BURNETT "DISCOVERS" DOMINGO (TV)
Summary
Funnywoman Carol Burnett teams with tenor Placido Domingo in this musical comedy special. The program opens with Burnett "discovering" Domingo singing a cappella on a dark sidewalk. Burnett, apparently not realizing that Domingo is already a legend, thinks it her job to make the talented "singing waiter" into a star. First, Burnett flies Domingo via coach class to Los Angeles for a performance in front of a full house at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Once at the pavilion, Burnett realizes her "mistake" in not recognizing the famous tenor. Then, Domingo performs a sensuous Spanish song which Burnett translates into English as she grows increasingly flustered by the lyrics. In the sketch "A Nightmare at the Opera," a lovesick woman waits for the man who always sits beside her at the opera. When he arrives, it turns out that he shares her secret passion. Following a deus ex machina moment, their silence is broken, leading to a different outcome than either imagined. Next, Burnett and Domingo perform in an elaborately-staged comic mini-opera (loosely based on exotic movies of the past such as "Casablanca" and "Algiers") in which Domingo plays a "rotten jewel thief" and Burnett plays a "beautiful, rich lady." Amidst scenes set mostly in a casbah and prison, the twosome comically belt out a selection of Cole Porter tunes. Then, Domingo talks about how the serious work of opera makes him happy to get to do some "schtick" for once. Burnett subsequently performs "Be a Clown" and then Domingo sings "Vesti la Giubba" from "Pagliacci." In the next sketch, Burnett plays Lydia, a homeless former music-hall star, who runs into Ramon (Domingo), a snoring bum who's actually her long, lost lover and former stage partner. Together they sing a medley of songs including: "I'm Still Here," "Try to Remember," "Memory," "Breezin' Along With the Breeze," "Beautiful Girls," and "Steppin' Out With My Baby." Burnett and Domingo sing "No Time Now" to end the show. After the credits, Domingo performs "My Life for a Song" and "B'same Mucho." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 27, 1984 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:14238
- GENRE: Music/Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: She Made It Collection (Carol Burnett)
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Marty Pasetta … Producer, Director
- Kenny Solms … Producer, Writer
- Mitzie Welch … Writer, Music by
- Ken Welch … Writer, Music by
- Placido Domingo … Performer, Cast
- Carol Burnett … Performer, Cast
- Pat Ast … Cast
- Alfred Dennis … Cast
- Susan Donovan … Cast
- Gig Dyer … Cast
- La Chance, Steve … Cast
- Phil Leeds … Cast
- Wallace Rooney … Cast
- William Tregoe … Cast
- Cole Porter