Beyond the Fringe

Conceived in the late 1950s, "Beyond the Fringe" brought together a medical student (Jonathan Miller), a historian (Alan Bennett), a musician (Dudley Moore) and a comedian (Peter Cook) who wrote a satirical revue that, after a slow tour of the the provinces, took England by storm when it opened in London and in 1962 arrived in America for a two-year on Broadway. All four creator/performers went on to major careers on stage and screen, most notable Moore, who starred in the Hollywood hits "10" and "Arthur" and with Cook in the Stanley Donen cult classic, "Bedazzled." Many of the "Fringe" skits were political in nature, and some have aged better than others, but the quartet's style is now seen as a link - although rather high-brow - between the zaniness of the Goons and the cheeky, surreal humor of the Beatles and Monty Python.

This recording was the last performance with the original cast - made in London in 1964. Jonathan Miller had left the show during the Broadway run but was persuaded to join in for one more go. Video cameras 50 years were pretty primitive by today's standards but no other record of the show exists. Regrettably it does not present the show at its best. I know because I saw "Fringe" in DC in a pre-Broadway tryout. The performances border on stale and in some instances quartet ad-libs lines or drops material. But it's still very funny.