Ruth Leon recommends…. Ben Platt & Cynthia Arrivo – Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again
Ruth Leon recommendsBen Platt & Cynthia Arrivo
Before we say an un-fond farewell to 2024 we need something uplifting to counter the endless stream of bad news confronting us day by day. Here it is – two old songs from two new stars, to chase the blues away, two songs to give us hope in dark times. Two songs to remind us that there are young artists looking towards the future.
Here is the new generation of Broadway stars, real stars, real talents, not just hype. They are Ben Okatt, American, whom you may remember seeing on stage in Parade and Dear Evan Hansen, and Cynthia Errivo, British, who, in addition to her recent triumph as Elphaba in the screen version of Wicked, hit the Broadway lights with a career-making performance in The Colour Purple.
Here’s their duet of Get Happy and Happy Days Are Here Again, channelling Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, great songs sung in a new way, to provide proof positive that these two are true stars, great performers, and, with luck, here to stay.
Don’t worry, it does look like Nigel will be available to clean things up. I got a lot of joy this year from Lady Gaga’s Harlequin album, including her version of Get Happy. So, come on, get happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r82VOnNg_5w
Those two make a great stage couple.
It is terribly embarrassing that Ms. Erivo’s name is misspelled every time it appears; Mr. Platt’s is also misspelled in the body copy. Doesn’t exactly speak for one’s research or copyediting skills…
This appears to be an instance where the otherwise wonderful Ms. Leon neither proofread herself, nor did anyone else proofread her before her material was posted here.
Her text for this posting refers to Ben Platt as “Ben Okatt.” Since O is immediately to the left of P on a standard keyboard, and K is immediately to the left of L, the error is easily explained–but would surely have been intercepted with even minor care in proofreading.