Apr 18: April Actor's Showcase

Today we look through the list of actor/singers born in the month of April, just an excuse to pause and get to know some stage and screen performers of the past and present.

Vivianne Segal: Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered, Pal Joey revival
Howard Keel: Where's The Mate For Me? (Gambler's Song), Show Boat
Paul Robeson: I Still Suits Me (1947 recording), Show Boat
Barbra Streisand: Miss Marmelstein, I Can Get It For You Wholesale
Shirley MacLaine: I'm a Person Too (Some Came Running), Shirley MacLaine In Concert
Carol Burnett: Shy, Once Upon A Mattress
Carol Burnett: Nobody, Carol Burnett Sings
Joel Gray: Mister Cellophane, Chicago Revival
Liz Callaway: Meadowlark (The Baker's Wife), The Story Goes On
Patti LuPone: Where is the Warmth, The Baker's Wife
John Cameron Mitchell: Winter's On the Wing, The Secret Garden
John Cameron Mitchell: Wig in a Box, Hedwig And The Angry Inch
Tim Curry: I'm All Alone, Spamalot

Okay, why didn't I pair John Cameron Mitchell "Hedwig" with Tim Curry "Rocky Horror?" Main reason is that I'm saving it for two weeks from now, when I do rock musicals.

Something I didn't have time to point out - I paired Mister Cellophane with Nobody purposefully. The song intent is the same, and Bob Fosse staged Cellophane just like Burt Williams would have sung Nobody. Williams was a black man singing in blackface, with the traditional white gloves and black hat. During Cellophane, Amos pulls out a hat and puts on the gloves, and does the swaying that Williams would have done. Subtle, but appreciated. (Someday I'll have to compare early vaudeville with more modern tributes.)