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Adelaide's Lament
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Wikipedia article
"'Adelaide's Lament'" is a show tune from the Broadway musical 'Guys and Dolls', written by Frank Loesser, which opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24, 1950. It was performed on stage by Vivian Blaine, who later reprised her role as Miss Adelaide in the 1955 film version of the play; in its biography of Blaine, the 'Encyclopdia Britannica' describes her as "best remembered for her showstopping rendition of 'Adelaide's Lament' in both the Broadway and film productions of 'Guys and Dolls'.[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9112010/Blaine-Vivian "Vivian Blaine,"] 'Encyclopdia Britannica' Online.
In the song, Adelaide alternates between reading sentences aloud from a pop psychology book and commenting on what she is reading. The textbook discusses psychosomatic illness, and the singer posits that her constant common cold may actually be a manifestation of her resentment over her fianc's constant assurances of imminent marriage, which he never fulfills.
In a 50th-anniversary NPR retrospective on the making of the original Broadway production, Blaine recalled the creation of Miss Adelaide specifically to fit Blaine into the musical after the creators decided she was ill-suited to play the buttoned-up Sarah. In the same retrospective, host Scott Simon observed that "Adelaide's Lament" is "often considered a perfect comic song" and offered a clip of lyricist Fred Ebb's analysis of its appeal:
In his book on Loesser, Thomas L. Riis wrote that "the number is filled with verbal dexterity, alliterative and assonantal rhymes at every possible point, and unexpected pollysyllabic insertions ('psychosomatic' and 'streptococci')." Riis compared the song's rhythmic pattern with "a blues plaint's emotional honesty. Audiences don't just laugh at Adelaide, they cheer her tenacity and passion".
Recorded versions
*Vivian Blaine (1950, 1955)
*Norma Donaldson (1976), Broadway revival cast album (all-Black cast)
*Julia McKenzie (year unknown), 1980s London revival
*Barbra Streisand (1985), 'The Broadway Album'
*Faith Prince (1992), 1992 Broadway revival cast album and 'Broadway: My Favorite Leading Ladies' live recording
*Mandy Moore (2002), 'Broadway's Best on Bravo' television specialElysa Gardner. "Pop Goes Broadway" (review), 'USA Today', March 4, 2002, p. 3D.
*Debbie Reynolds (1963), Sinatra's Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre
Notable live performances
* Imelda Staunton, 1996 London Revival* Jane Krakowski, 2005 London revival cast
* On the 25th annual Tony Awards in 1971, Vivian Blaine appeared as a guest performer and sang it, providing a visual recording of her performance for posterity.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046877/ The 25th Annual Tony Awards (1971)] at Internet Movie Database
References
Category:1950 songs
Category:Songs written by Frank Loesser
Category:Songs from Guys and Dolls
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