This half-forgotten Kander and Ebb show lasted barely a month in 1971, done in, perhaps, by a needlessly complicated book about denizens of an old folks' home becoming shoplifters. Still, many of the numbers have a certain quirky charm. The songs were more or less (usually less) integrated into the plot, each one an excuse for a different cast member to ham it up. "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup" is a fiery, hilarious showstopper ("drearier" rhymes with "cafeteria") while the wistful "Home" deserves to be rediscovered. This sleeper of a show will particularly delight those in need of a little something to gnaw on between Cabaret and Chicago, as Kander and Ebb's trademark mix of honky-tonk vaudeville and ultramelodic sentimentality is in evidence all through the score. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com
While I am a Kander and Ebb fan, this flop is rightfully put out of the standard spinning market. The songs are boring and the plot is not really understood (in the music or the liner notes.) The voices are... well, old. Its not really an engaging listen, with no great lyrics or message. Maybe an older person enjoys this, but there is little that I find enjoyable here. "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup" and "Say Yes" are not bad messages, and could probably be incorporated in a cabaret that would be enjoyable, but this CD is a pass. Only collectors are suggested to get this one.
December 25, 2008There are some clever songs in this show, especially "Old People", but it has a confusing plot and some of the numbers are not particularly memorable. It's not one of my favorites, but I like it enough that I didn't try to take it back, as I did Steel Pier. It's basically about a bunch of old folks who turn to burglary to improve their life style.
August 10, 2008Great fun, nice catchy, bouncy Kander and Ebb score that should have run longer but was done in by an influx of nostalgic, old timer musicals (Follies and No, No Nanette were also running at the time), 70 Girls recieved mostly positive reviews. The wonderful Mildred Natwick leading a cast of mostly seniors, in a vaudevillian "show within a show" context (that was slightly confusing and altogether not needed), but with a score of one "knock em outta the ballpark" number after another. Several became staples in Liza Minelli's arsenal.
Not Kander and Ebbs best, but catchy and fun all the same,....highly enjoyable!!
July 23, 2008 |  | Brassy, Sassy and Ageless! |  |
70, Girls, 70 was quite ill-fated (Broadway comedian David Burns dropped dead onstage during the pre-Broadway tour; he was replaced by Hans Conreid -- and the "show-within-a-show" storyline confused audiences. The show had "book trouble" from day one.)
Nevertheless, if you can forget the flimsy premise about old performers returning to the stage, playing "old folks" who moonlight as burglars, what a SOCKO-BOFFO-"Punch 'em in the GUT" score this is! The orchestrations are brassy, punchy, and full of toe-tappng synchopation. Mildred Natwick, in her musical debut, is confident and commanding, even if her voice has a bit of an unsteady quaver, now and then. She always was a great character actress, and she successfully morphed into a great Broadway diva in this show. Too bad it ran only a month. Hans Conreid produces his usual "haughty growl" as he navigates some very tricky comic songs. Old-timer Henrietta Jacobson is great as a soft-shoeing grandmother. But the pair who steal the show are Goldye Shaw and Lillian Heyman with their riotous comment on the values of modern society, "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup". This show has the brass, punch, and energy of Broadway's greatest musicals. That it somehow is NOT one of Broadway's greatest musicals is due to a failure of creative concept, not a dearth of talent. There is enough old-fahsioned, vaudeville-style talent in the cast of "70, Girls, 70" to blast a bank vault to smithereens. Listen and learn, kiddies -- this is what the old-style Broadway pros used to do, when Broadway was really something special.
June 5, 2008I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING THIS CD. WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I AM A BIG KANDER AND EBB FAN. OH WELL, YOU WIN A FEW AND YOU LOOSE A FEW. LOOKING FORWARD TO CURTAINS
March 10, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(9 reviews)
