TURKEY LURKEY TIME from Promises, Promises - 1969

[hfelton]

How is it possible that the girl on the right in purple, Julane Stites, never appeared in another Broadway musical according to ibdb.com. Though just out of high school, she held her own above with two theater dance legends, and IMO is beautiful. Googled her and found that years later she returned to her native northwest and became a successful teacher and choreographer, the proverbial big fish in a small pond. I wonder why she didn't make more of an impact on Broadway.

[bitchee]

2:56 onwards is mind blowingly good

[bitchee]

this is just incredibly good.

[cjm608]

without question this is my FAVORITE channel.

[duceemia]

Seth Rudetsky on "Turkey Lurkey" - youtube

[ohemmi]

I still love this from Buck's Playlst..might do it for Christmas Cabaret..

[mobydoug]

Love all 3 dancers, and McKechnie's practically a legend. But especially like the little one in purple on the right.....she's graceful. What fantastic shape they're all in.....tireless.....

[bootes53]

The lead dancer (in the red) is none other than Donna McKechnie, who created "Cassie" in "A Chorus Line" 6 years later (also under Michael Bennett's direction, of course). I'm in the middle of reading a biography of Bennett that talks about what a ground-breaking number this was in theatre (from this point forward, when choreographing, he would say "Let's do another Turkey-Lurkey" to refer to a big all-out showstopper like this one) which is what led me to look for this. Wonderful!

[LillyHRTAke]

why hasn't anyone covered this?!

[spence147]

The craziest Broadway number ever!

[trishstoner]

this one is funny because im STONED!!!! lol wtf is a turkey lurkey???

[Breendonkfilms]

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S CRAVING FOR THOSE DAYS ???

(pardon me for the caps)

[JemFontanet]

wow five stars for the coregraphy and the synchronisation of the dancers

it was the golden age of musicals

[philliesphan804]

Not that great of a song, but goddamn the choreography is fantastic.

[Yojimbo474]

Since this was done at a Tony Awards program, check out some notables in the audience. Check out David Merrick around fifth row center..

[andy20912]

This is an amazingly fun video -- life in the 1960s, before it became "retro" to re-enact it. I was 10 years old at the time, but I suppose this was the life and times that existed around me. My sixth-grade teacher could have been one of the lithe women on the stage. Hooray for Bacharach and David. Cheers!

[Yojimbo474]

All this time I thought Ms. Polanski was portrayed by Margo Sappington and it was Julane Stites! It seems that she too went on to become a choreographer. All the seeds that spread from Michael Bennett's tree...........

[frommsb]

According to Margo Sappington, this is her replacement, Juliane Stites (Sappington had left the show to choreograph and dance in Oh Calcutta)

[overthemoo]

@frommsb I am very thankful for you today. :P I'm posting this video on my Daily Broadway blog and I was trying to figure out who that woman was, because I knew Margo originally had the role but I knew that wasn't her in this performance.

[sregors]

Donna - your head flicks kill me.

[Selah1423]

@sregors The one at 1:35 seems like it should have killed HER! LOL She's awesome!

[Yojimbo474]

Can anyone point out which of the background dancers is Graciela Daniele? She went on to have a formidible career with Ten Tony nominations for Best Choreography!! Baayork Lee and Margo Sappington also have had significant careers as choreographers.

[mecsicsj]

Took my girl friend (now my wife of over 38 years) to the show afer her prom. It had Jerry Ohrbach and Jill O'Hara. We still have sound track but this number was one of favorites. Thanks for the memories.

[KawaiiCiao010]

wow this was amazing!! I loved the dancing

[RhymeWithoutAPoet]

... I have visions of Barrowman playing the part of the middle one, the woman in red. Why is that?

[EliseWhatever]

Wow, AMAZING dancer! Lol there's one guy in there who's not as good a dancer as the rest of them, and it just looks like he's having a really bad seizure at the end xD...

[tracer740]

This is a super clear print! And the audio is really good, also.

This number is one that I can come back to, time after time, and it is always as thrilling and entertaining as tho it was the 1st.

How these dancers defied the laws of physical limitations!!!

[red94Wrangler]

Yes, Donna is AMAZING! but I can't take my eyes off Margo (blue dress). WOW!!! That smile, those legs and that hair! STUNNING!!!

[tayneshia]

Goodness gracious! Donna McKechnie is going off in this performance. Her dancing is ridiculously good in this number and Michael Bennett's choreography is brilliant. I feel like it's an awesome combination of technical dancing and the actual popular dance of that period. I could watch this over and over again.

[IThinkImNutz]

i just got the goosebumps! that is some fierce choreography 

[sarahshi8]

Donna is so hard not to watch - but next time concentrate on Baayork (green dress) Baayork is at least 5 inches shorter than those other two ladies and the things she does to "compensate" are brilliant. Her hands are always at the same level as the other two dancers for instance. she has to work extra hard to match them for all the side by side symmetry - and you never notice. that is brilliance.

[dw438]

Nice around 1:36 see old-fashioned "portable" television camera in shot getting ready for McKechnie stage-level solo shot later in piece.

[DeadWiegraf]

One of the best dance numbers ever.

[peacesavior]

2:57 - 3:07 IS SUPERB STAGING AND TRANSITION

[peacesavior]

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!! NOT THATS BROADWAY WHOAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT AND THE STAGING IS AMAZING

[brabon1]

without a doubt, one of the most amazing numbers ever to be staged on broadway

simple song, but so much going on

[imustcomment]

I love love LOVE this number!!!! And I've watched it so many times that I've noticed a couple of things... 2:26 Donna almost falls but QUICKLY recovers. That shows the energy she was performing with, so into it that you almost fall. Any dancer knows how that is. Then, at 2:29 a dancer on a platform, in the back on the right, the 1st platform that is, flashes the audience. LOL!!! Those things make this number all the more great to me!!!

[skybeau96]

After loving this number in Camp then seeing this I can't believe what a great job those kids did - lucky friend of mine is in New York going to see Promises, Promises tomorrow

[ohbutyes]

@skybeau96 - the number was a lot of fun in Camp, but who knows how many takes it took to get it all. That's what's so amazing about these dancers with this performance and that crazy choreography - done LIVE it is a completely different animal. They've slowed it down a couple notches in the current production - and it definitely lost some energy... I love Bacharach though, so I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

[jtr10014]

@ohbutyes I just saw it on Broadway and thought the new version was the best; but that may very likely be because I saw it live. It is such a crazy number, but so energetic and entertaining -- and male dancers look good in those 60s suits. This reminds me of You Gotta Have a Gimmick in Gypsy -- a great song for 3 lead females that is fun taken in any context.

[jonnylvsmary]

Man, I sure wish my office parties were this much fun!

[FrontRowGuy]

Note, too, how much better the camera direction is in this than anything we see now. The numbers on this year's Tonys were one smash cut after another, The camera didn't stay on anything long enough to get a sense of what it really looked like on stage. Then compare that to this. The camera holds steady so you can appreciate the picture frame of of the stage. We've become too preoccupied with idea that the TV audience is too stupid to keep watching unless they're completely over-stimulated.

[ohbutyes]

@FrontRowGuy - I could not agree more... they have completely lost the ability to shoot musical performances of any kind on television - and it was pretty much a science - MTV was the beginning of the end...

[djmixnmagic]

The smiles on their faces are not part of the act. It's how they feel after having safely and accurately executed one of these insane moves, being on point, and in place. I love this number, but it hurts my hamstrings to watch. =)

[phlashba]

Donna Donna Donna Donna!!!!!

[1414yanks]

Dear Donna McKechnie - Thank you for running away from home at an early age to pursue your dream to become a dancer. In the process you have given your fans more pleasure and joy in watching you perform than you could ever imagine. Here's to the best dancer Broadway has ever known!

[SuperRegency]

I saw the original production three times in 1969-70. And will never forget the electrical intensity of this number. Thanks for letting me see it again after all these years.

[FrontRowGuy]

Thanks for posting this. The quality is so much better than what had been put up in the past.

[thatsmisterrobert2u]

@FrontRowGuy -- Exactly what I was going to say. Thank you.

[AnnZiv]

I've watched this so many times today - I'm mesmerized by it. Donna is incredible! Thank you for posting it.

[jealousofmypuddin]

@AnnZiv Me too! ;-)

[Pobcouture]

Nobody ever danced like Donna...................breath­taking!

[jealousofmypuddin]

OMG, amazing. Another reason I wish I was around in this period.

[NickolasK]

Donna McKechnie makes this number.

[latinhands]

Very Hulla-Balloo!

[ohbutyes]

@latinhands - good catch... it's the same choreographer!

[bertiejr]

@ohbutyes also, wasn't mckechnie a hulla balloo dancer? she mentioned it, as she told the story, mimicing a H-B dance and saying(under her breath) how long will i be doing this?

[groundcontrol436385]

@latinhands

Absolutely. For all it's energy it's simply inelegant and not very creative. I don't think it's great choreography at all. Nor do I enjoy McKechnie who is lacking in grace. But then I thought A Chorus Line was way overrated both for its choreography and its score.

[dann1299]

@groundcontrol436385 Donna isn't meant to be super graceful she is drunk.

[BrochtrupBean]

@groundcontrol436385 You don't know what you're talking about. You don't. You're being critical for the sake of sounding critical. ("Overrated" and "nor" = deth knell, you cad.) Dime a dozen. What you know about art, and Ms. KcKechnie, could barely fill a used condom.

[gabsylv]

@groundcontrol436385 You'll sure to die young with that attitude!

[CromTO]

Margo Sappington is in the purple, Baayork Lee in the green and Donna McKechnie in the red. Donna, she ROCKS this. Just look at her. This woman is the embodiment of what dance is and what dancers should be. This is just sick, I love it.

[taikoshepherd]

Perfect. There are no words except the ones describing how thew revival does NOT live up to this.

[deltanuxkcrp]

Camp can get this choreography...but the actual Promises, Promises revival can't? WOW. This one scene is true musical theatre. I wish we could get more of this and less of crazy, green bitches flying. I miss this.

[pajamagirl123]

@deltanuxkcrp Camp did actually do a very good job at keeping it authentic! interesting!

[BalletBabyBoy]

Of course it is...she is divine darling!

[LitesofBway]

That's not Donna McKechnie is it????

[ohbutyes]

@LitesofBway - oh, but yes it is - front and center!

[grehfeldt80]

What a beautiful crisp print! Thank you!

[mormonophobic]

Thank you so very much.

[joeypercival]

Whoever cleaned this up and made it this crisp, THANK YOU!

[crazyking1325]

YAY! better resolution :D