Still Promising

I had a video of Jerry Orbach singing a fun, but very light-hearted song from Promises, Promises, the musical with a score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  While it might have surprised some that Orbach sang -- it shouldn't have, he set a record for most performances on Broadway in musicals -- it might be even more surprising that in Promises, Promises (for which he won the Tony Award) he introduced a song that became a huge breakout hit, for Dionne Warwick. 

Promises, Promises, which opened in 1968, is based on the 1960 Oscar-winning film, The Apartment, from Billy Wilder, and had a book written by Neil Simon.  In the story, as you might recall from the film, Chuck Baxter is in love from elevator operator Fran Kubelik, but she's having an affair in his apartment with his married boss.  When it becomes clear that the boss isn't going to leave his wife, the distraught Fran takes sleeping pills, but Chuck arrives home in time to keep her awake and alive.  As she recovers and draws closer to Chuck, she and he sing about the pain and difficultly of romance.

Here are Jill O'Hara and Jerry Orbach, in a terrific arrangement, introducing that monster hit, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"