[13] The production was the second most attended in Encores! [10], The Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, Illinois, presented a staged concert on August 26 and 27, 2005, with Audra McDonald (Fay), Michael Cerveris (Hapgood) and Patti LuPone (Cora). Act 1. The only person in town who doubts the miracle is Fay Apple, an eternally skeptical young nurse from the Cookie Jar who refuses to believe in miracles. The song is still included in the officially licensed scripts and scores for performance. "Porchlight Debuts Its New Series "Porchlight Revisits..." with ANYONE CAN WHISTLE on Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.", "Discover a little known, early piece by musical theatre genius, Stephen Sondheim", "Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers" (2000), Steven Suskin, Oxford University Press, p. 278, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anyone_Can_Whistle&oldid=1016170593, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Me and My Town — Cora Hoover Hooper and Boys, Miracle Song — Cora Hoover Hooper, Treasurer Cooley, Townspeople, Tourists and Pilgrims, Come Play Wiz Me — Fay Apple, J. Bowden Hapgood and Boys, I've Got You to Lean On — Cora Hoover Hooper, Comptroller Schub, Treasurer Cooley, Chief Magruder and Boys, Cora's Chase (The Cookie Chase) - Company, I'm Like the Bluebird (Reprise 1) - Cookies, With So Little to Be Sure Of — Fay Apple and J. Bowden Hapgood, I've Got You to Lean On (Reprise) - Cora Hoover Hooper and Comptroller Schub, I'm Like the Bluebird (Reprise 2) - Cookies. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Anyone Can Whistle tells the story of a corrupt mayoress who fakes a miracle to revitalize her bankrupt town (through the resulting pilgrim trade) and the ill-fated romance between the rational nurse, out to expose the fraud, and the easygoing doctor who is determined to enjoy the chaos that it brings. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. "Is a Parade in Town? As Fay resumes work, Detmold's real new assistant arrives, and Fay is horrified to realize that she is even more practical, rigid and disbelieving than Fay herself, and the new nurse marches the Cookies off to the next town to disprove the new miracle. (“Simple”) As the extended musical sequence ends, the lights black out except for a spotlight on Hapgood, who announces to the audience, “You are all mad!” Seconds later, the stage lights are restored. "[20], Steven Suskin wrote in his 2000 book about Broadway composers: The "fascinating extended musical scenes, with extended choral work, ... immediately marked Sondheim as the most distinctive theatre composer of his time. "[5] No news of the show appeared until July 14, 1963, in an article in The New York Times about Kermit Bloomgarden, where it discussed the four shows he was producing for the coming season; two were maybes, two were definite. View All Characters in Anyone Can Whistle. Laurents, ignoring criticism about the show's message being trite and its absurdist style difficult to comprehend, poured his energies into restaging rather than dealing with the crux of the problem. It is really Fay Apple in disguise. When Fay is reluctant, Hapgood produces a record of his own - he is her fiftieth Cookie. The show was first announced in The New York Times on October 5, 1961: "For the winter of 1962, [Arthur Laurents] is nurturing another musical project, The Natives Are Restless. Through the street, meanwhile, the cry of "Hooray for Hapgood!" Spare him the gory details." Horrified at seeing what she might become, Fay returns to the rock calling for Hapgood. [8], On April 8, 1995, a staged concert was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City as a benefit for the Gay Men's Health Crisis. Although the title might indicate otherwise, it is indigenous in content and contemporary in scope. Loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business mother." has gone up. [17], A new production directed by Phil Willmott opened at the Union Theatre in London, running from February 8 through March 11, 2017.[18]. It’s still Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday year and a special gift has arrived long in the making: the First Complete Recording of Anyone Can Whistle, the second Broadway show for which he wrote both music and lyrics.First recorded twenty-three years ago, it is finally (and happily) available for purchase online through John Yap’s Jay Records. The narrative and staging will be Mr. Laurent's handiwork; music and lyrics that of Stephen Sondheim. A meager description was furnished by Mr. Laurents, who refused to elaborate. "Finale Ultimo" is attached to the end of "With So Little to Be Sure Of" on the Original Cast Recording. Anyone Can Whistle. The only place in town doing good business is the local Sanatorium, known as “The Cookie Jar,” whose inmates look much healthier than the disgruntled townspeople. Inspired by his record, Fay begins to tear the records up. At that moment a mysterious stranger, J. Bowden Hapgood, arrives asking for directions to the Cookie Jar. Berlin, NJ, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent © 2020. When water suddenly springs from a rock, Cora sets her sights on making money from pilgrims desperate to receive the healing waters. She tells him the world needs people like him, and Hapgood can't turn himself in. Anyone Can Whistle's plot is dizzying . (“See What it Gets You”) As Cora and the police force begin rounding up Cookies, Fay tries to get the key away from the guards in an extended ballet sequence. The stage set has vanished, and the cast is revealed in theater seats, holding programs, applauding the audience, as the act ends. Cora arrives on the scene with the Cookie Jar's manager, Dr. Detmold, but he says that Fay has taken the records to identify the inmates. The group celebrates their alliance. Additional cast included Chip Zien, Ken Page, and Harvey Evans, the only original cast member to reprise his original role. (" I'm Like the Bluebird ") All the money is in the hands of Cora Hoover Hooper, the stylish, … That way Fay can be free of them and they can stop pretending. Opening of the show was held in 1964, and its advertising was started back in 1961 in print. Schub realizes that if they drink the water and do not change, people will discover the fraud. Anyone Can Whistle is a three-act musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.It was the second show to feature Sondheim writing his own music as well as lyrics. Discovering the fraud, Cora and the council confront them. ("I'm Like the Bluebird") All the money is in the hands of Cora Hoover Hooper, the stylish, ruthless mayoress and her cronies - Comptrol… The story is set in an imaginary American town that has gone bankrupt. [15][16], Porchlight Music Theatre of Chicago presented Anyone Can Whistle in 2013 as a part of "Porchlight Revisits" series, in which they stage three forgotten musicals per year. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. He is a practicing idealist who, after years of attempted heroism, is tired of crusading and has come to the Cookie Jar to retire. Fay refuses to take her wig off, and confesses to him that this disguise, left over from a college play, is the only way she can break out of her rigid and cynical persona. However, its score has become acclaimed as a part of Sondheim's canon, and songs such as the title tune, "Everybody Says Don't", and "There Won't Be Trumpets" have been widely performed. This is the case with this volume from the under appreciated Sondheim show "anyone can whistle". For corrupt Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper and her cronies, it is a threat to money-making scheme for the bankrupt town. “Anyone Can Whistle” is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are equally a) insane and b) sane, and it goes to fanciful, tedious lengths to expound this theory. Cast. [11], On January 11, 2008, Talk Is Free Theatre presented the Canadian professional premiere (in concert) at the Gryphon Theatre in Barrie, Ontario, with a fundraiser performance on January 13 at the Diesel Playhouse in Toronto, Ontario. Anyone Can Whistle, an absurdist social satire about insanity and conformity (among a dozen other things) is probably the bravest show Stephen Sondheim wrote, at least until Assassins. Choreography was by Sam Strasfeld. The scheming Comptroller Schub tells her that he has a plan to save her administration, and the town, promising “It's highly unethical.” He tells her to meet him at the rock on the edge of town. What's hard is simple to her, but really simple things she finds impossible. "The Miracle Song" is the centerpiece of this attack. When he doesn't answer, she tries to whistle - and succeeds in blowing a shrill, ugly whistle. Fay wants his help stopping the Mayoress, but he refuses, since he is through with crusading. The temptation to look to films of the ‘30s and ‘40s is understandable — Anyone Can Whistle 's plot owes a great deal to films of Frank Capra in which an idealistic outsider (James Stewart or Gary Cooper) enlists the aid of a strong woman (Jean Arthur or Barbara Stanwyck) to fight the establishment —but Price put the Marx Brothers on the wrong team. Two revivals were staged that year, one in London, at the Bridewell Theatre, and one in Los Angeles, at the Matrix Theatre. Act three begins with Cora at her house with her council. No producer yet. The air flowing between the roof of your mouth and the top of your tongue is what dictates the note that will exit your pucker. Anyone Can Whistle offers a message about the importance of the individual in a conformist society—while taking pot shots at government, religion, science and anything else in the way. Musical direction was provided by Wayne Gwillim. As he tries to stop Fay, the inmates mingle with the townspeople, until no one can guess who is who. For example, the cut song "There's Always A Woman" was included at this concert. Schub has put the miracle on hiatus, but announces that they can easily turn the town against Hapgood by blaming him for it. Anyone Can Whistle is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Major Venue Sponsor Anyone Can Whistle full plot summary including detailed synopsis and summaries for each scene. College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Hershey Felder Live From Florence: 5-Show Season Subscription -- Online. The gangly plot, involving a venal mayoress faking a miracle (Angela Lansbury in the original production), a repressed nurse with a French alter ego … It is unlikely ever to receive a successful fully-staged revival. Not only are the above mentioned problems present, but one of the best songs (See what it gets you) is given a slow blues tempo that just doesn't compare to the manic tone of the original. What is insanity? The show became a cult favorite, and a truncated original cast recording released by Columbia Records sold well among Sondheim fans and musical theatre buffs. [7]. The plot development where the town council set up Hapgood as the reason the miracle water stops is an illustration of how badly the public needs a scapegoat when things aren't going well. "There Won't Be Trumpets" was cut from the original production. Added in the 1995 concert: "There Won't Be Trumpets"—Fay Apple; "There's Always A Woman"—Fay Apple and Cora. But when Nurse Fay Apple, the dedicated and skeptical nurse of the local insane asylum, brings her patients to the so-called miracle, Cora’s plans are threatened and she turns to psychiatrist J. Bowden Hapgood to straighten out who is mad and who is sane. The book of Anyone Can Whistle may be problematic––the plot revolves around a town in an economic depression whose corrupt mayor cooks up a … According to Sondheim, "Lansbury was so insecure onstage, and unhappy with her performance, that we considered replacing her. As they embrace, the water begins flowing from the rock - a true miracle this time. The director is Tom Littler, with Musical Director Tom Attwood, and a cast that includes Issy van Randwyck (Mayoress), Rosalie Craig (Nurse Fay Apple) and David Ricardo-Pearce (Hapgood). First, place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Choreographer Herbert Ross received the show's sole Tony Award nomination. (“Come Play Wiz Me”) Fay tries to get Hapgood's help in exposing the miracle. Soon the town is all but deserted, and Cora is again upstaged. Everyone has one now, and no one needs a replacement.) [5] In a letter to Bloomgarden, Laurents wrote, "I beg you not to mention the money problems or any difficulties to Steve anymore. Detmold tells Cora that even without the records, Fay can identify the inmates from memory. Fay tells the townspeople about the fake miracle, but the town refuses to believe her. ": 'Anyone Can Whistle' Plays City Center April 8-11". In sum, Shelter is a tedious, sedentary soap opera about “relationships,” albeit one filled with imaginative touches and a bunch of good songs, nicely sung here by Willy Falk, Ellen Foley, Ellen Sowney, and Romain Fruge … history, and Stephen Sondheim was present at the post-matinee talkback on April 10. The Natives Are Restless – such was the working title of the musical, which, as we know, was later renamed to Anyone Can Whistle. Described by theater historian Ken Mandelbaum as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane,"[1] the show tells a story of an economically-depressed town whose corrupt Mayoress, in an attempt to draw tourists, decides to create a fake "miracle" - which draws the attention of Fay Apple, an emotionally inhibited nurse, a crowd of inmates from a local asylum called "The Cookie Jar," and a "doctor" with secrets of his own. 1964 Broadway. Not only are the above mentioned problems present, but one of the best songs (See what it gets you) is given a slow blues tempo that just doesn't compare to the manic tone of the original. Following a tryout period in Philadelphia, Anyone opened at the Majestic Theater on Broadway on April 4, 1964. With a little effort and practice anyone can whistle. Among the Broadway classics in which Sondheim has had a hand – Into the Woods , West Side Story , and Sweeney Todd . [12], New York City Center Encores! But he instead declares everyone insane, and the town enjoys its madness in the face of conformity. OUR PARTNERS. Jersey Boys Eager to work with both Laurents and Sondheim, Angela Lansbury accepted the lead role as Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper, despite her strong misgivings about the script and her ability to handle the score. The show marked the stage musical debut of Angela Lansbury. But when Nurse Fay Apple, the dedicated and skeptical nurse of the local insane asylum, brings her patients to the so-called miracle, Cora’s plans are threatened and she turns to psychiatrist J. Bowden … Follies, Sondheim’s seventh Broadway production, began as The Girls Upstairs, a collaboration with bookwriter James Goldman about some young women in a Ziegfeld-like extravaganza and the stage-boy Johnnies who courted them.With Hal Prince as the show’s producer and director, it evolved into Follies, a more profound drama about past and present colliding in various none-too-happy ways. In this recording of ANYONE CAN WHISTLE the dialogue has been specially adapted by the authors to establish the flow of the story and plot of the musical. ("Miracle Song") It is soon revealed to Cora that the miracle is a fake, controlled by a pump inside the rock. It was a show that forced critics and audiences to think differently about musicals, to consider them in the same thoughtful, serious way as non-musicals. (Its former major industry was the production of an unidentified product that never wore out. Australian Performing Arts Grammar School. He is instantly taken for the new assistant. It was directed by Christopher Pazdernik and music directed by Aaron Benham. Sondheim discovered that Laurents hated doing backers' auditions and he took over that responsibility, playing and singing more than 30. Fay tries to get Hapgood to expose the miracle, but he warns her no one will believe it is a fake, because it works as a miracle should. This is the case with this volume from the under appreciated Sondheim show "anyone can whistle". It starred Adam Brazier as Hapgood, Kate Hennig as Cora, Blythe Wilson as Fay, and Richard Ouzounian as Narrator, who also served as director. This page was last edited on 5 April 2021, at 19:21. Musical Master. 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