The Girl in Pink Tights (1954 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Composer Sigmund Romberg is best known for the operettas he wrote in the early 20th century. While you may not know his name, there's a good chance you¹ve heard at least parts of The Desert Song or The Student Prince if you're a fan of musical theater. But with The Girl in Pink Tights, Romberg strayed from the style that made him famous and explored a more Cole Porterish va-va-voom vein. Indeed, parts of the show are reminiscent of 1953's Can-Can, which isn't too surprising, since--like Can-Can's Lilo--The Girl in Pink Tights starred a strongly accented French actor, [Zizi] Jeanmaire. Granted, the team of Romberg and lyricist Leo Robin (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) didn't possess Porter's wit and melodic sense, but they still came up with a deliciously silly Parisian soufflé of a show--even if it was set in 19th-century New York. Note that Romberg died without finishing the score, which was completed by orchestrator Don Walker. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Tracks:

Overture
That Naughty Show From Gay Paree
Lost In Loveliness
I Promised Their Mothers
Up In The Elevated Railway
In Paris And In Love
You've Got To Be A Little Crazy
When I Am Free To Love
Out Of The Way!/Roll Out The Hose, Boys
My Heart Won't Say Goodbye
We're All In The Same Boat
Love Is The Funniest Thing
The Cardinal's Guard Are We/Going To The Devil/Finale

Amazon.com

Composer Sigmund Romberg is best known for the operettas he wrote in the early 20th century. While you may not know his name, there's a good chance you¹ve heard at least parts of The Desert Song or The Student Prince if you're a fan of musical theater. But with The Girl in Pink Tights, Romberg strayed from the style that made him famous and explored a more Cole Porterish va-va-voom vein. Indeed, parts of the show are reminiscent of 1953's Can-Can, which isn't too surprising, since--like Can-Can's Lilo--The Girl in Pink Tights starred a strongly accented French actor, [Zizi] Jeanmaire. Granted, the team of Romberg and lyricist Leo Robin (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) didn't possess Porter's wit and melodic sense, but they still came up with a deliciously silly Parisian soufflé of a show--even if it was set in 19th-century New York. Note that Romberg died without finishing the score, which was completed by orchestrator Don Walker. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

really only noteworthy for the fabulous Zizi Jeamaire.......2002-12-27

THE GIRL IN PINK TIGHTS is a fairly stock-standard 50's Broadway musical, but features some lovely songs. The show is really only noteworthy as the "legit" Broadway debut of French ballet dancer-singer Zizi Jeanmaire.

The story is about a stranded French ballet troupe, and the numerous romantic entaglements that occur. Jeanmaire sings wonderfully, and headlined the musical with European actor Charles Goldner. Others in the cast included Brenda Lewis, David Atkinson and Alexander Kalioujny.

The score by the late Sigmund Romberg and Leo Robin is quite formulaic, but does feature a handlful of memorable tunes like "When I am Free to Love", "Lost in Loveliness", "Up in the Elevated Railway" and "My Heart Won't Say Goodbye".

As always, Zizi Jeanmaire is a stellar performer, be it on disc or in person. She made her Broadway debut several seasons before PINK TIGHTS, dancing the leading role in her soon-to-be-husband Roland Petit's ballet version of Bizet's CARMEN, which played at the Winter Garden Theatre. In the early 1980's she returned to Broadway to star as La Mome Pistache in a short-lived revival of CAN-CAN, a show that bears a certain similarity to THE GIRL IN PINK TIGHTS.

THE GIRL IN PINK TIGHTS is another of those lost gems that has been brought into the light by those folks at DRG. Highly-recommended.

Keep bringing them back.......2002-04-04

Fortunately for collectors CD's of older musical shows are being released. The Girl in Pink Tights boasts the music of Sigmund Romberg whose songs in this piece do not quite have the staying power that flow through his operettas. Nonetheless the songs have humor, sparkle and romance. Noteworthy is the appearance of the French ballet artist Jeanmaire whose talents were choreographed by Agnes de Mille.

A couple of fun numbers are I Promised their Mothers and Love is the Funniest Thing, sung by Charles Goldner in both and Brenda Lewis in the second. Lost in loveliness and My Heart Won't Say Goodbye are appropriately romantic. And as every show about shows has to have a song about the theater in You've Got to Be a Little Crazy.

It's good listening. When are they going to release Li'l Abner? or Joel Gray's The Grand Tour? I got a list.

Music:

Music

Music