Over the Rainbow

The Wizard of Oz
(OS 1939)

Judy Garland

Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Arranged and conducted by Herbert Stothart, orchestrated by Murray Cutter. Vocal recorded 10/07/39, orchestration recorded 04/13/39. 1997 Rhino reissue. Playing at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre from June 9 through 20. Matinees Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays.

We're Off to See the Wizard

The Wizard of Oz
(OS 1939)

Judy Garland,
Ray Bolger,
Buddy Ebsen,
Bert Lahr

Optimistic Voices

The Wizard of Oz
(OS 1939)

The Debutantes,
The Rhythmettes,
MGM Studio Orchestra

The Merry Old Land of Oz

The Wizard of Oz
(OS 1939)

Frank Morgan,
Judy Garland,
Ray Bolger,
Jack Haley,
Bert Lahr et al

Some Enchanted Evening

South Pacific
(OC 1949)

Ezio Pinza

Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. Adapted from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prizing winning novel, "Tales of the South Pacific."

South Pacific opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on April 7, 1949, played for 1,925 performances, closing January 16,1954. At the time, only Oklahoma had run longer.

On a Polynesian island during World War II, the French planter Emile de Becque has fallen in love with the American nurse, Nellie Forbush, and proposes to her.

1993 Sony Broadway reissue.

Playing at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre from June 23 through July 4.

There Is Nothin' Like a Dame

South Pacific
(OC 1949)

Men's Chorus

To protect them from the American service men, all the local girls have been shipped over to Bali Ha'i. The American sailors lament the lack of female companionship.

I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out-a My Hair

South Pacific
(OC 1949)

Mary Martin,
Women's Chorus

Nellie Forbush wrestles with her feelings toward Emile de Becque, determining at first to reject his proposal because of their "differences."

Next to Lovin' (I Like Fightin')

Shenandoah
(OC 1975)

Jordan Suffin,
Joel Higgins,
Robert Rosen,
Ted Agress,
David Russell

Music by Gary Geld, lyrics by Peter Udell, and book by James Lee Barrett, Peter Udell and Phillip Rose. Rose, Udell, and Geld were the same team that later created Purlie. It ran for 1,050 performances.

Shenandoah is based on Barrett's original screenplay for the 1965 film featuring Jimmy Stewart. Set in the 1860s, during the Civil War, Shenandoah tells the story of one man's resolve to keep his family out of the fighting.

Playing at the Lyceum from July 7 through 21.

After Charlie Anderson fends off the Confederate patrol that came to draft his sons, the boys think, "If we did join the fight, we'd be good at it."

Violets and Silverbells

Shenandoah
(OC 1975)

Penelope Milford,
Gordon Halliday,
Charles Welch, The Family

In the midst of the storm of war, the Rev. Byrd officiates at the wedding of Charlie's daughter Jenny and Sam, a young Confederate lieutenant, who is immediately ordered to active duty.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare

Kiss Me, Kate
(OC 1949)

Harry Clark,
Jack Diamond

A pair of gangsters express their admiration for Shakespeare while waiting around backstage to collect gambling debts from an actor. Based on Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate is Cole Porter's biggest hit and on of the most successful musicals of the 1940s. Like many other hits of the decade (Annie Get Your Gun, Brigadoon, South Pacific, Lost in the Stars) it is revived often. The plot revolves around a feuding theatrical couple (modeled after Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, whose backstage squabbles were legendary) appearing in a musical version of Taming of the Shrew.