The best pieces from the Musical are here.
Be sure to keep going to "Older Posts" at the bottom or use the "Blog Archive" at the left to see the whole collection. There are 19 in all and an extra instrumental version of Boot Hill. I hope you like it.
There is a Western quiz in the links to the Playbill on the left. You might enjoy it if your memory goes back far enough.
Where will HTWWO be perfomed next?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Overture
I wrote this one first. I think it sets the mood. How'd I do?
(That's Mike Dotson conducting in the pit at the Smoot. The performance is William Slocum and the Cleveland Philharmonic from a concert they did of the Suite from the Musical.)
Horse Opera
How can you do a Western Musical if you can't put horses on stage? Well, at least I can pay tribute. Can you sing that fast?
I wrote some of the music for this one in 1966. My college prof told me disdainfully that it sounded like 'movie music' as if I should be insulted. I was tickled. He said it sounded like it should be from something like How The West Was Won. Now where do you suppose the title of this musical came from.
Duncan and Leo
Duncan represents the Cisco Kid and Zorro but he had to look like one. I chose Cisco, the first TV show filmed in color, before color TV. (They thought it just looked better.) Here's adventure. Here's romance. Here's O'Henry's Robin Hood of the Old West. Read my notes about Leo in the picture links. Fascinating guy.
Village Trumpets
Just an excuse for Maria to dance. Coincidence that Maria is Hispanic and falls for a Gringo just like Maria in West Side Story? RyJ is my favorite cigar too. Hmmm. Coincidence?
In my ideal World I would have had Maynard Ferguson in the outfit from the Si Si MF album cover on stage as Maria danced.
Eli's Theme
Eli Van Cleef embodies Eli Wallach in Magnificent Seven, and Good, Bad, and the Ugly, and more. He also embodies Lee Van Cleef in High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceGood, Bad, and the Ugly and more.
Did I capture the spirit of Ennio Morricone?
Cowboys
I wrote the music for this in 1963. It took 40 years to find a use for it. Some think it's the best music in the play. I like Boot Hill and the Overture best myself.
Johnny Guitar
Wayne O'Brian fills in all the other Western Heros, John Wayne, Hugh O-Brian, Allan Ladd, Sterling Hayden, and on and on.
Did you know that John Wayne introduced James Arness on the first 'Gunsmoke' tv episode? The producers wanted Wayne for the role but TV being new, he recommended another 6' plus actor, Arness for the role.
Rap wasn't the first 'spoken song'. There were country songs in the 60's like Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean in 1961 (the sausage guy) and "Ringo" by Lorne Greene (Pa from Bonanza) in 1964.
The Marshal
Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) did marry Will Kane (Gary Cooper) in High Noon but Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake)had a platonic relationship that kept Matt Dillon a more traditional celebate Western hero.
Boot Hill
Gunsmoke usually opened with Matt Dillon, played by James Arness, waxing philosophic on Boot Hill.
And in 19 years, the longest running show on television, he had a seeming platonic relationship with Miss Kitty. What's up with that. Maybe HTWWO can fix that at last.
Grumpy Old Cuss
Deforest Kelly played in an a number of Westerns before he was a doctor in the 'final frontier'. Milburn Stone was Doc in Gunsmoke. Doc Holiday had a drinking problem. In the cemetary where my in-laws are buried there is a tombstone from the 1800's that says "Hear me now as you pass by. As you are now so once 'twas I. As I am now so you shall be. Prepare yourself to follow me."
Waited Long
In my ideal World, John Ritter would have played the part of Walter so he could have sung this song as a tribute to his dad. Tex Ritter sang the title song in High Noon. The way he sang 'wait long' sounded like 'wait along'. I think 'waited long' works too. Wouldn't you agree?
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