Yesterday, when posting that opening song performed by J.K. Simmons from Episode 2 of this current, final season of the Amazon series, Goliath, I mentioned that most viewers were likely surprised by his talent as a song-and-dance man. In fact, as I noted, Simmons has a background in musicals and even appeared in such Broadway shows as a revival of Guys and Dolls (that starred Nathan Lane) and starring as 'Capt. Hook' in a 1991 revival of Peter Pan. I thought I'd present some evidence of this talent. So, here are three videos -- one, just audio, and another an absolute gem treat. Trust me on this. We'll start with a video from the 1992 production of Guys and Dolls, where he played the small, but notable role of 'Benny Southstreet'. The camera is largely on Nathan Lane, but it eventually widens to see the full cast and featured performers. This is the song, "The Oldest Established," and you'll see J.K. Simmons cross in the background in his striped purple suit at the 35-second mark -- and later, he'll be more pronounced. (Actually, you can see him in the freeze frame below on the right -- that's who to look for.) This is also from that production of Guys and Dolls, though only audio from the Original Cast Recording. But it's such a prominent song, and Simmons is one of the two people performing it, that I felt it had to be included. This is the famous, wonderful title song. It's sung by 'Nicely-Nicely Johnson' (played here by Walter Bobbie) and Simmons as 'Benny.' (By the way, for those who like to put a face to the name: in the previous video, that's Walter Bobbie in the center freeze-frame above -- in a plaid, turquoise suit and bow-tie. In the video itself, he's generally to Nathan Lane's right - flanked by Simmons on Lane's left.) The first voice you hear in this title song will be J.K. Simmons, who has the slighly deeper voice. He next comes in with the verse, "What's in the Daily News? I'll tell you what's in the Daily News." But finally, this is the real treat -- for several reasons. It comes from a benefit for the UBU Project in 2020. The first reason is that J.K. Simmons gets to stand alone here and give a wonderful solo performance with the showstopping number, "I, Don Quixote," from Man of La Mancha. The other reason is that the person singing the role of 'Sancho Panza' is…his brother, David Simmons. I knew nothing about David Simmons, other than it says he is the founder of the UBU Project and also that he's excellent here. (On further checking, he has an extensive career as a performer, director, educator and lecture. And the mission statement of the UBU Project is "The prevention of youth suicide, addiction and bullying through social/emotional arts integration residencies.") Great, too, is that their voices are totally different from one another which fits the song properly -- 'Quixote' sung as a tenor/baritone, and 'Sancho' is a high counter-tenor. Further, 'Don Quixote' is the tall, leading man, while 'Sancho' is always played by a short, squat actor. It's all perfect here. And they're absolutely wonderful. They should do the show together.
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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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