Bajour by Original Cast (CD, Nov-1992, Sony Broadway)

"Bajour" starred Chita Rivera and Nancy Dussault who both sound great and by all reports Rivera's dancing was the highlight of this show. Though it ran for 6 months during the 64-65 season, it's all but forgotten except for the stars and this recording. Dussault's vocal skills and comic warmth make even the most prosaic songs sound like R & H and Rivera has always been one of the few star dancers whose voice matched her dance prowess. Herschel Bernardi made his Broadway debut (pre-"Fiddler") as the leader of an itinerant gypsy band who take NY by storm. This show never gets revived, mostly due to the archaic and "politically incorrect" portrayal of said gypsies. The score however is more than a few cuts above the typical 60's "flop" musical. Walters Marks, who later wrote the Steve and Eydie show "Golden Rainbow", shows real promise with a range of character and ensemble numbers that are catchy and entertaining with only a few stinkers in the mix. As an artifact of a long-gone era when the marginal, so-called "tired businessman" shows could run on Broadway longer than a few nights, "Bajour" is a classic of the genre.