Feb 28: Happy Birthday

Many Broadway stars have birthdays in February -- too many to fit into one program. The ones I did feature on the air are:

Nacio Herb Brown, composer of Broadway Melody (title song sung by Charles King)
Tom Jones, composer singing Mr. Off Broadway in the music revue The Show Goes On
Julie McKenzie, British actress singing Broadway Baby in Side By Side By Sondheim
Bernadette Peters, singing Wherever He Ain't from Mack & Mabel
Tyne Daly, singing Some People from Gypsy. Personal note: Last year, she starred in the play Rabbit Hole, and my husband and I happened to pass her crossing the street. Big whoop, I know, but it was our only 'star sighting' on that trip to Broadway.
Elaine Stritch, singing Zip from Pal Joey
Lisa Kirk, singing Always True To You (In My Fashion) from Kiss Me Kate
Florence Henderson, singing I Have to Tell You from Fanny
Robert Weede, singing Rosabella from The Most Happy Fella (1956 Original Broadway Cast)
Nathan Lane, singing Ariadne from The Frogs (2004 Broadway Cast)
Tommy Tune, singing Au Revoir from Sherry
Lea Salonga, singing On My Own from Les Miserables (10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall)
Brent Barrett, singing Love Can't Happen from Grand Hotel
Gregory Hines, singing Sophisticated Lady from Sophisticated Ladies
Zero Mostel singing If I Were A Rich Man from Fiddler On The Roof

There are others I feel deserve some mention, although I couldn't do it in the show.

Ellen Greene, best known as Audrey in Little Shop. Ten years before Little Shop, she was Jenny in Threepenny Opera, produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival; talk about night and day. The dentist would have LOVED her in that leather get-up.

George Rose, fast-talking musical king. I first noticed him in The Pirates of Penzance as the Major General. Later I heard him on The Mystery of Edwin Drood, again with that patter style. That was at the end of his Broadway career, which had been busy; Darling/Hook opposite Sandy Duncan's Peter Pan, Eliza's father in a revival of My Fair Lady, and lots of Shakespeare. He had wonderful expressions, a wonderful fit to Gilbert & Sullivan and anything resembling English Music Hall styles.

Susan Egan, Broadway's first Belle, who then was given a voice in the next animated movie (Meg in Hercules). Have to say that she's a favorite of my 7-year-old neighbor.

Jonathan Larson, rest in peace. The writer of Rent and tick tick BOOM. He died young, and it was partially the tragedy of that brain aneurysm that brought so much media attention to Rent. That sentimentality may have helped win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Obie, and Tonys for Best Book, Score and Musical that year. Goodness knows London didn't respond the same way New York did. But even though there are some flaws to the show, there is incredible talent there that might have developed additional hits.