120846bk Town:MASTER 3+3 17/1/07 8:21 PM Page 2 Wonderful Town Music by Leonard Bernstein 23. Some Other Time 1:48 Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green Original Broadway Cast 1953 Lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph Green (From On The Town; music by Leonard Tracks 15 & 24: Heritage H 0058 Orchestra Conducted by Lehman Engel Bernstein) Bernie Leighton, piano;Al Caiola, guitar; 1. Christopher Street 3:25 Decca DL 9010, 78 Album DA 937, Betty Comden and Adolph Green Milt Hinton, bass; Herb Harris, drums Warren Galjour & Villagers Chorus mx 84070/83 24. Stillman’s Gym 3:54 Recorded 17 May 1955 2. Ohio 3:17 Recorded 8 March 1953 (From It’s Always Fair Weather; music by Tracks 16–23, 25: Heritage H 0057 Rosalind Russell, Edith Adams Andre Previn) Milton Green, piano; Justin Arndt, bass; 3. One Hundred Easy Ways 2:51 Comden & Green Betty Comden and Adolph Green Herb Harris, drums Rosalind Russell 15. I Said Good Mornin’ 1:59 25. Catch Our Act At The Met 2:44 Recorded 1955 4. What a Waste 2:54 (Cut from It’s Always Fair Weather; music (From Two On The Ai sle; music by Jule Styne) George Gaynes, Warren Galjour, & Albert by André Previn) Betty Comden and Adolph Green Linville Betty Comden and Adolph Green 5. A Little Bit In Love 2:46 16. Never Never Land 1:38 All selections recorded in New York Edith Adams (From Peter Pa n; music by Jule Styne) Transfers & Production: David Lennick • Digital Restoration: Alan Bunting 6. Pass the Football 3:18 Betty Comden Cover image: New York circa 1945 (Mary Evans Picture Library) Jordan Bentley 17. Hook’s Waltz 2:02 7. Conversation Piece 3:20 (From Peter Pa n; music by Jule Styne) Rosalind Russell, Edith Adams, Adolph Green with Betty Comden Cris Alexander, George Gaynes & Dort Clark 18. Distant Melody 1:30 8. A Quiet Girl 3:19 (From Peter Pa n; music by Jule Styne) George Gaynes & Vocal Group Betty Comden Also available in the Naxos Broadway Musicals series ... 9. Conga! 3:23 19. Mysterious Lady 2:57 Rosalind Russell & The Cadets (From Peter Pa n; music by Jule Styne) 10. My Darlin’ Eileen 3:03 Betty Comden and Adolph Green Edith Adams, Delbert Anderson & Police 20. French Lesson 1:52 11. Swing! 4:46 (From Good News; music by Roger Edens) Rosalind Russell & The Villagers Chorus Betty Comden and Adolph Green 12. It’s Love 2:53 21. I Get Carried Away 2:42 Edith Adams, George Gaynes & (From On The Town; music by Leonard The Villagers Chorus Bernstein) Betty Comden and Adolph Green 13. Ballet at the Village Vortex 2:59 Orchestra 22. Come Up to My Place (Taxi Song) 2:55 (From On The Town; music by Leonard 14. Wrong Note Rag 2:25 8.120793 8.120794 8.120845 Rosalind Russell, Edith Adams & Bernstein) The Villagers Chorus Betty Comden and Adolph Green These titles are not for retail sale in the USA 5 8.120846 6 8.120846 120846bk Town:MASTER 3+3 17/1/07 8:21 PM Page 1 been on stage in years. More to the point, her friend and On the Town collaborator, Leonard and lyricists let you know that they won’t be probably gone on forever if Russell had been Wonderful Town singing and dancing experience were extremely Bernstein would agree to write the music. painted into a corner by stubborn authors or a able to stay with the show indefinitely. Back Original Broadway Cast 1953 limited. Fortunately for musical comedy history, he five week creation period. then, she commanded $12,500 a week – an Still, producer Robert Fryer plowed ahead, felt the exact opposite from Comden and It’s such a bright, breezy marvellous score incredible amount in 1953 dollars – while her Music by Leonard Bernstein hiring Fields and Chodorov to adapt their Green about working on the material. ‘The that you feel everyone must have had a great co-star Edith Adams, only made $175. But the Lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph Green original script, while bringing in composer Thirties!’ he enthused. ‘My God, those were the time working on it and that the tensions movies could offer Russell even more and so Leroy Anderson and lyricist Arnold B. Horwitt to years! The excitement that was around! involving the earlier songwriters had long off she went. Comden & Green write the score. Glorious! And the songs! What beat!’ since dissipated. Besides the original cast recording of Betty Comden & Adolph Green 1955 But because of creative difficulties among And so the trio were signed. Alas, that wasn’t the case and director Wonderful Town, which brings you Russell, the four men, Anderson and Horwitt quit only Fields and Chodorov viewed their libretto Abbott later recalled ‘more hysterical debate, Adams and the rest of the talented company, five weeks before rehearsals were to start. as largely carved in stone, so Comden, Green more acrimony, more tension and more this album features Comden and Green Touched by tragedy, conceived in confusion published in The New Yorker and then Normally, in a situation like this, the producer and Bernstein had to work around it as best screaming than any other show I had ever performing eleven of their other lyrics. and delivered with dissent, there’s no possible collected in book form in 1938 under the title, would gently exhale, postpone his rehearsals they could. been involved with’. The duo were highly popular performers, reason that Wonderful Town should have lasted My Sister Eileen. and calmly look for a new songwriting team. Considering that, it’s amazing to look on the Part of it came from Fields and Chodorov, eventually appearing successfully on Broadway past opening night, yet alone become one of They became so popular that Joseph Fields But Fryer was determined to have Russell as musical sophistication as well as the lyrical wit who found the work of Comden, Green and in 1958 in A Party with Betty Comden and the classics of the musical theatre. and Jerome Chodorov turned them into a his star and her contract specified that if she that this written-to-order-in-35-days score Bernstein too satirical for their liking. They Adolph Green. Yet somehow it did and although a lot of Broadway comedy with the same title. But four did not go into rehearsal by 15 December contains. were eventually told by Abbott, however, that You’ll understand why as you hear them people can take credit for its success – nights before it was due to open, on 1953, all bets were off. The trio seized on obvious genre pieces of they were only allowed to force one rip through a varied selection of their material. including star Rosalind Russell, director George 22 December 1940, the real-life Eileen was Director George Abbott knew of only one the period like Swing!, Conga! and Wrong songwriting team to quit and since they had Comden’s bell-like diction and seemingly Abbott and composer Leonard Bernstein – you killed in a car crash along with her husband, team who could turn out the necessary material Note Rag, using them to infuse their score with already done that, the next ones to go would demure demeanour are lovely on tunes like really have to take your hat off to Betty Comden author Nathaniel West. in time: Betty Comden and Adolph Green. vitality. be them. So they kept quiet. Never Never Land from Peter Pan, but she and Adolph Green, whose cheeky, chip-on-the- Producer Max Gordon and Director George He had worked with them during On the But they knew how to turn out character Russell was also more than a little uneasy can also rip the roof off with Come Up To My shoulder humour was perfect for the project, S. Kaufman debated closing the show, but Town and Billion Dollar Baby on Broadway pieces as well. Nothing could capture the until choreographer Jerome Robbins showed Place from On The Town. just like their burn-the-candle-at-both-ends decided to go ahead and open it ‘as a tribute to and had seen their stock rise ever higher when homesickness of Ruth and Eileen better than up during the out-of-town tryout to smooth her And Green’s jovially dyspeptic growl is energy made it possible for the show to even the real Eileen’. The end result was a smash hit they added Hollywood hits like Singin’ in the the big open vowels and corny harmony of starry ego, restage her dances and coax perfect on French Lesson from Good News get on the stage in the first place. that played for 864 performances. Rain and The Band Wagon to their credits. Ohio. everyone into writing the new opening number and the hysterical Catch Our Act at the Met To go back to the beginning, it started with A film was made in 1942 which would star He knew they were fast and he knew they Eileen’s sly, shy romanticism comes through the show needed, Christopher Street. from Two On The Aisle. writer Ruth McKenney, who came to New York Rosalind Russell as Ruth and everyone were funny. The only problem is, they didn’t perfectly in A Little Bit In Love, Robert Baker’s When Wonderful Town finally opened on Comden and Green had sass and class, two with her younger sister Eileen in the 1930s, remembered how great she had been some ten originally want to do the job. slightly stuffy charm is on display in A Quiet 25 February 1953, it received unanimous raves qualities you don’t often find together.