There is a really good chance that you will love this. It's a two-song parody mash-up from Bye Bye Birdie and The King & I -- two shows that don't generally overlap -- performed by Broadway actors without a show to do during the pandemic, all written by Joe Keenan, who was a writer on Frasier, among many other TV shows, including Desperate Housewives and the new version of The Odd Couple, which he developed. Though this was made as a "Blue Vote Video," any political message is secondary to the fun. I was surprised how many of the people involved I recognized – not close to most, but a handful. And all the names are listed at the end. It's called "Bring Back Broadway!." And falling back on my arcane knowledge of musicals, I wonder if that was used because a) it’s appropriate for the point of it all, and b) it’s an homage to the very little-known and unsuccessful sequel to the 1960 show Bye Bye Birdie, which was called, Bring Back Birdie. It was made in 1981 by the original team -- with a score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, and a book by Michael Stewart. And alas, it only ran for four performance. I have the cast album, and I was glad to track it down, but it doesn't compare. [UPDATE: After later checking with Joe Keenan online about the very obscure reference, he said that indeed, yes, "The echo occurred to me, though I doubted many would hear it."] It zips by pretty fast, so I didn't get all the words, but plenty enough to find it a total joy. There's one joke in the parody lyrics in particular that I dearly loved, which comes at the 3:50 mark. Normally I wouldn't give such things away, but it's so obscure unless you know the original well that it would fly by. In the parody, the singers are quipping about Trump and Kim Jong-un, "Trump's in love with Kim, Kim's in love with him." The original line is about Hugo Peabody and Kim McAfee, It goes -- "He's in love with Kim, Kim's in love with him." So, yes, really clever. It's one of those lines where, when a writer thinks of it, you just look up and thank the gods because it fits in too perfectly. I'll only add one other thing -- that the song from The King and I being parodied is "I Have Dreamed." (Fun Fact: If you've seen the movie, The American President, this is the song that Michael Douglas and Annette Benning dance to for the first time at the White House gala.) Other than that, I shall say no more.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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