Customer Reviews

Happy Hunting (1956 Original Broadway Cast)

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

 

 

Broadway's best diva, the ever original Ethel Merman sings in a show that she had a bit of a tough time with. She didn't like the composer, who apparently didn't like her either, and it shows. But it's a nice musical, with some hummable melodies, that harken back to the time when if you had an idea for a musical, and you could get a big star to do it, you'd get the backing in no time flat.

In 1956, after a five-year absence from the Broadway scene, Ethel Merman returned in HAPPY HUNTING, which turned out be be one of her worst career missteps. Written by newcomers Matt Dubey and Harold Carr, the show was riddled with problems; most stemming from Merman's uneasy on-stage relationship with her male costar Fernando Lamas. The show played for 412 performances, mainly due to Merman's star wattage.

A fish-out-of-water story not too dissimilar from Merman's last Broadway hurrah "Call Me Madam", HAPPY HUNTING featured a score from the relatively new songwriting team of Matt Dubey and Harold Carr (the show's book was provided by "Call Me Madam" veterans Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse). Inevitably the best numbers go to Merman, and she dazzles with "Gee, But It's Good to Be Here", "Mr Livingstone", "This Is What I Call Love", "The Game of Love", "I'm a Funny Dame", and the Title Song, and gives the score much more fanfare than it deserves. Merman also gets a couple of fun duets with Virginia Gibson, who played her daughter in the show ("Mutual Admiration Society" and "A New-Fangled Tango").

Long out-of-print (probably for very good reason), HAPPY HUNTING will be a delightful surprise for those who missed the last CD edition. Well worth getting for hardcore Broadway collectors or fans of The Merm. [DRG-19108]

DRG is a CD company obviously devoted to completists. With their current release of Happy Hunting, you can now have a complete collection of Ethel Merman's Broadway shows. Merman herself referred to the show as a jeep among limos--- the trip was bumpy, but it got you there. Based loosely on the Grace Kelly Monaco marriage, it's quite similar to the Merm's previous Broadway outing, Call Me Madam, except that Hunting is not very good. Merman was lucky and smart enough to surround herself, usually, with talented creators, but the score is awful. Composed by Harold Karr, the man parodied as the composer-cum-dentist in Bells Are Ringing, there is neither a hit nor a memorable song in the show. The male lead, Fernando Lamas, is wooden and unmusical, and caused endless trouble for Merman on and offstage. History reminds us that this was Lamas' only Broadway show, but his antics such as wiping his mouth after an on stage kiss, and then telling a TV talk show host that kissing Merman was like kissing a cross between your uncle and a Sherman tank could not have endeared him to his female lead. Only a solo and a duet with the Merm have been embarrassingly immortalized here. All in all, this is the ultimate CD to play at the end of the night when you want all of your guests to go home. Few if any would survive the first few cuts, and fewer would find an unkinder cut anywhere.

Ethel Merman returned to Broadway after a five year absence in this entertaining if slight musical. "Happy Hunting" ran for a year on her popularity but still lost money (unheard of for a Merman show) so there was plenty of blame thrown around. What's now left is this long out-of-print cast recording, which points to some of the problems. Merman's numbers are fine if predictable, and they are especially tailored to her unique delivery and vocal appeal. She's terrific on songs such as, "Gee, But It's Good to Be Here", "Mr. Livingstone" (an "Annie Get Your Gun" knock-off) and the title song. Her troublesome co-star, Fernando Lamas (the liner notes indicate they got along not one whit), possessed a surprisingly fine singing voice but he and Merman had zilch in the chemistry department and it shows. Their duet, "This Much I Know", is stilted and dry. "Ingenue" Virginia Gibson, considered a star-in-the-making at the time, barely registers on her four songs and is trounced by Merman in their rather lively duet "Mutual Admiration Society".

If this review sounds all over the place well, it's because that best describes "Happy Hunting". Socko numbers are followed by tripe, Merman hits home runs while other cast members strike out, and the overall air of "what-could-have-been" is palpable. So why bother with this recording? One reason, but it's a dilly: Merman. This immortal Broadway legend only recorded four of her many musicals (five, if you consider that she recorded "Annie..." twice) and "Happy Hunting" perfectly captures the Merman magic when she was at the height of her prodigious powers, which is saying something. She once said "'Happy Hunting' was a jeep among limousines...if you didn't mind the bumpy ride, it got you there." Yes, it did Ethel. But only because you were in the driver's seat.

Although, this is certainly not a well known musical it is an essential recording to have if you are an Ethel Merman fan and want to complete your collection of her Original Broadway Cast Albums. There are some nice melodies and Ethel Showstoppers on this CD, including New Fangled Tango, It's Great to Be Here, If'n, etc. The most well known title is of course, Mutual Admiration Society, which is well done by Merman and Virginia Gibson, a fairly well known personality in her own right...Fernando Lamas has a couple of nice ballads and delivers them in fine form. The story is quaint and as I believe others have said it would be hard to replay today, but it concerns the gathering for the Princess Grace Wedding of 1956, so is definitely geared to that time and situation. Overall, I would give it four stars, and would recommend it to other Broadway completists..

It seems easy to dish Happy Hunting, Ethel Merman wasn't that happy in it and didn't get along with her co star Fernando Lamas, the song writers were untried and never wrote another show, and on and on. But..........the cast album has always been one of my guilty pleasures, something I love to listen to, and have since I was a little boy and a friend of mine's mother had it. As much as Ms. Merman said she didn't care for the score, it provided her with yet another indelible number for her repetoire, Gee But Its Good to Be Here, which along with Mutual Admiration Society, Mr. Livingston, New Fangled Tango, and If'n make for a rather fun score. Merman was in teriffic voice when this album was made, and everything about it was professional. True, the story is tied to an event that is now ancient history and therefore probably not revivable in any way, but still the cast album is a load of fun. Would that some of the shows being written today had songs this good.

Happy Hunting was one of those middling shows from the 50s' that even the great Ethel Merman couldn't save. The show did eke out a respectable run of 412 performances but that was due to Miss Mermans die-hard fans.

The songs range from fairly good to fair to mediocre. But the score did manage a few gems such as "Mutual Admiration Society" "Mr Livingstone" and the naughty for its' time "New-Fangled Tango".

And to add to the shows misery, Fernando Lamas was Miss Mermans co-star and they hated each other. That's show-biz.

Everyone knows the great Merman shows - GYPSY, ANYTHING GOES, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN - but this little gem should not be missed. HAPPY HUNTING takes place during a royal wedding in a small European nation back in the 1950s (sound familiar?), with Ethel Merman playing a Pearl Mesta-type character onsite for the show. Of course, since the setting is make-believe Europe, we need a handsome prince, and who better than Fernando Lamas, who reminds the modern listener that yes, he really could sing (he did operetta in his time)? The composers are pretty much unknowns today, but the music and lyrics are delightful, with one standard resulting from their collaboration: "Mutual Admiration Society." But many of the other numbers, such as Merman's "Mr. Livingston," are additionally clever, and listeners unfamiliar with this show are in for a pleasant surprise.

I saw this show at the very end of it's running and I thought it was absolutely wonderful. Since my family and I new Ethel Merman personally from 1945-1984 I had no trouble liking a show, even if there were some problems. I was just happy I got to see Ethel Merman on stage. In Gypsy I saw it opening night to closing night. Back to Happy Hunting. My favorite song is personally New Fangled Tango, it is bawdy for that time and I am surprised it got past any kind of censoring they did for the show but it is a killer diller in my opinion. I recommend this cd to a lot of my friends.