Lerner and Loewe (who were terminally estranged by their experience on Camelot) and Kiley and Fosse (who shared a mutual admiration stemming from their days on the Gwen Verdon-starrer, Redhead) all displayed minimal impact. I can't tell you, at this point, what went wrong; the film was instantly forgettable, and I remember little about it except all that sand. A search of my dusty LP shelf revealed that I do, indeed, possess the recording; but the plastic wrapper was unsplit. Having heard the score once in the movie house, I never felt the need to hear it again. And this is Lerner and Loewe! (You're talking to someone who has listened dozens of times to The Dangerous Christmas of Little Red Riding Hood.)

So I put on the new CD of "The Little Prince" with little enthusiasm. And what I found was a (virtually) new Lerner & Loewe score that is a pleasure to hear. Add, too, the welcome voice of Kiley — Broadway's finest leading man of the period — floating along with complete assurance. A surprise, perhaps, but there you have it.

Loewe's music is rich, by today's standards or yesterdays. The melodies enchant or soar, as the occasion warrants. Ultimately, you are disappointed mostly by the limited quantity; there are only eight songs to be heard. But I'd say that all but two are well crafted and most enjoyable. Loewe is perfectly matched by Lerner. The latter's post-Camelot work was marked by inconsistencies, but his "The Little Prince" lyrics are just right. Loewe's often luscious score is given a lavish setting by orchestrator Angela Morley. A bit too rich for the theatre, perhaps — but, then, The Little Prince was not theatre.

Kiley had a distinctive voice. Not the sweetest sound ever, perhaps, as there was something reedy, almost mentholated in the timbre. Alfred Drake and John Raitt, the reigning kings when Kiley came along, had voices that can be considered far more romantic. But Kiley just about always sounded perfect, as he does here; this is a voice with character and assurance. Kiley always gave performances that you could rely on, and happily listen to again and again. In this, "The Little Prince" is a special treat; we get to hear that voice once more, almost as a present.

Fosse does a cameo as a snake in the grass, with his big number called "A Snake in the Grass." This was the Fosse of Pippin, Cabaret and Liza with a Z. The song is perhaps the most unusual entry in the Loewe songbook; you could consider it a stylistic combination of two early Fosse numbers, "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Hernando's Hideaway." To people familiar with Fosse, of the black clothes and the scraggly beard, with the slinky stance and the cigarette a-danglin', the voice is almost astonishingly friendly. I wonder how many sophisticated listeners, with an iPod-sized cast album catalogue emblazoned in their memory, would ever identify this singer.

The title role was played by six-year-old Steven Warner, who looked the part but doesn't resonate. (Hey, he was only six years old.) British musical comedy names Clive Revill and Joss Ackland make small and overlookable contributions, but there are two other performances worthy of note. Donna McKechnie plays a rose, with one big song. This is the pre-Chorus Line McKechnie, a dancer raised out of the chorus, thanks to featured spots in Promises! Promises! and Company (both in company with her longtime colleague and future husband, Michael Bennett). But like the character she played in Chorus Line, this McKechnie seems to be lost in a major role. She sings in a decidedly weak voice, displaying no charm, power or assurance. As with Fosse, I don't suppose you would recognize the performer; but I also don't suppose you'd bother to look up who was singing.

Gene Wilder, just then off "Willy Wonka," demonstrates the opposite. His voice is thin and tentative, but his ability to hit the notes is enhanced by good-natured charm. He floats along as light as a feather in his duet with the prince, "Step at a Time" ("Closer and Closer and Closer"). Certainly, he gives the CD a lift — although with Lerner and Loewe and Kiley in evidence, it doesn't need one.

So "The Little Prince" comes along, 30 years later, as a surprise. It was never intended for the stage, but you may chalk it up as a "lost" musical comedy score, and one you might well enjoy. Continued...