TAKE ONE: J2 AND A TALE OF TWO SMILES:
THE FINAL SCORE AND WHAT CAME BEFORE
While some companies reviving musicals long after their time on the Great White White might restore one or more songs that had been cut, or record them as bonus tracks on a cast album, how about a resourceful group that rescues an entire abandoned score that was originally planned for the project? Before composer Marvin Hamlisch collaborated in 1986 with lyricist/bookwriter Howard Ashman on Smile—currently playing at AMT Theatre in a well-worth-your-time full production—he wrote a whole other set of melodies (except the title song tune) with Carolyn Leigh, lyricist of popular songs and the Tony-winning score of How Now, Dow Jones (1968). The workshop didn’t work out; she died in 1983 not long after bad feelings and a stalemate caused her and original bookwriter Jack Heifner to pull their material out. The plot about a pageant with its competing teenage girls and the adults in charge led to music and lyrics that highlight both sweet and sour moods. Last night on April 15, most of the Leigh/Hamlisch score was presented publicly for the first time. What a rare opportunity to hear Plan A!
Marvin Hamlisch and Carolyn Leigh
J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company—that valuable, valiant group digging into the past and resurrecting initially unlucky creations, curiosities, and could-have-beens—scored another home run with a well-sung presentation as part of its fifth anniversary. Musical director/pianist Michael Lavine and likably ebullient director Charles Kirsch very ably shared narration duties to offer plot context to the songs (especially helpful to those new to the story as well as those who saw the known version of Smile, with story elements that aren’t quite the same). This wasn’t the first rodeo for the Lavine/Kirsch duo who’ve shone and shown their expertise at other concert events for the theater company and at 54 Below (where, just the night before, they did the honors for a night of songs from the musical Coco).
The laudable Lavine not only accompanied a large number of singers for this “other” Smile with flair and feeling, but amusingly sang “Classical Music,” a cutely pointed piece from the point of view of someone who’s bored by the genre. This and a handful of the songs have been unveiled on recordings, notably the CD Hamlisch Uncovered, on which Mr. Lavine was a co-producer, playing piano on the majority of tracks, too. The “ancestor” of Smile was a fascinating and entertaining peek at the semi-hidden history of Hamlisch and Leigh’s legacies, inviting a theatre fan’s comparisons with the later version of this story and the writers’ other hits and misses. Of course, there’s no way of knowing what might have been changed or cut or added if producers went full steam ahead with this approach.
For every big Broadway hit that logs hundreds of performances and leads to major revivals, there are dozens of shows that don’t have that luck or don’t get produced at all. Beyond those with long runs are the also-rans and those that never ran: we could run through the list of short-lived musicals that disappear each year, sadly dismissed with opportunities missed for an afterlife. But so often a re-examination reveals much worth discovery and delight.
J2 also revives some higher-profile musicals with happier fates, such as their next choice: Zorba—with a score by Kander and Ebb. It ran for over 300 performances in both its original Broadway run in the 1960s and a revival in the 1980s. After Zorba (April 24-May 4), the company takes on another short-lived, charming Broadway musical, also from the ’60s, Drat! The Cat! (May 8-18). And, like Smile, it had an earlier version which J2 will bring out in another of their one-night-only events on May 13. This will be the world premiere of the songs from what was originally titled Cat and Mouse. This was before Milton Schafer was recruited as composer, taking over that assignment from the man who wrote book and lyrics for both versions: Ira Levin, author of Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives and Deathtrap. This is the musical that introduced us to “He Touched Me,” originally sung by Elliot Gould but made into a hit by his then-wife Barbra Streisand.
Ira Levin c. 1967 (photo by Inge Morath)Also on the calendar: April 29’s anniversary reunion/concert/celebration with performers and songs revisiting the numerous productions mounted since the company was co-founded by Jim Jimirro (his name and initials are the derivation of the moniker J2) and Robert W. Schneider who directs the book musicals.
Smile | Zorba | Drat! The Cat! | J2 Cabaret Series’ “In The Spotlight”
J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company
AMT Theater, 354 W. 45th St
for tickets, visit J2 Spotlight
