CLOSE A LITTLE FASTER?
You might want to give a listen to a 1983 score of the Broadway musical DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER, the last project on the Great White Way by one of the giants of musical theatre – Alan Jay Lerner. His wife at the time, Liz Robertson, starred and he was the director and lyricist. The composer was Charles Strouse.
Insiders dubbed it “Close a Little Faster” because the critics hated it aside from heaping praise on the score itself. I remember vividly the David Mitchell massive, antiseptic set, the Henry Kissinger character (played by George Rose), the respectful treatment of a gay couple, the ice dance of that same couple and the famously shredded voice of Len Cariou. It was based on the Robert E. Sherwood play IDIOT’S DELIGHT. Some of the melodies and poignant lyrics in that show are truly memorable.
Navigating the Ear Canal…Thoughts About Recordings Destined for Obsession (or Not)
