Carol Lawrence George Smiley New Faces 1953

''New Faces of 1952'' is a musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

with songs and comedy skits. It ran on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was we ...

Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on ''Bewitched'' ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song " Santa ...

Robert Clary Robert Clary (born Robert Max Widerman; March 1, 1926 – November 16, 2022) was a French actor mainly active in the United States. He is best known for his role in the television sitcom ''Hogan's Heroes'' as Corporal Louis LeBeau (1965–197 ...

Carol Lawrence Carol Lawrence (born Carolina Maria Laraia; September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria on Broadway in the musical '' West Side Story'' (1957), receivin ...

, Ronny Graham, performer/writer

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

(as Melvin Brooks), and lyricist

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was ...

Broadway production

The revue opened on Broadway at the

Royale Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the thea ...

on May 16, 1952, and ran for 365 performances. It was produced by Leonard Sillman, directed by

John Murray Anderson John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian theatre director and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and lighting designer, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City a ...

and John Beal with choreography by Richard Barstow. The sketches were written by Graham and Brooks. The songs were composed by, among others, Harnick, Graham,

Murray Grand Murray Grand (August 27, 1919 – March 7, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, lyricist, and pianist best known for the song "Guess Who I Saw Today". Born in Philadelphia, Grand played piano as a teenager. During World War II, he served a ...

and

Arthur Siegel Arthur Siegel (December 31, 1923 - September 13, 1994) was an American songwriter. Born on December 31, 1923, in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, he grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Siegel studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts ...

. The cast featured Graham, Kitt, Clary, Virginia Bosler,

June Carroll June Carroll (1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American lyricist, singer and actress. Born June Sillman in Detroit, Michigan, Carroll appeared in the Broadway musical ''New Faces of 1952'', introducing the now-standard ''Guess Who I Saw Today'', ...

, Virginia De Luce, Ghostley, Patricia Hammerlee, Lawrence, Lynde and Bill Milliken. De Luce and Graham won the 1952

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

. The revue marked Kitt's Broadway debut, singing a "sultry rendition" of "Monotonous", about how boring a life of luxury was. The Equity Library Theater, New York City, presented an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

revival in 1982, directed by Joseph Patton and featuring comedic performances by Lillian Graff, Philip Wm. Mckinley, Alan Safier, and Randy Brenner in the roles originated by Ghostley, Lynde, Graham, and Clary, respectively. Kitt joined the cast late in the run to re-create her original role. Another ''New Faces'', the ''New Faces of 1956'' ran on Broadway from June 14, 1956 through December 22, 1956. It was also conceived and produced by Sillman, with direction by David Tihmar and Paul Lynde (sketches). There were five other "New Faces" in all: 1934, 1936, 1943, 1962, and 1968. According to Kay Green, of the seven "New Faces" revues, the 1952 revue was the "most admired, both for the talent of the performers and the cleverness of the writing.Green, Kay. ''Broadway musicals, show by show'' (1996), Hal Leonard Corporation, , p. 154

Songs (Broadway)

;Act I * Opening ( Ronny Graham,

Peter DeVries Peter De Vries (February 27, 1910 – September 28, 1993) was an American editor and novelist known for his satiric wit. He has been described by the philosopher Daniel Dennett as "probably the funniest writer on religion ever". Biography De Vr ...

) * Lucky Pierre (Ronny Graham) - Pierre (Robert Clary), Reporter and Chorus *

Guess Who I Saw Today "Guess Who I Saw Today" is a popular jazz song written by Murray Grand with lyrics by Elisse Boyd. The song was originally composed for Leonard Sillman's Broadway musical revue, ''New Faces of 1952'', in which it was sung by June Carroll.Origin ...

(Elisse Boyd,

) - June Carroll * Restoration Piece - Lady Sylvia Malpractice, Simple, Sir Solemnity Sourpuss and Sir Militant Malpractice * Love Is a Simple Thing (lyrics by

, music by

) - Rosemary O'Reilly, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary * Boston Beguine (

) - Alice Ghostley * Nanty Puts Her Hair Up ( Herbert Farjeon, Siegel) - Nanty, Father, Mother, Brother and Highlander * Time for Tea (Carroll-Siegel) - Marcella, Lavinia, Lavinia, the Girl, Marcella, the Girl, Mother, Father, John and Guest * Bal Petit Bal (Francis Lemarque) - Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary * Three for the Road, medley: It's Raining Memories/Waltzing in Venice/Take Off That Mask (Graham) ;Act II * Don't Fall Asleep (Graham) - Wife and Husband * After Canasta--What? - Dorothy and Elsie * Lizzie Borden (Michael Brown) - Townsperson, Man, Judge, Lizzie and District Attorney * I'm in Love with Miss Logan (Graham) - Boy, Miss Logan and Man * Trip of the Month - The Explorer * Penny Candy (Carroll, Siegel) - Woman, Gussie, Poor Kid, Rich Kid and Candy Vendor * Convention Bound * Whither America? (Another Revival?) - Switchboard Operator, Stenographer and Man * Monotonous (Carroll, Siegel) - (Sung by Eartha Kitt) * The Great American Opera - Toby, Madame Flora and Effie * He Takes Me Off His Income Tax (Siegel, Carroll) - Virginia de Luce. Song begun, then interrupted four times throughout the show, before 1) Boston Beguine, 2) Nanty Puts Her Hair Up, 3) Three for the Road medley, and 4) I'm in Love with Miss Logan.

Sketches

"Of Fathers and Sons", written by Mel Brooks, was a parody of the

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

drama

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...

with characters Mae, Harry, Stanley and Policeman; a pickpocket is angry with his son for not wanting to join the family business. In "Oedipus Goes South", Ronny Graham parodies

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

. Paul Lynde, wrapped in bandages, bemoans his African safari. The narrative ballad "Guess Who I Saw Today" has June Carroll telling her husband that she saw him with another woman. In "The Bard and the Beard" the characters- Miss Leigh, Sir Laurence, Call Boy and Maid- try to remember what play they are supposed to be in.

Film ''New Faces''

Retitled ''New Faces'', the film version was directed by

Harry Horner Harry Horner (July 24, 1910 – December 5, 1994) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American art director who made a successful career in Hollywood as an Oscar-winning art director and as a feature film and television director. Biography Horner was ...

Cinemascope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

and

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

, and released by

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

on March 6, 1954. Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Carol Lawrence, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, and Bill Millikin repeated their stage roles. The film was basically a reproduction of the stage revue with a thin plot added. The plot involved a producer and performer (Ronny Graham) in financial trouble on opening night. A wealthy Texan offers to help out, on the condition that his daughter be in the show. The song order was changed and expanded to include: *"Crazy, Man!" (Lynde, Graham) *"Time for Tea" (Carroll, Siegel) *"He Takes Me Off his Income Tax" (de Luce) *"Convention Bound" (Graham) *"Uska Dara" (Kitt) *"

C'est si bon "" (; ) is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez. The English lyrics were written in 1949 by Jerry Seelen. The song has been adapted in several languages. History In July 1947, Henri Betti ...

" (Kitt) *"

Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...

" (Kitt) However, some songs were omitted, or had their lyrics updated. The song "Nanty Puts her Hair Up" was omitted. However an abridged version was used as an instrumental in a dance routine. The song "Don't Fall Asleep" was omitted. The song "Love is a Simple thing" omitted the final verse, being the Charles Addams character verse, because it was too outdated. Also, an extra verse was added to "Lizzie Borden". Some of the lines in "Monotonous" were replaced and updated, omitting the line "Ike Likes Me", and being replaced with writing the "Dragnet" theme instead.

Cast recording

''Leonard Sillman's New Faces Of 1952 (Original Cast)'' was the official release of the cast recording of the Broadway revue ''New Faces of 1952''. The album was originally released on a 12" LP by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

, LOC-1008. Some material was excluded, as not all songs could fit on the record. In 1977, the album was reissued on the RCA Red Seal label, catalog number CBM1-2206. The cast recording, like the play, was produced by Leonard Sillman. The orchestral conductor for the album and play was

Anton Coppola Antonio Francesco Coppola (March 21, 1917 – March 9, 2020) was an American opera conductor and composer. He was the uncle of film director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, as well as the great-uncle of Nicolas Cage, Christopher ...

. Orchestral arrangements were by

Ted Royal Ted Royal ewar'' (6 September 1904, Skedee, Oklahoma - 27 March (?) 1981) was an American orchestrator, conductor and composer for Broadway theatre. He was most active in the 1940s and 1950s, being associated with the very successful original pr ...

, Allen Conroy, Bill Mullikin,

, Carol Nelson,

, Jimmy Russell, Joseph Lautner,

, Michael Dominico, Patricia Hammerlee,

, Ronny Graham, Rosemary O'Reilly, Virginia Bosler, and Virginia de Luce all perform on the album, and are cited in doing so. The LP also lists some credits for the play itself, John Beal is cited as the plays director, and the primary sketch writers as Melvin Brooks and Ronny Graham. In 2003, Jasmine Records reissued the cast album on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...

for the first time, featuring the original RCA LP track listing. In 2009,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, which now owns the RCA Victor archive, released the album on CD (catalog number ''Arkiv RCA-04441'') and digital download. This second CD reissue included the previously unreleased song "Time For Tea" performed by

and

. Suskin, Steve
"ON THE RECORD: New Faces of 1952 and New Faces of 1956"
playbill.com, May 17, 2009

Track listing

;12" Long Play ''Track listings and credits adapted from the original label notes of album, unless other wise specified.'' ;2009 re-issues Features previously unreleased song "Time For Tea".

References

External links

* {{Mel Brooks 1952 musicals Broadway musicals Revues