Stage Sounds: Promises, Promises

Promises, Promises was my inaugural Broadway experience. My very first day in New York City, when I was eighteen years old and about 3 days post high school graduation, my grandparents, mom, and I got tickets to see the Broadway revival of a show I knew nothing about but honestly didn't care because I would be IN THE SAME ROOM WITH one of my vocal heroes: Kristin Chenoweth. Yeah, cool, Sean Hayes would be there too, he's also famous, but I got to BREATHE the SAME AIR as KRISTIN CHENOWETH for the few hours we sat in that magical theatre. I was too much of a chicken to wait by the stage door and ask for her autograph, but seeing her live in this show is a memory I will cherish forever.

Promises, Promises is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, music by Burt Bacharach, and lyrics by Hal David. Inspired by the 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment, the show opened in 1968 at the Schubert Theater (located on W 44th Street), where it remained in residence until 1972 after over 1,200 performances. The show returned to Broadway in 2010 for a nine-month revival at The Broadway Theatre (located on Broadway proper). The original Broadway run was nominated for eight Tony Awards in 1969 and won two of them (Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Jerry Orbach and Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Marian Mercer), and the revival was nominated for four Tonys in 2010, winning one (Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Katie Finneran). The original production also won Best Musical Theatre Album at the 1969 Grammy Awards. Apart from Broadway, the show has enjoyed success on The West End in 1969 and London's Southwark Playhouse in 2017. While there haven't yet been talks of turning the musical into its own film, the 1960 film stars Jack Lemmon as Bud (Chuck in the stage production), Shirley MacLaine as Fran, and Fred MacMurray as Jeff (J.D. in the stage production).

As in previous posts, I will focus on one song for each main cast member. I will be discussing both the original and revival cast recordings, but if you choose to listen to them yourselves be aware that only the revival album is available on Apple Music (I listened to the originals on YouTube). There will be honorable mentions again because it was so difficult to pick just one song per character, and if I talked about every song I wanted to I'd be writing for a week straight. Therefore, here we go! Warning: I don't think any slipped in here, but just in case, potential spoilers ahead

Chuck Baxter (Baritone)

Spotlight Song: Promises, Promises

Honorable Mentions: She Likes Basketball; A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing; A House Is Not A Home (Reprise); A Young Pretty Girl Like You; I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Original Broadway Cast (1968): Jerry Orbach

Broadway Revival Cast (2010): Sean Hayes

Jerry Orbach and Sean Hayes are both absolutely incredible in terms of musical theatre talent, and while each of them brings their own unique spin to this main character I personally think Orbach's version has a little more vocal power behind it. It makes sense to me to make Chuck's stand out song Act 2's Promises, Promises, both because it's the title of the show and also I think it's Chuck's strongest solo for sure. This song is hopeful, strong, and a great addition to a show tune repertoire for either a male or female vocalist.

Promises, promises/I’m all through with promises, promises now/I don't know how I got the nerve to walk out/If I shout, remember I feel free/Now I can look at myself and be proud/I’m laughing out loud/Oh, promises, promises/This is where those promises, promises end/I don't pretend that what was wrong can be right/Every night I sleep now, no more lies/Things that I promised myself fell apart/But I found my heart

Fran Kubelik (Alto/Mezzo-Soprano)

Spotlight Song: A House Is Not A Home

Honorable Mentions: I Say A Little Prayer; Knowing When To Leave; Whoever You Are (I Love You); I'll Never Fall In Love Again

Original Broadway Cast (1968): Jill O'Hara

Broadway Revival Cast (2010): Kristin Chenoweth

Ok, being transparent here, there actually isn't a Jill O'Hara version of Act 1's A House Is Not A Home because the song was added to the show specifically for the revival. If you've read my blog before, you know I think it's actually impossible for Kristin Chenoweth to do anything wrong so this song was always going to be a winner. I did listen to Act 2's I'll Never Fall In Love Again from the original cast, and O'Hara did absolutely nail it, but A House Is Not A Home is still my favorite song from the show now that it's there.

A chair is still a chair/Even when there's no one sitting there/But a chair is not a house/And a house is not a home/When there's no one there to hold you tight/And no one there you can kiss goodnight/A room is still a room/Even when there's nothing there but gloom/But a room is not a house/And a house is not a home/When the two of us are far apart/And one of us has a broken heart

J.D. Sheldrake (Baritone)

Spotlight Song: Wanting Things

Honorable Mentions: Our Little Secret

Original Broadway Cast (1968): Edward Winter

Broadway Revival Cast (2010): Tony Goldwyn

Sheldrake is our main antagonist for this show, and while Tony Goldwyn did a great slimeball act in this role I think I like Edward Winter's original performance of Act 1's Wanting Things a little bit more. This is another great solo for a male vocalist's theatre repertoire, but with as little as Sheldrake sings in the show I do wish the song had a little more bravado to it.

Tell me how long must I keep wanting things/Needing things when I have so much/There are many men who have much less than me/Day by day, they make their way/And they find more in life than I can see

Dr. Dreyfuss (Baritone)

Spotlight Song: A Young Pretty Girl Like You

Original Broadway Cast (1968): A. Larry Haines

Broadway Revival Cast (2010): Dick Latessa

Dr. Dreyfuss isn't a huge role, but Act 2's A Young Pretty Girl Like You is so silly, light-hearted, and funny that it deserves plenty of attention. The A. Larry Haines/Jerry Orbach duet version is definitely great, but for this one my favorite has to go to Dick Latessa and Sean Hayes in the revival for playing up the comedy even more so than in the original production.

Put my glasses on on the top of your head/On the top of your head, you won't see a thing/And the less you see, the sooner you'll be/Smiling, laughing, and happy, oh, yes/The less you see, the better you feel/The better you feel, the quicker you smile/And the quicker you smile, the sooner you'll be happy, happy/And a young pretty girl like you/Pretty as she can be/Really should be happy/Happy

Marge MacDougall (Mezzo-Soprano)

Spotlight Song: A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing

Original Broadway Cast (1968): Marian Mercer

Broadway Revival Cast (2010): Katie Finneran

I think it says a lot that both Marian Mercer and Katie Finneran won Tonys for this role; it definitely proves that a role doesn't have to be huge to make an impact. Act 2's A Fact Can Be A Beautiful Thing is another "silly" song in this show, but not in the same way as A Young Pretty Girl Like You - more in the physical comedy of the scene as it plays out on stage.

And a fact can be a beautiful thing/When the fact I’m facing is you/A fact can be a terrible thing/When the dreams you’ve been dreaming fall through/Forget the past and think about the present/Right now is everything/Forget the past and think about the present/The present’s very pleasant/Who cares what the future will bring/There's just no predicting a thing/Don't wait for a miracle/Because it's Christmas/Not a time to be alone with memories/Christmas/It's supposed to be a happy holiday/Throw a little joy my way/You could really make my day/Throw a little joy my way

If you've never listened to Promises, Promises, I highly encourage you to do so because it's a great classical musical that deserves all the praise. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!