Tell Me on a Sunday

"Tell Me on a Sunday" is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black.

Overview

A one-woman tour-de-force about a young British woman's romantic misadventures in New York City and Hollywood, it was written specifically for Marti Webb. It was presented at the Sydmonton Festival in the summer of 1979 and was aired as a one-hour television special by the BBC the following January. An album, recorded by Webb, was released in early 1980 and reached No.2 on the UK charts. The first single to be released, "Take That Look Off Your Face", reached No.3.

Combined with a ballet choreographed to Lloyd Webber's "Variations", a classical piece based on the A Minor Caprice No. 24 by Paganini, it became Act I of "Song and Dance", first mounted in London in 1982, again with Marti Webb. Webb was suceeded in the London production by Gemma Craven, Liz Robertson and Sarah Brightman, for each of whom, the lyrics were adapted.

Lyricist Richard Maltby Jr. was brought in by producers for anAmericanized 1985 Broadway production with Bernadette Peters. Peters won a Tony Award for her performance but lyricist Don Black preferred the original London version and Webb's performance, [Inverne, J:"Wrestling With Elephants, The Authorised Biography of Don Black", page 137. Sanctuary Publishing, 2003] having been unimpressed that on a tour of London, Peters had insisted on gathered information on the character that wasn't included in the script.

Reverted to its one-act format, the show was substantially updated and rewritten, with additional material by Jackie Clune and five new songs, for a 2003 London production at the Gielgud Theatre. Directed by Christopher Luscombe and starring Denise Van Outen, it ran for ten months. Marti Webb succeeded Van Outen in the West End and subsequently toured the UK with the show. Faye Tozer and Patsy Palmer performed the show at some venues.

In the revised version, the girl is more of a predator who goes to New York looking for men and love but finds self-deception. "Speed Dating," one of the new songs, is typical of the new emphasis of the piece.

In 2008 the alloy theater company [http://www.alloytheater.org] restaged the original one act version starring Irish actress Maxine Linehan [http://www.maxinelinehan.com] at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd street, the first New York production in 22 years.

Also in 2008, Australian company Kookaburra Theatre debuted the performance, with theatre debutant Jolene Anderson performing. The production received mixed reviews, but had sellout performances in both Sydney and Melbourne. The production was adapted to an Australian context, and renound Australian actors such as Noni Hazlehurst and John Waters provided voices for "Mum" and "Married Man" respectivley. [http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=506666]

Original 1980 album song list

#Take That Look Off Your Face
#Let Me Finish
#It's Not The End Of The World (If I Lose Him)
#Letter Home To England
#Sheldon Bloom
#Capped Teeth And Caesar Salad
#You Made Me Think You Were In Love
#It's Not The End Of The World (If He's Younger)
#Second Letter Home
#Come Back With The Same Look In Your Eyes
#Let's Talk About You
#Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise)
#Tell Me On A Sunday
#It's Not The End Of The World (If He's Married)
#I'm Very You, You're Very Me
#Nothing Like You've Ever Known
#Let Me Finish (Reprise)

1982 London production song list

#Overture
#Let Me Finish
#It's Not the End of the World
#Letter Home to England
#Sheldon Bloom
#Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad
#You Made Me Think You Were in Love
#Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (reprise)
#It's Not the End of the World (If He's Younger)
#Second Letter Home
#The Last Man in My Life
#Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes
#Take That Look Off Your Face
#Tell Me on a Sunday
#I Love New York
#Married Man
#I'm Very You, You're Very Me
#Let's Talk About You
#Let Me Finish (reprise)
#Nothing Like You've Ever Known
#Let Me Finish (reprise)

2003 song list

#Take That Look Off Your Face
#Let Me Finish
#It's Not the End of the World
#Goodbye Mum, Goodbye Girls
#Haven in the Sky
#First Letter Home
#Speed Dating
#Second Letter Home
#Tyler King
#Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad
#You Made Me Think You Were in Love
#Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad (Reprise)
#It's Not the End of the World (If He's Younger)
#Third Letter Home
#Unexpected Song
#Come Back With the Same Look in Your Eyes
#Let's Talk About You
#Take That Look Off Your Face (Reprise)
#Tell Me on a Sunday
#Who Needs Men
#It's Not the End of the World
#Fourth Letter Home
#Ready Made Life/I'm Very You
# Let Me Finish
# Nothing Like You've Ever Known
# Fifth Letter Home
# Somewhere, Someplace, Sometime

See also

* Song and Dance

References

External links

* [http://www.reallyuseful.com/rug/shows/tell_me/ Official website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/entertainment/theatre/tellme_160403.shtml 2003 review]
* [http://www.indielondon.co.uk/theatre/t_tellme_sunday_newwimb_rev.html History of the production and 2004 review of the UK tour]