Eastman Showcase 2004
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A Fine Old Sherry!
When the Broadway musical Sherry! — based on The Man Who Came to Dinner — opened in 1967, it had a brief run, and its entire score was thought to have been burned after the last performance, along with the scenery. More than 30 years later, a trunkful of Sherry! was discovered at the Library of Congress: the complete score and orchestra parts from the original production.
But by this time, the show's author, James Lipton, was the host of TV's popular Inside the Actor's Studio , and its composer, Laurence Rosenthal (BM '47, MM '51) a prolific composer for movies and TV. And so the recording became a reality. Lipton persuaded a number of theater stars to take part in the premiere recording of Sherry! , which was released as a 2-CD set by Angel Records on February 24. (The second CD includes DVD excerpts from interviews with the stars and from a Bravo! special about the recording.) Rosenthal — who has won seven Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations - took an active part in reconstructing his score and in attending the recording sessions.
The new recording of Sherry! created excitement among musical theater fans for bringing back a forgotten bit of Broadway history with a top-notch cast including Nathan Lane, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, and Tommy Tune — with Rosenthal and Lipton themselves in bit parts. With the success of the Sherry! CD, there is even talk of reviving the show on Broadway.