LEGENDS #10 CAROL BURNETT

In 2017, Broadway Cares selected Carol Burnett to be the yearly Christmas ornament as Princess Winnifred in "Once Upon a Mattress."

What began as a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson entitled "The Princess and the Pea" was adapted for the theater by Mary Rogers (Daughter of Richard) doing the music with lyrics by Marshall Barer.  First playing Off-Broadway in 1959 and then transferring that same year to Broadway where it ran a total of 244 performances at various venues.

The show received Tony nominations for Best Musical as well as a nod to Ms. Burnett as Best Actress in a Musical but neither award came to fruition. (The winning Musical that year was a tie between "Fiorello" and "The Sound of Music" with Mary Martin winning Best Actress for the latter.)

The show has had several incarnations over the years on tour and in stock, with the likes of Ann B. Davis, Dody Goodman and Imogene Coca in the role.  In 1996, Sarah Jessica Parker starred in a Broadway Revival.  And Carol herself switched to the role of the Queen in a later TV production with Tracey Ullman portraying Winnifred.  But Ms. Burnett will always be remembered as the original.

The ornament and the obligatory photo from the show are included below wherein Ms. Burnett sang "Shy."




  .

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BERNADETTE

Image
I first met Bernadette Peters when we were both in a production of "The Boy Friend" (With Yvonne de Carlo) at the Wedgewood Dinner Theater in Glen Cove, Long Island. She had previously been a child performer starting at the age of three on the TV show "Juvenile Jury" and went on to many other venues of the day  (She did "Name that Tune" when she was five.)  And there are many other credits, I could relate. So, she  was a seasoned performer when we met. Almost every night, after the performance of "The Boy Friend," and before we started the trek back into the city, a bunch of us would retire into the bar, where Bernadette would usually sing a number or two with the pianist.   She was remarkable.  She would turn a song like "You made me love you" into a soulful agony with tears streaming down her face as she neared the end.   Just remarkable. Soon after she was doing "George M" on Broadway and "Dames at Sea'  of
Read more

GRANDMA SMITH

Image
My Grandmother raised nine children, (seven girls and two boys.....my mother being the youngest.) She became a widow in 1935 when my grandfather was killed in an auto accident just north of our small town of Corbin, Kansas.   From then on, she took turns living with her children for about a month at a time.   Eventually, it was decided to build her a small one room house on my parents property where she could have her own space but be close at hand.  (This "house" was constructed when I was thirteen or so.) A few years later, (now, in her eighties) she began receiving mail form an old beau that she had known in her youth and it soon blossomed into a certified romance.  (A long distance one, but a romance nonetheless.) All of her children went into shock when she announced at the age of 89 that she and her reunited beau were going to be married!  (Sadly, I no longer remember his name.... it may have been Leo.) At any rate, "Leo" made the trip from somewhere in
Read more

PUZZLES, CONTESTS AND SUCH

Image
I have always been intrigued by puzzles of all sorts starting out with jigsaws in my youth and eventually graduating to Crosswords, Jumbles, Sudokus, Cyphers, Word Searches and a myriad of other types of posers.   And I do my fair share...….the New York Times Sunday Crossword is by far my favorite and I am proud to say that I can now solve it in ink!  (After many years with the no.2 and an eraser) On the contest side, I've entered here and there...……..New York magazine ran a weekly challenge back in the day and had numerous types of things to do.   For instance (and a classic)….Make up a name using other names (the old "if so-and-so married so-and-so" game). If Anna Maria Alberghetti married producer David Merrick, divorced him and married comedian Jackie Cannon, divorced him and married composer Norman Paris, her name would be Anna Merrick Cannon Paris.   You get the picture? Well, after a few honorable mentions in the New York contest, I finally won one.   The cha
Read more