Streisand herself was paid $4 million.Īside from all of that, when the movie was released, it received mixed reviews from critics. With a $15 million budget, the movie made just under $4.5 million. This put a nail in the movie’s box office coffin. The movie seems to have been dumped into theatres with few commercials and the smallest ads in newspapers. Then there’s “All Night Long.” The behind the scenes story got more press then the release of the movie. But still, not even any Golden Globes nominations, who usually love Streisand. Streisand fans likely wouldn’t protest over her not being nominated for this film as she was also in the worthy “The Owl and the Pussycat,” which should have received her a nomination. The original song “Love Among the Trimmings” also should have made the cut as it’s from the movie’s most memorable scenes. Even a costume from a cut scene was worn by Streisand when she won her Oscar for “Funny Girl” and it’s STILL being talked about. It definitely should have received a Best Costume nomination for Beaton’s great contemporary and especially period pieces. Musicals often end up in the score or sound categories, but none for this picture. Further, it didn’t receive any Academy Award nominations. With a budget of $10 million, the film only grossed $14 million. Yet although this is the only Streisand film with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience didn’t take much notice. The costumes by Cecil Beaton and songs by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane also are at the top of their game. It was directed by Oscar winner Vincente Minnelli, who has a great eye for staging musicals. This movie had everything to be a giant hit. When the telepathic Daisy comes back to him, on hands and knees, you feel her head aching.It’s the story of Daisy Gamble, a chain-smoking New Yorker who we learn while she’s under hypnosis that she is a reincarnation of Melinda, a Victoria-era woman with special powers. Bogardus’ overwrought approach does ultimately turn “Come Back to Me” into a comic gem. Frankly, his complaints that she’s a dullard evoke the old adage about tea pots and kettles. And once she’s back in the 18th century, the fun only grows when Errico lands in the arms of Cudia’s Edward Moncrief, who gives a sly impersonation of a male model on the cover of a romance novel.Īs the doctor-hypnotist, Stephen Bogardus is dedicated to the cause and earnest to the point of turning himself into a male Daisy. Moore’s pen has also eliminated some of Lerner’s wit. What does delight is Errico’s interpretation of Daisy as a Lower East Side yenta, and her segues to the classy Melinda are seamless. (The Smith and Kriakos characters were also dropped in the embalmed 1970 film version, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Barbra Streisand.)Īlso Read: 'Othello' Theater Review: Corey Stoll Makes Iago a Mesmerizing Villain Lerner’s two supporting characters aren’t the kinds of roles that win actors a Tony, but having the chorus do their work muddles the story even more. Gone, too, is the Greek shipping magnate Themistocles Kriakos, on board to fund research into reincarnation after Bruckner has fallen in love with Daisy’s previous self, the glamorous Melinda Welles of 18th-century England. But her reason for wanting to give up smoking, a fiancé named Warren Smith, has been eliminated. Mark Bruckner (Stephen Bogardus) to cure her of nicotine addiction. Not that she’s gone radical, like the most recent 2011 Broadway revival of “On a Clear Day,” starring Harry Connick Jr., where the telepathic Daisy Gamble was turned into the gay florist Dennis Gamble.Īlso Read: 'Skintight' Theater Review: Idina Menzel Masterfully Proves Ageism Is a Guy Thingĭaisy here is still Daisy (Melissa Errico), and she still seeks the help of Dr. Unfortunately, both acts of this revival get off to a sloppy start, and Moore’s rewrites arguably create more problems than they solve. And it’s a treat to hear such talented Broadway veterans as Melissa Errico and John Cudia sing without the interference of amplification. Think “Merrily We Roll Along” or “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.” Scribes are forever thinking they can solve the book problems of both shows, and Charlotte Moore is just the latest to rewrite Alan Jay Lerner’s book for “On a Clear Day.” That revival, which she adapted and directed, opened Thursday at Off Broadway’s Irish Repertory Theatre.īurton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner’s score remains lush and melodic, even with a string-heavy five-piece band. Think “Dear Evan Hansen.” But great scores cannot survive a deeply flawed book. A great book allows us to accept a second-rate score. Book writers just don’t get the credit they deserve.
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