The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, Broadway Encores! Revival with Christine Ebersole, Howard McGillin

Duke, Vernon, Ira Gershwin

Experience the Follies as the Locals Did

In the opening number of this revue, the narrator proclaims that this Follies will be different. His audience in 1936 was probably not too thrilled about that, as the Ziegfeld Follies were known for beautiful girls (who appeared topless but stood stock-still, in observance of a city ordinance that allowed nudity but not nude dancing) and madcap comedy sketches. The shows were the Saturday Night Live of their day, full of wry topical references and songs that winked at (or derided) current events and celebrities. One little-heard line written by lyricist Ira Gershwin for the standard "I Can't Get Started" proclaims: "I've been consulted by Franklin D., and Greta Garbo's had me to tea. Yet I'm broken hearted, because I can't get started with you."

Unlike other revues, this show, which was revived for the Broadway Encores! series in 2001, has aged well. Vernon Duke's music has that affable Broadway luster; it's universal without pandering, and rich with harmonic twists. Ira Gershwin adds racy wit and an over-active imagination (sample rhyme: "pulchritudinous" with "the lewd in us"). There are torch songs and songs that mock torch songs, romantic ballads and a surprisingly durable tropical fantasy ("Island in the West Indies").

The cast of this revival includes Christine Ebersole and Howard McGillin; it can't match the starpower of the original, which included Josephine Baker, Bob Hope, Fanny Brice, and others. But the revival offers something genuinely rare in Broadway history: those original orchestrations. Conventional Broadway front-office wisdom holds that audiences expect the music to be "updated." As a result, original scores have been neglected, and sometimes lost. The original orchestrations for Ziegfeld are amazing. At every turn the pit orchestra supplies the nervy embellishments and responses the songs need, as well as unexpectedly powerful counterlines (see "I Can't Get Started") that fling already pristine melodies into rarefied air. Those who know the Great American Songbook will recognize many of these tunes, and appreciate hearing them the way they were originally conceived.

Genre: Musicals
Released: 2001, Decca
Key Tracks: "I Can't Get Started," "Island in the West Indies," "Gazooka," "That Moment of Moments."
Next Stop: The 1934 Recording of the Ziegfeld Follies, Original Broadway Cast.
Book Page: 239

Share this page: