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.

LINK

Completing the RCA "Show Time" Series

I have been shamefully neglectful of this blog lately, but will be doing my best to make amends.

When I have had little to offer in the past, my friends have bailed me out, and this is yet another time when that is the case. So Parchisi and MusicalGuy38 are the heroes of this particular post. Together they are helping us complete the run of recordings in RCA's "Show Time" Series of 1953, with that label's potted versions of one big hit (Show Boat), one lesser although worthy musical (The Cat and the Fiddle), both from Jerome Kern, and, of all things, one of Victor Herbert's lesser operettas, Mlle. Modiste.

We'll discuss these in order of popularity, and few musicals have been more popular than Show Boat (or Showboat as it is sometimes spelled). A few words about the singers who have not previously appeared here. William C. Smith was Joe in the 1948 revival of this show, and appeared in several other shows in the 1940s. (I couldn't find a photo of him.) John Tyers duets with (and was married to) Helena Bliss. He had been in Arms and the Girl and was to be seen in a revival of Die Fledermaus in 1954. Completing this excellent cast is the always superb Carol Bruce.

MusicalGuy38 insists that Show Boat was mastered a half-step sharp, and now that I have listened I have no doubt he is correct. So there are two versions of this file in the download - a lossless, restored version at the original pitch, from Parchisi as remastered by me, and a speed-adjusted mp3 version from MusicalGuy38.

Stephen Douglass

Patricia Neway

The Cat and the Fiddle features two fine but neglected artists of the time - Stephen Douglass and Patricia Neway. Douglass had been in Make a Wish and was to be in The Golden Apple in 1954. He was yet to experience his greatest role - Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees.

Edward Roecker

The excellent contralto Patricia Neway mostly appeared in opera, with many appearances in contemporary works, notably in Menotti's The Consul. She later won a Tony as the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music.

Mlle. Modiste comes from 1905, and features Doretta Morrow and Felix Knight, who have appeared here before, as well as the relatively obscure Edward Roecker, who appeared in operetta and on radio.

Thanks again to MusicalGuy38 and Parchisi for their contributions, which have helped me complete the collection of this series that documents some of the notable talents on Broadway at mid-century.