Broadway's Lost Treasures III - The Best of the Tony Awards (2005)

Best Ever

It was wonderful seeing the great stars of the present and the past.I am so glad they have been preserved for everyone to enjoy. An excellent program. April 20, 2008

A good volume 3

I now have all 3 volumes of this particular set, and like the other ones, it has its' ups and downs. Ups?? Definitely "My New Philosophy" by Kristin Chenowith from the revival of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"; Jonathan Pryce doing "The American Dream" from "Miss Saigon"; the late (and most definitely great) Jerry Orbach doing "She Likes Basketball" from "Promises, Promises" (so that is what he looked like in 1968), Zero Mostel doing "Comedy Tonight" from "Forum". The downs?? Desi Arnaz's song was much too short, Roert Goulet singing "The Happy Time" (is that the best they could find for him?)

But the best part is that for the younger Broadway fans is that this volume, like the others, lets them see the greats of Broadway at their best. And it reminds the rest of us just how much fun it was to watch the Tony Awards then. November 15, 2006

It's ok.

I only bought this one for the song by Jerry Orbach. The first 2 DVDs were better. July 31, 2006

The Broadway add-on

If you own Broadway Treasures II, it might be a good idea to round out your collection with Part III. This DVD is not as good as Broadways's Golden Era and Broadway Treasures II, but it's worth the purchase price to have the full collection. July 18, 2006

Lost treasures? Some aren't even 5 years old!

This rather chaotic collection of broadcasts from the Tony Awards is -- by far -- the weakest of the three.

Firstly, how can a somewhat confusing collection of snippets from the 2002 revival of Into the Woods be a lost treasure only a few years later? If you wanted to include something from the show, why not use the original production, instead?

All in all, almost half of the performances are less than 15 years old. Some of which deserve to be included in this series (such as the haunting opening number from Ragtime or Chita Revera's "Where You Are" from Kiss of the Spider Woman), but perhaps in later editions.

There are some performances that are ... curious ... selections, at best. Such as an incomprehensible medly fomr Rose Marie, which hasn't played on Broadway since the 1920s. Then again, it was introduced by Robert Goulet, who performed in it. (Something that gives me the giggles is that a troup of male-voiced Canadian Mounties have got bosoms and lipstick, showing that it was obviously lip-synched.) Another example would be the production number "Step to the Rear" from How Now, Dow Jones. This seems to be included only because Tommy Tune was in the chorus (and it was introduced by Tommy Tune).

Then again, the clips taken from the 1971 Tony broadcast (to honor previous Tony-winning musicals) are disappointingly short (like Gwen Verdon performing "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees) because of the time they originally played. Watching Zero Mostel in a toga over his tux performing a shortened "Comedy Tonight" was wonderful, even if it did seem like a tease because of its brevity.

Other gems include contrasting Ethel Merman's and Angela Lansbury's versions of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy and the late Jerry Orbach's "She Likes Basketball" from Promises, Promises.

All in all, this is a welcome edition to the library of a hardcore Broadway musical fan. For the general public, though, I highly recommend the first two volumes of this series instead. June 7, 2006

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