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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 two-part program paying tribute to legendary leading man Alfred Drake on what was then Drake's 70th birthday. This program originally aired in October of 1984 and featured many classic Drake performances from Kismet, Kiss Me, Kate, and, of course, Oklahoma.

[1:06] ♪ Musical number: "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" — performed by Alfred Drake ♪

[6:07] ♪ Musical number: "Fate" — performed by Alfred Drake ♪

[10:12] Paul Lazarus: Very young, 70-year-old, great of the musical theater. Alfred Drake, born Alfredo Capuro in New York on October 7, 1914. So he's 70 today. And I'm Paul Lazarus and Jeff London and I are here today to help celebrate Alfred Drake's 70th. And you heard, of course, from Oklahoma, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, followed by, from Kismet, Alfred Drake singing Fate, and then finally, together with his co-star, Patricia Morrison, Wunderbar, from Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate, three of Alfred Drake's most famous shows. And we'll be featuring songs from Mr. Drake's amazing career from 1936 when he was in the chorus of a show called White Horse Inn, all the way through 1973 when he was in Gigi. And we'll take a survey of his career from shows like Sing Out Sweet Land, Kiss Me Kate, Kismet, Keen, Oklahoma, of course, and some other rare recordings that I've managed to track down of Mr. Drake. He truly was one of the greatest stars of the 40s and 50s. So here, again, is Mr. Drake singing one of the standards that emerged from Oklahoma.

[11:11] ♪ Musical number: "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top" — performed by Alfred Drake ♪

[14:16] Paul Lazarus: Alfred Drake as Curly in Oklahoma, 1943, singing the surrey with the fringe on top. Tremendously rich baritone voice and handsome looks. I think we're responsible for his great rise to fame. You are listening to Anything Goes about extraordinary Broadway.

[14:34] Paul Lazarus: In 1937, he starred in an early Rogers and Hart show called Babes in Arms, in which he sang the title song, and unfortunately, I don't have a recording of Alfred Drake singing that title song from Babes in Arms, but I do have Jack Cassidy in the chorus, so imagine yourselves back in 1937 watching a young Alfred Drake, here impersonated by Jack Cassidy.

[17:33] Paul Lazarus: In 1944, Alfred Drake took part in another theater-girled musical play, same producing organization that had done Oklahoma, and it was a show called Sing Out Sweet Land. He played a character called Barnaby Goodchild. It also featured Burl Ives and was filled with traditional folk songs, including this one, As I Was Going Along.

[17:56] ♪ Musical number: "As I Was Going Along" — performed by Alfred Drake ♪

[21:30] ♪ Musical number: "People Will Say We're in Love" — performed by Alfred Drake and cast ♪

[24:50] ♪ Musical number: "Poor Judd is Dead" — performed by Alfred Drake and cast ♪

[27:38] Paul Lazarus: Two classic duets from Oklahoma featuring Alfred Drake who celebrates his 70th birthday today in New York and some of the other shows that we won't be able to play today because I don't have recordings from some of his early shows in the late 30s including White Horse Inn, The Two Bouquets, a review called One for the Money, The Straw Hat Review, both of those in '39, then 1942 for the show. It wasn't really until his splash with Curly McClain in Oklahoma in 1943 that he really started to make a name for himself.

[28:25] Paul Lazarus: You've been listening to part one of a two-part tribute to legendary leading man Alfred Drake. Associate producer Jeff London. 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. We'll see you next time.