STAGE STRUCK {"FIFTY YEARS OF MUSICAL COMEDY": P. G. WODEHOUSE, GUY BOLTON, FRITZI SCHEFF, FRED ASTAIRE, VIVIENNE SEGAL, WILLIAM GAXTON} (RADIO)
Summary
One in this series of programs about the world of theater, hosted by Mike Wallace, featuring interviews, scenes, and musical numbers from current and upcoming productions. This edition is an informal tribute to fifty years of musical comedy. Offering continuity and a unique perspective on the topic is Wallace's interview with the playwright, author, and lyricist P. G. Wodehouse and Wodehouse's longtime collaborator, the playwright and novelist Guy Bolton, who trace the evolution of the modern musical theater from the early 1900s to the present. Also present at this interview are singers Jane Harvey and Bob Haymes, who perform various numbers as they are discussed by Wodehouse and Bolton. Included are the following segments: Wodehouse and Bolton discuss turn-of-the-century operettas; seventy-four-year-old Vienna-born Fritzi Scheff recalls New York theater in the early 1900s, her transition from serious opera to operetta, and her association with the song "Kiss Me Again" which she then sings; Wodehouse and Bolton discuss their series of six light comedies written with composer Jerome Kern and produced at the intimate Princess Theatre; Jane Harvey and Bob Haymes sing the Kern-Wodehouse song "Till the Clouds Roll By"; Wodehouse and Bolton discuss Kern's success with the lavish Ziegfeld-produced "Sally" and an instrumental rendition of "Look for the Silver Lining" from "Sally" is heard; Wodehouse and Bolton recall their discovery of young rehearsal pianist George Gershwin; a recording is presented of Gershwin playing "Someone to Watch Over Me"; Wallace visits with Fred Astaire, who reminisces about working with Gershwin on "Lady Be Good" and then sings "Fascinating Rhythm"; Wodehouse recalls how his song "Bill" ended up in the Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein musical "Showboat"; a recording of Helen Morgan singing "Bill" is played; producer Lawrence Langner of the Theatre Guild relates how Rodgers and Hart first came to collaborate on their earliest Broadway musical hit "The Garrick Gaieties" (1925); Haymes and Harvey then sing "Manhattan" from "The Garrick Gaieties"; Wodehouse and Bolton discuss the innovative elements of Rodgers and Hart's "Pal Joey"; Vivienne Segal recalls Lorenz Hart's promise to write her a show, and sings "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" from "Pal Joey"; Wodehouse and Bolton discuss "Anything Goes," for which they wrote the book with Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse; Wallace interviews William Gaxton, who discusses his career, George Gershwin, and "Anything Goes" and sings a bit of "You're the Top"; Wodehouse and Bolton recall the teaming of Rodgers and Hammerstein on "Oklahoma!"; Arthur Maxwell and the chorus are heard singing "Marriage Type Love" from the new Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, "Me & Juliet." Includes promos and a public service announcement.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: October 30, 1953 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 01:00:10
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R78:0205
- GENRE: Radio - Variety; Radio - Music
- SUBJECT HEADING: Music; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Musical revues, comedies, etc. - Excerpts; Theater; Variety
- SERIES RUN: CBS - Radio series, 1953-1954
- COMMERCIALS:
- Radio - PSA - Community Chests & United Funds
- Radio - Promos - "Jack Benny"
- Radio - Promos - "Lux Radio Theatre"
- Radio - Promos - "Stage Struck"
CREDITS
- Howard G. Barnes … Producer
- Bruno Ziroto … Director
- Bob Corcoran … Writer
- Mike Wallace … Host
- Fred Astaire … Singer, Guest
- William Gaxton … Singer, Guest
- Jane Harvey … Singer
- Bob Haymes … Singer
- Fritzi Scheff … Singer, Guest
- Vivienne Segal … Singer, Guest
- Guy Bolton … Guest
- Lawrence Langner … Guest
- P. G. Wodehouse … Guest
- George Gershwin
- Hammerstein, Oscar, II
- Lorenz Hart
- Jerome Kern
- Arthur Maxwell
- Helen Morgan
- Cole Porter
- Richard Rodgers