Doin' It for Sugar

DOIN’ IT FOR SUGAR 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 Some Like It Hot 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 company 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 - smash hit and run for a very long time. But pion, came up with the brilliant idea that The Producers 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 Johnny Desmond 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 Jule Styne and see them sitting there, and Champion tried enjoy great wads of audience favor. But in Bob Merrill, who’d worked together on to bring back Jerry Herman to help. In the the past three years Company and Follies Funny Girl , and had just worked with end, none of them did, although the cre - have altered the critical perspective by pro - Gower Champion 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 Boston, 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 Peter Stone 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 Billy Wilder and I.A.L. assembled their cast, led by Robert Morse 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 A Little Night Music 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 Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night reverb than any other cast recording 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.

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