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[0:00] Paul Lazarus: Hi, this is Paul Lazarus. In the 1980s, I produced and hosted a radio series called Anything Goes, a celebration of the American musical theater. Now the Broadway Podcast Network is bringing back these shows. This is the second of a four-part program featuring noted writer Alan Jay Lerner. Lerner is best known for writing award-winning classics like Brigadoon, Camelot, and one of Broadway's most enduring shows, My Fair Lady. This program originally aired in November of 1979. Next, Lerner went on to collaborate with his, well actually it's the only time he ever collaborated with Kurt Weill for a show called Love Life.

[1:26] ♪ Musical number: "Progress" — performed by Alan Jay Lerner ♪

[4:42] ♪ Musical number: "Mr. Right" — performed by Alan Jay Lerner ♪

[6:54] ♪ Musical number: "This is the Life" — performed by Alan Jay Lerner ♪

[9:19] ♪ Musical number: "Love Song" — performed by Alan Jay Lerner ♪

[10:59] ♪ Musical number: "This is the Life" — performed by Jerry Orbach ♪

[16:39] ♪ Musical number: "Mr. Right" — performed by Dorothy Loudon ♪

[20:01] Alan Jay Lerner: That was Dorothy Loudon on the Ben Bagley Alan Jay Lerner Revisited album singing "Mr. Right" and Jerry Orbach also on the Ben Bagley album singing the very innovative "This Is The Life," if you consider that that was done in 1948. In fact, "Love Life" as a show, as a whole show, was very innovative and was not tremendously well received. It got both good and bad reviews and although it ran 252 performances in 1948, it was considered financially a disappointment but artistically, as you can hear by the score, a success. The last cut you heard was Alan Jay Lerner himself singing "Love Song." I think it's curious that Alan Lerner sounds surprisingly like Shorty Long in that song. Perhaps it's just the guitar background.

Lerner went on from "Love Life." He moved to Hollywood where he was contracted to write three films and the first turned out to be "Royal Wedding," a film for Fred Astaire and Gene Powell and he collaborated with composer Burton Lane who, as you probably know, is the composer for Alan Jay Lerner's latest production, "Carmelina." Here are several cuts from, I think, a wonderful film score, "Royal Wedding."

[21:58] ♪ Musical number: "The Happiest Day of My Life" — performed by Jane Powell ♪

[25:56] ♪ Musical number: "Too Late Now" — performed by Jane Powell ♪

[28:58] ♪ Musical number: "I Left My Hat in Haiti" — performed by Fred Astaire ♪

[31:43] Alan Jay Lerner: Several selections from the Alan J. Lerner Burton-Lane collaboration on the MGM film Royal Wedding. You heard two by Jane Powell, "The Happiest Day of My Life" and the beautiful ballad "Too Late Now," and Fred Astaire doing his thing on "You're All the World to Me" and "I Left My Hat in Haiti."

[32:14] Paul Lazarus: You've been listening to Alan Jay Lerner II, the second of a four-part series. Anything Goes: Backstage with Broadway's Best is produced and hosted by Paul Lazarus. For more information, visit anythinggoespl.com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate and follow us. Thanks for listening.