THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL (On Your Toes) Lara Teeter and Christine Andreas

JAY Records

THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL (On Your Toes)
Lara Teeter and Christine Andreas

In 1983, on this day, a revelatory Musical production opened on Broadway. Most people were taken aback by how wonderful, sparkling and fresh, Hans Spialek’s 1936 orchestrations for the Rodgers and Hart’s Musical, ON YOUR TIES, sounded. JAY is proud to have recorded the Original 1983 Broadway Cast album, thereby preserving not only Hans Spialek’s orchestrations but the wonderful and joyful performances of the Cast. Here is THERE’S A SMALL HOTEL from the Cast recording, sung by Christine Andreas and Lara Teeter for your enjoyment and discovery, if you have not already familiar with the album.

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[rabbitfishtv]

This production (which I saw twice on tour) and the album were both incredibly important to my developing understanding and love of musical theatre.

[christopherlyons]

Wish I'd seen this production (the first of any consequence I could have seen, if I'd only known then that I'd regret missing it decades later).

This is a key moment in On Your Toes--Frankie is aware that Junior is attracted to Vera as a dancer--so she has to engage him as a singer. Seduce him with her voice. And her sense of humor. Get him away from the city, away from people, just the two of them. He's more than willing. He's still torn. Between Frankie and Vera. Between song and dance. Between soul and body. Between true love and true lust. He chooses Frankie in the end because he realizes she'd always choose him. It's not that he doesn't desire her--but as a dancer, there are things he can do with Vera he can't with Frankie. It's got to be depicted as a real quandary.

I think a lot of productions have suffered from the fact that you need a really great dancer to play Vera--that's why there's no songs for her--what are the odds a classically trained dancer could handle the more challenging vocals in this show, if she could sing at all? But you also need a terrific soprano ingenue, with charm and comic timing to play Frankie. Frankie is typically not one of the higher-billed roles. But she ought to be. She's the heart of the show--because she's Larry Hart's female alter ego. A budding songwriter. Hart also identifies with sirens, seductresses, several times played by Vivienne Segal. His deepest romantic passions are expressed by girls like Frankie, who feel vulnerable, abandoned, lost--but don't give up hope. Who keep fighting for love. And suffering hurt as a consequence. As Hart so often did in his own life. "But if only I was a cute funny girl who could sing!"

They should revive this again--and this time the three lead roles should be Junior, Frankie, Vera--because even though there are older characters who have something to say, the real dramatic tension is between these three--but you need Junior to be a great singer and dancer, preferably with a background in tap. Frankie has to be played by a terrific young singer with comedic chops. Vera has to be a first-rate ballerina.

So yeah. Easy peasy. ;)