Playbill Hello

With her beguiling presence, Angela Lansbury belts out the playful lyrics of Jerry Herman's 1966 musical, Mame, based on the hilarious and outrageous Patrick Dennis novel Auntie Mame. Lansbury plays the ribald flapper Mame, bucking her age and station to live her life as she pleases, with her young nephew Patrick in bewildered tow. Lansbury's mature yet chipper singing voice is perfectly complemented by the vocals of Bea Arthur as Mame's best friend, Vera. Arthur's hearty, irascible voice adds a classic edge to the lighthearted musical fare, while Frankie Michaels as Patrick provides a youthful purity, conveying an awe and admiration for the aunt he follows through life. The relentlessly carefree theme of this musical diminishes as Mame ages and Patrick grows up, but they are singing zestfully to the end. The 1999 remastered version includes five demo recordings by Herman and Alice Borden, with Herman at the piano. --Bryony Angell

It almost seemed as though every elderly female stage and film star--from Ethel Merman to Dorothy Lamour to Ginger Rogers--tried their hand at portraying Thornton Wilder's famous matchmaker, Dolly Levi, following the musical's smash 1964 opening, and yet the role will always belong to Carol Channing. When Pearl Bailey assumed the role on Broadway, however, she created yet another critical sensation with Jerry Herman's first major musical--not only because it was an all-black cast, setting off a long-running trend; and because the great Cab Calloway came out of retirement to play Horace Vanderbilt; but mainly because "Miss Pearlie Mae" brought her own famous ad-libbing personality to the role, creating a most interesting interpretation that is immortalized on this recording. Her version of the title song stands alongside Channing's own. --Bill Holdship

This playbill features Ginger Rogers on the cover. Articles include: A First Night is not for the Audience, A Hard Day At Le Pavilion, The Play, A Wig for Barbara Harris, On A Personal Bias, Beating Broadway's Drums.