Broadway Heat

It was thankfully only cloudy and humid when I awoke this morning. I put off going to the Haddon Township Library this time until about 11. I wanted to avoid the crowds I've run into constantly there over the past few weeks. Newton River Park was surprisingly busy for such a warm, humid morning. It was hot, but not as hot as over the weekend. I dodged lots of dog walkers (one with two cute white boxer pups), fishermen, and people out for a jog.

It was still busy at the library, but not as busy as last week, as I got there well after the Storybook Hour ended. This time, I was able to clear foreign and children's titles out of the adult section without having to lean over everyone. And there was a big stack to clear out! I had to shuffle a lot of things around to get the foreign titles in. They really need to be cleared out. The kids' titles weren't as bad today, perhaps because there are now lots of bored kids out of school to watch them.

I took out three comedies about men and women behaving badly - Bridesmaids, Broadway Danny Rose, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - and a PBS miniseries on musicals, Broadway - The American Musical. The biography I'm reading on George M. Cohan has stimulated my interest in Broadway history.

Stopped at Capitol Pizza for lunch. It was cooler inside, but I didn't feel like watching silly court shows on Fox while I ate. I took my cheese and mushroom slices and can of Fresca to the umbrella covered metal table and chairs outside. The view of two parked cars, the White Horse Pike, and a small publishing company housed in an old garage across the street wasn't exactly inspiring, but it was in the shade and it still beat Divorce Court.

I spent a couple of hours at home after lunch. Took down the 4th of July decorations as I watched the first two episodes of Broadway: The American Musical. "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "Syncopated City" cover the last decade of the 19th century and the first three decades of the 20th, as Broadway evolves from a few streets of stages into the glittering Crossroads of the World...and the musical evolves with it, from Cohan's nervy, flag-waving comedies to the Gershwins' uptempo farces, from Victor Herbert's operetta fantasies to Kern and Hammerstein unleashing the integrated musical with Show Boat.

I got bored after "Syncopated City" finished and, since the weather was holidng out, decided a swim was in order. I changed into my bathing suit and rode over to Dad's. Dad said the water was in the 90s. I didn't believe him...until I jumped in and emerged with no feeling of shock! The water wasn't even remotely cold. The thermometer tied to the ladder on the deep end of the pool said it was in the upper 80s. I had a very pleasant swim for a half-hour, then read The Man Who Owned Broadway for another half-hour. Chatted with Dad and Jodie a bit before leaving and confirmed that yes, there will be a party on Saturday, and yes, they would like me to bring another pudding pie.

When I got home, I made Chicken Green Pepper Stir Fry and Persian Cucumber Salad for dinner while watching the next two episodes of Broadway: The American Musical. The one-two-three punch of the Depression, talking films, and radio hits Broadway and the musical hard in "I Got Plenty O' Nuthin'." While Hollywood may be the place to make money, the stage is where composers and stars can experiment in ways movies don't allow. The Gershwins did the political satire Of Thee I Sing and the folk opera Porgy and Bess. Cole Porter's glamorous shows like Anything Goes and DuBarry Was a Lady brought glitter and laughter to people who desperately needed it. Revues developed a conscience with the additions of songs that tackled the issues of the day, like "Supper Time" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Marc Blitzstein's opera The Cradle Will Rock was so controversial, the government and unions tried to keep it from being performed...but the cast, Orson Welles, and Blitzstein had them do it in the seats and boxes.

Irving Berlin's rousing This Is the Army takes us into World War II, which is where we begin the next episode, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning." The darkest days of the war begat some of Broadway's brightest musicals, including Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! (my personal favorite of their shows) and Carousel. Suddenly, everyone's inspired to do these new-fangled "integrated" musicals, where the song and dance fits the story and the story isn't always piffle. Irving Berlin did Annie Get Your Gun with Ethel Merman at Rogers and Hammerstein's request. Cole Porter revitalized his career with Kiss Me Kate. E.Y Harburg brought an integrated cast to Broadway in the tale of how a leprechaun's magic effects race relation in the south, Finian's Rainbow. Betty Comden and Adolph Green join Leonard Bernstein for the story of three sailors on leave in New York in On the Town and two sisters trying to make it big on Christopher Street in Wonderful Town. TV variety shows helped advertise hits like Guys and Dolls and Gypsy.