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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 three-part survey of the best musical Tony Award winners from the 20-year period between 1964 and 1984. This program originally aired on the day of the 1984 Tony Awards ceremony. That year, four shows were nominated, Baby, La Cage aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George, and The Tap Dance Kid. Jeff Lunden and I are featuring a survey of 20 years' worth of Tony Award-winning musicals. We started in 1964, and we're up to 1969.

[0:54] Paul Lazarus: The Tony Award winner of 1969 also dealt with American history. It was 1776, Hallelujah, Baby had dealt with black American history, and 1776 was about the writing of the Declaration of Independence.

[1:12] ♪ Musical number: "The Egg" — performed by the cast of 1776 ♪

[3:51] Paul Lazarus: From 1776 with a score by Sherman Edwards. Wonderful cast in that show. William Daniels, Paul Hecht, Clifford David, Roy Poole, and Rex Everhart. Incredible, extraordinary cast.

[4:12] Jeff Lunden: Ken Howard.

[4:13] Paul Lazarus: That's right, as well. Directed by Peter Hunt and written by Peter Stone. That was the Tony Award-winning best musical of 1969.

[4:23] Paul Lazarus: And the 70s brought Lauren Bacall in her first musical on Broadway in Applause. Based on All About Eve and featured a song about the theater, which is what today's program is about. And more a harsher look at the theater that we've been talking about.

[4:44] ♪ Musical number: "Welcome to the Theater" — performed by Lauren Bacall ♪

[7:19] Paul Lazarus: Lauren Bacall in Applause singing, "Welcome to the Theater." That brings us to 1971. And Stephen Sondheim winning his first Tony Award for Company and a score that successfully synthesized, I guess, more rock-based music into a Broadway idiom.

[7:42] Jeff Lunden: Right. And also one of the shows that I was emblazoned in my memory. I think I saw it when I was, well, a teenager, obviously, and made quite an impact on me. I wore the Wheaton Library cast album out. Here from Company is Another Hundred People.

[8:09] ♪ Musical number: "Another Hundred People" — performed by Pam Myers ♪

[10:45] Paul Lazarus: Pam Myers with Another Hundred People, a song by Stephen Sondheim for Company, which won in 1971. And of course, Mr. Sondheim heavily represented in the Tonys this evening with his latest effort, Sunday in the Park with George.

[11:02] Paul Lazarus: 1972.

[11:05] Jeff Lunden: Brought us to William Shakespeare.

[11:08] Paul Lazarus: That's right.

[11:08] Jeff Lunden: And Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival.

[11:12] Paul Lazarus: In the Park.

[11:14] Paul Lazarus: The Gentleman of Verona, one of the more wilder versions of a Shakespearean piece, and featuring the likes of Dianne de Villa and Alex Elias, who here perform the title song.

[11:45] ♪ Musical number: "Two Gentlemen of Verona" — performed by Dianne de Villa and Alex Elias ♪

[14:53] Paul Lazarus: The title song from Two Gentlemen of Verona. A rather upbeat show that won Best Musical in 1972 against such competition as Follies. The perspective of time calls that into question, I suppose, now. You're listening to songs from the Best Musical Tony Award winners from 1964 to 1984, hosted by Paul Lazarus and Jeff Lunden.

[15:17] Jeff Lunden: Well, Stephen Sondheim again.

[15:19] Paul Lazarus: That's right, with A Little Night Music, and need we say more, we selected "Every Day a Little Death."

[15:27] ♪ Musical number: "Every Day a Little Death" — performed by Patricia Elliott and Victoria Mallory ♪

[17:45] Paul Lazarus: In 1974, Raisin, with a score by Judd Walden and Robert Britton, won Best Musical.

[18:04] ♪ Musical number: "Raisin" — performed by the cast of Raisin ♪

[19:29] ♪ Musical number: "Measure the Valleys" — performed by the cast of Raisin ♪

[22:11] Paul Lazarus: Cause the world's done whipped himself when you know how a dream can fade, how a man comes to be so afraid.

[22:28] Paul Lazarus: So afraid. Oh, and you know where he's been. Take a look at him again.

[22:58] Paul Lazarus: Measure the valleys, measure the hills. Virginia Capers, starring performance of "Measure the Valleys" from Raisin. The Wiz was the following year's Tony Award winning musical, and recently returned to Broadway. One of the brightest aspects of that show was sometimes it really got hot in the music, and Jeff and I thought we'd play "Ease On Down the Road."

[23:53] ♪ Musical number: "Ease On Down the Road" — performed by The Wiz cast ♪

[26:15] Paul Lazarus: And that was from The Wiz, of course. In 1976, the major competition for Best Musical was between two shows, Chorus Line and Pacific Overtures, and very controversial that year, which one won, but Chorus Line came out on top, and we thought we'd play one of the stunning moments from that show, "At the Ballet."

[26:42] ♪ Musical number: "At the Ballet" — performed by A Chorus Line cast ♪

[32:25] Paul Lazarus: Everything was beautiful at the ballet. Thanks for listening.