Frankly it’s not one of my faavorite musicals, but I saw it over the weekend and something occured to me. Can anyone help me out?
Why is the role of Ivy (Miss Turnstiles) so small? She is, after all, the main character’s girlfriend, which would ordinarily be a bigger part. She has considerably less screen time than Brunhilde or Clair (who are both second-banana/comic foil parts). Even more striking to me, when she disappears entirely, Lucy the rooommate suddenly plops into an ensemble number. I also notice that Vera Ellen didn’t get a lead billing.
Questions:
I’ve never seen the stage version of this show. Was it the same in the original, or were the parts rewritten for the screen?
If it was set up differently for the movie, was it because of a lack of confidece in Vera Ellen’s ability to carry a lead role, or perhaps a lack of confidence about Betty Garret’s ability to carry a ballet scene?
The musical was heavily rewritten for the the movie. Most of the songs aren’t even Comden and Green anymore. They took out some great songs and replaced them with mediocrities. There are some good recordings of the original if you want to hear the real thing.
I think Ivy is not so much Gaby’s girlfriend as the dream he’s chasing, for which role she’d have to spend much of her time being offstage and unattainable.
The general understanding at MGM at the time seemed to be that Bernstein’s score was a little too “highbrow” and not as accessible as they thought it needed to be to succeed as a movie. The only songs that remain from the original, IIRC, are “New York, New York”, “Come Up to My Place”, and the ballet numbers.
Oh, and none of the film cast stay in character in the New York ballet except Kelly &, briefly, (the extremely yummy) V-E. I don’t think anyone expected them to hold up to the standard Gene would set for himself in the dancing dept., and it is played out as a largely solo piece anyway.