Actually, this is just your friendly blogmaster doing his lame impression of Mr. Husing, the famous announcer of radio and newsreels of the 1930s and 40s who coined the term "Great White Way" for Broadway.
I have no idea why it was called that, but one thing is for sure, we'll salute some of the best Broadway showtunes in this week's Welk episode and as ol' Ted would say, "It's OK Mr. Doorman, we have special permission to watch and waiter a ringside table please!"
And on with the show!
Here's Mary Lou pondering about what the critics think of her performance in "The Music Man".....
George Cates has got Boogie Fever with Anacani.....
....and seconds after this musical number, a food fight breaks out at the catering table.
TOP SONGS FROM BROADWAY SHOWS - September 21, 1974
1. ON A WONDERFUL DAY LIKE TODAY - Ken, Jimmy, Tom, Bobby, Gail, Tanya, Mary Lou & Cissy
2. AS LONG AS HE NEARS ME - the Orchestra
3. I CONFESSED TO THE BREEZE - Guy Hovis & Ralna English
4. TILL THERE WAS YOU - Norma Zimmer
5. DANCING IN THE DARK - danced by Bobby Burgess & Cissy King
6. CAN'T HELP LOVIN' DAT' MAN - Tanya Falan with Bob Smale at the piano
7. I'LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN - Sandi Griffiths, Gail Farrell and Mary Lou Metzger
8. WUNDERBAR - Tanya, Dick (Dale), Anacani, Bobby, Norma, Jimmy (Roberts), Ava, Joe, Ralna, Guy with Cissy dancing with Lawrence
9. THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM - Ken Delo
10. MEDLEY OF SONGS FROM "ROBERTA" - the Orchestra with George Cates conducting
11. TEA FOR TWO - sung in Spanish by Anacani
12. HELLO! DOLLY! - danced by Arthur Duncan
13. ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE - Tom Netherton
14. BAUBLES, BANGLES AND BEADS - trumpet section of Johnny Zell, Mickey McMahan, Laroon Holt and Charlie Parlato
15. A BUSHEL AND A PECK - Ava Barber and her husband Roger Sullivan on drums
16. SUNRISE, SUNSET - Joe Feeney
17. SHALL WE DANCE? - Myron Floren on accordion with vocals by Jimmy, Norma, Cissy, Bobby, Guy, Ralna, Ken, Tom, Mary Lou, Gail, Sandi, Dick, Tanya and Larry Hooper
We got to see Ava Barber sing a Broadway song for the first time, since she had been with the show for a few months at the time, and "Bushel and a Peck" was very cute and lively, especially when she's joined by her husband Roger Sullivan on the drums.
Mary Lou hosted tonight's show, and as for the Music Man reference, she was actually in that famous Meredith Wilson play. When she was a kid, she played Amaryllis in the National Touring Company's production and before that was in Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible".
So you can see why Mary Lou has a fondness for the music of Broadway and so do we!
So until next week, keep a song in your heart and as Ted Husing would say "Song long from the Great White Way."
2 comments:
The New York Evening Telegram was calling Broadway "The Great White Way" as early as 1902, and since Mr. Husing was born in 1901 I doubt he actually coined it. Just a factual nitpick. :)
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