Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Dropsy Cure Weather: Kritzerland Reissues "The Grass Harp" with Barbara Cook, Karen Morrow

April 9, 2018 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

PRE-ORDER FROM KRITZERLAND

The Babylove Miracle Show is back in town.  Kritzerland has announced the reissue of the 1971 original cast recording of composer Claibe Richardson and lyricist-librettist Kenward Elmslie's The Grass Harp, the cult favorite musical that played seven performances at the Martin Beck Theatre (today, the home of Kinky Boots).

Based on the novella and subsequent play by Truman Capote, the musical told the tale of spinster sisters Dolly (Barbara Cook) and Verena (Ruth Ford).  Verena becomes captivated by Dr. Morris Ritz (Max Showalter), and the pair decides to bottle and market Dolly's famous "dropsy cure."  Dolly won't give it up so easily, however.  Soon, Dolly, her housekeeper Catherine (Carol Brice) and cousin Collin (Russ Thacker) leave Verena for a new home - in a treehouse.  Karen Morrow played Babylove, a traveling evangelist who enters the musical about halfway through and quickly steals it as she belts the epic, 12+-minute "Babylove Miracle Show."  ("Mama" Cass Elliot had been attached to the show when it was still in development and known as Yellow Drum.)

Richardson and Elmslie supplied The Grass Harp with a truly stunning score capturing its larger-than-life characters, indebted to the style of Capote and orchestrated with a rich flavor and contemporary flair by Jonathan Tunick (following his groundbreaking work on Burt Bacharach and Hal David's Promises, Promises, and Stephen Sondheim's Company) and the venerable Robert Russell Bennett.  Despite the beautiful and eclectic music ranging from ballad beauties to showstopping production numbers, the quirky Grass Harp proved too rarefied for commercial Broadway circa 1971.  However, the cast album inspired numerous future productions and even a CBS Camera Three truncated television adaptation.

Producer Bruce Kimmel last reissued The Grass Harp, originally released on Ben Bagley's Painted Smiles label, in 1999 on Varese Sarabande.  This newly-remastered Kritzerland edition retains the three bonus tracks appended to that disc, performed by Elaine Stritch, George Rose, and Max Showalter.  All three songs were written but cut from The Grass Harp, and originally released on Painted Smiles' Kenward Elmslie Visited LP.  New liner notes are also included.  This reissue is limited to 500 units and is due by the third week of May, though pre-orders placed directly at Kritzerland usually arrive three to five weeks early.  You can check out sound samples and place your orders below!

The Grass Harp: Original Cast Recording (Painted Smiles PS 1354, 1971 - reissued Kritzerland, 2018)

  1. Overture
  2. Dropsy Cure Weather - Barbara Cook, Carol Brice & Russ Thacker
  3. Floozies - Russ Thacker
  4. Big Rich - Max Showalter
  5. If There's Love Enough - Carol Brice
  6. Yellow Drum - Barbara Cook, Carol Brice & Russ Thacker
  7. Marry with Me - Carol Brice
  8. Chain of Love - Barbara Cook
  9. This One Day - Russ Thacker
  10. The Babylove Miracle Show - Karen Morrow, Barbara Cook, Russ Thacker, Carol Brice & Company
  11. Indian Blues - Carol Brice
  12. What Do I Do Now? - Ruth Ford
  13. Reach Out - Karen Morrow, Barbara Cook, Russ Thacker, Carol Brice & Company
  14. Finale (Yellow Drum) - Company
  15. The One and Only Person in the World - Max Showalter (Bonus Track)
  16. I Trust the Wrong People - Elaine Stritch (Bonus Track)
  17. Brazil - George Rose (Bonus Track)

Tracks 15-17 from Kenward Elmslie Visited, Painted Smiles LP PS 1339, 1982

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Cast Recordings Tags: Barbara Cook, Karen Morrow

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Stream VoxThe Weekend Stream: January 28, 2023
  • Cole Porter RevisitedI'm Back in Circulation: Kritzerland Reissues First Two Volumes of Ben Bagley's "Cole Porter Revisited"
  • Lost Broadway 1956 1957Gee, But It's Good to Be Here: Stage Door Releases "Lost Broadway 1956-57"
  • Control The RemixesRelease Round-Up: Week of July 26

Comments

  1. kurt says

    April 10, 2018 at 10:34 am

    It would be nice to have some of the Painted Smiles "Revisited" series back in print, especially if Kritzerland could fix some of the audio problems (bad notes etc.) not uncommon on the original releases. If there's no interest in releasing the original volumes, perhaps new compilations devoted to specific performers might provide a new spin on the material. There's enought tracks for a Dolores Gray CD, for example, if tracks are drawn from the Cole Porter, Vernon Duke etc. sets.

    Reply
    • Avatar photoJoe Marchese says

      April 11, 2018 at 11:05 am

      I couldn't agree more, Kurt. The Painted Smiles catalog is long overdue for reassessment, especially because the original CDs are fairly hard to find now. I love the idea of compilations, as well!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • TMBG Spine Surfs Alone CD
    The Spine Surfs Alone: Rarities 1998-2005
    They Might Be Giants
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,673 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy