By Jupiter (1967 Off-Broadway Revival Cast)

For traditional musical fans a must

It is a delight to have this long out of print recording available. True, this is not one of Rodgers and Hart's greatest scores, but as the reviews of the original in 1942 said, even lesser Rodgers and Hart is a treat. "Nobody's Heart" shows off Lorenz Hart's true gifts. "Wait Till You See Her" is a lovely Rodgers melody. "Ev'rything I've Got" and "Jupiter Forbid" are wonderful upbeat numbers. This c.d. may not please the throngs, but is a must for Rodgers and Hart devotees. October 30, 2007

Pleasant but old

The quality of this CD is good but the singing is very old fashioned as compared to how they sing today. The voices are all good however, and natuarally you couldnt ask for anything better as it was written by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. October 17, 2007

At last!

This is (almost) wonderful. I've had the LP of this show since about 1967. It is as everyone must know Hart's last complete show. It's a wonderful score wonderfully performed. And it is almost complete as performed. Three songs were dropped before Bway (wonderful songs), but they can be found on Ben Bagley's R&H Revisited albums. 98% of Bottoms Up is left off the album. And what is left was badly rewritten by that egomaniac hack Fred Ebb. The lyric to the rest is wonderful, I've never heard the music. And a silly little bit of nothing is also left out. I've never the music to it either. Fred Ebb dipped his fingers into Ev'rything I've Got as well. He spoiled the whole album as far as I'm concerned. I hate the guy. But most of the words and music are there as written by R&H, and it's (almost) wonderful. The dropped before Bway songs are Fool Meets Fool (Lynn Redgrave - Vol. 4), Life Was Monotonous (Anthony Perkins - Vol. 3) and Nothing to Do But Relax (Blossom Dearie - Vol. 3). October 17, 2007

DRG at it again

Kudos to DRG for releasing another obscure or long unavailable cast album! But in their usual fashion, the liner notes are insufficient (see another review above). And worst of all, in usual DRG fashion, the track listings are incorrect (as they are in Amazon's listing above; there is no Bonus Track). The case and booklet list 13 tracks, when in fact there are 14. The 14th track is actually the "Jupiter Forbid" portion of the finale that is shown included in track 13. Careless of DRG, and disrespectful of their (admittedly, limited) audience. Let's hope for an "Encores" production and recording, but until now, this is a very enjoyable recording of a typical 60's off-Broadway offering. September 25, 2007

BY JUPITER, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK . . . . . .

What a shanda it is that so many examples of the American musical theater are not available on CD, especially in "authentic" recordings. It seems that titles disappear from major labels' catalogues faster than DRG, ArkivMusic & Fynsworth Alley can reissue them and far faster than City Center's Encores! can concertize them. Even a worse shanda is the way our Broadway "pioneers" have been treated. Where are all those fabulous scores by Vincent Youmans, Sigmund Romberg, Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml and - to a lesser degree - Jerome Kern, and Rodgers & Hart? Gone are the days when the major labels gave full rein to people the likes of Goddard Lieberson, John McGlinn and John Mauceri to bring these composers' glorious music to life in the recording studio. Shanda! Shanda! Shanda!

So, whenever the opportunity comes along to sample these treasures, we should jump at it, as I encourage you to do in the case of BY JUPITER, even though it's not grade A Rodgers & Hart and decidedly not a top-notch recording. But it's all we have for now, so savor it. The mystery is why it took so long to make it to CD. Thanks to DRG, it's finally here.

Even though BY JUPITER may be second-tier R&H(art), it does contain three bona fide classics: "Nobody's Heart (Belongs To Me)," "Wait Till You See Her," and the feisty, fisty duet "Everything I've Got (Belongs to You)." The rest of the score is serviceable, but neither the tunes nor the lyrics are up to the standards of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, PAL JOEY, or even A CONNECTICUT YANKEE. Nevertheless, it had the longest run of any Rodgers & Hart show - 427 performances - slightly beating JUMBO (421). No doubt it would have run longer had not its star, Ray Bolger, left the show to entertain America's fighting men and women during World War II. It was also the last full-length collaboration for the composers; one year later Richard Rodgers would take on a new partner, Oscar Hammerstein II, and make Broadway history with a folksy little show called OKLAHOMA!

The plot? Pretty slight by SWEENEY TODD standards, but standard fare for the time. "Based on THE WARRIOR'S HUSBAND by Julian F. Thompson, [BY JUPITER is] set in the land of the Amazons, where the women rule and do battle while the men stay at home, mind the children, and buy new hats. An army of Greek soldiers, led by Theseus and Hercules, arrives in search of the Sacred Girdle of Diana, currently in the hands of reigning Queen Hippolyta. Accompanying them is war correspondent Homer, author of a recent bestseller called The Iliad. The Greek warriors are captured by the Amazons, and romance blossoms between Theseus and Antiope, the warrior-leader of the Amazons. A subplot involves Hippolyta's epicene gender-bending son Sapiens, who employs his 'feminine wiles' to get his way with the opposite sex." (Wikipedia.com)

In this 1967 off-Broadway revival, Bob Dishy takes over the Ray Bolger role of Sapiens, Robert R. Kaye and Charles Rydell play Theseus and Hercules, respectively, while Jackie Alloway assumes the role of Hippolyta and Sheila Sullivan plays Antiope. Emory Bass is Homer. Of all the principals, only Mr. Kaye has an impressive voice. This revival does not use Don Walker's original orchestrations, but is scored for a small combo by Abba Bogin. Disappointing, but probably necessary considering the limited space and budget of Theatre Four, where the show lasted for only 118 performances.

I would probably have given this recording a 4-star rating had DRG chosen to include a cast list (for this, go to Lortrel Archives) and a plot synopsis (Google "The Guide to Musical Theatre") and had they decided to do something about RCA's wretched sound quality. DRG's engineers must have been on vacation when they remastered this one, if they actually remastered it at all. I've compared the CD to my old LP, and, except for clicks and pops, the two sound identical! Pity. DRG has done wonderful work with other older shows (check out THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO and ARCHY AND MEHITABEL), so why not BY JUPITER?

Anyway, it's good to have another Rodgers & Hart musical brought back from limbo, so let's be thankful for what we've got. At least until - if ever - someone decides to give us a new, "authentic" recording.
September 18, 2007

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