1970s
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Shenandoah (1975)
1975 is about the back end of what I consider acceptable for the age of a musical these days (it used to be 1970) – so it’s lucky that 1975’s “Shenandoah” (music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, book by them and James Lee Barrett who wrote the screenplay for the James Stewart movie Continue reading
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Some Like It Hot / Sugar (1972)
So yeah, this was turned into a musical in 1972 but its name was changed to “Sugar”. And now I’ve listened to the 1992 West End revival, where they changed the name back. Did I tell you I don’t like Tommy Steele? He’s in… this too. The songs are by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. Continue reading
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (1979)
So in contrast to “Sunset Boulevard”, which probably thought it was tackling some heavyweight nasty characters, here’s what happens when Stephen Sondheim puts his talents to use in service of a strong thriller plot. Of course, being Sondheim, it’s not that simple, but happily the complex aspects are all positive ones. GHM is going to Continue reading
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Tell Me On A Sunday (1977)
Wow, this was disappointing, and it’s all in the execution, because this – read the extremely interesting backstory here on Wikipedia – is a very good concept for a show. There’s a great story to be told about a transatlantic relocation, of moving to a new world, and finding how that new world treats you, Continue reading
Gil Hates Everything 