- forgotten and ignored, a lovely show built loosely around
the life of Dvorak …
SUMMER SONG
Book by Eric Maschwitz and Hy Kraft. Lyrics by Eric Maschwitz.
Music by Antonin Dvorak, arranged by Bernard Grun
Original London cast: Sally Ann Howes, David Hughes, Edric Connor,
Laurence Naismith, Bonita Primrose, Van Atkins. Musical director:
Alexander Faris
SONGS: Just Around The Corner; My Darling Karolka; Once A Year
Is Not Enough; Be She Dark, Be She Fair; Cotton Tail; No-One
Told Me; Sing Me A Song; Murphy's Pig; Saturday Girl; One Boy
Send You A Rose; Dvorak's Letter Home; Deep Blue Evening; Billy's
Wedding; Summer Song; Small Town Sweetheart; New York '93; I'll
Be Remembering
It should be dreadful, this musical Frankenstein made up from
the work of Dvorak, with lyrics grafted on by Eric Maschwitz.
It isn't dreadful, but didn't gain a foothold in London when
it opened at the Princes Theatre in February 1956, closing after
148 performances. Maschwitz later claimed that 'In my verses
for Summer Song there were lines and phrases which I think were
not entirely out of keeping with the great beauty of the melodies'
: a bold claim, but the sympathetic listener may end up agreeing
with him. Some of those 'lines and phrases' do inhabit the mind:
in Maschwitz's words, they have 'lit candles in my brain'. Grun's
adaptation of Dvorak's melodies, and their welding to Macshwitz's
literature, works admirably to propel this story of an episode
in Dvorak's (Laurence Naismith, splendid of spoken voice here)
life. Sally Ann Howes, whose soprano if a little shrill is at
least young, and David Hughes, a beefy if unsubtle singer making
his debut on the musical theatre stage, handle the romance. Their
songs are nice enough, but they are not the most exciting on
display. It was the noted Trinidadian singer Edric Connor, as
Abe, who brought a definite vocal distinction to the evening,
outstanding in his solos, 'Cotton Tail' and 'Deep Blue Evening',
sinuous pieces each with expertly crafted lyrics. When Connor
breaks into the celebrations of 'Billy's Wedding' the show again
takes off into another sphere, and - if for nothing else - we
must be grateful to Summer Song that it gives us this rare opportunity
to enjoy so beautifully timbered a voice. Bonita Primrose is
a keen, sharp-edged soubrette, pushing her chorus number 'Murphy's
Pig' to its successful utmost, but then switching to romantic
nuances for her duet with Howes, 'One Boy Send You A Rose', one
of the score's most memorable pieces. The smallish pit orchestra
manages to sound positively symphonic now and again, and the
chorus rises grandly to the occasion in this exceedingly attractive
souvenir of a faded theatre piece. Even those who may not warm
to Summer Song will surely agree that at least it never completely
vulgarises the exquisite material on which its score is based.
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