Began a sunny morning with Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes and two original cast albums of lesser-known musicals from the 1950's. Destry Rides Again was a musical version of a western that had twice been made into a movie (most memorably in 1939 with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich). Here, Andy Griffith, fresh off his success in No Time For Sergeants, was the soft-spoken title character who refuses to carry a gun or resort to violence. Dolores Gray was Frenchy, the dance hall girl who woos and (eventually) falls for him. This was ok, not anything spectacular, but with some nice numbers, especially for belter Gray.
Plain and Fancy has a bit of a local connection. A typical 50's city couple has inherited a farm in the real-life Lancaster town of Bird-In-the-Hand and wants to see it. They find themselves involved in a love triangle between two Amish boys and the girl one is supposed to marry and the other wants to marry. Another Amish girl (Barbara Cook) falls for the male half of the city couple, but he just thinks she's a nice kid. Unique look at a culture that doesn't frequently turn up in musicals. This is also one of the earliest roles for long-time stage and caberet favorite Barbara Cook. She plays the Amish girl who falls for the city guy. Someone in the show recognized her talent - her character has a lot to do for one that barely figures into the plot.
Work was on-and-off busy, actually not as bad as I thought it would be. A lot of folks may be just on their way back from vacation. It should get a little busier once everyone settles in from Easter break. There were no major problems, and my relief was actually early.
When I got home from work, I went right into writing. Han and Leia, along with the Ghost crew, bring their remaining spoils back to the Rebels' camp. Han tells General Rieekian he has to pay off King Jabba, before he takes the money out of his hide. Leia wants him to stay. So does he, but he can't get her to admit she might have feelings for him.
Finished the night with leftovers for dinner while listening to that Johnny Mathis The Hollywood Musicals cassette I bought a while back. There's some interesting numbers from fairly obscure musicals on that one, including "Time After Time" from the little-known MGM movie It Happened In Brooklyn and two songs from Julie Andrews musicals, "Whistling In the Dark" from Darling Lili and Crazy World from Victor/Victoria.
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