Musical Theatre Melodies Celebrates 70th Anniversary Of FANNY

Musical Theatre Melodies, hosted by Rob Morrison, will mark the 70th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of Fanny by Harold Rome on Tuesday, November 12th featuring the original 1954 Broadway cast recording starring Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak, William Tabbert and Florence Henderson.

The Broadway musical Fanny, was based on the trilogy of French plays (and subsequent films) Marius, Fanny and César by Marcel Pagnol. With music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by S.N. Behrman and Joshua Logan, the show received its Broadway premiere at the Majestic Theatre on November 4, 1954, with production by David Merrick and Joshua Logan, direction by Logan and choreography by Helen Tamiris for an eventual run of 888 performances and a Tony Award for Walter Slezak as Best Actor in a Musical. 

This will be followed by an interview with Tony Award nominee Walter Willison (Grand Hotel, Two By Two, Pippin, Alan Menken & Lynn Ahrens A Christmas Carol) producer, director, and co-star of Grand Hotel: The 35th Anniversary Original Broadway Cast Reunion Concert starring two-time Tony Award nominee Bob Stillman, Ken Jennings, Tony Award nominee Timothy Jerome, and other members of the original Broadway cast, with special guest stars Jennifer Bassey, Lorna Dallas, and others, at 54 Below, in New York City. Walter will share details of the up-coming immersive concert performances from 14th to 16th November, with the final concert to be streamed “live” via the Internet and available to view worldwide. The interview will also feature the broadcast premiere of private demo recordings of Robert Wright and George Forrest singing songs from their Tony Award nominated score for the 1989 musical, including cut numbers and songs from At the Grand, their earlier, 1962 musical, also based on Vicki Baum's Grand Hotel. 

Musical Theatre Melodies, hosted by Rob Morrison, pays a weekly tribute to the best of Broadway, London's West End, and the occasional European operetta in a two-hour program celebrating significant anniversaries in the world of Musical Theatre. Mr. Morrison has appeared in over seventy stage productions in Melbourne, Australia, and has been heard on Melbourne community radio 96.5 Inner FM since 1992. The Musical Theatre Melodies podcast has recently been ranked #2 amongst the Top 10 Australian Theatre Podcasts by Feedspot.com. Recent guests have included Sondra Lee, Adrienne Angel, Beth Fowler, UK theatre archivist Rex Bunnett, Ted Chapin, Lee Roy Reams, the late Bill Hayes, Teri Ralston, Richard Maltby Jr., Walter Willison, and Christine Andreas. 

Musical Theatre Melodies tribute to Fanny, plus the interview with Walter Willison will be broadcast on November 12 at 5 a.m. EST in New York, 2 a.m. PST Los Angeles time, and 9 p.m. EDT local Melbourne time; 10 a.m. GMT in Britain.

For those listening in via the Internet go to the Inner FM homepage at www.innerfm.org.au and follow the links from "Listen Live" on the top right-hand menu bar.

The podcast will be available at https://innerfm.org.au//shows/musical-theatre-melodies/ and https://omny.fm/shows/musicaltheatremelodies within 15 minutes after the conclusion of the live broadcast.