The figure 8 that starts around 2:56 has to rank as one of the best group dance moves in Broadway history. It doesn't even seem like it should be possible, yet there it is.
I saw them do this number(in the show)37 years ago and ridiculous as the song is, it remains THE most electrifying dance moment I've ever seen in a musical. That orchestration by Tunick doesn't hurt it either. Hard to explain-but in the theatre, when they hit that "Jingle Bells" chorus at the end, the roof blew off.
In looking at the various videos of this AMAZING performance, I feel compelled to clear up the mistaken identity of the woman in the purple dress. That is not Margo Sappington. It is her replacement, Julane Stites. By the time of the Tony Awards (this performance), Margo was in another show. I just wanted to clarify. I think Julane should receive her due credit for being a part of HISTORIC performance. :)
I've watched this video sooo many times i think i' turning into a Turkey Lurkey. I love this version as well the the version from "Camp" but what really impresses me is that this is LiVE!!.. Those ladies are not only giving us total Broadway boogie but also singing live, might i add in harmony.hehe. ~loves it~
Astonishing choreography. I never get tired of watching this. What's incredible is that Bayoork Lee is almost a foot shorter than the other women but Bennett choreographs them so precisely that their hands are almost always level. Genius!
Margo Sappington, Baayork Lee and Donna McKechnie are a AMAZING but c'mon, who are we kidding? Just look at Donna, she ROCKS this. This woman is the embodiment of what dance is and what dancers should be. This is just sick, I love it.
Sensational choreography - all at the height of their powers, Bennett, McKechnie, David, Bacharach, Simon, Moore and my beloved Jerry Orbach. I LOVE this!!!
Daayummm. Haha. I took a workshop today that was supposed to teach us this dance...and it was like 4 times shorter and Muchh less hectic, YEESH, these are beastly people here. haha ha.
Having just seen the 2010 revival, all I can say is watch this version of Turkey Lurkey over and over again. The revival doesn't even come close to this, since the number is cut in half and all the dancing is from the waist up. I wish I could get my money back from the revival, it was so bad. If you haven't seen it, don't. Please don't waste your money. Just watch this. 1000 times better.
I just watched the promo clip for the Promises Promises revival, and it really highlights the joy and immediacy of this production. What energy! And of course Donna M is incomparable. Bravo!
The tall male performer on the right side of the screen IS Jerry Orbach, isn't it? He was a national treasure even before his long tenure on "Law and Order."
FABULOUS! I am thrilled to see this with all the amazing performances. What a great number. You won't see dancing like this anymore. I wish all these great things would be put on DVD so they can finally be preserved and learned from. WONDERFUL!!!! PS Donna didn't do it when it was danced on the Ed Sullivan show but B. was in it. It's not as good but still fantastic!
BEGEEZUS!! This blew my frickin' socks off---I'm nervous, too, that soon I will be rehearsing these steps for two months ---then performing it in a Christmas show---wow....
When you look up "Show Stopper" in the dictionary, it should immediately play this clip. Unlike many of today's shows, you get the feeling that this is being performed by living, breathing people, not falling chandeliers or green girls "Defying Gravity."
That's Betsy Haug in the center upstage tossing that hair and those hips around! She became a very successful choreographer and top jazz teacher in New York! You made a dream come true by posting this. Thank you!
Oh, and thank God! I appreciate the past for what it was, but how many people were more stirred by "Turkey Lurkey Time" than by "Season of Love?" That was fun, but now? Now we have art. And Thank God.
@nighthappens - Because, Nighthappens, ... no one has. this unequivocally the classic rendition of this number. BTW, it is a chiropractors wet dream! Donna and her troupe are a choreographer's blank canvas. I've watched this scene countless times since it originally aired 43 years ago and I enjoy the same exhilaration and wonder as I did then...
This video is great. Just got a chance to see Donna do this number again today (with a dream group of gypsy divas -- Sandahl Bergman, Valarie Pettiford and Jane Lanier), and while she doesn't do all that she did in this version 40 years ago, she has still got "it."
Apparently, they cheaped out for the Tony telecast. The scow was scored for 4 "Orchestra Voices" who handled most of the heavy lifting vocally for "Turkry Lurkey Time." It should come as no surprise that you can't dance like that and sing at the same time (ask Britney Spears). Outstanding clip...brought back a lot of memories. Michael Bennett, RIP
To the person knocking Baayork Lee: This point is going to sound unimportant, but the impact of her costume's cut on the impression of her dance is much greater than it appears. The other two dancers were costumed in dresses that accentuate their waistlines, which in turn accentuates the "pop" and grace of their moves. Lee's/Miss Wong's dress has a kind of babydoll/empire waist look that makes a more childlike impression. You put that together with the shorter height, and she's just not going t
Poor Baayork and Margo. I've seen this countless times over the years and I just realized that I have never watched either of them. I can't take my eyes off of Donna. She's ridiculous.
By the way, Betsy was the dance captain, and left the show after about a month to stage the London production, then staged it in Tokyo, Oslo and all over. She is the original dance captain, entrusted with the staging and choreography. The careful use of energy levels and release accounts for the numbers impact, I'd say.
Broadway will always make people feel good, and there will always be good talent out there. I'd hate to think that those of us who were born after the 'time' you had mentioned will never experience Broadway the way people a couple of decades did. As for standing ovations, I do agree with you, but it's not written in stone that you have to go along with it. If you feel the cast doesn't deserve a standing ovation, don't give them one.
"thta was awesome! the leader dancing is so gd, talk about fresstyle" No baby. That was NOT freestyle. That was an amazing dancer and choreographer at the top of their Game. Can you imagine doing that number 5 nights a week and twice on Sundays and Tuesdays? The show was "Promises, Promises" (based on the movie "The Apartment") and the lead dancer: Donna McKechnie...who later did, "A Chorus Line". She played Cassie, who also wore a red leotard and dance skirt. Won a Tony for the performance.
!["Tick Tock" - Company - In Concert [1993]](/img/n.gif)
The figure 8 that starts around 2:56 has to rank as one of the best group dance moves in Broadway history. It doesn't even seem like it should be possible, yet there it is.
I saw them do this number(in the show)37 years ago and ridiculous as the song is, it remains THE most electrifying dance moment I've ever seen in a musical.
That orchestration by Tunick doesn't hurt it either. Hard to explain-but in the theatre, when they hit that "Jingle Bells" chorus at the end, the roof blew off.
In looking at the various videos of this AMAZING performance, I feel compelled to clear up the mistaken identity of the woman in the purple dress. That is not Margo Sappington. It is her replacement, Julane Stites. By the time of the Tony Awards (this performance), Margo was in another show.
I just wanted to clarify. I think Julane should receive her due credit for being a part of HISTORIC performance. :)
I can watch this over and over again.
I've watched this video sooo many times i think i' turning into a Turkey Lurkey. I love this version as well the the version from "Camp" but what really impresses me is that this is LiVE!!.. Those ladies are not only giving us total Broadway boogie but also singing live, might i add in harmony.hehe. ~loves it~
I come here every year to bow the hell down to Donna McKechnie.
Astonishing choreography. I never get tired of watching this. What's incredible is that Bayoork Lee is almost a foot shorter than the other women but Bennett choreographs them so precisely that their hands are almost always level. Genius!
She dances big, but not as big as Betsy Haug.
Whenever I have a lousy day I watch this clip and feel better.
Margo Sappington, Baayork Lee and Donna McKechnie are a AMAZING but c'mon, who are we kidding? Just look at Donna, she ROCKS this. This woman is the embodiment of what dance is and what dancers should be. This is just sick, I love it.
Don't forget the underlying layer of chorus dancers, led by Dance Captain Betsy Haug on the center desk, who rocks the finale.
This is lightning in a bottle. Absolutely breathtakingly perfect.
Baayork is the cutest thing I've ever seen lol.
And Donna is fantastic.
There are no words.
Look at Donna and Bayork snap in half when they dance!This is when performers weren't afraid to dance!
Sensational choreography - all at the height of their powers, Bennett, McKechnie, David, Bacharach, Simon, Moore and my beloved Jerry Orbach. I LOVE this!!!
Daayummm. Haha. I took a workshop today that was supposed to teach us this dance...and it was like 4 times shorter and Muchh less hectic, YEESH, these are beastly people here. haha ha.
I. Can't. Stop. Watching. This.
How incredibly exciting! This number gives me goosebumps. To have been there when it first came out must have been marvelous.
Having just seen the 2010 revival, all I can say is watch this version of Turkey Lurkey over and over again. The revival doesn't even come close to this, since the number is cut in half and all the dancing is from the waist up. I wish I could get my money back from the revival, it was so bad. If you haven't seen it, don't. Please don't waste your money. Just watch this. 1000 times better.
They're all such good dancers, omg.
I can't stop watching this number!!!!
I just watched the promo clip for the Promises Promises revival, and it really highlights the joy and immediacy of this production. What energy! And of course Donna M is incomparable. Bravo!
This clip, though marvelous, does no justice to the original. I saw this in Spring 1969 before that year's Tony Awards and it was phenominal!!
Just saw Promises Promises on Broadway. This and "A Fact Can be a Beautiful Thing" were my favorite songs. :D
This is great...you just cant stand how stupidly fabulous this is.....i hate myself for loving it so!
The tall male performer on the right side of the screen IS Jerry Orbach, isn't it? He was a national treasure even before his long tenure on "Law and Order."
Brilliant!!!
thta was awesome! the leader dancing is so gd, talk about fresstyle
The one in the green dress is Baayork Lee. This clip is great.
Donna is truly great, but Julane Stites hits a rocking groove at the end that brings something else that's very cool. Check it out.
Originality is always key!!! That's why the original casts for Fosse are legendary!!
FABULOUS! I am thrilled to see this with all the amazing performances. What a great number. You won't see dancing like this anymore. I wish all these great things would be put on DVD so they can finally be preserved and learned from. WONDERFUL!!!! PS Donna didn't do it when it was danced on the Ed Sullivan show but B. was in it. It's not as good but still fantastic!
this thrills me beyond words.
Love this number! It was a great show. My favorite's of Michael Bennett's work are FOLLIES & SEESAW.
The steps are just like from "Camp"...I cried when I watched this...
BEGEEZUS!! This blew my frickin' socks off---I'm nervous, too, that soon I will be rehearsing these steps for two months ---then performing it in a Christmas show---wow....
Excellent!!!!! Love that show! Thanks for posting.
When you look up "Show Stopper" in the dictionary, it should immediately play this clip. Unlike many of today's shows, you get the feeling that this is being performed by living, breathing people, not falling chandeliers or green girls "Defying Gravity."
This was fun to watch. I never realized that Donna McKechnie had had such a big song and dance career...I only knew her from "Dark Shadows."
This is an extraordinary clip -- thank you for sharing this history with us!!!!
the amount of lurkeying occuring in this video is mindgobbling
Wow, I'd never even heard of this before. That was awesome! Makes me wish for a revival now...
That's Betsy Haug in the center upstage tossing that hair and those hips around! She became a very successful choreographer and top jazz teacher in New York! You made a dream come true by posting this. Thank you!
Julane Stites is on the Ed Sullivan Show Turkey lurkey time, leading in the middle. This one has Donna McKechnie.
Oh, and thank God! I appreciate the past for what it was, but how many people were more stirred by "Turkey Lurkey Time" than by "Season of Love?" That was fun, but now? Now we have art. And Thank God.
I just can't stop seeing this video!
@nighthappens - Because, Nighthappens, ... no one has. this unequivocally the classic rendition of this number.
BTW, it is a chiropractors wet dream! Donna and her troupe are a choreographer's blank canvas. I've watched this scene countless times since it originally aired 43 years ago and I enjoy the same exhilaration and wonder as I did then...
This video is great. Just got a chance to see Donna do this number again today (with a dream group of gypsy divas -- Sandahl Bergman, Valarie Pettiford and Jane Lanier), and while she doesn't do all that she did in this version 40 years ago, she has still got "it."
That's Donna McKechnie in the middle, pre- "A Chorus Line" fame
Best thing EVER !!!!
I've seen this 7 times since Micheal Buckley sent me here....I think I'll favorite it..
This is great... and is work in SEESAW is as amazing!
That is just CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
Apparently, they cheaped out for the Tony telecast. The scow was scored for 4 "Orchestra Voices" who handled most of the heavy lifting vocally for "Turkry Lurkey Time." It should come as no surprise that you can't dance like that and sing at the same time (ask Britney Spears). Outstanding clip...brought back a lot of memories. Michael Bennett, RIP
i cant live a day without watching this! omg! thanks sooooo much for posting this up!
thanks for the posting-what a flipping treat.x
This back in the day when u had to sing louder for those mikes at the front of the stage...what an amazin number!
That number would kick my ass if I was in that show.
Lord, Donna sure can bust a move...
I have been to many an office Xmas party where, if they could really dance, they would dance like this
so incredibly awesome!
the best version of this song
OMG Donna McKechnie front and center! -( pre Company and Chorus Line)
she is Gettin it in that red dress
So good it makes me want to cry! HAHA..
Loved how they did it in camp too that was awesome but omg they killed it...sooog good!!!!!!!!!!
because while being the worst number, it is also the best number in the show at the same time
this was WAY before camp... but those kids were still great.
...I cried too
goosebumps...
i swear i just got goosebumps
The one in the blue defadently is one of my teachers WOW
Lea's voice in this part was really good! It was massively good!!!
donna is going crazy at the end, I love it!
spectacular
Love it love it love it love it LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Dammit, Michael Bennett was a great choreographer.
I agree! What energy!
OMG!!!! I love it! Why have I NEVER seen this version?
Camp brought me here, new this song before glee, was happy they covered this song tho :)
I looooooooooove this. Might learn it like I learned the Single Ladies dance.
I wish our Christmas party at work was like this, *laugh*.
To the person knocking Baayork Lee: This point is going to sound unimportant, but the impact of her costume's cut on the impression of her dance is much greater than it appears. The other two dancers were costumed in dresses that accentuate their waistlines, which in turn accentuates the "pop" and grace of their moves. Lee's/Miss Wong's dress has a kind of babydoll/empire waist look that makes a more childlike impression. You put that together with the shorter height, and she's just not going t
Glee also brought me here, and I'm glee for that
Hell yeah!! Makes me wanna bust out the go-go boots and white lipstick!
3.15 - Massed Pete Townsend Guitar Windmills!
Poor Baayork and Margo. I've seen this countless times over the years and I just realized that I have never watched either of them. I can't take my eyes off of Donna. She's ridiculous.
AMAZING
God bless Hal and Burt
~~ and the crowd goes wild ~~
i love it!
Saw the show as a teenager. This number makes my aerobics class look like a walk in the park! Don't make them like this anymore...sigh.
As amazing as this is, I get tired just watching them!
this is so swank, i love it.
By the way, Betsy was the dance captain, and left the show after about a month to stage the London production, then staged it in Tokyo, Oslo and all over. She is the original dance captain, entrusted with the staging and choreography. The careful use of energy levels and release accounts for the numbers impact, I'd say.
Broadway will always make people feel good, and there will always be good talent out there. I'd hate to think that those of us who were born after the 'time' you had mentioned will never experience Broadway the way people a couple of decades did.
As for standing ovations, I do agree with you, but it's not written in stone that you have to go along with it. If you feel the cast doesn't deserve a standing ovation, don't give them one.
I want to be Donna McKechnie when I grow up
This was the '69 Tony Awards...
@splendidoyster3 no problem...
Happy Holidays to you too!
Glee got me here...
Fuck the quality, Love the song, Live Glee !!
"Glee" did an amazing mash-up with this and "Let's Have a Kiki"
@ Dudufrias
Margo Sappington is in the purple, Baayork Lee in the green and Donna McKechnie in the red.
"thta was awesome! the leader dancing is so gd, talk about fresstyle"
No baby. That was NOT freestyle. That was an amazing dancer and choreographer at the top of their Game.
Can you imagine doing that number 5 nights a week and twice on Sundays and Tuesdays?
The show was "Promises, Promises" (based on the movie "The Apartment") and the lead dancer: Donna McKechnie...who later did, "A Chorus Line". She played Cassie, who also wore a red leotard and dance skirt. Won a Tony for the performance.
If you look hard you'll see Kelly Bishop on the Gilmore Girls in the backgound