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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 first of a three-part series taking a listen to the extraordinary work of the late, great Ethel Merman. This program originally aired in 1984 and covered Merman's entire Broadway career, from her debut in the Gershwin's Girl Crazy to her final show, Hello, Dolly!

[1:34] ♪ Musical number ♪

[4:39] Paul Lazarus: Good afternoon. This is Anything Goes. My name is Paul Lazarus and today on Anything Goes, we pay tribute to an extraordinary Broadway performer, the late Ethel Merman. Miss Merman, who passed away on February 15th at the age of 75, was, as Variety put it, the personification of Broadway brassiness, vitality, and seemingly effortless talent. She probably starred in more hit musicals than any other performer in the history of the craft. Among her triumphs were George and Ira Gershwin's Girl Crazy, in which she produced I Got Rhythm, Cole Porter's Anything Goes, Red Hot and Blue, to Barry Was a Lady and Panama Hattie, Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun and Call Me Madam, and the legendary Gypsy, by Julie Stein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Lawrence.

Her strong alto belt and crisp enunciation of lyrics compelled Irving Berlin to comment once that, you better not write a bad lyric for Merman because people will hear it in the second balcony. I'm deeply indebted to both Roger Hayes and Stephen Cole for their help in putting this program together. So stay tuned for the next 90 minutes on Anything Goes as we salute the career of Ethel Agnes Zimmerman of Astoria, Queens, the legendary Ethel Merman.

[5:48] Ethel Merman: Once upon a time, back in 1930, I stepped out on the stage of the Alvin Theatre in New York, got hit in the kisser with a big spotlight, and found myself in big time show business. It was in a thing called Girl Crazy, which boasted Ginger Rogers, Willie Howard, and the DeMarcos, and a great score by George Gershwin.

[6:11] Ira Gershwin: Hello, Ethel. This is Ira Gershwin, talking to you from my workshop in Beverly Hills, California. I well recall the night of October 14, 1930. That night really marked the beginning of everything that is so wonderfully well known in the Broadway theater today as Ethel Merman. For that memorable night, exactly 31 and a half years ago, was the opening of Girl Crazy, with you playing the role of Frisco Kate, and your unforgettable singing of I Got Rhythm, Sam and Delilah, and Boy, What Love Has Done to Me. Although you, Ethel, were appearing in Girl Crazy for the first time on any stage, your assurance, your timing, your delivery, both as a comedian and as a singer, with a no-nonsense voice that could reach not only the standees, but the ticket takers in the lobby, convinced the opening night audience they were witnessing the discovery of a great new star, which continues to shine ever so brightly.

[7:27] ♪ Musical number: "I Got Rhythm" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[9:40] Paul Lazarus: Ethel Merman performing I Got Rhythm from a radio tribute to George Gershwin in 1937. You're listening to a tribute on Anything Goes to Ethel Merman.

[9:52] Ethel Merman: About a year after Girl Crazy closed, I moved my do-it-yourself makeup kit to the Apollo Theater, where I went to work in the 11th edition of George White's Scandals. It was the year 1931, and about this time, a fellow with solid gold tonsils by the name of Crosby was boo-boo-boo-booing into a mic and stirring up quite a storm on the airwaves with a song called Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day. This was a big year for hit tunes, and I had this one handed me, which caught on from the start. I think it is quite a tuneful philosophy.

[10:30] ♪ Musical number: "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[10:57] ♪ Musical number: "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[13:21] Paul Lazarus: You are listening to Anything Goes featuring the late, great Ethel Merman. A song called "Edie Was a Lady" is one of those numbers which has a special niche in the archives of American song history. Like Edie, the song had class with a capital K and it made for one of the big moments in the smash hit musical comedy, Take a Chance. I sang it in one of the sketches which wasn't exactly set in a Back Bay Boston drawing room. I really enjoyed belting this one out and it's just gotta go in here.

[14:13] ♪ Musical number: "Edie Was a Lady" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[19:44] Paul Lazarus: My next extravaganza was a show called Anything Goes, which was a big milestone in the American theater due to the fact that the writing team of Lindsay and Krauss first got together in Double Harness. When those two boys do a duet on a typewriter, everybody listens and likes what comes out. And with the great songs that Cole Porter laid on my music rack, well, I had everything going for me. Oh, I gotta hand it to you, Harry. You may be a louse, but I always said you were a louse with character.

[20:13] ♪ Musical number: "You're the Top" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[21:55] Paul Lazarus: In the original Broadway production, Merman sang "You're the Top" with co-star William Gaxton.

[22:52] Ethel Merman: And so I guess he forgot. I don't know. He got through with the song and on his way down, he took his pants off. And he walked into the cabin with the pants over his arms and said, "What a night! What a thought!"

[23:07] ♪ Musical number: "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[26:00] Ethel Merman: Well, here we are back at the Alvin Theater in a show called Red Hot and Blue. In this clambake, I cross swords with a slick-haired slicker named Bob Hope. But that's another story.

[26:11] Bob Hope: You couldn't have picked a greater artist or a greater gal than Lobbell Merman, and I know because I've played with her, sorry, worked with her many times. And when we played together in Red Hot and Blue at the Alvin Theater, she hit such high notes that ferry boats answered back. She's one of the big talents, one of the big voices of our business. I call her the mouth that roared, but she also has a heart that roars for everything good. And I'm happy to join in this tribute to her. Thank you.

[26:41] Ethel Merman: I feel a sudden urge to sing the kind of ditty that invokes the spring. So control your desire to curse while I crucify the verse. This verse you've started seems to me the tintanticity of melody. So to spare you all the pain, just skip the darn thing and sing the refrain.

[27:04] ♪ Musical number: "It's De-Lovely" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[28:50] Ethel Merman: Red Hot and Blue didn't have much of a book. That is to say, the story had about as much direction as an adagio dancer on a hot rock. But Cole Porter had some good songs for the paying patrons to hum when they went out of the theater.

[29:08] ♪ Musical number: "Down in the Depths" — performed by Ethel Merman ♪

[32:24] Paul Lazarus: For more information, visit AnythingGoesPL.com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate and follow us. Thanks for listening.