Boyce & Hart "Angels"

Watching TCM, my default network, I am constantly surprised by gems.  Especially when you consider they maintain the entire backlog of movies pre-1980.  For some reasons, a large percentage of movies must be from the past 5-30 years, to even be viewed.

Lauren Bacall once said, "Any movie is a new movie.  If you haven't seen it yet."  Or something to that effect.

Back on topic, the movie  "Where Angels Go . . . Trouble Follows" seemed to be a less than exciting romp about nuns and girls (I've done my time in Catholic School, thanks).  But I watched the opening credits.

And then I heard some familiar voices . . .

Maybe it was the lyrics or some familiar sounding instrumentation.  I had to look it up.  Boyce & Hart sang/wrote the theme song!

Try this video, a clip from the movie, NOT the opening credits, but pretty much the same song as in the opening.  4 minutes here is too long, and it's not their best work. There used to be a limit on song length for radio play, 2:38.  (Which in this case is completely legit.)  The song is perfectly fine & completely serviceable for the movie though.  It does make you glad that Don Kirshner didn't sign them as exclusive songwriters for the Monkee TV show.

Look for the Blue shirt with the Monkee buttons on a dancer and the boots with heels that the singer is wearing.  I don't think B&H appear in the band, but it is nice to know that this production shares a costume department with the The Boys.  Another blogger has happened upon this obscure song as well.

Rosalind Russell had a movie career spanning 1934 to 1972.  She WAS "His Girl Friday" (1940), and "Mame" (1958), Mama Rose from "Gypsy" (1960) and everything in between.  Her costars included Cary Grant, James Stewart and Clark Gable.  Old school, classic cinema.  My favorite works of hers are in black & white.  She played the strong woman and was never seen as a sex symbol, which she argued helped the longevity of her career.

Stella Stevens plays a young, hip nun.  She also has a long resume of films and tv work.  She was one of the most photographed women in the 1960's.  And was Playmate of the Month for 1960.  (Not the first Monkee connection to the Playboy empire, one of the biker chicks was also a Playmate).  Her costars would include Bing Crosby, Elvis, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin.

"Here We Come" Review: Play Monkees, Play!

If fans are going to celebrate the Monkee Legacy into the future, "Here We Come" is the template for the ultimate Monkee party.  And it should be done on a regular basis: gatherings of Monkee-minded souls, watching talented actors reenact our favorite episodes & all of us singing along.  This is what we have been waiting for.

Walking down the stairs into the theater, you have the sense that you are walking into The Cavern, just as it looked to the first audiences of the Beatles in 1963.  The first thing I noticed on the set was the distinctive drum kit on a platform. In an early scene, they turn it around and . . . Behold!!  It is a cutout of the Monkeemobile!!

As with the TV show itself, the plot isn't the point.  In fact, the play incorporates several plotlines extremely well.  The Boys need to make rent, so they decide to drive to NYC for a Band Contest, but run out of gas and are trapped when their car breaks down (first in the Wild West, then in Hillbilly land), and when they make it to their destination, the contest is for "mixed groups only".  A few of the best lines are included, as well as some of the worst, with plenty new ones to make you feel like you are watching a LIVING episode.

Did I mention that an actress pulled me up on stage to dance during "Let's Dance On".  (Can I confess that a deep fantasy was to get pulled into a dance number on that show??) And for everyone else who hates "Audience Participation", the music was loud enough so you could sing along without drawing attention, and in the finale, EVERYONE got to dance onstage.  Lots more took pictures of themselves in the Monkeemobile, as the author did, with another infamous Monkee-friend, Mary Ciuffitelli (aka "Mary Mary").

A lot of the credit should go to Britton Payne, who is a loyal & dedicated fan through and through.  He is billed the "conceiver" of the project, the show that he wanted to do as a kid with all his 9 year old friends.  As a grownup, he impresses both the child & adult in me as an audience member.  He also has an amazing costumer and video geek working for him who pulled off the impressive feat of making the details perfect.

MUSIC!  Did I mention the music?  As any true tribute, the show included 17 songs including TV music cues.  It's all the big ones, with shenanigans added in.  eg "Davy" sings "I Wanna Be Free" when he's tied up by the Banditos.  There was talk of trying to get the Blue Meanies involved, but karaoke made it all that more accessible for everyone.  The front row was asked to hold cue cards for one of the songs . . . you guessed it, "Goin Down".  (I wonder if Micky ever used cue cards?)

Honestly, I believe that shows like this are the wave of the future for Monkee Fan gatherings.  Karaoke, putting on bits of costumes, playing out scenes (or watching professionals do it) are all crucial elements.  As with most Monkee shows, the audience had a nice blend of generations, with this skewing towards a younger demographic.  One actor I talked to said that he had watched "One or two episodes" as a kid, another person said, "I really had no idea these were all Monkee songs!"

"Here We Come" is over, for now.  But Monkee magic lives on.