Promises, Promises (musical)

Promises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett. Robert Moore directed, and David Merrick produced. The story concerns a junior executive at an insurance company who seeks to climb the corporate ladder by allowing his apartment to be used by his married superiors for trysts.

The original Broadway production premiered in 1968, with Jerry Orbach as Chuck Baxter and Jill O'Hara as Fran Kubelik and ran for 1,281 performances. A London production opened in 1969 featuring Tony Roberts and Betty Buckley. The cast album won the Grammy Award for best cast recording, and a songs from the show—"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" became a hit single for Dionne Warwick.

Productions

Broadway (1968-1972)

After a tryout in Washington, D.C., the show premiered on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on December 1, 1968, and closed on January 1, 1972 after 1,281 performances. Directed by Robert Moore, choreographed by Michael Bennett with Bob Avian as assistant choreographer, the cast featured Jerry Orbach as Chuck Baxter, Jill O'Hara as Fran and Edward Winter as J. D. Sheldrake. Featured in small or ensemble roles were Kelly Bishop, Graciela Daniele, Ken Howard, Baayork Lee, Donna McKechnie, Frank Pietri, Margo Sappington, and Marian Mercer. A national tour starring Melissa Hart as Fran performed throughout the United States during the early 1970s.

Promises! Promises!

Promises! Promises! is a 1963 unrated sex comedy film, released after the days of the Hays code and before the MPAA film rating system became effective, produced by Tommy Noonan. It was the first Hollywood motion picture release of the sound era to feature a mainstream star—Jayne Mansfield—in the nude, though had the unfinished Something's Got to Give, which starred Marilyn Monroe, been released in 1962 as planned, it would have been entitled to claim that distinction.

Production

Made on a modest budget, the film's publicity centered on Mansfield's nude scenes as the main attraction. She also sings two songs in the film – "I'm in Love" (also known as the "Lullaby of Love") and "Promise Her Anything". The production went through so much bickering between producer and actor Tommy Noonan and Mansfield that Noonan had to fly in Jet Fore, a publicist from 20th Century Fox, to keep peace on the set.

Ceil Chapman worked on Marie McDonald’s wardrobe for the film.

The film was presented for the first time on television in its uncut form in 1984 on the Playboy Channel. The film was one of only several dozen sound films to have been released in full-length form on Super 8mm in the 1970s. The film was released on VHS and Beta videotape in the 1980s. On February 14, 2006, VCI Video released the film on DVD with extras such as original trailers and a gallery of stills from the Playboy issue along with never before released lobby cards.

Promises, Promises

Promises, Promises may refer to:

Music

Other media

See also

Promises, Promises (Die! Die! Die! album)

Promises, Promises is the second full-length album by New Zealand trio Die! Die! Die!.

Background & Release

Promises, Promises was produced by Shayne Carter, member of New Zealand bands Straitjacket Fits and more recently Dimmer. The album was engineered by Kevin McMahoon and mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk. The cover art was designed and hand sewn by Mark Rutledge.

It was released on 5th February 2008 via Tardus in New Zealand and via SAF records in the USA and Canada.

Critical Reception

Promises, Promises was well received by music journalists. Metacritic, a site which provides a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, gives the album a score of 78.

Camilla Pia of the NME said of the album, "their relentless, unsettling sound is every bit as thrilling as their heavily punctuated name suggests, with this second offering stripped right down to the gnarled, bare bones of art punk."

Jason Heller at the AV Club noted that their second album "crams splinters of rhythm into dark, gorgeous choruses and acidic shout-alongs. The venom is still there, and it's just as potent, but it tastes a little sweeter this time around"