The offspring of Will and Betty were played by local young actors. Costumes designed by Ilona Somogyi were also most impressive throughout the show. Rogers” to the starkness of the oncoming Depression to be especially effective. In the second act, I found the transition of the jewel-toned showgirls in “Presents for Mrs.

Betty’s torch song “No Man Left for Me” is introduced as such. “The Wedding” is purposely held off so that it can close the first act, as was the Ziegfeld tradition. I found it to be a good mix of frothy production numbers and heartfelt biographical details.įrom the opening tap number “Let’s Go Flying” to the expected “Never Met a Man,” the musical numbers move along the story with a wink at the audience and a frequent breaking of the fourth wall. Not to worry, the Rogers character also performs rope tricks and shares his folksy wisdom in between the scenes, thereby giving patrons a good idea of the personality of the iconic American humorist. Rogers often headlined for Florence Ziegfeld, so the show brings to life many episodes in his life in the form of a big Ziegfeld-style production number, complete with glitz and feathers. This musical focuses on the life and career of Will Rogers, using the Ziegfeld Follies as a backdrop. How odd that both men eventually perished in a small plane crashed. The multi-talented singer identified strongly with the famed humorist both were cowboys from the Southwest who loved aviation, and both possessed a folksy charm and affinity for storytelling.

Denver so much that he left the room and the show, never to return.

Stone made a comment during a debate about a song lyric that insulted Mr.

Interesting fact, to me anyway, was that singer/songwriter John Denver was the original choice to play Will Rogers on Broadway. Carradine as Will Rogers and Dee Hoty as Betty Blake. Turns out that it ran on Broadway in the early 90s, directed and choreographed by the fabulous Tommy Tune the original cast included Mr. The only memory I had of this musical was that Keith Carradine played the title role at one point.

Goodspeed opera house season 2018