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Title: A Cast Of True Singers
Review: Harold Rome's FANNY is a score little-known but worthy of much respect. Dripping with melody and full of emotion, it represented another peak in the growth of the 'integrated' musical through the 50's that achieved apotheosis with MY FAIR LADY. With a cast of true singers like William Tabbert, Florence Henderson, and the sublime Ezio Pinza (who'd earlier brought his operatic bass to the role of Emile in SOUTH PACIFIC), this recording's an aural treasure trove. In one of those vagaries of the repertoire, none of the songs became standards, but with numbers like the title song (soaringly rendered by Tabbert), the impassioned, "I Have To Tell You" (Miss Henderson), and the exuberant, "Welcome Home", you have to wonder why. In the end, perhaps the most affecting piece is the curious, "Be Kind To Your Parents", which rounds out the sumptuous score, faithfully rendered on this Original Cast Recording.
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