- This article is about the stage play. For the 1970
film adaptation, see On a Clear Day You Can
See Forever.
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a
musical with music by
Burton Lane and a
book
and lyrics by
Alan Jay Lerner based
loosely on
Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by
John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has
ESP and has been
reincarnated.
The
Broadway
production
opened at the Mark Hellinger
Theatre on October 17, 1965 and ran for 280 performances. It received
three
Tony Award nominations. The
production was directed by
Robert
Lewis, choreographed by
Herbert
Ross, and starred
Barbara
Harris as Daisy Gamble/Melinda,
John
Cullum as Dr. Mark Bruckner,
Clifford
David as Edward Moncrief, Titos Vandis as Themistocles Kriakos,
and
William Daniels as Warren Smith.
Scenic design was by
Oliver Smith and
costume design was by
Freddy Wittop. Notable cast replacements later
in the run were
Linda Lavin as Daisy and
Van Johnson as Dr. Bruckner. The show
was not well received.
Ben Brantley of
the
New York Times recalled:
"Its book was strained and muddled, most critics agreed; its big
production numbers were simply cumbersome. But it did have [a]
lushly melodic score...." Tours followed starring
Tammy Grimes, Lavin and
Nancy Dussault.
In February 2000,
Encores! presented a
concert version starring
Kristin
Chenoweth as Daisy/Melinda and
Peter
Friedman as Dr. Bruckner. The show received its London premiere
in 2000 at the Bridewell Theatre. A
1970 film
adaptation directed by
Vincente
Minnelli starred
Barbra
Streisand and
Yves Montand.
Synopsis
- Act I
Quirky Daisy Gamble sees herself as an unremarkable person and has
low self-esteem, even though she can (1) make plants grow
remarkably, (2) predict when a telephone will ring or someone will
drop in, and (3) tell where to find an object that someone else is
looking for. Her current problem, though, is her nasty smoking
habit, which will interfere with the chances of her fiancé, Warren,
for a job with great benefits. She seeks help from a psychiatrist,
Dr. Mark Bruckner, to stop smoking. When he hypnotizes her, she
describes living a previous life in late 18th century England as
"Melinda Wells", who died in her late twenties from circumstances
beyond her control. Free spirited Melinda was in love with portrait
painter Edward Moncrief. Mark keeps to himself what Daisy has
revealed to him, and he tells her that she should not be ashamed of
her ESP.
At their next session, Daisy, under hypnosis, relates scenes from
the salacious London Hellrakers' Club where Melinda met Edward.
Melinda and Edward eventually marry, but the painter is unfaithful
to her, making love to his subjects. Mark, the psychiatrist, finds
himself falling for "Melinda" and becomes convinced that Daisy is
really the reincarnation of Melinda. Melinda finally left Edward
and set sail for America, but the ship never reached Boston. Before
Mark can save Melinda from shipwreck, Daisy wakes up.
- Act II
Mark reports on the case to his fellow psychiatrists, who ridicule
his findings. Greek shipping magnate Themistocles Kriakos learns of
Mark's belief in reincarnation and offers to finance a study of the
events of Melinda's life in exchange for Mark's help in discovering
who he will be in his next life, which will allow him to leave his
fortune to his future self. Daisy accidentally discovers that she
is the "Melinda" at the center of the growing controversy and that
Mark prefers Melinda to herself. In her angry confrontation with
the psychiatrist about the matter, she tells him that she is
"through being a go-between for you and your dream girl. You're not
going to go on using my head for a motel."
Daisy goes to the airport, ready to return home. Her ESP powers
warn her that the plane on which she plans to travel will crash.
She realizes at last how special she really is. She leaves her
starchy fiancé, and she and Mark unite to explore their
extraordinary future.
Versions
The musical is available in at least two noticeably different
published versions (aside from the film version), although the
basic plot-line remains the same. The first version was published
in 1966.
The musical numbers recorded in the original
Broadway cast album
of 1965 correspond to this version.
A second version is evident in the piano-vocal score published in
1967. Here several vocal
numbers from
the above version are missing ("Ring Out the Bells," "Tosy and
Cosh", "Don't Tamper with my Sister"), as is the introduction to
the song "Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here," which is recorded on the
cast album. Also, the Greek millionaire's solo, "When I'm Being
Born Again" is given completely different lyrics ("When I Come
Around Again") and sung instead by Daisy's friends. The
overture recorded on the cast album combines the
"overture" and "
entr'acte" printed in the
vocal score.
The
1970 film
version departed from the musical significantly, adding a
character for
Jack Nicholson (an
ex-stepbrother named "Tad"), and changing details of other
characters, moving the period of Melinda's life ahead by a decade
or two (into the early 19th century), removing several songs,
changing lyrics and adding two new songs.
Songs
- Act I
- "Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here!" — Daisy Gamble
- "Ring Out the Bells" — Samuel Welles, Mrs. Welles, Sir Hubert
Insdale and Servants
- "Tosy and Cosh" — Daisy
- "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" — Dr. Mark Bruckner
- "On the S.S. Bernard Cohn" — Daisy, Muriel Bunson, James
Preston and Millard Cross
- "Don't Tamper with My Sister" — Edward Moncrief, Sir Hubert and
Ensemble
- "She Wasn't You" — Edward
- "Melinda" — Dr. Bruckner
- Act II
- "When I'm Being Born Again" — Themistocles Kriakos
- "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" — Daisy
- "Wait Till We're Sixty-Five" — Warren Smith and Daisy
- "Come Back to Me" — Dr. Bruckner
Note: In the libretto, a song appears that was not included in the
Broadway production of the musical: "At the Hellrakers". In the
piano-vocal score, another song appears that was not included: "The
Solicitor's Song", during Daisy's first regression-scene.
The title song has been recorded by a number of artists, including
Robert Goulet , Johnny Mathis,
baseball pitcher
Denny McLain, and
Barbra Streisand (star of the 1970
film version). "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" was also covered
with some success by
Eydie Gorme and was
also sung by Streisand on the soundtrack on the film version.
Awards and nominations
References
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