well, That's Show Biz, 09-04-2022 23 Labor Day

Labor Day

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

9-4-2022

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• <Underwriting>

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman and each week I bring you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers with some anecdotes, information, and commentary thrown in. Tomorrow is Labor Day so today’s show features songs dedicated to Labor, Unions, and those who work for a living.

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• We are going to start off with the title song of the show based on the movie of the same name dedicated to those who work from “Nine to Five”. Then, a secondary plot of the musical The Pajama Game deals with the union of the pajama factory trying to get a raise for its employees. In the song “Seven-And-A-Half Cents”, they calculate how much that kind of a raise will net them. Remember, this was the 1950s. After that, Robert Morse and Sammy Smith sing about “The Company Way” from How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. And we are going to conclude this set with the song “Extraordinary”, with updated lyrics, from the 2013 revival of Pippin. Here’s Allison Janney and the cast of “Nine to Five” helping us celebrate Labor Day.

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• You just heard the title song to the Broadway musical “9 to 5”, “Seven-And-A-Half Cents” from The Pajama Game, “The Company Way” from How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and “Extraordinary” from the revival of Pippin as we celebrate Labor Day today on “well, That’s Show Biz!”.

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• We are going to start off our second set with the opening song from the musical Working, “All the Livelong Day “I Hear America Singing””. Then, the musical, The Most Happy Fella, opens on a diner in San Francisco where we meet tired waitress Cleo who sings “Ooh My Feet”. And finally, Sean Hayes, known mainly from the TV show Will & Grace, sings about his hopes for career advancement with the song “Half as Big as Life” from the 2010 revival of Promises, Promises. Here’s “All the Livelong Day” from Working.

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• You just heard “All the Livelong Day” from Working, “Ooh! My Feet” from The Most Happy Fella, and Sean Hayes singing “Half as Big as Life” from Promises, Promises.

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• <Underwriting>

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• We are celebrating Labor Day today on “well, That’s Show Biz!” and we’re going to start off our third set with Jeremy Jordan and the newsboys from Newsies organizing  their strike with “Seize the Day”. Next, In 1937, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union sponsored a revue, Pins and Needles, with ILGWU workers as the cast. The show looked at current events from a pro-union point of view. To commemorate the show’s 25th Anniversary in 1962, Columbia Records released a studio recording of the score which featured newcomer Barbra Streisand two years before her star role in Funny Girl. Here from Pins and Needles is Barbra Streisand singing “Nobody Makes a Pass At Me”.  And we will conclude this set with Cheyenne Jackson and the cast of the 2010 revival of Finian’s Rainbow singing about the joys of establishing credit with “The Great ‘come-And-Get-It’ Day”. Here’s “Seize The Day” from Newsies.

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•  <PSA>

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• You are listening to Labor Day on “well, That’s Show Biz!” on [station ID] and you just heard “Seize The Day from Newsies, Barbra Streisand singing “Nobody Makes a Pass At Me” from Pins and Needles, a show originally produced by the International Ladies Garment Union, and “The Great ‘come-And-Get-It” Day from Finian’s Rainbow.

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• If you would like to be a part of the show and make theme suggestions, you can email me, Jeremy Freedman at wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you like the show, you can contact the station at WRUU.org.

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• And now for our concluding set, we are going to open with “At the End of the Day” from Les Miserables, a song that takes place at the factory owned by former inmate and now town mayor Jean Valjean. Without a union, workers are at the mercy of those in charge. Next, the song “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” was part of the 1932 musical revue, Americana with lyrics by Yip Harburg better known for writing the lyrics for The Wizard of Oz. It is one of the best known songs that came out of The Depression and has been covered by many artists.  This beautiful version is by George Michael. And finally we are going back to Newsies for their rousing tune “Carrying the Banner”. Here’s “At the End of the Day” from Les Miz.

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• You just heard “At the End of the Day” from Les Miz, George Michael singing “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime”, originally from the 1932 revue, Americana, and “Carrying the Banner” from Newsies as we conclude our Labor Day celebration. You can send me theme suggestions to wruushowbiz@gmail.com and please contact the station at WRUU.org and tell them how much you enjoy the show. See you next week.