On the Twentieth Century

by On The Twentieth Century / O.C.R.

Overview

The 1978 Broadway musical On the Twentieth Century is an adaptation of Twentieth Century, the 1932 straight play and comic farce by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (in turn based on the unproduced play The Napoleon of Broadway by Charles Bruce Millholland) about Oscar Jaffe, a flamboyant theatrical producer on his uppers, who boards the 20th Century Limited train for a cross-country trip during which he hopes to lure his former protege, the film star Lily Garland, also on board, back to the stage, and thereby return to solvency. The 1934 film version directed by Howard Hawks, and starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard, was a classic, and lyricist/librettists Betty Comden and Adolph Green transfer much of its tone to the musical. They are well suited to do so, as veterans of sketch comedy and also the screenwriters of the similarly toned movie musical Singin' in the Rain, another send-up of Hollywood. This is broad comedy requiring larger than life, over the top performances, and it gets them from John Cullum, channeling Barrymore, and Madeline Kahn, who is both a remarkable soprano and a remarkable comedienne. Another veteran is composer Cy Coleman, although he has not worked with Comden and Green previously. Coleman is a highly adaptable writer, and he mixes operetta with some '30s jazz styles effectively in his music. This is not the sort of show that an audience is going to think much about after leaving the theater, and this is not a cast album of songs that will be memorable outside the context of the show. But when it's going on, the show works like gangbusters, and the album serves as a good souvenir. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	08/14/2012
Label:	Masterworks Broadway
UPC:	0886919748321
Rank:	135917

Tracks

1. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Overture
2. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Stranded Again / Saddle Up the Horses / On the Twentieth Century
3. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. I Rise Again
4. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Veronique
5. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. I Have Written a Play
6. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Together
7. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Never
8. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Our Private World
9. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Repent
10. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. Mine
11. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. I've Got It All
12. On the Twentieth Century~Act I. On the Twentieth Century (reprise)
13. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. Entr'acte. Life Is Like a Train
14. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. Five Zeros
15. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. Sextet
16. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. She's a Nut
17. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. Babbette
18. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. The Legacy
19. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. Lily, Oscar
20. On the Twentieth Century~Act II. On the Twentieth Century (reprise)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kevin Kline   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Charles Rule   Primary Artist,Vocals
Stanley Simmonds   Primary Artist,Vocals
George Coe   Primary Artist,Vocals
Hal Norman   Primary Artist,Vocals
Tom Batten   Primary Artist,Vocals
Imogene Coca   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
John Cullum   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Dean Dittman   Primary Artist,Vocals
Madeline Kahn   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Keith Davis   Primary Artist,Vocals
Joe Wise   Primary Artist
The Orchestra   Primary Artist
Ensemble   Primary Artist
Carol Lugenbeal   Vocals
Joseph Wise   Vocals
On the Twentieth Century Cast Ensemble   Choir/Chorus
On the Twentieth Century Pit Orchestra   Orchestra
Quitman Fludd Iii   Vocals
Judy Kaye   Vocals
Rufus Smith   Vocals
Maris Clement   Vocals
David Horwitz   Vocals
Sal Mistretta   Vocals
Willie Burke   Vocals
Peggy Cooper   Vocals
Mel Johnson, Jr.   Vocals
Ray Gill   Vocals
Ray Stephens   Vocals
George Lee Andrews   Vocals
Paul Gemignani   Conductor,Music Direction
Carol Lurie   Vocals
Kenneth Hilliard   Vocals

Technical Credits

Betty Comden   Book,Composer,Lyricist
Jo Greenfield   Production Coordination
Don Hunstein   Photography
Frank Laico   Engineer
Cy Coleman   Composer,Producer
Didier C. Deutsch   Producer
Adolph Green   Book,Composer,Lyricist
Hershy Kay   Orchestration
Tim Tiedemann   Digital Remastering
Terrie K. Curran   Assistant
Harold Prince   Stage Direction
Federico Ruiz   Reissue Package Design
Stanley Tonkel   Engineer
Tammy Van Aken   Reissue Package Coordinator
Roxanne Slimak   Reissue Design Coordinator
Ken Mandelbaum   Synopsis,Liner Notes