Isabel Bigley and Stephen Douglass

Isabel Bigley and Stephen Douglass starred in some of the biggest Broadway hits of the 1950s, without ever becoming household names. This budget-label release allows you to hear them in some of the best-known Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes, individually and in duet.

Isabel Bigley

Bigley originated the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and then Jeanie in R&H's Me and Juliet.  She retired from the stage shortly after this record was made in the late 50s.

Douglass had been a lead in The Golden Apple, a replacement Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game and then became Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, his biggest role.

One reason why Bigley and Douglass aren't better remembered is that their best roles either never made it to Hollywood, or were recast there - Jean Simmons took over the part of Sarah Brown and Tab Hunter (!) became Joe Hardy.

Stephen Douglass with Gwen Verdon,
recording Damn Yankees

This record is a workmanlike product for a budget label, but it sounds under-rehearsed, the arrangements are thin, and the two singers have little chemistry. Among Bigley's numbers is "No Other Love," which she introduced in Me and Juliet, a most enjoyable score even though the show's success was limited by a weak book.

Douglass is good in declamatory songs such as "Some Enchanted Evening," but stiff in "It's a Grand Night for Singing," where elan is required.

The LP is dated 1957 on the back cover, but I believe it actually came out in 1958 or 1959. The mono sound is reasonably good. I haven't seen evidence of a stereo issue, although one may exist, considering the probable date of issue.

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