Staying "Lost" with Bernstein

Remember when I spoke about the Leonard Bernstein Peter Pan soundtrack? And then I discovered that we didn’t have it? Well, I went to purchase it with a gift card, only to learn that not a single one of the “big chain” retail stores in the entire city of Chicago carries it. [No, I didn’t visit each…just one. I phoned before I trekked to another and learned as much.] But I learned something more from Bart. He informed me that I really should look for the original recording with Jean Arthur and Boris Karloff. Naturally, he’s right. To the internet!

Well, I discovered that it’s not readily available new. (But of course.) Which also explains why I didn't have it in my collection of Peter Pan stuff. Know what else I found out? I do already have some of it! A handful of the songs are on 100 Years of Peter Pan. Why didn’t I remember? Well, to be honest, I had purchased that long ago…and I’m not all that fond of it. Not that it’s particularly bad. It’s just not something one listens to over and over for pleasure. As I hunted for the CD, Bart asked me what I searched for…and realized that he also had a CD with some of the music: Blackwell Sings Bernstein, a Simple Song.

And so… I gave them a listen.

Hmmm. Well, let me quote an article:
Unfortunately, after this hearing, it's easy to see why no one has bothered to exhume them in the intervening 56 years.

Some of it is pretty but it’s not exactly what I would attach to Peter Pan, even in a squeaky-clean version. So I don't think I'll be rushing to obtain the whole album. The cover (as shown above) kind of says it all…you know, a picture is worth…

Oh well. Maybe that’s why my memory played like Peter Pan’s on this one.

As a side note, here are some wild stage images. The one on the left is from this article, which I quoted. And for the icing on the tainted cake of the story, a grown person is playing Tinker Bell, which as I mention here, also does not bode well with me.

And on the right here is Henry Winkler (yes, “The Fonz”) as Captain Hook. [Wrong hand, sir.]

I’ll stick with the novel for right now, ok? :)

L.B. stands for Lost Boys -and- for Leonard Bernstein