John Kander, Fred Ebb: Flora, The Red Menace - Original Broadway Cast

Flora the Red Menace features an endlessly-delightful score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. It marked the Broadway debut of Liza Minnelli in the title role (following her acclaimed performance in an off-Broadway revival of Best Foot Forward the previous year), and netted the young belter her first Tony Award. Flora was a middling failure, running only 87 performances at the Alvin Theatre (by the time Minnelli received her Tony, the show had well and truly vanished into the void).

The score is endlessly delightful, there is not a single clinker here. The beautiful ballad "A Quiet Thing", the manic "Sign Here" and the waltz-like "Dear Love" are only a few of the big stand-outs. There are also hilarious numbers like "The Flame", "Express Yourself" and "Palomino Pal". The supporting cast includes Bob Dishy with Mary Louise Wilson and Cathryn Damon as the two main female comrades, Ada and Charlotte respectively. The cast album is a must-own for all serious Broadway fans.