MARQUEES AND SUCH

MAGICAL MARQUEES

There's something magical about a theatre marquee.  It's both a welcome mat and a tease of the excitement that awaits inside.  It's a marketing tool as well.  A good marquee will not only be visually pleasing, but also say something about the show you're about to see.  Depending on the show or the talent involved, the marquee may also list the authors, directors, producers, and stars.  Some shows themselves are the stars and just the name alone will bring in an audience.  A couple of examples would be A Chorus Line or Mary Poppins.

For other shows, the star could be the primary draw.  A recent example of star power would be Alan Rickman in Seminar, though he shares billing (below title) with playwright Theresa Rebeck, who has her own set of fans, and director Sam Gold.

And in still other cases both the star and the property are draws, for example Patti LuPone/Tyne Daly/Angela Lansbury/Bernadette Peters/Ethel Merman in Gypsy.  

Once a show closes, a marquee serves as a testament of what was once there. It can foster great memories of a show that had a long and successful run or it can be a sad reminder, in the case of a critical/artistic/financial failure, of a show that just couldn't make it, despite its marquee's promises.  Some of these shows are good shows that just failed to find an audience; some of them, sadly, just aren't very good; some of these shows just opened at the wrong theatre at the wrong time.  A case in point of a show that didn't make it, but with a terrific marquee (in my opinion, at least) is the marquee for Scandalous.  Great colors, a terrific star prominently billed (and, folks, Carolee Carmello is pretty damn amazing), and a bit of glitz in the title.  I'd go see it just on the basis of the marquee.  It's simple, yet eye-catching and promises that good things will be going on inside the Neil Simon.  It was on my list of shows to see.  The critics, while praising Carmello's performance, pretty much hated the show and it closed quickly and before I was able to see it. 

In a marquee's eyes, however, every show has the potential to provide magic for its audiences.  And that's why I think marquees are magical.

Today's selections are all marquee worthy.  Let's begin.

May, 2006.  For me the star of the show was the glorious New Amsterdam Theatre, lovingly restored to its former grandeur and beauty.  For that alone, lovers of theatre buildings (count me as one) should be eternally grateful to the Disney Corporation. And I am. Thank you, Disney!  As for the show itself, well, I'm rather neutral towards it. I enjoyed it, but liked the movie more. The opening number is every bit as dazzling as everyone says and the Elton John/Tim Rice score is solid and tuneful, but, frankly, I got tired of Julie Taymor's puppets, headdresses, and direction.  Patrick Page was the cast standout as Scar in a deliciously evil portrayal.  At the matinee we attended both Simba and Nala were played by understudies and it was the first time, and to date only time, I felt understudies just weren't up to the task at hand.  They weren't awful; they just weren't terribly good.  Glad I saw it.  Don't need to see it ever again.  - at the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York

March, 1968 (the date on the program title page is incorrect). The McVickers was located on Madison Street, between Dearborn and State, and right behind the Shubert. For many years, this attractive one-balcony house suffered the indignities of being a B-movie grind house, but in 1966, it was reclaimed for legit. Sadly, it closed in the early 70s and was torn down to make way for…a parking lot. The site is now occupied by an office building. Better than a parking lot, I guess, but still… Keith Andes was the star and Natalie Costa was the matinee Aldonza. Andes had a long list of theatrical and television credits. Costa was one of those always-working actors who no one had heard of. I actually wrote notes in my program…let me see if I can decipher them some 40+ years later. Here goes…
 - "Play interesting, but not deserving of the rave notices. Staging, costumes & sets most unique. "
<Note: the original set was one of those "wow!" creations.> 
 - "Music interesting, but "Dream" and "Dulcinea" only two I liked. Enunciation was lacking."
<Note: even back as a 17-year-old, I had a thing about poor enunciation. Makes me nuts. Absolutely no excuse for it. Something performers and singers today need to remember. ENUNCIATE!!>
 - "Andes good, Costa was great."
<Note: "great" underlined three times…must have really liked her!>
 - "The entire cast had excellent voices, but diction was often poor. That ending is probably the best dramatic scene in musical theatre, esp. the reprise of "Quest.""

<Note: Many, many years have passed since that declaration of "the best dramatic scene in musical theatre…" and I now have a new favorite…well, favorites, actually, but the ending to this show still is pretty damn wonderful.>
Okay, now keep in mind, I was only 17 and didn't have that many shows under my belt, but you have to admit, I already had my opinions. My friends and I, with parental consent, skipped school one day to see a Wednesday matinee…and we got caught! Planned disciplinary action got sidetracked when all of our parents vouched for our absence. Go, Mom and Dad!!  — at the McVickers Theatre, Chicago

Some snaps from my photo albums....

West 45th at curtain time, March 1981.  At the Plymouth: Piaf; at the Royale: A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine; at the Golden: Tintypes.

Sarava! at the Broadway, when the Broadway had a nice large marquee.  Poor Mitch Leigh.  Yet another unsuccessful Broadway endeavor.  The show opened at the Mark Hellinger, then moved to the Broadway.  Not sure why since it received poor reviews and had a run of only a few months.  Check out YouTube.  Sarava! had a fun TV commercial and you can see it there. I did not see this show.  Damn.

MTM in Whose Life Is It Anyway? at the Royale.  Great show.  Great performance.  (See an earlier post)

January, 2002. This show in its Chicago tryout was definitely a mixed bag. When it worked, it worked extremely well, but there were parts, especially in the Marvin Hamlisch/Craig Carnelia score, where it seemed like there were two separate shows onstage at the Shubert. Having a penchant for dark shows, I quite enjoyed this bleak, unforgiving, and, frankly, creepy show. Featuring a terrific, well-deserved Tony Award-winning performance by John Lithgow, this show also featured standout performances by Brian d'Arcy James (he was robbed of a Tony Award for his job in this), the sensational Kelli O'Hara in one of her first major roles, and Jack Noseworthy. The reviews weren't kind either in Chicago or in New York and it closed after only three months in New York. That's a shame, really, because the show had a lot going for it.  Get the CD of the score.  Lots of good stuff. - at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago

May, 2012.  We went to this with a bit of apprehension. We'd heard very mixed things about the production in general and the leading lady in particular. We were relieved, therefore, to find our fears were unfounded. No, it wasn't the Hal Prince original, but it was a solid theatrical piece. Apples and oranges. Michael Cerveris was his usual superb self. I thought Ricky Martin would be, well, acceptable, so I was very pleasantly surprised at how good he actually was.  No surprise on the singing voice, which is terrific.  What surprised me was his decent acting chops and his willingness to just melt into the ensemble when required to.  He's got stage presence to spare and, as evidenced in a dance number, one fine-looking ass.  Go, Ricky!  And no apologies need be made for Elena Rogers ultimately affecting performance.  She wasn't as fiery and combustible as Patti LuPone's 1979 original, but her quieter Eva made her even more dangerous, more ambitious, more needy of the attention.  Everyone seems to forget that there are two additional principals in this show and in this revival both were more than worthy of mention.  Rachel Potter as the Mistress sang one the show's best songs and there was something quite poignant about her performance. Max von Essen as Magaldi was appropriately handsome and in wonderful voice as the popular singer who "discovers" Eva Duarte and brings her to Buenos Aires. Two negatives. Fine as this production was, there was no "wow" factor and Eva's dress for the Rainbow tour was a bit of a schmata. Quibbles, but we both enjoyed the show immensely.  - at the Marquis Theatre, New York

March, 2012.  It's a story about a girl. No, truly, at its heart that's what it is. A major reworking of the legendary Broadway flop, this smaller, more intimate version did many things right and we enjoyed it quite a lot. Tuneful score, good production values, and fine performances, especially by Molly Ranson and the always wonderful Marin Mazzie. I was very pleasantly surprised. It's not a Broadway-caliber show, perhaps, but we liked it better than the critics. I'm not sure what they were expecting.  For the record, the audience seemed to like the show as much as we did.  Lots of cheers at bows.  - at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York

May, 2012. Not sure why the critics dismissed this. The play itself is no great shakes, but as a sex farce, it does the job with lots of laughs. There was lots to like in this production: a stylish physical production and a smart cast featuring a wonderfully droll performance by Spencer Kayden as the cook, a suitably frazzled performance by Ben Daniels as the confused friend and a deliciously daft performance by the inimitable Jennifer Tilly (!!) as the sexy mistress. We laughed ourselves silly.  Such a shame the theatre was so under-populated (maybe 2/3 full).  Despite critical carping, the audience seemed to like the show as much as we did.  (Sidebar:  I've met Ben.  He and his partner are friends of great friends of mine and I was visiting Rob and Pete (my friends) and Ben and Ian had invited them to dinner and all involved took pity on me and invited me as well.  Ben had just been cast in the film Passion in the Desert (yes, this was a long time ago).  Had a great time.  Great company, great meal, great wine.) ..- at the American Airlines Theatre, New York 

Until next time....take some time to see live theatre!

Ta!