Juno is set in the last days of the IRA’s fight against the British soldiers. In the year 1921 Juno Boyle (Shirley Booth) is the matriarch of her family and long suffering wife of Jack Boyle (Melvyn Douglas), who spends much of his time at the local tavern, spinning tall stories. Johnny (Tommy Rall), her son was once a fighter, but lost his hand in the cause. His bitterness is matched by his sister’s sweetness, Mary (Monte Amundsen), who still hopes to find love and happiness. Juno’s world is turned upside-down when it looks like the family has inherited a fortune. The news goes to their head, but in the end the money is a mirage and the family are torn apart by their creditor, Mary’s unplanned pregnancy and the revelation that her son was acting as an informer for the British...

Juno was originally staged, with music and lyrics by Marc Blitzstein and book by Joseph Stein, in 1959. It could not have been considered a success, closing after only sixteen shows. The critics panned it for being too dark.

This may be partially correct; a story which is bookended with a death is never going to be a barrel of laughs. It is also true that many American shows relied heavily on sentimentally and a few signature upbeat numbers, but this is not the only problem with Juno.

From the initial opening 'Overture' the music is clunky, inelegant and simplistic, more akin to a student production than a Broadway show. The music lacks much counterpoint and there is a minimum of layering in the choral work. Rather than attempt anything complicated, the chorus spends much of its time singing the same notes, just in slightly different keys. The Irish musical motifs are noticeable by their absence, and what Blitzstein does insert has more to do with Scottish musical tradition. When the musical numbers are not being ponderous they betray their colonial origins in the over strident use of the brass section.

The notion that the failure of the show laid with the fact that an audience would not sit through a tragedy, is patently nonsense South Pacific and even The King and I do not end well, but both shows gathered both praise and large audiences. I feel the truth of the matter is that Juno was an exceedingly average show. There are no standout numbers and, like most Broadway shows, the accents are pretty atrocious.

This makes it even more amazing that such a good quality recording should exist of the original show. As a disc there is little to fault the recording. So, if you’re looking for some of the more obscure shows, Juno might fit right into your collection, but for anyone who has heard anything by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers this is going to be very thin fare.

Track Listing:

01 - 'Overture'
02 - 'We’re Alive'
03 - 'I Wish It So'
04 - 'Song of the Ma'
05 - 'We Can Be Proud'
06 - 'Daarlin’ Man'
07 - 'One Kind Word'
08 - 'Old Sayin’s'
09 - 'What Is the Stars'
10 - 'You Poor Thing'
11 - 'My True Heart'
12 - 'On a Day Like This'
13 - 'Bird upon the Tree'
14 - 'Music in the House'
15 - 'It’s Not Irish'
16 - 'The Liffey Waltz'
17 - 'Hymn'
18 - 'Johnny'
19 ' 'You Poor Thing (reprise)'
20 - 'For Love'
21 - 'Where?'
22 - 'Finale'

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Charles Packer