Customer Reviews

An Evening With Mike Nichols And Elaine May (Original Cast Recording)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish I could give this 5 stars, but I usually skip the "Disk Jockey" track--it's OK, but the other three are just pure gold. I was going to say Nichols usually plays (relatively) straight man to May's loopy characters, but both of them really do get to show off their sense of creativity and humor in the odd ways that seemingly normal people interact. "Adultery" is a set of variations on the same theme: two people meeting at a hotel for a tryst, but in three different countries: The US (where the two obsess about their guilt), England (acting veddy properly, and the man seems to be more interested in the woman's hat than her body), and France (when the woman shows up WITHOUT her husband, the man laments, "But it won't be ze same wizzout George!"). Hilarious. "Telephone" posits Nichols' poor shmuck (he has lost his last dime in a pay phone) against three different telephone company employees, all very inspiringly played by May. "Mother and Son" is a another telephone call, this time between Jewish Mother and put-upon son. You can imagine...("I sat by that phone all Wednedsay, all Thursday, all Friday, [my husband] said 'Phyllis, eat something, you'll faint!'"). This stuff, aside from the practicalities of the telephone service, will never age--it's endlessly enjoyable. Wouldn't it be great if Nichols & May consented to doing some improv together again? Get this for your collection. START a comedy collection with this--you can't do much better.

In this age of "explicative deleted" humor I was thrilled to find the reissue of this classic, intelligent and creative album. It is as funny now as it was in the 60's. The repartee and the timing are impeccable. Nichols and May have given us so many entertaining moments throughout the years (He as a Director, she as a writer/director. They collaborated recently on "Birdcage") that it really is a thrill to return to their roots. The album has become such a part of my life that bits and pieces; little snippets from the dialog are an integral part of my everyday life. Each vignette is perfect. Just listen and laugh!

I grew up with this album, and to this day my sister and I can still recite most of it by heart. So it was a real joy when I found it had been released on CD. This is Nichols and May at their zaniest: the desperate man arguing with the officious telephone operator ("That is Kaplan, K as in knife...") or the NASA scientist being lectured by his mother ("I read in the paper where you keep losing them.")

After all these years, this one remains a classic.

This live recording by the landmark comedy duo is an agreeable curio, but one has to wonder: was it ever really considered as funny as the audience wracked with hysteria find it? The performances of the two are strong -- especially Nichols' exasperated straight man -- but the targets of an officious operator, a shallow starlet and a nagging mother aren't exactly cutting edge. Were they once? They're more like tart New Yorker cartoons drawn to life. I trust the whole show was better -- this album is disappointingly brief. The adultery piece is the best.

These are two of the funniest people to emerge in the last century. This recording of part of their Broadway show in the 1950s contains only a few routines but, fortunately, they are among their best. I was glad to find this available for download at AMAZON.

What a great CD! Though short (40-odd minutes long), it's so funny, and especially impressive to me as an improvisational actress. The bits that are on the album are all live, unpractised stuff, and so funny, you'd think there was a script. Can't wait to get the rest of the albums!