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March 5, 2007 | No Comments

Dear Mr. Keillor,
As I stood in my kitchen listening to tonight's joyous reminiscence of musical comedies, I found myself dancing and humming along with the musicians to the outstanding music which lit up my diverse decades, and which most listeners only recognize secondarily. Quelle joie! Quel plaisir! It made time stand still (something I particularly appreciate!) Thank you.

Jane K.
Ithaca, NY

We'll do more in the future, Jane. It's a great American art form, as I discovered once years ago when I took three Danes and a Brit to see "Music Man" at the New York City Opera and at intermission they looked quite ready to leave. They just plain didn't get it. Too corny. Too slick. Too simple. A few years ago at the Goodspeed Opera House up in Connecticut I saw a summer production of an old Thirties musical, one of those Come-on-kids, let's-put-on-a-show musicals, and the cast was all very young, and the effect was so dynamic — and you realized that the form is sort of a beautiful machine, and when the timing is right and the casting is even, the old thing can fly. It doesn't depend on a big star.