FLASHBACK FRIDAY: TURKEY of a Different Color

This week, in honor of the first Broadway revival of the Neil Simon/Hal David/Burt Bacharach musical PROMISES, PROMISES starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth, it seems to be a particularly apropos time to go all the way back to an early Spring day of nearly fifty years ago: April 21, 1968, and that year's Tony Award telecast...

The most potent asset of the original production of PROMISES, PROMISES was Michael Bennett's positively astonishing choreography and this clip is a clear early sign of the magnificent brilliance he would soon bring to his contributions to COMPANY, FOLLIES and his work as a solo choreographer/director/producer after that, which, of course, includes A CHORUS LINE and DREAMGIRLS. Here the heart-stopping choreography is enacted by the secretary characters of Miss Vilansky, Miss Wong and Miss De La Hoya - who are, of course, the incomparable Bennett dancers Margo Sappington, Baayork Lee and Donna McKechnie in featured roles quite early in their careers. McKechnie shines brightest of all and proves that, even then, she was Michael Bennett's one true muse and the absolute best interpreter of his idiosyncratic style and uber-cool tone. One of the best chorus numbers of all time and some of the best choreography ever to grace the great stage!

With recent news emerging of director Todd Graff helming the big-screen update of DAMN YANKEES, to star Jim Carrey and Jake Gyllenhaal, now is perhaps an ideal time to take a look back at his take on PROMISES, PROMISES in a particularly lively segment from his exceptionally fun theatre-themed film CAMP, which also features numbers from the aforementioned early-70s Michael Bennett/Hal Prince/Sondheim musical collaborations COMPANY and FOLLIES, both with music and lyrics by the legendary Stephen Sondheim (who we will be highlighting here and elsewhere all next week) who also makes an exciting cameo appearance in this film. Watch these young performers imbue the nearly fity-year-old score and choreography with their youthful exuberance and perhaps you, too, will be won over by the quaint charms of the entertaining show. The film is a must for theatre fans! Enjoy!

That's all for this week, and remember if you would like to see a particularly fun, hilarious, bizarre or just all-around excellent performance from the past highlighted here be sure to send us a link! Until next week...