Klarinet Archive - Posting 000045.txt from 1999/11

From: Mitch Bassman <mbassman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] How to Succeed
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 14:15:54 -0500

A quick followup to my recent query about the woodwind parts to How To
Succeed. Recall that the question was posed to me by an e-mail-challenged,
doubling-challenged flutist friend, who hoped to find a flute-only part for
a performance scheduled for next year.

I received quite a few off-list responses (and a couple on klarinet) from
people who had played the show months or even many years ago. Some of them
were reporting what had been actually used in their specific productions.
The trouble with those reports, of course, is that the person playing a
particular book may have simply substituted for an instrument that he or
she couldn't play or didn't own. I had a couple of reports of productions
using a flutist who didn't double on clarinet, sax, or oboe; but those
could have been the result of using two on a book or redistributing the
parts, and I wanted to know what was actually in the books and if there was
enough work for a lone flutist.

Others agreed with my observations that the rental parts tend not to use
the same instrumentation as the latest revivals. Generally, they are the
original Broadway parts and sometimes the original national tour parts.
That has been my experience for numerous shows such as Guys and Dolls
(which I'm playing this month for the 3rd time), Secret Garden, Cabaret,
and others.

Thanks to all who responded, but the most definitive response was a
suggestion to check the MTI web site. (Thanks, Sarah.)

In case anyone else is interested, according to Music Theatre
International, the rental parts distributed are the original Broadway
orchestrations for a large orchestra: 5 reed players, horn, 3 trumpets, 3
trombones, 4 violins, cello, bass, piano, 2 very busy percussionists,
guitar, and harp. (The revival orchestration is not available for rental
and is quite different as I reported two days ago.)

Reed books for the original Broadway show and the rental parts:
1. piccolo, flute, B-flat clarinet, alto sax
2. oboe, alto sax, English horn, B-flat clarinet
3. B-flat clarinet, tenor sax, flute, piccolo
4. tenor sax, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet
5. bass clarinet, baritone sax, B-flat clarinet

That's the actual order in which the instruments are listed by MTI. I don't
know if it implies frequency of use or first use -- or if it's random --
but it's not the traditional order for listing the instruments.

In any case, my friend now knows that the parts call for doublers and there
is not a flute-only part for her to play.

Thanks again to all who responded.

--Mitch Bassman

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