New Faces of 1952


New Faces of 1952, also known as Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952, is a 1952 musical revue with songs and comedy skits, produced and conceived by Leonard Sillman. It was the fourth of Sillman's seven New Faces revues, each intended to showcase the rising stars of that time; the other years for which "New Faces of..." revues were produced were 1934, 1936, 1943, 1956, 1962, and 1968. New Faces of 1952 was the most successful of the series, and is generally considered the best, for both the talent of the performers and the quality of the writing. The show ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952, and helped launch the careers of Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence, Ronny Graham, performer/writer Mel Brooks, and lyricist Sheldon Harnick.
Songs from the show include "Monotonous", sung by Eartha Kitt in the show and identified with her throughout her career; "Guess Who I Saw Today", sung by June Carroll in the show and subsequently recorded by numerous singers, most notably Nancy Wilson; and "Love is a Simple Thing", sung in the show by Rosemary O'Reilly, Robert Clary, Eartha Kitt, and June Carroll and later recorded by artists including Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Debbie Reynolds, Arthur Siegel, Jane Morgan, Carmen McRae and the Muppets.
New Faces of 1952 was adapted as a 1954 film, titled simply New Faces, which included the original cast. In 1982, the revue had an off-Broadway revival at the Equity Library Theatre.

Broadway production

The revue opened on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 16, 1952, and ran for 365 performances. It was produced by Leonard Sillman, directed by John Murray Anderson and John Beal with choreography by Richard Barstow. The sketches were written by Graham and Brooks. The songs were composed by, among others, Harnick, Graham, Murray Grand, Elisse Boyd, and Arthur Siegel. The cast featured Graham, Kitt, Clary, Virginia Bosler, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Ghostley, Patricia Hammerlee, Lawrence, Lynde and Bill Milliken. De Luce and Graham won the 1952 Theatre World Award. The revue marked Kitt's Broadway debut, singing a "sultry rendition" of "Monotonous", a tongue-in-cheek lament of how boring her ridiculously successful life was.

Songs

;Act I
  • Opening and Company
  • Lucky Pierre – Pierre, Reporter and Chorus
  • Guess Who I Saw Today – June Carroll
  • Restoration Piece – Lady Sylvia Malpractice, Simple, Sir Solemnity Sourpuss and Sir Militant Malpractice
  • Love Is a Simple Thing – Rosemary O'Reilly, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, June Carroll
  • Boston Beguine – Alice Ghostley
  • Nanty Puts Her Hair Up – Nanty, Father, Mother, Brother and Highlander
  • Time for Tea – Marcella, Lavinia, Lavinia, the Girl, Marcella, the Girl, Mother, Father, John and Guest
  • Bal Petit Bal – Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary
  • Three for the Road, medley: It's Raining Memories/Waltzing in Venice/Take Off That Mask
;Act II
  • Don't Fall Asleep – Wife and Husband
  • After Canasta—What? – Dorothy and Elsie
  • Lizzie Borden – Townsperson, Man, Judge, Lizzie and District Attorney
  • I'm in Love with Miss Logan – Boy, Miss Logan and Man
  • Trip of the Month – The Explorer
  • Penny Candy – Woman, Gussie, Poor Kid, Rich Kid and Candy Vendor
  • Convention Bound
  • Whither America? – Switchboard Operator, Stenographer and Man
  • Monotonous –
  • The Great American Opera – Toby, Madame Flora and Effie
  • He Takes Me Off His Income Tax Boston Beguine, 2) Nanty Puts Her Hair Up, 3) Three for the Road medley, and 4) I'm in Love with Miss Logan.

Sketches

The show featured three non-musical sketches. "Of Fathers and Sons", written by Mel Brooks, was a parody of the Arthur Miller drama Death of a Salesman with characters Mae, Harry, Stanley and Policeman; a pickpocket is angry with his son for not wanting to join the family business. In "Oedipus Goes South", Ronny Graham parodies Truman Capote. Paul Lynde, wrapped in bandages, bemoans his African safari. In "The Bard and the Beard" the characters – Miss Leigh, Sir Laurence, Call Boy and Maid – try to remember what play they are supposed to be in.
Brooks' sketch had originally been written for another revue, Curtain Going Up, which did not make it to Broadway due to an unsuccessful tryout in Philadelphia. Sillman and Graham had seen the show during its tryout and asked Brooks for permission to include the sketch in New Faces of 1952 instead, which Brooks happily granted.

Film adaptation

Retitled New Faces, the film version was directed by Harry Horner in Cinemascope and Eastmancolor, and released by Twentieth Century Fox on March 6, 1954. Ronny Graham, Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, Alice Ghostley, June Carroll, Virginia De Luce, Carol Lawrence, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, and Bill Millikin repeated their stage roles. The film was basically a reproduction of the stage revue with a thin plot added. The plot involved a producer and performer in financial trouble on opening night. A wealthy Texan offers to help out, on the condition that his daughter be in the show.
The song order was changed, and some songs were added and removed. Songs added include:
The songs omitted were:
  • "Nanty Puts her Hair Up"
  • "Don't Fall Asleep"
The song "Love is a Simple Thing" omitted the final verse, which references Charles Addams. An extra verse was added to "Lizzie Borden". Some of the lines in "Monotonous" were replaced and updated: "Harry S. Truman plays bop for me" was changed to "Toscanini plays bop for me", and "Ike likes me" was changed to the opening notes of the Dragnet theme, followed by the words "They wrote it for me".

Cast recording

Leonard Sillman's New Faces Of 1952 was the official release of the cast recording of the Broadway revue New Faces of 1952. The album was originally released on a 12" LP by RCA Victor, LOC-1008. Some material was excluded, as not all songs could fit on the record. In 1977, the album was reissued on the RCA Red Seal label, catalog number CBM1-2206.
The cast recording, like the play, was produced by Leonard Sillman. The orchestral conductor for the album and play was Anton Coppola. Orchestral arrangements were by Ted Royal. Alice Ghostley, Allen Conroy, Bill Mullikin, Carol Lawrence, Carol Nelson, Eartha Kitt, Jimmy Russell, Joseph Lautner, June Carroll, Michael Dominico, Patricia Hammerlee, Paul Lynde, Robert Clary, Ronny Graham, Rosemary O'Reilly, Virginia Bosler, and Virginia de Luce all perform on the album.
In 2003, Jasmine Records reissued the cast album on compact disc for the first time, featuring the original RCA LP track listing. In 2009, Sony Music, which now owns the RCA Victor archive, released the album on CD and digital download. This second CD reissue included the previously unreleased song "Time For Tea" performed by June Carroll and Alice Ghostley.

Track listing

;12" Long Play
Track listings and credits adapted from the original label notes of album, unless other wise specified.
;2009 re-issues
Features previously unreleased song "Time For Tea".

1982 revival

The Equity Library Theatre in New York City presented an Off-Broadway revival in 1982, directed by Joseph Patton and featuring comedic performances by Lillian Graff, Philip Wm. Mckinley, Alan Safier, and Randy Brenner in the roles originated by Ghostley, Lynde, Graham, and Clary, respectively. Kitt joined the cast late in the run to re-create her original role.