Back in '97, Carolyn and I saw a show on Broadway called The Life, which was all about hookers and pimps. I chose it because the score was written by Cy Coleman and I've always liked Mr. Coleman's work…and I did like many of the songs. What I didn't like was the book, which seemed to me to about people who didn't interest me acting rather self-destructive, all of it leading to…well, by the time we got to the ending, I didn't care. I just wanted out.
There were nice moments here and there and as I said, some of the songs were pretty good. But by the time we got to the end, I was not sure what was happening. I was just thinking, "Why did I want to see a show about hookers and pimps?" Not everyone felt as I did. The show ran more than a year in New York and got a mess of Tony nominations (two supporting actors won) and the Drama Desk Award named it Best Musical. But after it closed, it pretty much disappeared with few subsequent productions anywhere. Here are some musical moments from the original production…