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On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

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Release Date: May 11, 1993
About On A Clear Day You Can See Forever:

In 1962, after having written half a dozen musicals with Alan Jay Lerner, including their most celebrated creation, My Fair Lady, Frederick Loewe decided to retire. Looking for a new partner, Lerner approached Richard Rodgers, whose own long-time collaborator, Oscar Hammerstein II, had recently died, and proposed a new project inspired by his own interest in extrasensory perception, I Picked A Daisy, about a young woman who regresses into a past existence when under hypnosis. Eventually, Rodgers, abandoned the project and Burton Lane joined forces with Lerner. The show, retitled On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, finally opened on Broadway on October 17, 1965, with Barbara Harris and John Cullum, respectively as Daisy and as Dr. Bruckner, her hypnotist. Though not a huge hit, it had a respectable run of 280 performances. It was eventually made into a film version, with Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand in the leads.

First LP release: November 1, 1965


Track Listing On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

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Synopsis On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Act I
At the Bruckner Clinic in New York City, psychiatrist Mark Bruckner is demonstrating hypnosis to his students, but a member of the audience, Daisy Gamble, proves more susceptible than the subject at hand. After class, Daisy asks the doctor if he might be able to help her stop smoking through hypnosis; she's afraid her addiction will hurt the promising career of her fiancé, Warren. During their conversation, Daisy reveals to Mark her powers of extrasensory perception: she knows when a phone is going to ring or when someone is about to drop in. She can even make flowers grow by talking to them - Hurry! It's Lovely Up Here.

Mark puts Daisy into a trance, during which Daisy reverts to what appears to be a previous life: she becomes Melinda Welles of 18th-century England. We see Melinda rejecting assorted suitors (Tosy And Cosh) and falling for portrait painter Edward Moncrief before Daisy awakes. Mark does not tell Daisy what she has revealed to him, but he does tell her that her E.S.P. is nothing to be ashamed of - On A Clear Day.

On the rooftop of her apartment, Daisy, who forgot about her date with Warren, tells some friends of the adventure she had with Dr. Bruckner - On the S.S. Bernard Cohn. Back at the doctor's office, the hypnotized Daisy travels back to the salacious Hellrakers' Club in London where Melinda first met Edward when he rescued her from the clutches of another - Don't Tamper With My Sister. Melinda finds herself unable to resist Edward, who gradually succumbs to her charms - She Wasn't You. They marry, but the artist husband finds himself unable to resist making love to his subjects.

Mark finds present-day Daisy "an aspiring conformist," but finds Melinda irresistible. And he is now convinced that Daisy's story is not a fabrication and that Daisy, who only wants to be like everybody else, is the reincarnation of free-spirit Melinda - Melinda. In a trance again, Daisy travels back to the night Melinda walked out on Edward and sailed for Boston. But the good ship Trelawney was not destined ever to reach its destination. Mark tries to save Melinda from her fate, but before he can, Daisy wakes up.

Act II
Without revealing the identity of his subject, Mark has reported his experiences with Daisy to his fellow psychiatrists, who ridicule his findings. Learning of Dr. Bruckner's belief in reincarnation, Greek shipping magnate Themistocles Kriakos arrives at the clinic. Kriakos offers to finance an investigation of the events of Melinda's life if Mark will help him find out who he's going to be in the next life so that he can leave his fortune to his future self - When I'm Being Born Again.

Alone in the office, Daisy accidentally learns that she is the woman with a past life, and that Mark prefers Melinda to Daisy - What Did I Have That I Don't Have? On the rooftop, Warren outlines to Daisy the secure future he envisions for them - Wait Till We're Sixty-Five. When Mark arrives, Daisy tells him she's "through being a go-between for you and your dream girl. You're not going to go on using my head for a motel."

At his office, Mark attempts to bring Daisy back to him through extrasensory control (Come Back To Me), and finally succeeds. He tells her he's now comfortable with her two existences, but Daisy cannot accept them, and leaves.

At the airport, Daisy's powers warn her that the plane she's about to get on will crash. Then she learns the name of the aircraft: the Trelawney. Daisy's premonition turns out to be correct: the flight is cancelled due to technical problems. Daisy finally acknowledges that she may have lived before. She and Mark go off to explore the possibilities of a phenomenal future together

Credits On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Dr. Mark Bruckner: John Cullum
Mrs. Hatch: Rae Allen
Student: Gerald M. Teijelo, Jr.
Daisy Gamble: Barbara Harris
Muriel Bunson: Barbara Monte
James Preston: William Reilly
Samuel Welles: Gordon Dilworth
Mrs. Welles: Blanche Collins
Sir Hubert Insdale: Byron Webster
Dolly Wainwhistle: Hanne Marie Reiner
Blackamoor: Bernard Johnson
Millard Cross: Gerald M. Teijelo, Jr.
Warren Smith: William Daniels
Prudence Cumming: Barbara Remington
Edward Moncrief: Clifford David
Flora: Carol Flemming
Dr. Paul Bruckner: Gerry Matthews
Dr. Conrad Bruckner: Michael Lewis
Evans Bolagard: Hamilton Camp
Themistocles Kriakos: Titos Vandis
T.A.A. Official: David Thomas
Melinda: Barbara Harris

Singing Ensemble: Rudy Challenger, Paul Eichel, Eddie Erickson, Stokely Gray, Bennett Hill, Art Matthews, Dan Resin, Ken Richards, Rita Golden, Joy Holly, Zona Kennedy, Pat Lysinger, Caroline Parks, Nancy Reeves, Jeannette Seibert, Dixie Stewart

Dancing Ensemble: Sterling Clark, Luigi Gasparinetti, Bernard Johnson, Louis Kosman, Kazimir Kokich, Marco Pogacar, Ronald B. Stratton, Gerald M. Teijelo, Jr., William Reilly, Rita Agnese, Carol Flemming, Marion Fels, Leslie Franzos, Bettye Jenkins, Charlene Mehl, Barbara Monte, Hanne Marie Reiner, Barbara Remington

Photos On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

John Cullum and Barbara Harris recording
John Cullum and Barbara Harris recording
Barbara Harris & Clifford David in period costumes
John Cullum
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Memorabilia On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

Reviews for this Album

This show had one of the most ravishing scores of the 60s, but book problems got in the way of one of the most handsomly produced shows of the 1965-66 season.Stunning sets and fine dance numbers. Also a memorable performance by Barbara Harris. A great score and a great album.

saw the show in chicago, a very good score. though i agree the book was very weak, without the musicthe book almost put me to sleep. though it was an evening spent with one of ny fsvorite people. robert

Does anyone know where to get a copy of the script? So many play scripts are available in stores and libraries but for some reason this one isn't.