises "Hello, Young Lovers."
Though not as complete as the restored CD that appeared with the box
set laserdisc in 1996, this is a good representation of The King and
I. The highlight of the previously unreleased material is "The Small
House of Uncle Thomas," the great re-telling of Uncle Tom's Cabin...in
Siamese terms. This 10-minute interlude, plopped into the middle of the
action, was staged by the great Jerome Robbins, recreating his stage movements.
Although there are noticeable sound quality changes throughout the song
(it was culled from different audio sources), "praise to Buddha" for its
first release!
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