Cole Porter came up recently, and he had been on my mind anyway after a concert in the park by the Manchester Choral Society. The song is from "Anything Goes," and Wodehouse fans should know that he wrote the original book, and modified the lyrics to this and other musical numbers for the first British production.
Completely different lyrics here, and I know some that aren't in either of those versions.
Porter admitted it was just showing off and thought he had badly overdone it, but audiences loved it. I was stage manager (one of those thankless jobs you had to take your turn at if you were a theater major) and had to listen to it many nights in a row and never tired of it. Finding rhymes for proper names can be challenging, especially when attempting double and triple rhymes. (Gallery/salary).
My friend and later roommate Mark Martino had the romantic lead here, as he often did. A handsome man and an excellent dancer. He has continued to make his living in theater all these years, directing up and down the East Coast in Off-Broadway productions. Odd to watch and listen to him on the video almost fifty years later.
That was delightful! Thank you.
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