Lorenz Hart: A Poet on Broadway

Rating:
Summary: A Standing Ovation for Lorenz Hart!
Review: Lorenz Hart is one of the finest lyricists in the history of American musical theater. He is largely responsible for elevating the process of writing lyrics into an art form. Before Hart, lyrics were usually trite and predictable with simplistic rhymes such as "I am blue, and so are you."

Hart wrote lyrics that are cerebral and sophisticated. His compositions are infused with wit and wisdom. He used complex rhymes. An example from "My Funny Valentine": "Your looks are laughable, unphotographable. Yet you're my favorite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak? When you open it to speak, are you smart?"

Another example from "Bewitched": "I'm wild again, beguiled again, a whimpering simpering child again...." And yet another example from "Lady is a Tramp": "She gets too hungry for dinner at eight. She likes the theater but never comes late. She never bothers with people she hates. That's why the lady is a tramp."

Hart could be wistful and romantic as in "My Romance": "My romance doesn't need to have a moon in the sky. My romance doesn't need a blue lagoon standing by. No month of May. No twinkling star. No hideaway. No soft guitar."

Hart's lyrics are consistently observant and very often ingenious. They are the perfect match for the variety and intricacy of Richard Rodgers' superb music.

This biography is quite detailed with a number of amusing anecdotes. It is a must read for those who want to know more about this endearing, erratic, and gifted artist Lorenz Hart. His contributions to musical theater are profound and timeless.

Rating:
Summary: A Standing Ovation for Lorenz Hart!
Review: Lorenz Hart is one of the finest lyricists in the history of American musical theater. He is largely responsible for elevating the process of writing lyrics into an art form. Before Hart, lyrics were usually trite and predictable with simplistic rhymes such as "I am blue, and so are you."

Hart wrote lyrics that are cerebral and sophisticated. His compositions are infused with wit and wisdom. He used complex rhymes. An example from "My Funny Valentine": "Your looks are laughable, unphotographable. Yet you're my favorite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak? When you open it to speak, are you smart?"

Another example from "Bewitched": "I'm wild again, beguiled again, a whimpering simpering child again...." And yet another example from "Lady is a Tramp": "She gets too hungry for dinner at eight. She likes the theater but never comes late. She never bothers with people she hates. That's why the lady is a tramp."

Hart could be wistful and romantic as in "My Romance": "My romance doesn't need to have a moon in the sky. My romance doesn't need a blue lagoon standing by. No month of May. No twinkling star. No hideaway. No soft guitar."

Hart's lyrics are consistently observant and very often ingenious. They are the perfect match for the variety and intricacy of Richard Rodgers' superb music.

This biography is quite detailed with a number of amusing anecdotes. It is a must read for those who want to know more about this endearing, erratic, and gifted artist Lorenz Hart. His contributions to musical theater are profound and timeless.

Rating:
Summary: A notation and watch for this on television
Review: The correct opening line of "My Romance" should be "My romance doesn't HAVE to have a moon in the sky" instead of "NEED to have a moon in the sky" as I incorrectly stated in my review here.

Also, in "Lady is a Tramp" I used the third person instead of the original first person usage to demonstrate the lyrics. The original "Lady is a Tramp" is written as "I get too hungry for dinner at eight. I like the theater but never come late...etc." I used the third person because it is the more familiar version.

AND AS A TESTAMENT to the timelessness of Rodgers and Hart's songs, listen to the current Ralph Lauren "Romance" perfume commercial. It features James Taylor and Carly Simon singing the opening and closing lines of "My Romance". It's a beautiful, heartfelt song nicely rendered by Taylor and Simon.

Rating:
Summary: A notation and watch for this on television
Review: The correct opening line of "My Romance" should be "My romance doesn't HAVE to have a moon in the sky" instead of "NEED to have a moon in the sky" as I incorrectly stated in my review here.

Also, in "Lady is a Tramp" I used the third person instead of the original first person usage to demonstrate the lyrics. The original "Lady is a Tramp" is written as "I get too hungry for dinner at eight. I like the theater but never come late...etc." I used the third person because it is the more familiar version.

AND AS A TESTAMENT to the timelessness of Rodgers and Hart's songs, listen to the current Ralph Lauren "Romance" perfume commercial. It features James Taylor and Carly Simon singing the opening and closing lines of "My Romance". It's a beautiful, heartfelt song nicely rendered by Taylor and Simon.