House of Flowers (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

by House Of Flowers / O.B.C.

Overview

House of Flowers, based on a celebrated Truman Capote novella about love in a brothel in the West Indies, failed as a Broadway musical, running only 165 performances from its opening on December 30, 1954. But the cast album, featuring Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, and Juanita Hall, turned the show into a Broadway legend because it preserved one of Harold Arlen's best scores. Legendary backstage arguments among the principals may have resulted in a production that didn't work in the theater, but you wouldn't have known that from the music, which included the lovely "A Sleepin' Bee," "Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree" (performed by Ada Moore and Enid Mosier), and "I Never Has Seen Snow." The irrepressible Bailey is really just her usual extroverted self, breaking out of character in "One Man (Ain't Quite Enough)" to announce that there hasn't been time to write the "ad libs" she was supposed to be singing at one point in the song. The young Carroll, in contrast, is delicate and sensitive as the ingenue. Capote's lyrics are serviceable, but Arlen's music, typically bluesy, takes on Caribbean elements and works as a whole piece as much as it does in its individual songs. As a result, House of Flowers did not become one of those forgotten Broadway flops; it was remembered as one of Broadway's legendary failures in which great talents did not mange to create a masterpiece that could have been. The cast album was the record of that elusive masterpiece and remains a classic. The 2003 CD reissue uses expanded versions of the tracks "Mardi Gras Waltz" and "Slide, Boy, Slide," and adds four bonus tracks. Percy Faith's rendition of "Mardi Gras Waltz" and Mosier's solo recording of "Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree" were released on albums around the same time as the cast album. Capote reads the portion of his novella that inspired "A Sleepin' Bee." And in a fascinating taped "memo," Arlen sets down his early musical ideas for that song. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2003
Label:	Legacy / Columbia / Sony Classical
UPC:	0696998685727
Rank:	99501

Tracks

1. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. Overture
2. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. Waitin'
3. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. One Man (Ain't Quite Enough)
4. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. A Sleepin' Bee
5. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. Smellin' of Vanilla (Bamboo Cage)
6. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. House of Flowers
7. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. Two Ladies In De Shade Of De Banana Tree
8. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. What Is A Friend For?
9. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. Mardi Gras Waltz
10. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 1. I Never Has Seen Snow
11. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 2. Can I Leave Off Wearing My Shoes?
12. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 2. Has I Let You Down?
13. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 2. Slide, Boy, Slide
14. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 2. Don't Like Goodbyes
15. House of Flowers, musical play~Act 2. The Turtle Song
16. House of Flowers, musical play~Mardi Gras Waltz
17. House of Flowers, musical play~Two Ladies In De Shade Of De Banana Tree
18. House of Flowers, musical play~Ottilie And The Bee
19. House of Flowers, musical play~A Sleepin' Bee (Demo Recording To Truman Capote)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Original Broadway Cast   Primary Artist
Pearl Bailey   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Orchestra   Primary Artist
Company   Primary Artist
Chorus   Primary Artist
Ada Moore   Primary Artist,Vocals
Diahann Carroll   Primary Artist,Vocals
Miriam Burton   Primary Artist,Vocals
Juanita Hall   Primary Artist,Vocals
Truman Capote   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Dolores Harper   Vocals
Rawn Spearman   Vocals
House of Flowers Orchestra   Orchestra
Jerry Arlen   Musical Direction
Enid Mosier   Vocals
Enid Mosier Trinidad Steel Band   Band
Percy Faith   Conductor
Percy Faith & His Orchestra   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Edward T. Graham   Engineer,Recording
Fred Plaut   Engineer,Recording
Ken Fredette   Design,Art Direction
Steve Berkowitz   A&R
Jean Rosenthal   Lighting
Stacey Boyle   Tape Research
Linda Chang   Packaging
Andreas K.W. Meyer   Restoration
House of Flowers Cast Ensemble   Cast
Joy Gilbert Manfried   Project Director
Andreas Meyer   Engineer
Didier Deutch   Liner Notes,Reissue Producer
Howard Kissel   Liner Notes
Lisa Sparagano   Design
Peter Brook   Direction
Teddy Royal   Orchestration
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Harold Arlen   Composer
George Avakian   Producer
Truman Capote   Lyricist,Composer
Goddard Lieberson   Producer
Didier C. Deutsch   Reissue Producer
Darcy Proper   Mastering Engineer,Reissue Producer