Ira Gershwin - Lady, Be Good! (1992 Studio Cast Recording)

It's hard to believe when you're used to grim and gritty contemporary musicals, but Broadway used to be a lot of fun. Listening to '20s Gershwin shows will give you a taste of the melodies, humor, and hi-jinks that used to be common on the Great White Way. Yet another fine installment in the Roxbury series, this recording features a restored score of the 1924 musical that was Ira and George's first full-scale collaboration. Lara Teeter and Ann Morrison take on the parts created by Fred and Adele Astaire (Teeter even reproduces an Astaire tap solo!) while Michelle Nicastro, Jason Alexander, Michael Maguire, and John Pizzarelli spark in the supporting cast. In addition, the choral work is stellar and there are superb songs aplenty ("Fascinating Rhythm," "The Half of It, Dearie, Blues," the title track)--will somebody bring back the 1920s, please? --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com essential recording

A Brilliant Recreation of the 1924 Gershwin Musical

When we think of musicals today, we most likely think of a type of musical known as "integrated"--a show in which the musical numbers are so deeply tied into the plot and characters that it is often difficult to disengage them. But integrated musicals did not appear until the mid-1930s, did not become widely popular until the 1940s, and did not achieve absolute ascendancy until the 1950s. The original American musical, which developed in the 1910s and 1920s, was quite different: the story was very loose, existing to provide a platform for musical numbers and comedy acts, most of which were performed as set-pieces and had little to do with the story per se.

Such was the 1924 musical LADY BE GOOD. Written by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, the story concerned a "financially embarrassed" brother and sister and their various romantic entanglements--an ideal vehicle for the brother and sister team Fred and Adele Astaire, who had made a tremendous hit in London a season or two earlier. Spots were also written in for Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, one of the more popular recording artists of the day (and later again celebrated as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's PINOCHIO), the popular stage comic Walter Cartlett, and pianists Victor Arden and Phil Ohman. But even with all the star talent, what really made the show special was the music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. The Gershwins had been kicking around the New York stage with varying degrees of success, but by 1924 their stars were on the rise-and LADY BE GOOD would be the smash hit that established the brothers at the forefront of the American musical.

With the advent of the integrated musical, the original LADY BE GOOD would be reworked time and time again in order to keep up with changing fashion. In the process, the original script, scores, and arrangements would be lost--some of it them forever. But this 1992 studio restoration does an incredible job of restoring the show to its original 1920s style. And the result is tremendous fun.

The big numbers here, of course, are the standards "Lady Be Good" and "Fascinating Rhythm"--but while not every song here belongs to the list of great Gershwin classics, the charm of each is once again apparent. This is particularly the case of the large ensemble numbers "End of a String" and "Linger in the Lobby," and the opening number between Dick and Susie (here performed by Lara Teetor and Ann Morrison), "Hang onto Me," is also uniquely memorable. One of the highlights of the recording is "Little Jazz Bird," originally written for Ukulele Ike and performed by John Pizzarelli, who manages to capture the casual grace of Ike's style without actually imitating him. Although many of the original arrangements are missing, the arrangements created for this recording are perfectly in line with those that do survive, and the sound is classic 1920s: bright and sharp, carefully balancing a tight structure and strict rhythm against the hard-edged jazz flourishes that accented the music of the era. Sadly, there is no recording of the original cast-the habit of creating such recordings wouldn't emerge until the late 1940s-but short of hopping in a time machine and traveling back to 1924, this Roxbury Recording is the best thing going. Recommended.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)-- June 28, 2003

a great time to be had...

this is simply a terrific cd with wonderfully joyous performances. October 5, 2002

For Gershwin fans

After the "Girl crazy" revival album in this series, I was hooked. That album was a delight and full of hits. "Lady, be good" is still worthwhile but has fewer good songs. It has great versions of "Fascinating Rhythm", "Lady, be good", "Hang on to me" which are not to be missed but I found most of the other songs to be fillers and undistinguished except for "Little Jazz bird" which is a find. Buy "Girl Crazy" and then this one if you can spare the cash and love Gershwin as I do. August 4, 2000

Everything old is new again!

What fun to hear not only the great songs we all know (Fascinating Rhythm, Lady Be Good, Little Jazz Bird) but songs we've never heard before, together with some of the "Oh, you kid!" kind of lines. "Five minutes with me and she's a woman with a past" will bring a smile to your face. Just makes you wish all over again that George had lived longer. But we should all be glad that he did as much as he did in those all-too-short years. It holds up surprisingly well, when you realize this was written in 1927. I'm wondering when we can expect a Broadway Revival. It's that good! Loved it! July 16, 1999

Excellent

Every track on this cd is exellent. John Pizzarelli's renditions of Fascinating Rhythm and Little Jazz Bird are top notch. The Gershwin tunes that aren't famous from this musical are quality, the orchestral arrangements are pretty good, and the sections with 2 pianos are great.

I also like the singers. Jason Alexander from Seinfeld is pretty good (really!) and the female singer sings with a great 1920's Betty-Boop-esque voice.

This album attempts to re-create the musical stylistically, and does a great job (there is tapdancing on one of the tracks). Even the parts that arent stylistically correct are enjoyable (John Pizzarelli doesnt exactly play like he's from the 20's but he's great anyway)

Gershwin would be pleased. May 29, 1999

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