DOIN’ IT FOR Hot rights, Herman and Stewart proceeded tive and drab. We all looked on in astonish - using the Fanfaren der Liebe source mate - ment and said, ‘How can you be funny on a ometimes timing is everything. If, for rial only. At that point, the show was titled One brown set. How do you get light and happy example, Sugar , a musical based on of the Girls . The time frame was moved to the on a brown set?’” And so Jo Mielziner was Sa beloved film comedy, with two great 1940s and in that version there was little re - out and Robin Wagner was in. male starring roles, directed by an amaz - sembling and Merrick was ing director/choreographer, had opened not especially annoyed and unhappy, and when The show opened, reviews were tepid, in April 1972 but in April 2001, the year an - Merrick was especially annoyed and unhappy songs came and went, characters came other musical based on a beloved film com - it was especially unpleasant to be on the cre - and went, and Champion and edy, with two great male starring roles, ative team. Herman and Stewart resigned and worked on the show while they played the directed by an amazing director/choreog - then, magically, somehow Merrick finally show at night. At one of the rehearsals, rapher, my guess is it would have been a snagged the rights to the Ho t screenplay. Bert Michaels, who was assisting Cham - hit and run for a very long time. But pion, came up with the brilliant idea that had the timing and Sugar The title was changed to Nobody’s Perfect Spats Palazzo should tap like a machine didn’t. (in honor of the film’s classic final line), and gun. Champion grabbed at the idea and writer George Axelrod was brought on to was soon replaced by Sugar had the misfortune to open at a time do the book. Axelrod had written such hits specialty tap dancer Steve Condos. Merrick when the musical theater was going as The Seven Year Itch (which Wilder had became a terror to everyone, bringing in through great change – as Time magazine turned into a hit film), Will Success Spoil Neil Simon, who wrote a few scenes that critic T.E. Kalem put it in his review of Rock Hunter , and the iconic films Breakfast were never used, bringing in the entire writ - Sugar: “Sugar is almost a textbook case of at Tiffany’s and The Manchurian Candidate . ing staff of Laugh-In so that Stone could a musical born after its time. It may well For the score, Merrick got and see them sitting there, and Champion tried enjoy great wads of audience favor. But in , who’d worked together on to bring back to help. In the the past three years Company and , and had just worked with end, none of them did, although the cre - have altered the critical perspective by pro - on the disastrous musi - ative team received many comments and viding a musical form that is spare, intelli - cal, Prettybelle , which had just closed out hints from directors like Robert Moore gent, ironic, mature and capable of of town without ever reaching Broadway. (Promises, Promises) , and choreographers sustaining three-dimensional characters.” That hadn’t been a happy experience for like Donald Saddler. The show moved to By 2001, audiences, after years of spare, any of them, but they decided to go ahead Toronto (two of the show’s best songs, “Sun intelligent, ironic, mature musicals, were with the new show because, frankly, they On My Face” and “Hey, Why Not?” were still ready, willing, and more than able to em - all needed a hit. not in the show when critic/writer Peter Fil - brace on old-fashioned nothing-on-its- ichia saw it there), then to , where mind-but-laughs-and-entertainment For whatever reasons, Champion and Axel - more changes were made, more hysteria musical like The Producers . But in 1972, rod also veered too far from Some Like It ensued, the show got better, and audi - Sugar , despite its non-stop hilarity and Hot, and Champion, realizing they’d gone ences were, through it all, responding well. tuneful Jule Styne/Bob Merrill songs, in directions they shouldn’t have, prevailed seemed like a bit of a dinosaur, at least to upon to come in and help. The show came into New York and after a critics. Stone read what they’d done and said, few previews, opened on April 9th. The re - “Why try to improve on what’s already ter - views were mixed – with many critics call - But the fact is, despite the critics, the show rific?” And with that, Axelrod left the project ing it a hodge-podge, old-fashioned, but managed a decent run of 505 perform - and Stone wrote a new book, now entitled with some having to admit that it was fast- ances at the Majestic Theater, even turning Sugar , and one that was mostly very faith - paced, funny, and unassuming. The book a small profit. Unlike The Producers , how - ful to Some Like It Hot , because Stone was deemed clunky and the score unin - ever, the birth of Sugar was anything but knew that audiences would want to see all spired. And maybe it seemed that way back easy. After the success of Promises, Prom - their favorite moments from the film. They then. Now, it seems a model of musical ises , adapted from and I.A.L. assembled their cast, led by comedy craftsmanship, with incredibly Diamond’s hit film The Apartment , David and Tony Roberts – newcomer Elaine tuneful music (the kind they don’t know how Merrick, who’d produced Promises , thought Joyce was signed to play the title role, the to write anymore), and lyrics, whatever one he would strike even bigger box-office gold part that Marilyn Monroe had made magic may think of them, craft-wise, that get laugh by adapting their even bigger hit Some Like of in the film. Johnny Desmond was hired to after laugh (I know this because someone It Hot as a musical. There was only one play gangster Spats Palazzo, the part sent me a copy of a complete performance problem: The Mirisch Company owned the played by George Raft in the original movie. of the show on CD and the laughs for book rights and would not make a deal. Merrick, and lyrics are so huge, so long, so loud, however, had purchased the rights to the The show was to have its initial tryout at the and come so often that there’s nothing in underlying material from which Wilder and Kennedy Center’s Opera House. Alvin Colt today’s musical theater that can touch it, Diamond had adapted Some Like It Hot , was doing the costumes, and Jo Mielziner save for aforementioned The Producers) . the German film Fanfaren der Liebe . At that the set. And when the creative team saw The show received Tony nominations for point, Merrick hired his Hello, Dolly! team that set – which was brown – all hell broke Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical to do the adaptation – Jerry Herman and loose. As Peter Stone remembered: “You (Robert Morse), and Best Choreography Michael Stewart, along with Dolly’s director have to understand that Gower worked in and Direction nominations for Gower / choreographer Gower Champion . Although utter secrecy and no one saw the drawings Champion. It went home empty-handed, Merrick was still pursuing the Some Like It for the set. But the set goes up at the losing its awards to and Kennedy Center, and it’s terribly unattrac - Pippin. mix. The original album masters were there, ber for Spats Palazzo and his cohorts, that From the first notes of the overture you too, along with all the sixteen-track session consists mostly of staccato tapping against know it’s a Jule Styne score – and what an tapes. I had no intention of doing anything percussion, wasn’t recorded because, ac - overture it is, classic Styne all the way, with but putting out the original album mix for the cording to reports, Styne didn’t care for it great tunes, one after another, all orches - first time on CD. We put up those tapes and (it was something that Champion had in - trated by the wonderful Philip J. Lang. The while they were in excellent condition I just sisted on for the show). In the show, “Beau - songs are clever and fun and occasionally couldn’t believe how much swimmy, washy tiful Through and Through” does not have laugh out loud funny. The fact the score did reverb was used on that original mix (on on “Magic Nights” interpolated – the latter is a not receive a Tony nomination is a little the CD released by Ryko). It was the fash - standalone song, but one that has no real shocking (the four nominations that year ion back then, but this was much heavier ending, so the solution to marry the songs were ’s A Little Night reverb than any other I’d for the album works beautifully. The over - Music , Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin , Micki ever heard. It robbed the orchestra of de - ture has an ending not present in the show Grant’s Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope , and tail and the vocals sounded like they were – in the show, the overture’s final song is Peter Link’s incidental music to Shake - in a huge garage. That was kind of a trade - “November Song,” which then leads directly speare’s Much Ado About Nothing) . mark sound that the album’s producer, into the show’s first musical moment, a Mitch Miller, favored for his Columbia al - number by Sweet Sue and the Society Syn - A year after the show closed on Broadway, bums with the Mitch Miller Singers. copaters, which also does not appear on Sugar was produced for the Civic Light the album. Opera in at the Dorothy So, just for fun, I’d brought one reel of the Chandler Pavilion, with Champion’s direc - sixteen-track session tapes. We put that on So, here is Sugar – the original LP mix on tion and choreography recreated by Cyril the machine and what issued forth was an CD for the first time, and our new remix for Ritchard and Denny Martin Flinn. The show incredible-sounding recording – the raw those who might be interested. I’ve been starred Robert Morse (reprising his role) recording, with no reverb at all. Yes, it was walking around for weeks humming these and , Leland Palmer (a delectable dry, and yes it needed some space added, irresistible songs, and I’ll bet some of you Sugar), and (also reprising but the recording itself and the way the will be, too. his role). However, Ritchard suffered a band and performers sounded was so crys - heart attack early on and was replaced by tal clear and beautiful and brassy that it — Bruce Kimmel Gale Gordon. I saw that production and it took me no more than five seconds to real - was wonderful – screamingly funny, with ize that I wanted to do what we did with those hummable Styne/Merrill songs, bril - Promises , and offer an alternate new mix liant choreography and direction, and stel - along with the original album mix. lar performances. The audience ate it up. The show was slightly revised for Los An - Remixing this score was a particular joy be - geles, with five additional songs — “See cause I’m such a fan of the score and the You Around,” “Nice Ways,” “Don’t Be Afriad,” show. During the mix, I was suddenly hear - “I’m Engaged,” and “People In My Life.” ing wonderful orchestral details I’d never heard before – we placed the instruments a Years later, there was a production in Eng - little differently in the soundstage for opti - land starring – that produc - mum clarity, and the vocals suddenly tion used Some Like It Hot as its title, and sounded much more present and they were changed around the order of the songs. In no longer occasionally getting beaten up by recent years, there was a tour (again using the band the way they were in the original. the Some Like It Hot title) with the film’s It must be remembered always that cast al - playing millionaire Osgood bums were recorded in a day (the first day Fielding, Jr. The show would seem ripe for off after opening), mixed quickly, and in the a great revival – you just have to find a cast stores within a week. And mixing quickly as good as the original, along with a direc - from sixteen tracks (most likely in a single tor / choreographer who is as inventive and day) is never going to result in an optimal- brilliant as Gower Champion – these days, sounding product. Sugar’s original mix was a somewhat tall order, but if it were done fine for a quickly done cast recording, but right, Sugar might just prove to be a sweet even casual listeners have remarked to me success. that they notice the incredible amount of re - verb and how it mars the recording for them Sugar was originally released on United (believe me, I canvassed opinion). So I Artists records. It was then issued on CD in hope it will be fun to hear this alternate mix 1999 by Ryko. When I decided to reissue it with a lot less artificial processing – for me, (since the Ryko is long out of print and at least, it gives the score a whole new vi - bringing fairly high prices), I had all the brancy and vitality. tapes pulled from the MGM vaults. As was the case with Promises, Promises , the first I wish we could say we found some fun thing I found was that the Ryko version was bonus material, but the album was carefully not the original album mix, but a remix that thought out by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. simply attempted to ape the original album For instance, “Tear the Town Apart” a num -