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The follow-up to the original
Broadway's Lost Treasures delivers more of the same--historic performances of great moments in American musical theater televised on the Tony Awards--but is a step up in terms of sheer entertainment value. The first volume included only performances before 1987, and while they had bigger stars (Yul Brynner, Robert Preston), some of them were lip-synced and considerably less polished than their feature-film equivalents.
Broadway's Lost Treasures II features newer performances that are almost indistinguishable from an actual show, including scenes from splashy, high-energy revivals such as
Anything Goes (Patti LuPone and company performing the title tune) and
Guys and Dolls (the fabulous "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat"), and new shows such as
Grand Hotel (Michael Jeter and Brent Barrett in a gloriously exuberant "Take a Glass Together"),
Les Miserables ("One Day More"),
La Cage aux Folles (George Hearn solo and with a chorus line in drag in "I Am What I Am"), and Jelly's Last Jam (Gregory Hines tapping "That's How You Jazz"). There are classic performances too, including Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur's 1987 reunion of "Bosom Buddies" (
Mame), Richard Kiley's "The Impossible Dream" (
Man of La Mancha), Jerry Orbach's "All I Care About" (
Chicago), and (in the DVD's bonus content) Katharine Hepburn in a 15-minute part-dramatic, part-musical scene from
Coco. Fans were disappointed when performances from
Dreamgirls and
A Chorus Line were pulled from the first program due to rights issues, and those still aren't included here, but one can always hope they might appear in a future volume.
--David Horiuchi
Product Description
The annual Tony Award® broadcast provides the only filmed record of Broadways best for audiences to experience as if they were front-row-center on opening night. This second compilation of great musical moments from the Tonys® features another dazzling array of stars and performances. Hosts Lauren Bacall, Bebe Neuwirth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Jerry Orbach introduce these 18 one-of-a-kind performances and share their personal Broadway and Tony® memories.
"Praise be to the theatre gods. . . for what was lost is found."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the first Broadways Lost Treasures. THE LEADS
Patti LuPone, Anything Goes
Angela Lansbury, Beatrice Arthur, Mame
Robert Morse, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Jane Lapotaire, Piaf
Richard Kiley, Man of La Mancha
ALL SINGING, ALL DANCING
Nell Carter, cast, Aint Misbehavin
Michael Jeter, Brent Barrett, Grand Hotel
Gregory Hines, Jellys Last Jam
Walter Bobbie, Nathan Lane, Guys and Dolls
REVIVALS AND RECORD BREAKERS
George Hearn, cast, La Cage aux Folles
Cast, Les Misérables
Shirley Verrett, cast, Carousel
Jerry Orbach, Chicago
BONUS PERFORMANCES
Katharine Hepburn, Coco
Robert Lindsay, Me and My Girl
Tom Bosley, Fiorello!
Kathi Moss, cast, Nine
Bill Hutton, cast, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
BONUS EXTRAS
Five additional performances not seen on the PBS broadcast
Historical information about the original Broadway productions
PLAYBILL cover art