Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo!: A Nearly Original Cast Recording (1995 Studio Cast) [Cast Recording]

Mark Waldrop, Jay Rogers, Peter Morris, Keith Cromwell, Tommy Femia, David Lowenstein | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 1995)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FXQ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,475 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Doctor Sketch

2. Whoop-Dee-Doo!

3. Stuck on You

4. Howard Goes Latin

5. Teach It How to Dance

6. Elizabeth

7. Nancy: The Unauthorized Musical (Intro)

8. Nancy

9. Portraits

10. First Ladies/Flashback

11. It's My Turn

12. Fairy Bar (Intro)

13. Tough to Be a Fairy

14. Blue Flame

15. Howard Goes Elizabethan

16. A Soldier's Musical

17. Entr'acte

18. It's a Perfect Day

19. Last One Picked

20. Howard Goes Western

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully silly, May 10, 2002

By 

burghtenor (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo!: A Nearly Original Cast Recording (1995 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

WHOOP-DEE-DOO! is a musical revue like no other. Ostensibly, it's a format to showcase the hilariously outlandish costumes designed by Howard Crabtree. Just to mention a few of the outfits: Carmen Miranda, an invisible dance troupe, a facial tissue, and an assortment of fruits. Speaking of fruits, this show also celebrates the lighter side of gay culture.

Now I know what many of you are thinking: this is probably one of those revues that beats a concept to death. On the contrary, the jokes are numerous, the tunes are melodic, the lyrics are clever, and, despite the fact that much of the humor comes from men dressed in drag, there's an abundance of high-class humor. (Lyrics include such words as "hypothalamus" and "medulla oblongata.")

...And what songs about such zany subjects! Even without the costumes, many of the songs are still funny. "Stuck On You" is sung by a trio of six-foot insects about their (romantic or otherwise) attachment to flypaper. "I Was Born This Way" is one man's bluesy rejoicing in the discoveries of genetic research. "NANCY: The Unauthorized Musical" is a play-within-a-play about the power-hungry wife of the 40th U. S. president.

Catering to the gay culture is prevalent, but handled in a tacky-yet-tasteful manner, with a paean to Elizabeth Taylor and a skit about Judy Garland's greatest comeback yet ... from the grave. There are also some other pieces with unusual references to homosexuality, including a scene at a bar for winged creatures after a hard day of granting wishes, and a tale of a banana who becomes a private (get it?) in the army.

While no voice in the cast is stellar, all are fun to listen to, even Jay, the querulous director of the revue, who criticizes Howard's repeated attempts to make a full-scale production number out of a song entitled "Less Is More."

RECOMMENDATION: Due to its subject content, this show probably isn't for everyone. However, for those not easily offended, it's definitely worth a few listens and a lot of laughs. Enjoy!

5.0 out of 5 stars Front Row Seat, January 29, 2010

By 

Dempo "TPD IN TX" (Spring, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo!: A Nearly Original Cast Recording (1995 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

This Off Broadway show was one of my favorites when I lived in New York. I saw this production in 1996 with a friend and we sat in the front row. I unfortunately have a loud laugh and could not contain myself during a scene between scenes, in front of the curtain, a dialog where Jay was addressing Howard dressed as the Statue of Libery, glittering with sparklers. I laughed so loud, that they stopped the play and pointed to me in the first row saying: "We have June Allison here in the front row, we can always DEPEND on her." The play was hysterical and the music so original. Whoop-Dee-Doo and When Pigs Fly are on the top on my list.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, April 28, 2001

By 

John Rice (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo!: A Nearly Original Cast Recording (1995 Studio Cast) (Audio CD)

Reviews are not my favorite type of musical. But Howard Crabtree's "Whopp-Dee-Doo!" is a pleasant exception to this.based on the premise of having to find numbers to fit Crabtree's costumes, the musical nunbers can be riotous or sad. This piece celebrates being gay. Numbers poke fun of many thiungs held dear by gay people. The laughter comes from recognition. "Last One Picked" is a song about a guy remembering his days in high school when he was the last one picked for teams. The song is a bit sad, but does not well there. "The Soldier's Musical" is another satirical romp that is full of doule entendres. So it turns out that this CD is a great addition to the musical theater.