Hey, Neil Patrick
Harris - what’s the story? I thought you
assured us that “it’s not just for gays anymore”! Broadway, that is.
The new revival of
ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER starring Harry Connick Jr, which is coming
to the St James Theatre in November, has the cogliones to rewrite Broadway
legend Alan Jay Lerner’s original book, turning the story gay. The new book replaces flake Daisy Gamble with
fruit David Gamble, still “affianced” to “perfect” boyfriend Warren. At least they have kept the “past life”
persona, who Connick Jr’s character falls in love with, a female - which adds a
new dimension to the song “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have?”!
I could consider
trying to understand the updating of the Melinda character from Victorian
England to the 1940’s jazz scene – although it would appear that this could
cause the loss of the witty song “Don’t Tamper With My Sister” (“A sin is not a sin until a sin is seen. So let us misdemean where lights are low.”). But I see no reason at all for gaying it up. I say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. And AJL’s script was certainly not broken.
I saw the original
Broadway production of OACDYCSF, with Barbara Harris, John Cullum, and William
Daniels, when I was 12, and it was my Senior Play in high school (I was in the
chorus and had two small parts).
The same thing was
done with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s FLOWER DRUM SONG, which I also saw on
Broadway as a child, a few years ago.
The revival rewrote Oscar Hammerstein’s book. However, I did not see that production, so I
cannot properly comment on the changes.
I do intend to see
the OACD revival – to see how badly the original has been FU-ed.
TTFN
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