Fade Out Fade In (1964 Original Broadway Cast)

In the 1950s, lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green tackled Hollywood's transition from silent movies to talkies in Singin' in the Rain; a few years later, they teamed up with composer Jule Styne to revisit Tinseltown with Fade Out Fade In, a musical set in the '30s. While that 1964 show isn't the creative team's best, a second-rate effort by Comden, Green, and Styne is still a fabulous treat. And of course this one also starred Carol Burnett, back on Broadway four years after Once Upon a Mattress. To say that she steals the show (and the cast album) is an understatement. She makes all her numbers memorable, infusing them with unparalleled timing and the ability to wring the last comic drop from every line--her turns on "Call Me Savage" and "Lila Tremaine" should be required listening for every aspiring comedienne. The cast recording also includes Tina Louise, who left the show in the middle to star on Gilligan's Island. --Elisabeth Vincentelli..

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