Saw Anything Goes on an ordinary Thursday night about half-way through her Broadway run. Until then, I had never witnessed an entrance by an actress in a musical as powerful, communicative, thrilling and committed as hers. A definitive Broadway star.
This version reinstates the patter which compliments Hill's earlier songs, and which I've only heard once before when Barbara Cook sang it during her famed Carnegie Hall Concert of the seventies. It wasn't included in the album, but later on the CD release. As Cook sang it then, it creates a splendid comic contrast to its emotional climax during the lyrical section. I've longed wondered if it was edited for the OBC recording, or was it one of the many rewrites that Cook spoke of during interviews...?
Here are the lyrics: All I want is a plain man, A modest man, a quiet man, A straightforward and honest man, With habits That do not exclude the occasional reading of a book; I do not yearn for, Nor do I await, Any handsome, Hand-kissing, Wine-tasting, Silk-pillow, Hookah-smoker; No world-traveller, In fact or fancy, No show-off, No clotheshorse; He need not necessarily be In uniform; Ah, you wait, No clean-cut, Weather-beaten, Square-rigged, white duck Pants in tennis shoes; No plumed hat, No splendid insignia, No Moose-, Elk-, Eagle- Oddfellows-, National Guardsman, Fire chief, or Highlander; Be he from the Arabian Knights, Or the French Foreign Legion; No lothario shoe salesman, No bandleader, no railroad conductor, Or any other charmer, Either of me, or anybody else; No Chautauqua advance agent, No vaudevillian, No depot telegrapher; I'm not dazzled or for any such a kind Of fascinating flame. All I want is a plain man, A modest man, A quiet man, A straightforward, And honest man, To sit with me, In a cottage somewhere, In the state of Iowa; And listen with a smile, To a poem or a song That is neither a five-line Limerick about Saint Peter, And the Man from Duluth, Or a sing-song Lament Of a Purple Cow; And not every day, But just occasionally, We could walk down by the meadow, In the twilight-sprinkled dew: My White Knight, Can be blacksmith, Well-digger, clerk, or king; All I want is a plain man, A modest man, a quiet man, A straightforward, and honest man, With habits, That do not Necessarily include The chewing of snuff, Or exploding root beer, In the cellar, every June; And I would like him to be More interested in me, Than he is in himself, And more interested in us, Than in me. And if occasionally he’d ponder what makes Shakespeare and Beethoven great, Him I could love till I die. Him I could love till I die! My White Knight, Not a Lancelot, Nor an angel with wings, Just someone to love me, Who is not ashamed Of a few nice things; My White Knight, Let me walk with him, where the others ride by, Walk, and love him, till I die, Till I die!
I'm a big Sutton Foster fan, but I don't like this very much. I miss the lyric soprano singing style it was written for. I also miss the original lyrics - and even the tune.
I’ve been studying both hers and Shirley Jones’ original versions Jones’ was brilliant as was Preston’s . Foster is world class talent and we can’t expect her to replicate the exact same performance. So her version certainly stands. Now when it comes to Jackman he is no doubt a talent but Robert Preston wipes the floor with his original versions . It’s never fair to compare when we have two top talents doing the same performance , it’s an honor and a study to compare the two
@@Catherine-lr3ul It was written to be a ballad, one that gives us a revealing glimpse into the vulnerable person she is beneath her tough exterior. It's not meant to be a fun, silly number. If you want that, go enjoy her in Drowsy Chaperone or Anything Goes. This isn't what that song is supposed to be.
@@SSNT4 (I'm sorry, I deleted my comment before deciding to reply.) You can't have revivals without interpretation/adaptation. "Supposed to be" is a dangerous phrase for making art. If this specific revival/director didn't want the artistry she brings to the role they wouldn't have cast her and directed her that way. I don't wish to argue but rather discuss with you. I respect the intention of this song as a ballad, and you are right, I did walk away from this specific production missing a little bit of the emotional depth of a romantic connection, and had this song been a ballad like the gorgeous versions of the past, there is a possibility that might have been different. Sutton does have have many emotional, sincere sides besides fun and silly, ones she brought to goodnight my someone, will I ever tell you, and till there was you--all emotive, moving moments that do show the vulnerable person Marian is underneath. I simply wanted to back up that when I saw this specific production, I felt the way this number was done worked well, FOR ME. only my opinion. I appreciate the love and care for have for this show as I do as well.
@@Catherine-lr3ul Hi Catherine, Very well put, you put alot of thought into your response. I really respect how thorough (is that how it's spelled?) your consideration was. It drives me crazy when people blindly just throw praise for something or someone without doing any real critical analysis of it first. Clearly that isn't you, and I apologize for being rude about it. I unfairly jumped to conclusions that I shouldn't have. And I agree, I'm all for discussing rather than arguing. Even if two people come away from something in disagreement, it's still informative to get someone else's perspective. While I still feel that the vocal performance of this particular song is painful to hear, I also feel Sutton's Marian was considerably funnier than other interpretations of her. I've seen a few different Marians and because they were performed more true to the intended personality of the character, they were inherently less funny than Sutton's version. I was really hoping Kelli O'Hara would have been cast as Marian because she's alot closer to Marian, but she can still be fairly funny. I saw her in Nice Work If You Can Get It and she did a good job with the comedy and the more sentimental Gershwin tunes as well.
@@Catherine-lr3ul Sutton's a great performer and I agree she has no problem with more sentimental songs, but it's a matter of range that bothers me. They made the odd creative choice of taking soprano songs, lowering them for her, but still having them be in an insanely high...key? Octave? I'm not a music guy, I don't know the technical terms for this stuff, which ended up being a big disservice to her. She's a great singer within her natural range, but because of the choice to have her sing way higher than that, anyone who's never heard her before would never know how good a singer she really is from seeing her in this show, particularly this number.
This is certainly a different version than I've heard before...and her voice seems a bit odd in this production. I've loved Sutton Foster in many productions, but not so keen on this song. On the other hand she really taps beautifully in this production.
I love Sutton Foster, but I stand by my belief that she was not right for this part, vocals-wise. This number is a perfect example of why this choice, and the revival as a whole, simply did not work
