quickly followed by Cabaret, The Happy Time, Zorba, 70, Girls, 70, Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, and Kiss of the Spiderwoman - plus the movie scores for such films as Cabaret, Funny Lady, and New York, New York. They continued working together ... still collaborating ... still friends ... until the death of Fred Ebb and they were always excited about all the things possible in the world of the theatre. They are as different from one another as they can possibly be. Fred was born in New York City, John in Kansas City. John likes the country; Fred wouldn't be caught dead outside the city. John loves the opera; Fred prefered a good game of tennis. Their differences, however, were their strengths. And the success of their collaboration is apparent in the wealth of material they have produced. That spirit of collaboration has been part of everything that has gone into And The World Goes 'Round. Nowhere was this collaborative spirit more evident than during one of the last previews before opening night. It was just after midnight. The lobby was filled with an odd lot of people working on the show, all trying to solve the problem at hand: the "Theme from New York, New York" - the ultimate finale - wasn't working. This ubiquitous anthem seemed out of place. The song was so familiar, you could hear it in a foreign language and still know every word. We needed to find a way to make people listen to the song again. And that's when the idea struck. Why not actually sing it in a foreign language? Without the safety net of rehearsals, the change went into the show cold. The cast learned the new lyrics. (They'd already learned how to skate and play the banjo; a little Berlitz was a breeze.) To say the least, we were apprehensive about John and Fred's reaction. It was a little bit like redesigning the Statue of Liberty and having the nerve to say it shouldn't be Bartoldi's mother, but yours. But as this kind of theatre story must always end, the next night the number worked perfectly. The audience cheered. To quote Fred, the old turkey gobbled again. After three years of collaboration, the show was finished. Our job was completed. The world could go 'round. And, with any luck, would continue to go 'round ... and 'round ... and 'round. DAVID THOMPSON MUSICAL NUMBERS: (and source) 1. The World Goes 'Round - New York, New York 2. Coffee in a Cardboard Cup - 70, Girls, 70 3. Colored Lights - The Rink 4. Sara Lee - The Act 5. Arthur in the Afternoon - The Act 6. The World Goes 'Round (reprise) 7. My Coloring Book 8. I Don't Remember You - The Happy Time 9. Sometimes A Day Goes By - Woman of the Year 10. All That Jazz - Chicago 11. Mr. Cellophane - Chicago 12. There Goes the Ball Game - New York, New York 13. How Lucky Can You Get - Funny Lady 14. Marry Me - The Rink 15. A Quiet Thing - Flora, the Red Menace 16. Kiss of the Spider Woman - Kiss of the Spider Woman 17. The Grass is Always Greener - Woman of the Year 18. The World Goes 'Round (reprise) 19. We can Make It - The Rink 20. Maybe This Time - Cabaret (the movie) 21. Isn't This Better? - Funny Lady 22. Trio - The World Goes 'Round (reprise) 23. Money, Money - Cabaret (the movie) 24. Cabaret - Cabaret 25. Theme from New York, New York 26. The World Goes 'Round (reprise) - New York, New York DISCOGRAPHY: Original Cast Recording - RCA Victor 09026-60904-2
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