Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mack & Mabel ... your time may have come, February 23, 2001
For over 20 years I have tried to figure out why "Mack & Mabel", maybe Jerry Herman's best and most solid score, didn't work as a Broadway Musical. Now, reflecting on Broadway of the '70s, '80s & '90s I think I've finally figured it out. "Mack & Mabel" was way ahead of its time. It was a musical not about sweetness and light but about life as it really was for these two very talented people. The wonderful score utilized the vocal talents of all principle cast members to the fullest, advancing both character and story but leading to a less than happy ending. The original cast (Peters & Preston) were considered to be mismatched but based on the reality of the story they might actually have been the very best performers to cast. Certainly vocally no one could better sing the roles of the title characters than these two. The cast album is wonderful from the first note to the last. The album stands well alone for those who have never seen the show but holds even more wonder for those few of us who were a party to one of the 66 Broadway performances. While Jerry Herman has many terrific and successful shows under his belt (La Cage, Mame, Dear World, Hello Dolly, etc.) this, one of his least known, is long overdue for a revival and hopefully someone will find a way to make it a resounding success. Until the curtain rises again on "Mack & Mabel" enjoy this wonderful original Broadway cast album.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a delightful Broadway flop - with a beautiful score, March 10, 2003
There was a lot riding on this 1974 offering from Jerry Herman (HELLO, DOLLY!, MAME). It closed after a meager 66 performances following blistering reviews and lukewarm responses from audiences. However, the score is one of Herman's most accomplished.The story concerns silent-movie magnate Mack Sennett's romance with actress Mabel Normand. After some hefty make-up and break-up incidents, the two characters eventually discover just how much they mean to each other, but only at the 11th hour. Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters play Mack and Mabel, and I can't think of anyone else (at that time) who could have played them as perfectly as these two do. Peters' kewpie-doll looks perfectly suit the era in which the story is set, and she sings her songs with a verve and youthful passion that is irresistible. Preston colors his character with the sly, sardonic manner that has become his trademark. No-one will ever sing "I Won't Send Roses" as Preston did (and Peters' reprise of the song is hilarious and quite affecting, too). Lisa Kirk (the original Lois/Bianca in KISS ME KATE) is put to good use in two wonderful numbers, while the ensemble cast are superb. If you have yet to discover this perfect score, this original 1974 cast album is the best place to start.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I'll just agree with everyone., July 5, 2003
It is a shame that this show apparently cannot work on stage because of a weak book and the difficulties of trying to recreate the classic silent films of the era of impresario Mack Sennett and star comic Mabel Normand. For Jerry Herman's score for "Mack and Mabel" is really wonderful. From the familiar Herman pazazz of "Look What Happened to Mabel" or "Big Time" to the darker disillusionment of "Movies Were Movies" and hopeless heartbreak of "Time Heals Everything" to the obligatory but still wonderful paean to the star diva, "When Mabel Comes In the Room," Herman offers a nearly bottomless bag of endless entertainment. Long a favorite of theatre fans, if only it were as widely embraced as his scores for "Mame" and "Hello, Dolly!"It helps that a terrific group of performers are on hand to sing Herman's songs on this original cast recording. As the tough, single-minded Mack Sennett, Robert Preston doesn't have many oppurtunities to display the legendary bravado of Harold Hill and other performances, and he is unfortunately saddled with several of the weaker songs in the score, but he scores mightily with the haunting "I Won't Send Roses" and remains as memorable as ever throughout. As Mabel Normand, "the kid from the deli" whom he turns, in Svengali fashion, into a great silent-film comic, Bernadette Peters registers a bit more strongly because she has a more consistently great group of songs. Not counting her supporting role in "George M!" and the lead in the one-nighter "La Strada", this is her first major Broadway role, and she is wonderful whether exulting in her good fortune in "Look What Happened to Mabel," brushing off Mack's warnings with "So Who Needs Roses?", spitting out her anger towards him in "Wherever He Ain't" (Probably her best moment), or wondering at the depth of her love for him in "Time Heals Everything." Lisa Kirk (Best known for Cole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Allegro") appears as one of Mack's other stars, and is a delight belting out her two big songs, "Big Time" and (especially) "Tap Your Troubles Away" (WAY-aaaaaayyyyy!..."). Though I would prefer a more understated accompaniement to "Time Heals Everything," otherwise the orchestrations by Philip J. Lang and musical direction by Donald Pippin are right on the money. Though "Mack and Mabel" did not survive long on Broadway, and apparently may never survive for long everywhere because of its flaws as a show, it is our great fortune that it left behind this wonderful cast recording, allowing us to treasure Jerry Herman's score and this cast's performances for many years to come.
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~ Cy Coleman
~ Angela Lansbury
~ Glenn Close
~ Mary Martin
by Jerry Herman 
