AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE {IRVING BERLIN TRIBUTE}
(TV)
Summary
One in this educational public affairs series that
traces the origins and development of the American
musical theater and examines the careers and
contributions of the creative artists who have made the
musical a native American art form. In an informal
workshop setting, New York City high school students
meet the composers, lyricists, and performers who have
shaped the American musical and question them about
their work. This edition is a salute to the music of
Irving Berlin as he approaches his seventy-fifth
birthday. Host Earl Wrightson, along with Susan Johnson
and Ralph Curtis, perform a selection of Berlin's most
popular songs, accompanied by the CBS Orchestra. The
orchestra opens the show by playing "There's No Business
Like Show Business." Following the introductions,
Wrightson sings "The Girl That I Marry," Johnson sings
"It's a Lovely Day Today," and Curtis sings "They Say
It's Wonderful." The orchestra then plays "Alexander's
Ragtime Band," Berlin's first big hit from 1911.
Wrightson next asks the audience of high school students
some questions about the previous songs and the musical
shows they come from. He then traces Berlin's early
years, from his childhood growing up on the streets of
New York City's Lower East Side as a child of immigrants
to his prolific songwriting career that made him
America's outstanding composer of popular music. From
the period of the Ziegfeld Follies and Berlin's musical
revues, Johnson sings "Say It With Music" and Wrightson
sings "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody." A selection of
his simple and tender ballads is presented next with
Curtis performing "All Alone," Johnson singing "What'll
I Do?" and Wrightson performing "Always." The orchestra
plays "The Piccolino" as an example of the dance tunes
Berlin composed for the movie musicals of Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers. Next, the performers focus on the
popular songs Berlin composed outside of his work for
the musical theater, with Johnson singing "Remember"
and "The Song Is Ended" and Curtis singing "Blue Skies"
and "How Deep Is the Ocean?" The program ends as the
students join Wrightson, Johnson, and Curtis in singing
America's unofficial second national anthem, "God Bless
America."
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The
Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundation, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: WCBS-TV
- DATE: January 26, 1963 2:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:27:31
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:53924
- GENRE: Music; Education/Information; Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Biography; Composers; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Musical revues, comedies - Excerpts
- SERIES RUN: WCBS (New York, NY) - TV series, 1959-1965
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ned Cramer … Producer
- Ethel Burns … Associate Producer
- Anthony Farrar … Director
- Irving Berlin … Composer, Lyricist
- Alfred Antonini … Conductor
- CBS Orchestra, The … Music Group
- Earl Wrightson … Host, Performer, Singer
- Susan Johnson … Performer, Singer
- Ralph Curtis … Performer, Singer
- Irving Berlin