Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, I’m launching a series of posts that highlight three charming but seldom performed musicals from the mid-to-late 1960s (that is, after 1964 — the last year I personally consider to be within the genre’s Oklahoma! sparked “Golden Age”). We begin with Baker Street (1965), an adaptation of several classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle “Sherlock Holmes” stories with a score by Marian Grudeff and Raymond Jessel.
The original production was notably directed by Hal Prince and featured a great cast — including Fritz Weaver (as Holmes), Inga Swenson (as Irene), and Martin Gabel (husband of Arlene Francis, as Moriarty), with young Tommy Tune and Christopher Walken in supporting roles. Reviews at the time were kind to the performances and the wonderful, elaborate production design, which ended up winning a Tony. Opinions on the book were mixed — a major hang-up being the very suggestion that Sherlock Holmes might have a love interest. Now, I should note that I’m not a Holmes expert or purist, but I think the arc of someone so scientifically minded who doesn’t believe in love now being confronted with feelings that are unusual and unexplainable to him is very compelling, and actually reinforces his characterization, while at the same time, of course, addressing one of the structural expectations for 1960s musical comedies. And, in general, having read the script, by Jerome Coopersmith, I personally think it’s terrifically well-written by the standards of its era — the dialogue is sharp, the characters are consistent with our basic understanding of them, and it’s solidly plotted.
The biggest drawback is the score, which most critics found lacking compared to many others that audiences could hear on the Great White Way in 1965 — Hello, Dolly!, Funny Girl, and Fiddler On The Roof among them. Only one song — Dr. Watson’s “A Married Man” (sung while he and Holmes are tied up next to a literal ticking time bomb) — had any mainstream play. In fact, Prince knew in rehearsals the music was not up to snuff and had Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick buttress the tunestack. (Three of their songs made it into the show — well, four; their “Buffalo Belle” replaced their “I’m In London Again” shortly after opening. Below is a crude, A.I.-produced midi rendition of the heretofore unrecorded “Buffalo Belle,” taken from the sheet music.) But they basically wrote in the score’s established style, so nothing can really be counted among their best work either. And, indeed, I’m afraid I must agree with the critics on this matter — Baker Street isn’t a top-shelf Golden Age-adjacent score….
However, it’s grown on me a lot over the years. Oh, I’ve always loved the songs for Inga Swenson’s Irene — her crystalline voice and that character’s inherent dualities grant her material a real lift on the cast album. In addition to the excised “I’m In London Again,” her “Letters,” “Finding Words For Spring,” and “I’d Do It Again” are all melodically pleasing and thus worthwhile. And her contributions to “What A Night This Is Going To Be” help make that number — my pick for the score’s finest (heard below) — a real rouser. Beyond that, I’ve come to appreciate the rest recently — like Holmes and Watson’s “It’s So Simple,” ” the Irregulars’ “Leave It To Us, Guv,” and even Moriarty’s menacing “I Shall Miss You, Holmes,” the latter of which was written by Bock & Harnick, as was Holmes’ “Cold Clear World,” a decent character number that’s paired expertly with Irene’s countering “Finding Words For Spring.”
Still though, it’s tough to compete with those aforementioned shows above, and with a very expensive production (and marketing campaign), Baker Street wasn’t enough of a financial success to have much life thereafter… which is a shame because, again, the score has its moments and the book is pretty good — as long as you’re willing to allow Sherlock Holmes the arc of experiencing human feelings. All there’s been since then, really, is a few revision-based reappraisals — like in 2001 at Musicals in Mufti, which eliminated the Bock & Harnick songs and substituted them with new offerings by Grudeff & Jessel, while also reinstating a few cuts from the original production. For subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest, I’m happy to share an audio of this production. In fact, here’s a sample — a new number for Holmes in the final scene that uses the melody from “Finding Words For Spring” to musically vocalize, well, his arc. I think it’s effective. Take a listen.
Unfortunately, you won’t hear any of the Bock & Harnick stuff in the audio, but you’ll get a taste of the book (which I’m also sharing with subscribers) — sans the elaborate production that initially accompanied it — and, hopefully, you may, as I have, gain an added fondness for Baker Street, an underrated mid-’60s musical on the end cusp of Broadway’s Golden Age.
Come back next month for another ’60s score, and stay tuned for more Two And A Half Men!