Hansel and Gretel [NBC Television Musical Spectacular] / The Yeomen of the Guard

by Red Buttons / Barbara Cook

We are delighted to bring to listeners two rare cast recordings from the heyday of TV musical spectaculars, THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD (1957) and HANSEL AND GRETEL (1958). Both star Broadway's legendary lyric soprano ingénue Barbara Cook early in her career and both were broadcast live on NBC-TV nationwide.

While THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD was an adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's famous comic opera, HANSEL AND GRETEL was an original musical version of the Brothers Grimm's children's story. Composer Alec Wilder and his lyricist William Engvick provided the light-hearted, lyrical score. Playing Hansel to Barbara Cook's Gretel was Red Buttons, who had just won an Oscar for his role in the film SAYONARA, while Rudy Vallee played their father and Stubby Kaye the town-crier.

THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD also starred Bill Hayes, Celeste Holm and Alfred Drake, who all feature on the five songs included here. To complement our television soundtracks, we have included sixteen rare "bonus tracks" as performed by its stars. The four singles by Red Buttons, Strange Things Are Happening, The Ho Ho Song, The Buttons Bounce and Oh! My Mother-in-Law are comedy novelty songs from 1953 and 1954. Barbara Cook accompanies Eddie Bracken on a rare 78rpm duet, That Girl recorded in 1953.

During his London engagement in GUYS AND DOLLS, Stubby Kaye recorded these four sides, Sorta on the Border, O (Oh!), Cheers and The More You Laugh. The last seven tracks from Rudy Vallee are standards from his career he re-recorded in 1954, I'm Just a Vagabond Lover, The (Maine) Stein Song, Vieni, Vieni, comedy patter classics Let's Do It, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and novelty numbers The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away, Betty Co-Ed.