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Enough to make you rush to subscribe to a telephone answering service, Comden and Green's fable of a little New York gets a Broadway revival. How does it fare without its original stellar leading lady?
 
BELLS ARE RINGING Original Broadway cast of revival
Fynsworth Alley 302 062 115 2
Cast: Faith Prince (Ella Peterson), Marc Kudish (Jeff Moss), Beth Fowler (Sue), David Garrison (Sandor), Martin Moran (Dr Kchell), Robert Ari (Inspector Barnes), Jeffrey Bean (Francis), Lawrence Clayton (Ludwig Smiley)
Overture; Bells are ringing; It's a perfect relationship; Independent; It's a simple little system' Better than a dream; Hello, hello there; I met a girl; Is it a crime?; Long before I met you; Mu-cha-cha; Just in time; Drop that name; The party's over; Salzberg; The Midas touch; I'm going back; Bonus track: The music and lyrics of Dr Kitchell

Bells Are Ringing
 
By the sound of it, this (unsuccessful) Broadway revival of one of those Comden-Green New York fantasy musicals (you know the ones - New York is a village, etc.) had a good understanding of this most pleasing old dream piece. Originally, of course, it provided the gorgeous Judy Holliday with her finest role on the New York musical stage. She went on to play it on film, too, although on screen the thing didn't quite work, and Holliday was not confident that she was being funny enough. It didn't matter, because we loved her anyway. Now, Faith Prince makes a very good Ella, captivating and quite funny, and moving, too, when she gets to 'Long Before I Knew You' and 'The Party's Over' (two typically resilient Styne melodies). It isn't her fault that she's not Judy Holliday, but the fact is she isn't, and those who have heard Miss Holliday breaking our hearts in the original Broadway recording will have expectations that may not be fulfilled here. Nevertheless, Prince brings her own qualities to the role, although to my ears the comedy doesn't come across naturally. Holliday had a strange amalgam of charm and mayhem, stirred with heartache! Marc Kudisch is a manly hero, stolid in all he does. The supporting parts are not ideally cast. Beth Fowler is a disappointing Sue, low-powered without that indefinable slight sourness that marks the best of American character comediennes. She needed to be wide-mouthed. David Garrison's Sandor is rather more successful, as is Martin Moran's Dr Kitchell. The new musical arrangements, by Don Sebesky, are much more modest than those of the original production. Unfortunately, the sound engineers have tried to disguise the more meagre forces employed for this revival by puffing up the sound. The results are not always very sweet to listen to, but this recording offers a very full and atmospheric account of one of Styne, Comden and Green's most appealing works. This cast may not wholly match up to the material at their disposal, but the best of the songs have no difficulty in getting through, and how could you resist another opportunity to hear Comden, Green, and Styne, writing at the top of their form?
 

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