Something For
The Boys
Louise Gold starred as Blossom Hart at Barbican Cinema
1 on 28 May, 4, 11, and 18 June 1995
Cast
Chiquita
Hart - Jessica Martin
Roger
Calhoun - Lynden Edwards
Harry Hart -
Sam Kelly
Blossom Hart
- Louise Gold
Staff Sgt
Rocky Fulton - Teddy Kempner
Sgt Laddie Green - Daniel Gillingwater
Mary Frances
- Hazel Holder
Betty-Jean/Maid
- Louise Davidson
Lucille - Irene
Warren
Mr Tobias
Twitch - Stewart Permutt
Sgt Carter -
Simon Joslin
Melaine
Walker - Ashleigh Sendin
Waiter/Burke/Soldier
- Richard Shelton
Mrs Jane
Grubbs -
Production Team
Music and
Lyrics - Cole Porter
Book - Herbert
and Dorothy Fields
Original
Production - 1943, Broadway, with Ethel Merman as Blossom Hart
Inspired by
an article about Carborundum in a 1938 edition of The
Readers Digest
Musical
Director - Mark W Dorrell
Director/Producer
-
For a review of Something For The Boys please click here.
The Readers
Digest story that inspired Herbert and Dorothy Fields to write Something
For The Boys was a story which recounted how residents of East
Rahway in New Jersey within a half a mile radius of a radio station, WOR, found
themselves receiving radio broadcasts through rusty metal surfaces such as
plumbing and stoves, and one inhabitant actually found himself receiving them
even when in a sound-proofed room, just like in the show, he was receiving them
through his teeth. It transpired he worked in a factory breaking up carborundum, which got onto the metal fillings of his
teeth, and just like Blossom Hart in the musical, turned him into a crystal
receiving set. He was advised “to brush his teeth hard” every day, which apparently sorted the problem
out. It did however produce this story, in The Readers Digest, referred to several times in the musical about
what happens to people who work with carborundum.”
Ethel Merman, the mighty singer who
originated the role of Blossom back in 1943, herself had a sort of “Blossom”
experience in reverse some years later, when performing a solo act at The
London Palladium (a theatre in which Louise Gold would later appear
in Ziegfeld and Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang). The story (which producer Michael Grade
told on a radio programme) was that Miss Merman had brought along with her what
was then quite a new piece of technology, a radio mike. Now in order to use
radio mikes one has to obtain clearance from the local police, to make sure
they are not using a frequency that is restricted. But neither Miss Merman or
her producers realised this, on this occasion. Indeed Mr Grade and co had never
actually seen a radio mike before. The result was that a few days into the run,
the show was raided by The Flying Squad. It seems that Miss Merman’s
radio mike was unwittingly using the same frequency as some of their
communications radios, so that whenever The Flying Squad went to use
their communications radios, all they were getting was Ethel Merman.
Something For The Boys was the fifth musical
that Cole Porter wrote for Ethel Merman. The others being: Anything Goes, Red Hot And Blue, Du
Barry Was A Lady (see: Du
Barry Was A Lady (1993 Production) & Du Barry Was A
Lady (2001 Production) ), and Panama Hattie. The writing team of Herbert
and Dorothy Fields went on to create Annie Get Your Gun for Miss
Merman.
The only previous occasion when this musical had been
seen in
Of the Lost Musicals cast, it is perhaps
interesting to note in this production the leading lady and leading man are
also a puppeteer and an animator respectively.
Louise Gold and Teddy Kempner
had previous appeared together in Angry
Housewives and the charity concerts Chicago
& Company and Broadway To Brighton.
Louise Gold, Teddy Kempner and
Ashleigh Sendin (plus Myra Sands ) had
previously appeared together in in a Lost Musicals
production of One Touch Of Venus (in
1992).
Louise Gold and Ashleigh Sendin had previously appeared together in another
Merman/Porter musical, namely Anything Goes, they would be reunited in Of
Thee I Sing.
Louise Gold and Daniel Gillingwater had previously appeared together in Merrily We Roll
Along (Stage Production) and on that cast’s Merrily We Roll Along (Recording)
Myra Sands is a regular member of
The Lost Musicals gang, and has appeared with Louise Gold in: By Jupiter | One
Touch of Venus (1992 Production) | Du Barry Was A Lady (1993 Production) | New Girl In
Town | Red Hot And Blue |Panama Hattie | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | One Touch of Venus (2000 Production) .
They had previously appeared in a concert of highlights from Ratepayers' Iolanthe & Metropolitan Mikado , have also appeared
together on the commercial stage in Follies
Louise Gold and Sam Kelly went
on to appear in the film Topsy Turvy
Stewart Permutt went on to
appear with Louise Gold in Oh Kay and Du Barry Was A
Lady (2001 Production). He also went on to co-write Jessica Martin’s
one woman show Blame It On My Youth.
Louise Gold and Jessica Martin
(plus Myra Sands) would be reunited 5 years later, in a Lost Musicals
production of One Touch
Of Venus.
Louise Gold and Jessica Martin
sort of reprised their performance of By The Mississineawah in A Lost Musicals Occasion. They have
also worked on Spitting Image, and feature on
the album Spit In Your
Ear . They went on to appear in: Regents
Park 70th Anniversary Gala and at Dress Circle Grand Reopening. They
have also appeared together on the radio on Let’s Do The
Show Right Here and Ned Sherrin’s
Review Of Revue.
Louise Davidson went on to become Louise
Gold's understudy in Mamma Mia,
and Mary Poppins. They also
went on to appear as part of The
Company Of Mary Poppins
in a late night FUNdraising special.
Mark Dorrell went on to appear in Side
By Side By Sondheim 30th Anniversary Gala.
Jessica Martin went on to
appear in A Love Letter To
Dan.
Louise Gold has appeared in quite a
number of Cole Porter musicals, besides the Ethel Merman quintet
of shows, she has also appeared in Kiss Me Kate
and Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It. However, she
has made all too few recordings, the only albums of her singing Cole Porter
are Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It
(Recording), and the JAY/TER studio cast album of Anything Goes (recording) - Website
Recommended Album.
Links about
Something For The Boys
Muppet Central/Tibby's Bowl Interview with
Louise Gold http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/gold.shtml
Although she does not
give name them, Louise mentions playing the Ethel Merman parts in The Lost
Musicals.
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