The Most Happy Fella

Well folks, you heard it hear first.

I am in love.

With The Most Happy Fella. (Which makes me the most happy fella...listen to the musical and you will understand.)

Now it is absolutely no secret that I am a lover of the musical theater. I have been since I was a wee little slip of a thing.

My weakness...where my heart lies is in The Golden Era.

And a show I have been aware of for years is The Most Happy Fella. I remember in high school for Christmas I got the TheatreMania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings (also known as my person Bible). This book reviews every recording of every show from like the 1920s to 2003. With a show like The King and I there are like ten plus entries, because there are at least ten significant recordings of that show (I own eight of them).

I remember reading about the OBC of The Most Happy Fella and it gives a brief description of the show and my interest was piqued. At some point I got the two disc OBC...but that doesn't mean much. I have so much music I have never been able to get through all of it.

In college I was introduced to the song Somebody, Somewhere...one of those classic soprano "I Want" sangs. At first it didn't do much for me. But then one day, one recording of it. Just slayed me. Like Amalia Balash standing in front of a mirror asking "Will He Like Me?" That simple. And that is one of the things I love the most about that song and the golden era. Such simplicity. The lush music, the emotion, the character with their one hope. Wanting to be wanted. Needing to be needed. That's what it is. That's what it is.

Last year Kristin Chenoweth did a PBS concert where she sang a lot of well known lady songs from the musical theater. She does this section about when she was first auditioning her agent didn't know whether or not to send her in for the ingenue or the character roles. So she does this scene between the characters of Cleo and Rosabella (playing both roles). It is the opening scene. Two best friends, sassy Cleo and hopeless romantic "Rosabella." They are waitresses and Cleo just wants to go home, but Rosabella discovers that a customer has left her a love note and an amethyst tie pin.

"I don't know nothin' about you. Where you ever go. What you ever done. I don't know nothin' about you. I don't wanna know. I don't gotta know. What I see is kind of young lady. I want to get married."

Cleo leaves to go home. Her feet are killing her. And that leaves Rosabella to sing her song. And when Kristen starts. The combination of the music and the breath she takes and remember sitting there and CRYING because it was so beautiful.

Well the Encores Series at City Center is doing The Most Happy Fella as part of their season. And I knew I wanted to go. I have ALWAYS been intrigued. And I knew I had to. A month or so ago  I was determined. I didn't know how much it would cost, but I just HAD to. This week coming up I haven't even had the money to spend on it, but I was going to when I got paid on Thursday/Friday. Well today I got a text from a friend who had a free ticket to the invited dress. YES.

I am going to detour for a moment to say that this is the FOURTH  time this has happened in 2014. I was DYING to see Beautiful...free ticket. Bridges of Madison County...free. Mothers and Sons...FREE. I must be doing SOMETHING right.

It's been a while since I have seen a classic, luscious Golden Era musical. And one that is new to me! I was transported. Which is precisely why I love it. On the edge of my seat. The music for Somebody Somewhere started and I CRIED.

I have never been a huge Laura Benanti fan before. She just doesn't do it for me. But she is a cut above the rest. Her performance was the epitome of lovely. Shuler Hensely was passionate and touching as Tony. Cheyenne Jackson is a dream and could sing me to sleep every night. Jay Armstrong Johnson is just the most endearing and charming and I want to marry him.

And special mention goes to Heidi Blickenstaff. She gave one of the most sensational performances I have EVER SEEN EVER. If this show were on Broadway she would get rave reviews and certainly a Tony nomination. I want to go see it again just for her! What a voice, and warmth, and what a body! And such CHOPS!

I can't fully explain or describe WHY the Golden Era does it for me. I think because of the transportation factor. It is MAGIC. It is a world where a king can die of a broken heart, where the sheer love of two strangers can make a Scottish village reappear. Where a man can turn a flower girl into a duchess in six months. It is the stuff my dreams are made of.

This makes me happy. Sitting in that theater I was so contented.

And I always think about this feeling and think I am this deep, unabiding love for the art form; a spiritual devotion. If this makes me happier than most things how can I have that every day? What is it? I fear that working in it. Creating it would delude me of it. Maybe I would be a kickass musical theater historian. I dunno.

All I know is I am going to now wear out the OBC of The Most Happy Fella, look up every reputable video on Youtube, and try and convince someone (ANYONE) to go back with me on Sunday night.

Do your favor and watch the link below. 

Kristin Chenoweth performs full-length "Somebody, Somewhere"