A Barry Surprising Video
This is a surprising treat. It’s Barry Humphries singing a song from Oliver!. What makes it a surprising treat are two things --
First, though the name Barry Humphries might be familiar to some, it won’t be to most. But his famous character likely will be -- for decades, he played ‘Dame Edna.’ Though clearly, he did more than that in his career. And that’s the second reason it’s a surprising treat.
That’s because when Oliver! premiered in its original 1960 London West End production, Barry Humphries was in it. He played ‘Mr. Sowerberry,’ the undertaker who buys Oliver from Mr. Bumble. (And has a song, “That’s Your Funeral.”) And Humphries reprised the role in the original Broadway production, as well. The song isn't included on the cast album, although happily it is on the original British cast recording.
But even more than that and 'Mr. Sowerberry,' it turns out that Barry Humphries has a long career playing ‘Fagin’! In that original British stage production -- which Ron Moody starred in as ‘Fagin,’ repeating the role in the movie -- Barry Humphries was the fill-in ‘Fagin.’ And then Humphries starred as 'Fagin' in the musical's first (of many...) London revival in 1967. Almost 30 years later, Cameron Mackintosh produced another revival in 1994,which was the musical's fourth revival on the West End, and Jonathan Pryce played the role. (Audiences today might know him as the grandfather and former head spy in the streaming series Slow Horses.) That 1994 production was a huge hit, and three years into its run, Barry Humphries returned to the role -- which is where this video came from.
By the way, one thing noticeable about some of the British productions – particularly the original in 1960, and this here, is the orchestrations don’t make any effort to steer away, for better or worse, from the novel’s reference to ‘Fagin’ as Jewish, and so there is a more distinctive Klezmer flavor. And Humphries throws in his own touch.
BONUS. Here’s Barry Humphries as ‘Mr. Sowerberry’ from the original 1960 London Cast Recording of Oliver! singing “That’s Your Funeral.”
Comments