Search - Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster, Maureen O'Hara :: Christine (1960 Original Broadway Cast)

Ovelooked Musical - Maureen O'Hara a Revalation

Jim Jr | Buffalo, NY United States | 04/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maureen O'Hara is a complete revelation in this overlooked musical. Everyone knows she is one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen and is a terrific actress, BUT who knew she has a truly wonderful singing voice. Her singing equals or surpasses her other talents. It is worth it to have this album just for her numbers. It has been one of my favorites because of her since I first got it on LP back in 1960.There is one song that should have become a Broadway standard - "My Little Lost Girl". This showcases Miss O'Hara's voice and acting excellently as she sings of her departed daughter. It is a wonderful, heart touching song.The story concerns an Irish woman who comes to India to visit her daughter. To her dismay, she learns that her daughter has died in childbirth. She has to stay in the small Indian town for a while waiting for a train so she can return home. During this time she falls in love with the doctor who had been her duaghter's husband. The narrative goes on to a bittersweet conclusion when she realizes that, because of their cultural differences, she can not stay with the doctor and does return to Ireland.This story was probably a little too serious for Broadway at that time. There were book problems before it opened when Pearl S. Buck's writing was mostly hurridly replaced to make the opening date. However, whatever the book problems, the score by Academy Award winning Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster is excellent. Listening to the recording with delightful songs and the incomparable Maureen O'Hara, you wonder how the show could have failed. It is not a great score, but certainly enjoyable. Could it be a case that the score and Miss O'Hara were the best things about the show?It is wonderful to have this overlooked score now available on CD for the first time. A recommendation is to get a copy before it goes out of print again."

An unfortunate misfire

dungeonmaster201 | Cortlandt Manor, NY United States | 11/15/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The elements were promising, the result was not. Maureen O'Hara, not necessarily known for the lilting Irish lyric soprano she possessed, was given her own Broadway star vehicle that unfortunately came off across as a bland attempt at ripping off "The King and I" (The plot elements and certain devices were all too similar). The lush overture promises a lot, but it never comes through. Most of the score is rather embarrassing - they sound like parodies of Broadway numbers rather than actual music theatre songs. Especially awful: "The UNICEF Song", "I'm Just a Little Sparrow in the House of the Lord", "How to Pick a Man a Woman" and the worst "Freedom Can Be a Most Uncomfortable Thing" (try replacing "Freedom" with "This Score") These titles alone should be enough proof for you. That's not to say there aren't some decent songs, although nothing to rave about. Maureen O'Hara gets the best of the material - "My Little Lost Girl", "I Never Meant to Fall in Love", "I Love Him" and a guilty pleasure is the frustrated leading lady soliloquy (a la "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?")... - "Ireland Was Never Like This" (although the latter doesn't come close to being anywhere near as powerful as the former.) Morley Meredith possesses a rather overripe, unpleasant operatic baritone and comes across weak in his numbers as the romantic interest. (The man was fired as Joe during tryouts of "The Most Happy Fella" in 1956 because he was not working out) The plot element of Christine falling in love with her widowed son-in-law is rather unsettling as well. The musical (with its book by Pearl S. Buck and score by Hollywood's Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster) ran for 12 performances and was recorded by Goddard Lieberson even after it received its death notice in the form of abysmal critical response. (He was known for keeping his contracts with many of the flop shows - recording Anyone Can Whistle, Juno, Kean, Oh, Captain, Candide, et al. We can really thank him for that - its good to have a wider base of the Broadway of the past - good or bad) It is definitely just a curiosity item. And is worth it for hearing the relatively unknown singing voice of a great leading lady, who suffered the misfortune of being the only good aspect of this musical."

A long-overdue reissue for the lost musical

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 11/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"CHRISTINE is another one of those classic flop musicals that are irresistible to Broadway collectors. The musical version of "My Indian Family" by Hilda Wernher.Christine (played by Maureen O'Hara in her Broadway debut) is a middle-aged Irish woman, newly-arrived in India to meet her daughter's husband and new family. She is heartbroken to discover on her arrival that her daughter has recently died of a short illness. Slowly, she and her son-in-law, the local doctor (Morley Meredith) fall in love with each other; but cultural differences and social mores tear them apart. Christine returns to Ireland a different woman, but no less wiser for her experiences.The cast features Nancy Andrews, Janet Pavek (the star of the London production of FANNY), Daniel Keyes, Phil Leeds, Jonathan Morris and Bhaskar.Maureen O'Hara possesses a lovely, lilting singing voice. She made her name in Hollywood in such classics as 'Miracle on 34th Street', 'Lady Godiva' and 'The Parent Trap' (in which she briefly warbled the love theme "For Now, For Always"), but CHRISTINE stands as her only musical role. She is a marvellous performer.Among the more memorable songs from the operetta-flavored score are "My Lost Little Girl", "I Never Meant to Fall in Love", "Room in My Heart", "Freedom Can Be a Most Uncomfortable Thing", "He Loves Her" and "How to Pick a Man a Wife". This must surely count as one of the most lovely scores ever written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster.Highly recommended. DRG Theater."