I received a lot of e-mails about the clips posted earlier today of Petula Clark. In the second version of "Sign of the Times," one of the male dancers — the guy in the shiny red top — loses his hat at around the 1:26 mark. Tim Dunleavy says that's Michael Bennett.
A little research showed me that this was about the time Mr. Bennett was going from dancing in Broadway shows to choreographing them. The first such show for which he staged the musical numbers was A Joyful Noise, which opened on December 15, 1966 — a few months after that number — and closed twelve performances later. But before long, he did the choreography for Promises, Promises and then Coco and Company, then he started directing with Follies, A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls and others.
Tim also adds, "I saw Ms. Clark in New York on her last tour, around the same time you saw her in L.A., and she was just as tremendous as you said she was." So if you're not going to listen to me about such things, at least listen to Tim Dunleavy.
By the way, here's something worth proclaiming in capital letters: PETULA CLARK IS STILL RECORDING NEW SONGS!!! This recently came out…
And here's one she performed on last year…
And she has a new CD coming out — actually, two-CD set which includes a book. It's a restoration of the 1974 Valentine Concert she gave at London's Royal Albert Hall and it ain't cheap but I've ordered it. The cover is at the top of this item and the link to order one for yourself is here. What an amazing performer.