Search - Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green :: Fade Out Fade In (1964 Original Broadway Cast)

I Feel My Pulse Beat Quickening

zapasnik | New York, New York United States | 06/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Musical theatre fanatics can rejoice - "Fade Out Fade In" has FINALLY arrived on CD. Few shows are as legendary as this one; the star (Carol Burnett) was great, the director (George Abbott) was great, and the writers (Jule Styne, Betty Comden & Adolph Green) were great. The reviews were generally enthusiastic, box office records previously set by "My Fair Lady" were broken, and for a while it was outgrossing two other new shows down the block - "Hello Dolly!" and "Funny Girl." But somewhere along the way it turned into one of the biggest financial disasters of the 1960s. Huh? How did that happen? All the travails, mishaps, and lawsuits involving "Fade Out Fade In" became the stuff of Broadway legend, and though we may never know the entire story, the liner notes by Peter Filichia give you a fairly good idea of what went down; you can glance at them while you're listening to this (for the most part) wonderful score, which begins with one of the best overtures Jule Styne ever composed (right up there with "Gypsy" and "Funny Girl"). The plot involves Hope Springfield (Carol Burnett) and her unexpected leap into 1930's Hollywood stardom - OK, it's little more than a frothy spoof, and some of the material is pretty standard, but the songs are well-crafted, clever, and frequently inspired. Listening to "It's Good To Be Back Home," "The Usher From The Mezzanine," "Go Home Train," "Call Me Savage," and "Fade Out Fade In" is to be reminded once again of Carol Burnett's tremendous talents as a singer AND an actress (in the latter two numbers she is ably assisted by the gifted Dick Patterson). Looking for comic genius? Look no further than "My Fortune Is My Face," Jack Cassidy's side-splitting paean to movie-star self-absorption. Most critics, however, singled out "You Musn't Be Discouraged" as the show's undisputed showstopper, and when you hear Carol Burnett and Tiger Haynes doing their hilarious salute to Shirley Temple & Bill "Bojangles" Robinson - well, they're stopping the show all over again."Fade Out Fade In" may have had a troubled history, but this CD goes a long way toward focusing our attention where it belongs - on some great performers singing some terrific material. Ultimately, that's the only way "Fade Out Fade In" should be remembered."

AT LAST!

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 08/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"FADE OUT-FADE IN is the most-requested cast-album in the Decca catalogue. Finally, after years and years of legal problems and copyright issues, it has finally been released!...and it has been well worth the wait.Carol Burnett stars as aspiring movie actress Hope Springfield, whose dreams of Hollywood stardom start to come true when she is discovered by big-wig Hollywood moguls who change her name to Lila Tremaine.The score by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green has a few gems, including "The Usher From the Mezzanine", "Lila Tremaine", "Go Home Train" and "It's Good to Be Back Home", all sung and belted to perfection by Carol Burnett. Jack Cassidy plays a prissy Hollywood rake who sings the comical "My Fortune is My Face", while the supporting cast includes Lou Jacobi, Dick Patterson, Tiger Haynes, Mitchell Jason and a pre-GILLIGAN'S ISLAND Tina Louise.The musical is perhaps best-known for all the events that happened off-stage. Carol Burnett was involved in a nasty car-accident, sidelining her for several weeks in the hospital, with producers bringing in Betty Hutton to cover the role in her absence. When Burnett did eventually return to the tuner she was involved in her husband's television show THE ENTERTAINERS and quickly left again, with producers threatening legal action if she did not honor her legal obligations to FADE OUT-FADE IN's run. The show later closed and re-opened, again with Burnett, but closed again soon after when the box-office took a major slide.And so FADE OUT-FADE IN slipped into Broadway history...Die-hard cast album collectors have been waiting patiently for many years for this classic musical...snap up your copy today!"

FADE IN: A LONG-LOST, LITTLE-KNOWN GEM RETURNS

Alan W. Petrucelli | THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI) | 05/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fade in, many a year ago: Fans clamor for Decca to release "Fade Out-Fade In" on CD. Fade out, 2003: It finally happens! The most requested original cast recording is finally available here, proving again, that good things do come to those who wait. So the book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green (music by Jule Styne) is far from their best. But they do manage to bring the glamour of Tinseltown to the stage in this hilarious homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood of the '30s. (Let us not forget the Betty and Adolph took on the world of silent flicks in "Singin' in the Rain.") There are glorious touches in this tale of Hope Springfield, a girl pulled from the chorus and mistaken for a star. When the show opened on Broadway in 1964, it marked the return of hot new star Carol Burnett, and critics roared their approval ... sort of in the same way Carol roars like the MGM lion in her opening number "It's Good to Be Back Home." And so "Fade Out-Fade In" was expected to be a huge hit; it even outgrossed Barbra in her new show, "Funny Girl." Then, fate stepped in rather nosily when Burnett suffered whiplash while riding in a taxi. The show closed prematurely. Betty Hutton replaced Carol and bombed; Carol then sued to leave for TV. She lost, and returned to the stage, even though Cassidy had been replaced (by Dick Shawn) and Tina Louise left to star in the series "Gilligan's Island." And so "Fade Out-Fade In" faded out for good. And so we have the CD to remind us of what once was ... briefly. Jack Cassidy is a delight as Movie Star Byron Prong. (Trivia alert: Comden and Green used Byron's name six years earlier in a scene from the flick "Auntie Mame" ... he gets billing in the Mame Dennis/Vera Charles show "Midsummer Madness.")And it is a delight to hear the egomaniac Prong sing about his virtues in "My Fortune is My Face" ... the rhyming of "actor" with "Max Factor" is priceless. It is Burnett who
steals the show, even on a teeny circular disc. Her take on Shirley Temple in "You Musnt't Be Discouraged" would become the springboard for her love letter to the moppet on Carol's long-running TV series. Fade in: To a smash hit!"