AMG Review of Two's Company [Original Broadway Cast]

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

This is a pretty amazing artifact, from Bette Davis' only appearance in a Broadway musical. Two's Company, which starred Davis and David Burns (and included a young Tina Louise in its cast), and was a charming revue by Vernon Duke, with lyrics by Ogden Nash and Sammy Cahn, that ran only 50 performances before closing. It was charming but not much more, and no amount of star power could get past the fact that Davis simply was not a singer, a fact evidently drilled home every time she opened her mouth. Fortunately, RCA Victor did a cast recording, which was released -- there were lots of other things "wrong" with the piece in 1952-1953, including Peter Kelley, who seems to be parodying what a leading man is supposed be in musicals (indeed, at moments, he sounds eerily like Steve Martin lampooning that kind of performer), and none of the rest of the cast members featured here manages to make a much better impression on anything resembling a serious level. Still, as a remnant of a high-profile flop by a major composer, Two's Company has value, even if it isn't essential listening.