New Faces of 1952

New Faces of 1952 is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Ronny Graham, performer/writer Mel Brooks (as Melvin Brooks), and lyricist Sheldon Harnick.

Carol Lawrence and George Smiley take the "Restoration" skit into the Ambassador Hotel, Chicago, in 1953.

Broadway production

The revue opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 16, 1952 and ran for 365 performances. It was produced by Leonard Sillman, directed by John Murray Anderson and John Beal with choreography by Richard Barstow. The sketches were written by Graham and Brooks. The songs were composed by, among others, Harnick, Graham, Murray Grand and Arthur Siegel. The cast featured Graham, Kitt, Clary, Virginia Bosler, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Ghostley, Patricia Hammerlee, Lawrence, Lynde and Bill Milliken. De Luce and Graham won the 1952 Theatre World Award. The revue marked Kitt's Broadway debut, singing a "sultry rendition" of "Monotonous", about how boring a life of luxury was.[1]

The Equity Library Theater, New York City, presented an Off-Broadway revival in 1982, directed by Joseph Patton and featuring comedic performances by Lillian Graff, Philip Wm. Mckinley, Alan Safier, and Randy Brenner in the roles originated by Ghostley, Lynde, Graham, and Clary, respectively.[2] Kitt joined the cast late in the run to re-create her original role.

Another New Faces, the New Faces of 1956 ran on Broadway from June 14, 1956 through December 22, 1956. It was also conceived and produced by Sillman, with direction by David Tihmar and Paul Lynde (sketches).[3] There were five other "New Faces" in all: 1934, 1936, 1943, 1962, and 1968. According to Kay Green, of the seven "New Faces" revues, the 1952 revue was the "most admired, both for the talent of the performers and the cleverness of the writing.[4]

Songs (Broadway)

Sketches

"Of Fathers and Sons", written by Mel Brooks, was a parody of the Clifford Odets drama, Golden Boy with characters Mae, Harry, Stanley and Policeman; a pickpocket is angry with his son for not wanting to join the family business.[5] In "Oedipus Goes South", Ronny Graham parodies Truman Capote. Paul Lynde, wrapped in bandages, bemoans his African safari.[4] The narrative ballad "Guess Who I Saw Today" has June Carroll telling her husband that she saw him with another woman.[6] In "The Bard and the Beard" the characters- Miss Leigh, Sir Laurence, Call Boy and Maid- try to remember what play they are supposed to be in.[7]

Film New Faces

Retitled New Faces, the film version was directed by Harry Horner in Cinemascope and Eastmancolor, and released by Twentieth Century Fox on March 6, 1954. Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Carol Lawrence, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, and Bill Millikin repeated their stage roles. The film was basically a reproduction of the stage revue with a thin plot added. The plot involved a producer and performer (Ronny Graham) in financial trouble on opening night. A wealthy Texan offers to help out, on the condition that his daughter be in the show.[8]

The song order was changed and expanded to include:

  • "Crazy, Man!" (Lynde, Graham)
  • "Time for Tea" (Carroll, Siegel)
  • "He Takes Me Off his Income Tax" (de Luce)
  • "Convention Bound" (Graham)
  • "Uska Dara" (Kitt)
  • "C'est si bon" (Kitt)
  • "Santa Baby" (Kitt)

However, some songs were omitted, or had their lyrics updated. The song "Nanty Puts her Hair Up" was omitted. However an abridged version was used as an instrumental in a dance routine. The song "Don't Fall Asleep" was omitted. The song "Love is a Simple thing" omitted the final verse, being the Charles Addams character verse, because it was too outdated. Also, an extra verse was added to "Lizzie Borden". Some of the lines in "Monotonous" were replaced and updated, omitting the line "Ike Likes Me", and being replaced with writing the "Dragnet" theme instead.

Cast recording

Leonard Sillman's New Faces Of 1952
Cast recording by
Original Cast
ReleasedLate 1952 or early 1953
Length50:06 (LP)
55:20 (CD 2009 re-issue)
LabelRCA Victor
DirectorJohn Beal
ProducerLeonard Sillman

Leonard Sillman's New Faces Of 1952 (Original Cast) was the official release of the cast recording of the Broadway revue New Faces of 1952. The album was originally released on 12" Long-play phonograph record by RCA Victor, LOC-1008. It excluded some material as not all songs could fit on the record. In 1977, the album was reissued on the RCA Red Seal label, catalog number CBM1-2206.

The cast recording, like the play, was produced by Leonard Sillman. The orchestral conductor for the album and play was Anton Coppola. Orchestral arrangements were by Ted Royal. Alice Ghostley, Allen Conroy, Bill Mullikin, Carol Lawrence, Carol Nelson, Eartha Kitt, Jimmy Russell, Joseph Lautner, June Carroll, Michael Dominico, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, Robert Clary, Ronny Graham, Rosemary O'Reilly, Virginia Bosler, and Virginia de Luce all perform on the album, and are cited in doing so. The LP also lists some credits for the play itself, John Beal is cited as the plays director, and the primary sketch writers as Melvin Brooks and Ronny Graham.[9]

The first official release of the cast recording album on compact disc was in 2003 by Jasmine Records, featuring the original LP track listing.[10] However, in 2009 Sony Music, which now owns the RCA Victor archive, reissued the recording on the Masterworks Broadway label on CD and digital download, this time including the previously unreleased song "Time For Tea" performed by June Carroll and Alice Ghostley.[11] Masterworks released the album with the catalog number Arkiv RCA-04441.[12]

Track listing

12" Long Play

Track listings and credits adapted from the original label notes of album, unless other wise specified.[9]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Opening"
Ronny Graham and Company2:11
2."Lucky Pierre"Ronny Graham
  • Robert Clary
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Patricia Hammerlee
  • Bill Mullikin
3:20
3."Boston Beguine"Sheldon HarnickAlice Ghostley Introduced by Virginia de Luce4:42
4."Love Is A Simple Thing"
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Robert Clary
  • Eartha Kitt
  • June Carroll
Introduced by Virginia de Luce
5:08
5."Nanty Puts Her Hair Up"
  • Alice Ghostley
  • Joe Lautner
  • (with Virginia Bosler
  • Bill Mullikin
  • Allen Conroy)
Introduced by Virginia de Luce
4:42
6."Guess Who I Saw Today"
June Carroll2:20
7."Bal, petit bal"Francis LemarqueEartha Kitt Introduced by Robert Clary2:58
Total length:25:21
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Three For The Road"

a. "Introduction"

b. "Raining Memories"

c. "Waltzing In Venice"

d. "Take Off The Mask"




Ronny Graham

Ronny Graham

Ronny Graham


Virginia de Luce

Robert Clary

  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Joe Lautner

  • Alice Ghostley
  • Ronny Graham and Company
5:23
2."Penny Candy"
  • Arthur Siegel
  • June Carroll
June Carroll and Company3:26
3."Don't Fall Asleep"Ronny GrahamRosemary O'Reilly2:10
4."I'm In Love With Miss Logan"Unknown[13][14]Robert Clary
  • (with Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Joe Lautner)
Introduced by Virginia de Luce
3:57
5."Monotonous"
  • Arthur Siegel
  • June Carroll
Eartha Kitt3:47
6."Lizzie Borden"Michael Brown
  • Joe Lautner
  • Bill Mullikin
  • Paul Lynde
  • Patricia Hammerlee and Company
4:57
7."(He Takes Me Off His Income Tax)"
  • Arthur Siegel
  • June Carroll
[15]
Virginia de Luce1:05
Total length:24:45
2009 re-issues

Features previously unreleased song "Time For Tea".[11]

CD and Digital release
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Opening"Ronny Graham2:11
2."Lucky Pierre"
  • Robert Clary
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Patricia Hammerlee
  • Bill Mullikin
3:20
3."Guess Who I Saw Today"June Carroll2:20
4."Love Is A Simple Thing"
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Robert Clary
  • Eartha Kitt
  • June Carroll
5:08
5."Boston Beguine"
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Alice Ghostley
4:42
6."Nanty Puts Her Hair Up"
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Alice Ghostley
  • Joe Lautner
  • Virginia Bosler
  • Bill Mullikin
  • Allen Conroy
4:42
7."Time For Tea"
  • June Carroll
  • Alice Ghostley
5:14
8."Bal, petit bal"
  • Robert Clary
  • Eartha Kitt
2:58
9."Three For The Road"
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Robert Clary
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Alice Ghostley
  • Ronny Graham
  • Joe Lautner
5:23
10."Don't Fall Asleep"Rosemary O'Reilly2:10
11."Lizzie Borden"
  • Joe Lautner
  • Bill Mullikin
  • Paul Lynde
  • Patricia Hammerlee
4:57
12."I'm In Love With Miss Logan"
  • Virginia de Luce
  • Robert Clary
  • Rosemary O'Reilly
  • Joe Lautner
3:57
13."Penny Candy"June Carroll3:26
14."Monotonous"Eartha Kitt3:47
15."He Takes Me Off His Income Tax"Virginia de Luce1:05
Total length:55:20

References

  1. Peterson, Bernard. A century of musicals in black and white (1993), Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-26657-3, p. 249
  2. Wilson, John."Stage:New Faces Of 1952 Revived" The New York Times, November 2, 1982
  3. New Faces of 1956 Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 11, 2009
  4. Green, Kay. Broadway musicals, show by show (1996), Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0-7935-7750-0, p. 154
  5. Parish, James Robert. It's Good to Be the King, (2008), John Wiley and Sons, ISBN 0-470-22526-2, p. 89
  6. Green, Stanley. Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (1980), Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80113-2, p. 165
  7. Atkinson, Brooks. "At the Theatre", The New York Times, May 17, 1952, p. 23
  8. Plot and production information, 'New Faces' tcm.com, accessed August 11, 2009
  9. Original soundtrack, Discogs, retrieved June 22, 2014
  10. Original soundtrack Jasmine Records re-issue, Discogs, retrieved June 22, 2014
  11. Original soundtrack 2009 re-issue, retrieved June 22, 2014
  12. Suskin, Steven."ON THE RECORD: New Faces of 1952 and New Faces of 1956" playbill.com, May 17, 2009
  13. "I'm in Love with Miss Logan" (from Robert Clary Sings at the Jazz Bakery), Allmusic, retrieved June 22, 2014
  14. "I'm in Love with Miss Logan" (from New Faces of 1952 (Original Broadway Cast)), Allmusic, retrieved June 22, 2014
  15. "He Takes Me Off His Income Tax" (from Arthur Siegel Sings Arthur Siegel), Allmusic, retrieved June 22, 2014
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