CD OF THE WEEK: DIVORCE ME, DARLING!

Do you remember THE BOY FRIEND, that delicious little spoof of the Twenties musical comedies? It’s among my all time favourite scores. Well, in 1964 (tens years after the original) its author Sandy Wilson decided to write a sequel to that show and the result was another enjoyable simple score.

The first time I heard this score was when TER / JAY released the cast recording of 1997 Chichester Festival Theatre production, starring Ruthie Henshall, Liliane Montevecchi, Tim Flavin and Marti Webb among others. I instantly liked it and although it isn’t as good as THE BOY FRIEND it still is highly entertaining.
 

As for this Original London Cast recording, I can only say that once again I had a great time listening to this score. This cast may not have such strong voices, but they sound perfectly in tune with the mood of the show and it’s a pleasure to hear these songs. The orchestrations are terrific and this is a contagious tuneful score.

The perfectly dated “Overture” is an exciting prelude of things to come and they sure came. Among them we can accept an invitation for the “Paradise Hotel” or for being “On the Loose” and dancing free. I wouldn’t mind having “Someone to Dance With” and even without him/her it’s impossible to remain still with “Out of Step” or with the contagious “Swing-Time is Here to Stay”. For the romantic in us we have those 20s typical “Together Again” and “Back Where We Started”. There’s also a comic duet, “You’re Absolutely Me”, that could have been written by Cole Porter and a cabaret number, “Blondes are for Danger”, that would make Marlene Dietrich proud.

If you like your musicals light, funny and tuneful this one is for you. Join the cast in this journey back to a time where life was simple and musicals were happier and innocent. As for me, I love the 20s and I can’t resist a Charleston, so “Lights! Music!” and go with the show.