Something Wonderful

Began the morning with breakfast and the Julie Andrews studio album for The King and I. I'm currently reading Something Wonderful, on Rodgers and Hammerstein, so I figured I'd listen to two of the shows they've discussed so far. It's too bad Andrews never actually got to play Anna onstage. She's lovely here, especially on "Hello Young Lovers." Kingsley's not bad as the King, either. His "A Puzzlement" is hilarious. Lea Salonga and Peabo Bryson are an odder pair for the ballads, which sound a little too updated. Otherwise, this is one of my favorite King and I recordings. 

Hurried out to work after the CD ended. This time, everything went fine. I spent the afternoon pushing carts. There was plenty of help from the bagger who always works Sundays and the afternoon bagger. They took over the inside chores and helped me keep up with the carts. We were really busy again today, once again despite the weather. It was cloudy and cold for most of the day. It didn't start breaking up and getting warmer until right as I was getting ready to go home.

After I got home, I changed and put on the original 1943 cast album for Oklahoma! This is a landmark in Broadway musicals and cast albums. Oklahoma! was so popular, it became the first Broadway show to be recorded as it was, with the original cast, rather than just random pop recordings (although there were those too). Alas, they didn't take down everything ("The Farmer and the Cowhand" is missing from my recording), but you do get a sense of what this sounded like onstage. My favorite would be Celeste Holm's star-making "I Can't Say No" and her adorable "All Er Nuthin'" with Lee Dixon. 

Finished the night on YouTube with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Debralee Scott started off in the ingenue seat in mid-1976. She quickly became one of the more popular panelists there, thanks to her charming wit and her spunky sense of fair play. She joined Richard Dawson in arguing producer/judge Ira Skutch rejecting their answer of "finishing school" for "school" in a 1977 episode, and would argue with Ira several more times during the syndicated era. Her other great early moment was in 1976. Bill Anderson wrote a song for her and performed it at the end of the Friday episode, joined by Charles and Brett dressed as cowpokes.

She did her best work on the syndicated series, where she switched back and forth between the fourth and sixth seats. Bart Braverman thought she was cute and spent two weeks they played together picking on her and throwing cards at her. Debralee did not think he was cute. At one point, she stomped up and smacked him, only for him to grab her for a kiss! She was also there the time a physical therapist contestant fixed Patty Duke's knee, only for Jack Jones to run out to be fixed, too. 

Watched Debralee flirt and fight with judges, panelists, and contestants alike in this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Featuring Debralee Scott Episodes