John Simon - How to Succeed on Broadway - 1961

(Or why John Simon has always been disliked). From his 1961 review of "Purlie Victorious":

"The one show that could run forever on Broadway would be a big, vulgar musical about Jewish Negroes. The author would have the audiences, reviewers, and the Pulitzer people eating out of his little hand, and would not have consider all the perfumes of Arabia. Unfortunately, our showman only have wit to use two of the three useful ingredients at one time: thus "Milk and Honey" is a big musical about Israel, "Kwamina" is a big musical about Africa, and "Purlie Victorious" has Negroes celebrating Hanukkah in their church. Yet a score of two out of three isn't a negligible achievement, and I trust all three shows are reaping their just rewards."

Streisand Sucks - On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

From John Simon's Review:

"What is it about America that takes a repellent, egomanical female impersonator, whose only ostensible gift is belting or shrilling out songs, but whose real one is making love to herself on stage, screen, and TV - so readily to its collective bosom?

I believe it is a collective inferiority complex...Outrageous is confused with courageous, vulgarity becomes the incarnation of people's dreams, and shamelessness the overcoming of our natural national timidity.

After the movie, I went back and listened to Barbara Harris's rendition of the songs in the original Broadway cast album. Suddenly, there was a feeling for the words, and a sensitivity to the character singing them and no attempt to shatter icebergs, break glasses, or pierce eardrums. What is missing in Streisand isn't just "a" but everything from 'b" to 'Z" l