Once again you have delivered pieces of history that I’ve longed to hear for ages! Julia does NOT disappoint!!! Such a beautifully talented and criminally underrated performer. Thank you for sharing!
I saw this production more than half a dozen times (I was a drama student and got front row stalls seats for £1.50!!) Julia Mckenzie was stunning ( as was the entire cast) . It remains one of my favourite musicals
Thanks . Saw the original Broadway cast (with Kahn) and greatly enjoyed it. Could never understand why both the Broadway and London runs were so relatively short. Beautiful, inventive production.. Crazy opening with St Joan ("The French Girl") set to burn at the stake. Cullum, so stolid in Shenandoah, was delightful here. So much better than the recent, wrongheaded (and cheap) Roundabout revisal.
I saw it 4 times On Broadway (twice with Kahn!) and loved it. I also saw the Actors Fund performance of it with Marin Mazzie and Douglas Sills who were both terrific: funny and in superb voice. In fact, I thought Mazzie was better than Kahn and Judy Kaye and the show played tremendously that night. However, I do wish I had seen Julia McKenzie. She sounds fabulous. And I wish they had a recorded it! I must say though that audiences never quite took to the show. I think it is because that by the 1970s the style and humor of a mock operetta was lost on the general audience. The form may have been too ancient already. I don't think many people enjoyed the parts of Coleman's score that were in the operetta vein (odd as rhat may seem).
Absolutely brilliant - what an amazing opportunity to hear the London cast. Julia McKenzie sounds stunning - would have loved to have seen her. Thanks for posting
So glad to hear you enjoyed this. McKenzie's performances in the early '80s in "20th Century" and "Guys and Dolls" were worth a trip to London all by themselves.
I saw this production and Miss McKenzie got us onto our feet after "Veronique". Keith Michell was somewhat underpowered but Julia was nothing short of magnificent
This is very good. I attended opening night on Broadway. Feb 1978 I think. Several years ago I listened on TH-cam to someone’s audio recording of that very night. All so cool. How wonderful it would be if more songs were available from this London production.
Back again, can’t fathom how Julia McKenzie wasn’t a bigger musical theatre star, fabulous voice, somehow managed to be a powerful soprano who could also belt like no one’s business. She essentially quit performing in musical theatre (aside from a few concert productions) after being exhausted by Sweeney Todd and feeling Mrs Lovett was one of the greatest roles to go out on, so I guess you could say it was of her own choosing that she wasn’t more well-known for this genre?
She was pretty well known in the UK thanks to her theater work and several TV series ("Fresh Fields," Miss Marple). Yes, she would have been capable of another musical after "Sweeney," but she had already done the early, smaller parts ("Maggie May," "Mame," "Promises," "Company") then leads in "Side by Side," "Cole," "20th Century," "Guys and Dolls," "Follies," "Into the Woods," and "Sweeney," plus several plays (from "Woman in Mind" to the Judi Dench-Harriet Walter-Emily Blunt-Toby Stephens "The Royal Family"). She also directed musicals and plays. I suspect she did not choose to do "Gypsy"; had she wanted to do it, she would have. So it was a very full and highly acclaimed career, and I would say that she's a beloved performer in the UK. There was also the fact that "Side by Side" was her only Broadway appearance, so she was never that well known in the US.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 Yes, to those that know of her work she is very beloved (I grew up with her Miss Marple whilst also being a musical theatre fan and didn’t know of her past). The available cast recordings she is present in are goldmines and what you and others on TH-cam have provided for the rest of her musical roles and performances are incredibly good. Her album, although containing very generic song choices that she now begrudges, are also great. To be honest, I’m such a big fan of hers that my prior comment was really just me wishing there was more content of her singing voice in general. Anyway, it’s her life not mine and I’m glad that she did what she wanted with it, not what others expected or wished her to.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 I'm a Julia McKenzie nut, and share all of these sentiments. I know there was talk of her doing Gypsy after Sweeney Todd with her Sweeney director, Declan Donnellan, possibly at the National Theatre or Donmar Warehouse, but it never came to fruition. Such a shame - she would have been truly something in that role. Also a shame she never got to do Dolly at some point, but Carol Channing was too associated with that role during all of Julia's years of performing I suspect, so not many revived it without her. There was also a discussion after her Lovett that she would film Sweeney with Anthony Hopkinss in the title role for Channel 4; they were planning on filming it on location in London, but again nothing ever came of it. We are fortunate to have her many stage performances preserved on disc, and some footage of her on stage on TH-cam, thanks to channels like yours. I personally feel she was underused and underrated even in England, where she was obviously very well known on TV and on stage. I felt she should have had more opportunities, but I suppose the ones she had we should be grateful for!
Very unfortunate. And even with that BBC broadcast, her triumphant, Olivier Award-winning Mrs. Lovett in the National Theatre "Sweeney" also did not produce a commercial cast recording.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 Absolutely. That weary sigh as she poured a bucket of blood down the drain. There's never been a Mrs Lovett who balanced the comedy and gruesome horror better. Even on her only solo album you get the feeling she didn't get to sing the songs she really wanted to perform. So many missed opportunities.
@@fergusmurray1828 There's nothing wrong with the recording but the choice of material is really unadventurous. Julia herself said all the Lloyd Webber and Les Mis songs were not what she would have chosen, and even in the 90s they'd been done to death.
Douglas Logan As much as I love that album, I do agree with you. What I wouldn’t give to have something from Gypsy on that album... I’d have also loved for her to sing ‘If He Walked Into my Life’ from Mame.
Hi aurora! I have the original "Lolita, My Love" live recording along with the demo's. If you'd be interesting in taking a listen or posting, just let me know!
What a jewel! McKenzie is so funny and vocally just amazing!! Thank you so much, honestly!!!
Glad you enjoyed this and share my enthusiasm.
Once again you have delivered pieces of history that I’ve longed to hear for ages! Julia does NOT disappoint!!! Such a beautifully talented and criminally underrated performer. Thank you for sharing!
Glad to hear that you were interested in hearing this and that it did not disappoint.
I saw this production more than half a dozen times (I was a drama student and got front row stalls seats for £1.50!!) Julia Mckenzie was stunning ( as was the entire cast) . It remains one of my favourite musicals
Thanks . Saw the original Broadway cast (with Kahn) and greatly enjoyed it. Could never understand why both the Broadway and London runs were so relatively short. Beautiful, inventive production.. Crazy opening with St Joan ("The French Girl") set to burn at the stake. Cullum, so stolid in Shenandoah, was delightful here. So much better than the recent, wrongheaded (and cheap) Roundabout revisal.
I saw it 4 times On Broadway (twice with Kahn!) and loved it. I also saw the Actors Fund performance of it with Marin Mazzie and Douglas Sills who were both terrific: funny and in superb voice. In fact, I thought Mazzie was better than Kahn and Judy Kaye and the show played tremendously that night. However, I do wish I had seen Julia McKenzie. She sounds fabulous. And I wish they had a recorded it! I must say though that audiences never quite took to the show. I think it is because that by the 1970s the style and humor of a mock operetta was lost on the general audience. The form may have been too ancient already. I don't think many people enjoyed the parts of Coleman's score that were in the operetta vein (odd as rhat may seem).
Thank you so much for posting this. Any recorded production with the *fabulous Julia McKenzie* is a *precious treasure.* Just love it!!!
Absolutely brilliant - what an amazing opportunity to hear the London cast. Julia McKenzie sounds stunning - would have loved to have seen her. Thanks for posting
So glad to hear you enjoyed this. McKenzie's performances in the early '80s in "20th Century" and "Guys and Dolls" were worth a trip to London all by themselves.
What an incredible vocal range Julia has.......stunning!! Thank you so much for posting this :)
OMG! The lost Mckenzie performance!!!! BRAVA
Love your description.
I was a stagehand on this production (at Her Majesty's Theatre) and remember it well.
Great to hear from someone who was there. I'm very glad I got to see this production.
I saw this production and Miss McKenzie got us onto our feet after "Veronique". Keith Michell was somewhat underpowered but Julia was nothing short of magnificent
so many gems!
Thanks!
This is very good. I attended opening night on Broadway. Feb 1978 I think. Several years ago I listened on TH-cam to someone’s audio recording of that very night. All so cool. How wonderful it would be if more songs were available from this London production.
absolutely love the key change they use at the end of Babette when she repeats the "hey hey hey"s up a tone
Back again, can’t fathom how Julia McKenzie wasn’t a bigger musical theatre star, fabulous voice, somehow managed to be a powerful soprano who could also belt like no one’s business. She essentially quit performing in musical theatre (aside from a few concert productions) after being exhausted by Sweeney Todd and feeling Mrs Lovett was one of the greatest roles to go out on, so I guess you could say it was of her own choosing that she wasn’t more well-known for this genre?
She was pretty well known in the UK thanks to her theater work and several TV series ("Fresh Fields," Miss Marple). Yes, she would have been capable of another musical after "Sweeney," but she had already done the early, smaller parts ("Maggie May," "Mame," "Promises," "Company") then leads in "Side by Side," "Cole," "20th Century," "Guys and Dolls," "Follies," "Into the Woods," and "Sweeney," plus several plays (from "Woman in Mind" to the Judi Dench-Harriet Walter-Emily Blunt-Toby Stephens "The Royal Family"). She also directed musicals and plays. I suspect she did not choose to do "Gypsy"; had she wanted to do it, she would have. So it was a very full and highly acclaimed career, and I would say that she's a beloved performer in the UK. There was also the fact that "Side by Side" was her only Broadway appearance, so she was never that well known in the US.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 Yes, to those that know of her work she is very beloved (I grew up with her Miss Marple whilst also being a musical theatre fan and didn’t know of her past). The available cast recordings she is present in are goldmines and what you and others on TH-cam have provided for the rest of her musical roles and performances are incredibly good. Her album, although containing very generic song choices that she now begrudges, are also great. To be honest, I’m such a big fan of hers that my prior comment was really just me wishing there was more content of her singing voice in general. Anyway, it’s her life not mine and I’m glad that she did what she wanted with it, not what others expected or wished her to.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 I'm a Julia McKenzie nut, and share all of these sentiments. I know there was talk of her doing Gypsy after Sweeney Todd with her Sweeney director, Declan Donnellan, possibly at the National Theatre or Donmar Warehouse, but it never came to fruition. Such a shame - she would have been truly something in that role. Also a shame she never got to do Dolly at some point, but Carol Channing was too associated with that role during all of Julia's years of performing I suspect, so not many revived it without her. There was also a discussion after her Lovett that she would film Sweeney with Anthony Hopkinss in the title role for Channel 4; they were planning on filming it on location in London, but again nothing ever came of it. We are fortunate to have her many stage performances preserved on disc, and some footage of her on stage on TH-cam, thanks to channels like yours. I personally feel she was underused and underrated even in England, where she was obviously very well known on TV and on stage. I felt she should have had more opportunities, but I suppose the ones she had we should be grateful for!
@@fountainchain126 Enjoyed your comments. By the way, I think Stephen Sondheim said that Julia McKenzie was the best Mrs. Lovett. Cheers.
Incredible ♥️
I agree, and glad you enjoyed.
Criminal that this never got a cast recording.
Very unfortunate. And even with that BBC broadcast, her triumphant, Olivier Award-winning Mrs. Lovett in the National Theatre "Sweeney" also did not produce a commercial cast recording.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 Absolutely. That weary sigh as she poured a bucket of blood down the drain. There's never been a Mrs Lovett who balanced the comedy and gruesome horror better.
Even on her only solo album you get the feeling she didn't get to sing the songs she really wanted to perform. So many missed opportunities.
Douglas Logan I absolutely love that album! All the roles which the songs she sung belong to she’d have excelled in, especially Desiree.
@@fergusmurray1828 There's nothing wrong with the recording but the choice of material is really unadventurous. Julia herself said all the Lloyd Webber and Les Mis songs were not what she would have chosen, and even in the 90s they'd been done to death.
Douglas Logan As much as I love that album, I do agree with you. What I wouldn’t give to have something from Gypsy on that album... I’d have also loved for her to sing ‘If He Walked Into my Life’ from Mame.
Hi aurora! I have the original "Lolita, My Love" live recording along with the demo's. If you'd be interesting in taking a listen or posting, just let me know!
do you have the full audio?
Love JM. Her voice is amazing. Have her CD from the 80s I think.
I’m curious - Do you know whether this is from a soundboard or an audience recording? I’m thinking Soundboard due to the incredible quality.
This is from soundboard.
aurora spiderwoman Awesome! Do you have anything like that for Julia in Guys and Dolls? I bet her rendition of ‘Adelaide’s Lament’ was incredible.