Ah, what has Mark found for us this morning on YouTube? Mark has found the title number of one of his favorite musicals, On the Twentieth Century, a show which had book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. The show opened in early 1978 and the original cast was toplined by John Cullum, Madeline Kahn, Imogene Coca, and Kevin Kline. Ms. Kahn left after just a few months, allegedly due to illness and with lots of other reasons rumored. Many years later when I worked with Ms. Coca, I asked her about the reason for Kahn's sudden departure and she just shook her head and said, "Poor girl…so talented and so many problems." Make of that what you will.
This number is from that year's Tony Awards broadcast in May, by which time Madeline Kahn was long gone and Judy Kaye, who you'll see in the clip, was in her place and being hailed as a major find. The show — briefly — is about a train ride from Chicago to New York, during which many things happen but most of them center around the attempts of an unscrupulous producer (the part played by Cullum) to woo back his greatest discovery, Lily Garland, who has gone on to stardom since she left him. Lily Garland is the role originated by Ms. Kahn and handed off to Ms. Kaye. And of course, you'll see Coca and Kline in there, as well. Apparently, you weren't allowed to be in this show unless your last name started with a "K" sound.
Here's that number, which includes a lot of lyrics that somehow didn't make it onto the cast album…
