Seth Rudetsky - Deconstructs "An English Teacher" from Bye Bye Birdie

Music video by Seth Rudetsky performing Deconstructs "An English Teacher" from Bye Bye Birdie. (C) 2010 Sony Music Entertainment

[@ciarabuck1375]

Chita has amazing diction and the way she pronounces things gives me chills. Her vibrato gives me goosebumps and her “throat” thing is what totally makes her ! There is nothing I don’t like about her style it’s so unique and old school

[@jkhalsa]

I just discovered you yesterday here on youtube, Seth. We are doing Bye Bye Birdie in Millis MA now. I've always loved English Teacher, heard Chita Rivera sing it on the cast recording a few years ago. I didn't realize how special she made it until you pointed out all these spectacular things she added in there. I can relate to everything you say. I am a violinist for a lot of community theater productions, and love Broadway show music immensely. You are a great teacher because of your enthusiasm, flexibility, and sense of humor. Bravo to you. I wish the Rosie in our production had heard your deconstruction so she could have put more into that song. Without the special emphases and customizations, this song can be a bland and not memorable at all.

[@Tunarth]

I love that you chose my favorite song in the show and also commented on my absolute favorite moment in the orchestration with the descending string scale fills. The best thing about this number that makes the string section have the sound it has is that they (or the violins at least) are muted, giving them such a wonderfully smooth, covered sound. Orchestrations by the brilliant Robert Ginzler, Jonathan Tunick's mentor, to whom Tunick paid homage in Follies ("Ah, the Ginzler flutes").

[@AvalonMorley]

I just love your deconstructions, Seth (yes, I'm presumptuously assuming a 1st-name basis), especially when (as here) they're of recordings I grew up w., & thought I knew intimately; then you bring out marvelous things in them I'd never thought of. I feel anyone who wants to compose musical theater should watch all your vids, as a master class. Strouse is a great composer--love him (met him a yr or so ago, when Lyric Stage in TX did RAGS--that show still doesn't work, but some glorious music).

[@Cuapi]

Seth, I adore you. I live for these deconstructions.

[@dr.elizabethrestivo9940]

I'm a drama teacher.....but I didn't know the meaning of life until I also became an English teacher.

[@tlw1950]

Love Seth, Chita & this song!

[@douglaso6428]

Seth, you are Fabu!! Thank you for your wise and witty insight, for your devotion to the musical, and for making it all so clear as well as immensely fun! As someone else wrote, you are a gifted teacher and a gift!! Doug :o)

[@douglaso6428]

PS I watched your decon of "at the ballet" about 50 times! Thank you x 1 million for that! Most piercingly beautiful song ever; huge meaning in my life... I also remember Laurie Beechman from my cast LP of Annie when I was about 14 years old ("3 bucks, 2 bad, 1 me" "...that's way up high, today the Y; why not? It's NYC!")

[@christianfrandsen1082]

RIP diva

[@jennicachristman3330]

The "we would know what life means" from my perspective, is that she assumes that they are married, and to her, that is what life means. :) BTWs: im about to play this role at my high school and this video is great. I love hearing other peoples favs for characters i'm going to play. :D

[@healthyholemealbread]

I wish Seth was like my uncle or something I'd learn so much from him!

[@jimk0403]

Thanks for the shout to Richard Seff's Book!

[@normasaldivar8645]

Amazing!

[@JaJaM.C.]

SETH RUDETSKY I FUCKING LOVE YOU.

[@jackcampey]

RIP Chita Rivera

[@benjaminwambeke9458]

The best song from Bye Bye Birdie imo

[@benjaminwambeke9458]

I️ also love how you can just play West Side Story so well out of thin air

[@robertblau7732]

Agreed. I was kind of disappointed that it didn't make it into the movie version and seems to have been missing from touring company versions for a while. Glad to see people are well aware of it now, and that it WAS in the Broadway revival version circa 2005. P.S. Somewhere here on KZbin is a performance by the two stand-ins for the leads in that one. I thought that they actually did a better job than the actual leads (John Stamos and someone). Of course, NO one beats Chita Rivera (and Dick van Dyke).

[@Andy-nx8fv]

@@robertblau7732 It was Gina Gershon as Rosie haha, I saw them both in the revival (2009/2010)..

[@AvalonMorley]

I think Rosie's thinking about the crazy, frenetic, bizarre-o milieu surrounding the Conrad Birdie phenomenon, in which Albert's & her life together is steeped. To her, that's not really living. BUT, in the idyllic, thoughtful, more intellectually profound life they'd have in that cozy apt. in Queens, their life would mean something, & they would know what that meaning was. Midst all the Birdie brouhaha, things just don't make sense--it's really a life without meaning. Deep woman, that Rosie.

[@JordynsPoetryPannier]

I'm going back to school for playwriting in NYC after living in North Carolina my whole life and being an English teacher there for three years. I definitely do NOT know the meaning of life.

[@larissabrewington9065]

Playwright here.... You WON'T learn the meaning of life writing plays. :-)

[@Thanksgiving2day]

Larissa Brewington None of us know, that’s why we write.

[@zazuzazz5419]

To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, it’s not the meaning but an experience of life that is on offering. And I appreciate your sense of humor.

[@AvalonMorley]

1 other thing--Is that really just a single sleeve cover you've got there? Seems like a cheat if so; one thing that drew me into this show & score was the gatefold album, w. scads of photos, many in color, & good liner notes. Seems to me that Masterworks should provide you w. the full gatefold versions of any albums, wherever possible (even if it means tracking them down in thrift shops or on ebay), which you could then show off a bit. I guess that doesn't really fit their purpose, though.

[@dmnemaine]

I don't think the lyric means that they'll know what life means because Albert is an English teacher, but because they'll be living the middle class American Dream.

[@robertblau7732]

Agreed. As a 14-year-old watching the original Broadway performance, it was clear to me that Rosie was saying that they would be able to live a normal, down-to-earth, conventional life rather than the craziness and uncertainty of the music business (A similar kind of point was made (later) in Joanie Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris".) But great analysis by Seth, and he really helps to point up the greatness that is Chita Rivera. (For more, see the PBS "Great Performances" episode devoted to her.)

[@Thanksgiving2day]

I always thought education - an indicator of class (or rather the polish you need to mov in society and be “respectable” rather than being a “music business bum” (being a chemist is the substitute being a lit professor in the end). In that period, the phrase “college teacher” was a fairly common usage.

[@bombachawoman]

In Queens !!!!

[@VictoriaAnneWeinstein]

This is one of those songs that invades my brain for no reason on a fairly regular basis. I blame the triplets on "it could have been such a wonderful life" and the escalating "I could have been Mrs. Peterson/Mrs. ALBERT Peterson/Mrs. PHI BETA KAPPA Peterson..." Hate the show, love this song. And Chita. FORever.

[@zazuzazz5419]

I loved an English teacher. It didn’t end well. 🧳

[@johnpickford4222]

Not with a name like “Zazu Zazz”

[@liesljones5987]

What's This? Seth doesn't own the ORIGINAL GATE FOLD COVER of the Broadway BYE BYE BIRDIE??? Sorry Seth, 25 demerits for being an imposter to the Show Queen Throne!!

[@pizzaparlor2737]

Yes, with months off together they could conjugate.

[@blj1523]

PATHETIC that she needed to audition for that purpose. Rolls eyes