ALPHABET SOUP (13): FEATURING A RANDOM LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND SOME SHOWS THAT BEGIN WITH THAT LETTER

  ALPHABET SOUP (13):

FEATURING A RANDOM LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND SOME SHOWS THAT BEGIN WITH THAT LETTER

B

Today, the blue London mug gave me the letter "B" … a classic Inge, a hit revue featuring music of the Harlem Renaissance era (1920-1940) written by African-American song masters, a one-woman show starring the dazzling Caroline O'Connor, a Lerner and Loewe masterpiece, a Sondheim show that has never really landed, a quintessential Ayckbourn farce, and Peter Allen's life, Broadway style, that featured one of the most breathtaking performances I've seen.

BUS STOP – Ivanhoe Theatre, Chicago

August, 1970. Even though only fifteen years had passed since Bus Stop opened on Broadway, Chicago reviewers praised the actors, but found the play itself to be coy, a little too twee. A lot happened in those fifteen years: three gut-wrenching assassinations, the escalation of an unpopular and doomed war resulting in riots and protests, Stonewall, Hair on Broadway featuring a glimpse of full-frontal nudity, Oh, Calcutta! on Broadway, a musical revue featuring sketches by some leading talent of the time, that featured lots of nudity, the Sharon Tate/Manson murders, the rise of the counterculture and the younger generation questioning the status quo and the politics of power, the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968, the moon landing. Given all that, it's not surprising that a gentle, unprepossessing show about a group of people stranded in a Kansas diner in a blizzard would seem a bit dated and quaint. But this production, expertly directed by the remarkable George Keathley, had a cast, including Chicago vets George Womack, Marrian Walters, and Bob Thompson, that enchanted the audience. No matter how good the supporting players, if the leading roles of would-be chanteuse Cherie and her cowboy would-be mate Bo Decker aren't played well, the play sinks. This production was blessed with the handsome and versatile Ben Piazza as Bo and the quirky, always fascinating Sandy Dennis as Cherie. Piazza would soon play the macho Nick in Ivanhoe's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Dennis made a career out of playing wounded, flawed characters in both comedies and dramas, as witnessed in Ivanhoe's A Streetcar Named Desire in which she played Blanche (!!) and the national tour of And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little at the Civic. Both Piazza and Dennis played their characters with affection and conviction and, as a result, the play had an unshakeable charm that almost hid the just-under-the-surface creakiness. A fine production all around. I thoroughly enjoyed it. – at the Ivanhoe Theatre, Chicago

Sidebar: In Bus Stop's Broadway production, Elaine Stritch originated the part of Grace, the diner proprietress, and Kim Stanley originated the role of Cherie.

William Inge Sidebar: Repressed sexuality plays an important part in William Inge's four plays that are considered American classics: Come Back, Little Sheba, Picnic, Bus Stop, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. A closeted homosexual from very conservative Kansas, Inge only overtly referenced gay characters in a couple of works, but it's been suggested that Inge's conflicted sexuality infused the sexual conflicts in his plays. A 2015 Chicago production of Picnic with gender-bending casting was more admired than liked and, for some reviewers, brought Inge's sexual insecurities to the forefront. Inge committed suicide in 1973, ending a lifelong struggle with alcoholism and his sense of failure. While perhaps a bit racy in the 1950s with their sexual energy, Inge's plays are tame by today's standards.

BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR – Blackstone Theatre, Chicago

November, 1975. My research on the show tells me that there was a plot, of sorts, a sort of stroll down Harlem's memory lane with show biz old-timers sharing stories and songs with some youngsters as they walk through mid-1970s Harlem. If you say so. I vaguely remember "back in my day" moments, so I guess there was a storyline. What I do remember, however, is how this show sizzled with drop-dead outstanding performers, dazzling choreography and musical staging by Billy Wilson, a simply sensational onstage orchestra, and terrific songs, both especially written for the show and songs from the heyday of Harlem (1920-1940). Old pros Avon Long, Joseph Attles, and Thelma Carpenter were in fine form, but for me, the highlight of the show was Vivian Reed, a sultry seductress with a voice that simply caressed you. Any doubts, there's a clip of her from the 1976 Tony Awards on YouTube. There wasn't a weak link in the show and when the show arrived on Broadway a few months later, it would enjoy a profitable run of 766 performances. This musical revue did more than simply "bubble." It boiled over with talent and entertainment. – at the Blackstone Theatre, Chicago

Sidebar: Avon Long originated the role of Sportin' Life in several revivals of Porgy and Bess in the 1940s. Joseph Attles' career began in 1928, that's right, 1928, as a performer in Blackbirds of 1928. Vivian Reed, a Julliard graduate, would appear on Broadway only sporadically, but had a successful career as a singer and nightclub performer. (I think I may still have her 1976 album Brown Sugar.) Thelma Carpenter was a familiar name to me from her stint as Pearl Bailey's standby in Hello, Dolly!, going on as Dolly at least 100 times, and later becoming the publicized and fully-billed matinee star. She had a roller-coaster career and was replaced before the Broadway opening with Josephine Premice. Carpenter played Miss One in the god-awful film version of The Wiz.

Filling in for Pearlie Mae: As mentioned above, Thelma Carpenter filled in for Pearl Bailey at least 100 hundred times before being named the matinee Dolly. At eight performances per week, that means Carpenter replaced Pearlie Mae for, at minimum, 12 ½ weeks, or roughly 3 ½ months. That's a lot of filling in!

BOMBSHELLS – Quadracci Playhouse (Milwaukee Rep), Milwaukee

December, 2010. Dizzying, dazzling, dynamic portrayals of six completely different women all performed by the indomitable Caroline O'Connor made for a singular theatrical treat. In its U.S. premiere, and written for O'Connor, this was a one-woman show on steroids. Director Mark Clements wisely knew that all he had to do was give his star the framework and she would flawlessly fill in the details. Effective scenic, costume, and lighting designs put the icing on this multi-faceted cake. In rapid two hours, O'Connor played an Australian suburban housewife, an English abandoned wife, an Irish teenager, an Australian bride-to-be, an English widow, and a faded American diva. Each was individual, totally unique. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put it this way: "O'Connor consistently remakes the deliberately bare stage in the image of each woman's careening fears and desires." In my book, O'Connor can pretty much do no wrong. This was simply astounding. – at the Quadracci Playhouse (Milwaukee Rep), Milwaukee

BRIGADOON – Majestic Theatre, New York

 

October, 1980. Brigadoon holds a special place in my heart. When I was eleven or twelve, my grandmother took me to see a performance of Brigadoon produced by Waukegan Community Players in association with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra. It was my very first stage production, and I was enraptured with the orchestra, the music, the actors, and the story of a village which appears once every hundred years. It has remained a favorite ever since. This production was the first major New York revival of the Lerner and Loewe classic, not counting limited run City Center productions. Featuring the original iconic Agnes deMille choreography, still divine, the show starred a radiant Meg Bussert as Fiona and a virile Martin Vidnovic as Tommy, a role completely opposite of his gripping performance as the brooding Jud in the previous season's Oklahoma! Together and individually, they were magic. UK Olympic figure skating gold medal winner John Curry and dancer Marina Eglevsky played the doomed Harry and Maggie, and were the principals in Brigadoon's two deMille masterpieces, "Sword Dance" and "Funeral Dance," respectively. Broadway vets Frank Hamilton, Jack Dabdoub, and Casper Roos played the older folks, Stephen Lehew, seen as Henrik in the tour of A Little Night Music, played the lovestruck Charlie, Mollie Smith played the thankless role of Jean, and Elaine Hausman did what she could with the annoying role of Meg. Brigadoon is a quintessential 40s musical, and as such, sometimes creaks a little. Personally, I'd eliminate most of Meg's part and especially her two songs, which are nothing but endless list songs that contribute absolutely nothing to the plot, and what may have been seen as slightly naughty and risqué in 1947, in 1980 was cloying. But, director Vivian Matalon knew if he treated the show honestly and with respect, the glories of it would shine through and make the occasional clunkiness irrelevant. I, and the audience of jaded New Yorkers who filled the Majestic Theatre, were enchanted. It was a thrill to see Brigadoon so magnificently produced, sung, and danced. I may have even gotten a little weepy at the end. – at the Majestic Theatre, New York

Fun Fact: Martin Vidnovic is Laura Benanti's father!

Sad Fact: Brigadoon would be John Curry's only Broadway musical and his second and last appearance on Broadway. (His first was a special limited engagement booking called Icedancing.) Curry would die in 1994 at the age of 44, a victim of AIDS, like far too many of my generation.

Sidebar: While I loved this production, I pretty much hated a 2014 "reimagined" production at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. Director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell just destroyed this lovely, gentle show. Not one of Goodman's finer moments. (See SUMMER SNAPSHOTS: NYC, WASHINGTON, MINNEAPOLIS, STORRS (WHERE?) AND CHICAGO - Summer, 2014 - Part 2 post.)

BOUNCE – Goodman Theatre, Chicago

August, 2003. Poor Bounce. It's been bounced around more than any well-intentioned musical should, pun definitely intended, with multiple name changes, revisions, songs added, songs dropped. And even with all that, the show, now called Road Show, has never received the type of critical love and/or respect usually given to a show by Stephen Sondheim. When Bounce began its world premiere run at the Goodman, the press gave it a rousing thumbs-down, with grudging respect for the score. But, instead of being the disaster I expected, the evening turned out to be entertaining, often somewhat of a hot mess, but entertaining. The story of the Mizner brothers, one a con artist and one the architect who put Boca Raton, Florida, on the rich and famous map, was told in big, broad strokes, so we never really got to know the brothers. The dramatic arc of the story was literally all over the place, and sometimes it was hard to follow what was going on. The cast tried mightily to put their flawed material over. Film legend Jane Powell played Mama Mizner with a film legend authority, though, and this is really unfair to Ms. Powell, it kind of seemed like box-office casting, rather than character-driven casting. No matter, she did well in an underwritten part, and when she wasn't onstage for Act Two, you didn't miss her. Tony-winner Michele Pawk brought strength to her role as Wilson Mizner's wife. Gavin Creel was earnest as Addison Mizner's lover. Howard McGillin played con man Wilson Mizner in fine voice, and Richard Kind played the closeted Addison with a nebbishy loveableness. Kind fared best of all the characters. It was directed by Harold Prince with a surprising lack of focus. Is this a vaudeville? Is it a musical drama? No one seemed to know. John Weidman's book was scattered, and Sondheim's score had a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some good, some not so good, but, let's face it, imperfect Sondheim is usually better than someone else's perfect. To date, it has never made it to Broadway. I suspect it never will. Flawed, but noble, I'm definitely glad I saw it. – at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago

What's In a Name?: When Bounce workshopped in 1999, it was called Wise Guys. Then, briefly, it became Gold! Then Bounce for the Chicago premiere and a subsequent engagement at the Kennedy Center. Revised and without an intermission, and with a downgraded Michele Pawk character, Bounce became Road Show and that's how it's licensed today. Making the show darker seemed to please the critics more, though that's relative, and this version has enjoyed runs at the Public in New York, the Donmar Warehouse in London, the Chicago Shakespeare, and regional theatres nationwide.

Fun Fact: Irving Berlin, you know, Annie Get Your Gun Irving Berlin, tried his hand at musicalizing the Mizner brothers with a show called, wait for it, Wise Guy. Wise Guy also had lots of other names: The Last Resorts, Palm Beach, The Mizner Story, and Sentimental Guy. The project never came to fruition. Berlin was a friend of Addison Mizner and even invested in Mizner's Boca Raton project, which ultimately tanked. Fascinating to think how different a Berlin Mizner musical would sound as opposed to the Sondheim one.

BEDROOM FARCE – Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York

Judy Ivey? Judy? Look how young Lithgow, Ivey, Schramm and Cuervo look! Lithgow was a muffin in his younger days.

August, 1979. Playwright Alan Ayckbourn is one of Britain's most prolific and successful playwrights. He achieved his greatest fame writing about marriage and the British middle classes with such works as Absurd Person Singular, The Norman Conquests, How the Other Half Loves, and Bedroom Farce. The reason I saw this was to see Mildred Natwick, so indelibly unforgettable as the mother in Barefoot in the Park and who was luminous on the cast recording of 70, Girls, 70, a truly underrated Kander and Ebb musical. The play focuses on themes of marriage and relationships, young and old, and the effect adultery and lying have on relationships. The action, under the direction of playwright Ayckbourn and Peter Hall, was fast and furious as it bounced from bedroom to bedroom to bedroom. Although often quite funny, it wasn't the madcap farce I was expecting, and I was a bit disappointed. I wasn't disappointed, however, by Mildred Natwick. She was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped, with precision comic timing and a warmth that enveloped the theatre. Every bit her equal was Robert Coote, the original Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady and the original King Pellinore in Camelot. Rounding out the cast were such talents as John Lithgow, Alma Cuervo, John Horton, Lynn Milgrim, David Schramm (in the 90s, a regular on Wings), and, in her Broadway debut, Judith Ivey. If, at the end of the evening, it all felt a bit flat, seeing Mildred Natwick more than made up for any reservations I may have had. – at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York

Sidebar: When the play debuted on Broadway in March, 1979, it featured its original London cast. When this cast took over, the New York Times remarked that the American cast worked better as an ensemble and focused more on the funnier sitcom elements of the play. Bedroom Farce would close a financial failure after only 276 performances. Alan Ayckbourn is also the author of the nifty thriller Haunting Julia, which we saw in Edinburgh a few years back (see HAVE PASSPORT, WILL GO TO THEATRE - Part 2 post.)

THE BOY FROM OZ – Imperial Theatre

 

December, 2003. New Year's Eve, 2003. Police barricades blocked off 45th Street between 7th and 8th, and bags and theatre tickets were checked by the NYPD to make sure you had a reason to be on 45th Street. Uber security? Perhaps, but I felt safer on a New York street than I ever had before or since, for that matter. What this all meant, though, was that getting to the Imperial was slow-going, and as a result, when the 7:00 PM curtain time rolled around, there were many empty seats for the sold-out performance. Promptly at 7:00, the house lights went to half, and then Hugh Jackman came out and announced that the curtain would be held for twenty minutes to allow folks to get through the enhanced security so everyone could see the show from the start. What a guy! And with that, we all applauded like mad, and, well, could we possibly love him more? As it turned out, we could. In fact, we loved Hugh Jackman so much we all were perfectly willing to ignore the fact that his show was, well, rubbish. Entertaining rubbish, very entertaining rubbish, but rubbish nonetheless. Certainly no one could fault the terrific Peter Allen songs, but Martin Sherman's book, based on the original book by the late Nick Enright, was a series of bits rather than an actual story where we got to know The Boy from Oz, Peter Allen. There were early Peter bits, Mom Marion bits, Liza bits (Allen was Liza's first husband), Judy bits (Allen was Judy's son-in-law), long-time lover bits, lover dying bits, ghost bits, concert bits, but nothing with anything resembling depth or nuance. Production-wise, it was often glitzy and flashy. Philip Wm. McKinley's direction and Joey McKneely's choregraphy got the job done with neither embarrassment nor distinction. Leslie Alexander filled in for Beth Fowler as mom Marion as was appropriately warm and matronly and sang the oddly-placed "Don't Cry Out Loud" with verve. P.J. Verhoest was playing Young Peter that night and was appropriately endearing. Tony-winner (Damn Yankees) Jarrod Emick was appropriately moving as long-time lover Greg Connell, and the "Love Don't Need a Reason" duet with Jackson was especially touching. Isabel Keating as Judy Garland was just eerily, almost creepily, like the late icon and for the brief time she was onstage, gave the show a stunning verisimilitude. And there was something pretty damn wonderful when Keating and Jackman sang "Quiet Please. There's a Lady on Stage."  I, frankly, hated Stephanie J. Block's Liza Minnelli. Her Liza just seemed off, especially went placed side-by-side with Keating's spot-on interp. She wasn't bad, mind you; I just wasn’t a fan. But when all is said and done, The Boy from Oz was all about Hugh Jackman. Jackman sang; Jackman danced; Jackman flirted outrageously with the audience. Well before the final curtain fell, I don't think there was a man or woman in the audience who didn't want to be Jackman's friend, lover, or somewhere in-between. It all seemed effortless on his part, and best of all, Jackman appeared to be having a blast. High energy that never flagged, he gave his audience one hundred percent and then some. What was onstage at the Imperial was perhaps more Hugh Jackman and less Peter Allen, but Hugh Jackman's performance was, and remains, one of the most flat-out amazing performances that I've seen. Single-handedly, he took a mediocre property and elevated it to show biz magic. And I loved practically every minute! – at the Imperial Theatre, New York

Sidebar: I saw Peter Allen live once at a star-studded AIDS benefit at the Chicago Theatre in the mid 1980s. I believe he opened the second half with a two or three song set. Flamboyant, charismatic, and always eager to please, qualities he shared with the man who would portray him in 2003, he was one-of-a-kind. His death from AIDS in 1992 was a major loss.

Another Sidebar: A major hit in its native Australia, The Boy from Oz was the first Australian musical to be presented on Broadway. Hugh Jackman didn't miss a scheduled performance during its 396-performance run, including previews, and despite mediocre reviews for the show, his presence would propel the show to profitability. He would also win the 2004 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his sensational Broadway debut.

Yet Another Sidebar: Trying to insert a song catalog into a book show is tricky business. Sometimes it works; sometimes it's less successful. Jersey Boys probably did it best, followed closely by Mamma Mia!'s surprisingly successful shoehorning of ABBA's hit tunes into the silly plot. Another Aussie import, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, struggled with its score and that hurt the show overall. The Boy from Oz wasn't as good as the ABBA and not as unsuccessful as Priscilla, which could have hugely benefited from some original songs.

Final Sidebar: Just how much The Boy from Oz benefitted from Hugh Jackman's participation was evident when a local Chicago production was mounted a few years back. The show's many flaws were on full display and no matter how mightily the cast tried, they just couldn't surmount them. A cheesy physical production and a lame ensemble didn't help matters.  Valiant effort, but without all the bells and whistles and a charismatic star, it often just sort of sat there.   

And with that…until later! TTFN!

© 2018 Jeffrey Geddes

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 14B: THE TOP TEN – #5

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 14B

THE TOP TEN – #5

NOTE: Due to the length of this entry, I'm dividing it into two parts. This is part two of two.

Continuing our Chicago discussion…..

Overshadowed by A Chorus Line throughout its first incarnation, Chicago nevertheless was a bona fide financial success with a more-than-respectable 936 performances under its belt. When it closed in August, 1977, most folks thought that would be it. They thought wrong.

Jump nearly twenty years to May,1996. Encores series, New York City Center. A staged concert version of Chicago rocks the critics. When the production is transferred to Broadway a few months later in November, the critical reaction is, once again, rapturous. And when the 1997 Tony Awards roll around, there's lots of Tony love as Chicago wins six Tonys, a record at the time for a revival. One of the wins was for Ann Reinking for Best Choreography, an odd choice since what was onstage was essentially a recreation of the Fosse original choreography. The revival made its costs back in a few short months. As of January 14, 2018, the revival of Chicago has played 8795 performances, with no evidence of slowing down. That's just over twenty-one years. That's 2658 performances, or more than six years, longer than the original production of its 1975 rival, A Chorus Line. I guess he who laughs last does laugh best. But, here's the deal. And I'll only say this once. There is virtually no difference between the revival and the original. Got that?  The revival has fewer set pieces and costumes, and the costumes exude a bit more sex, but there isn't any real change in the show itself. A nip here, a tuck there, however it's not as though Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking reinvented the wheel. The show has always been a biting satire about justice, celebrity and the American way starting with the original 1927 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. In 1996, however, when the revival opened in New York, the OJ Simpson trial was fresh in everyone's minds and made the show even more relevant and timely than when it first opened.

So what changed? When the revival played New York City Center, the New York Times theatre first-stringer Ben Brantley's review rather neatly summed up the differences between the "Jets/Sharks" of the two great dance musicals, Chicago and A Chorus Line. Exactly what I think, and Mr. Brantley says it better than I ever could, so, take it away, Ben! "Chicago was, in a sense, the evil twin of its rival musical, as acerbic and cold-hearted as the other was sentimental and warm. … A Chorus Line was built on the premise that if you scratch the surface of an entertainer, you'll find a trembling, vulnerable child; Chicago scratched that same surface to uncover a manipulative egomaniac. The anthem of the one show was 'What I Did for Love'; of the other, 'Razzle Dazzle.' The bleating confessions of A Chorus Line were devastatingly echoed in a throwaway line in Chicago: '…none of us got enough love in our childhoods. And, that's show biz, kid.'"

But other factors were in play as well. In 1996, Chicago wasn't overshadowed by a landmark musical (A Chorus Line), a show everyone wanted to see. In 1996, Chicago was the show everyone wanted to see. Finally, no longer the bridesmaid and very definitely the bride. Also, the original production of Chicago had Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera as its leads, two of the finest dancers ever, and their star power, individually and collectively, and, to a lesser degree, that of Jerry Orbach, were a potent box office engine, with both ladies becoming identified with those roles. As part one entries show, it was frankly hard to replace them. The 1996 cast of Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, and James Naughton certainly wasn't lacking in talent, but none of those three names listed above a title cause a run at the box office. And, by 1996, in large part thanks to Chicago's nemesis, A Chorus Line, and the invasion of the big British musical, it wasn't a necessity to have big box office names to sell tickets, a philosophy that applies today (see Hamilton, for example). The show itself was the box office draw. It also doesn't hurt that revival lead producers Barry and Fran Weissler are geniuses at casting stars from TV, film, music, and reality TV for very limited runs which give the show financial boosts and press visibility and keep Chicago running. But, arguably, the most important factor, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, is that the times finally caught up with Chicago. The big news of the 70s were Watergate, Nixon's resignation, and the end of the Vietnam War, and, let's be honest, none of that was terribly sexy. By the mid-late 90s, we had the OJ Simpson trial, a razzle dazzle if there ever was one, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, finally proving that politics could be sexy, and the Menendez brothers' verdict, another media circus. Chicago was in its element. And with all that is going on in our troubled Trump times today, could it be that the brilliant, cynical, razzle-dazzly Chicago is the perfect musical for our time?

– Shubert Theatre, Chicago

Belle Calaway was filling in for Charlotte d'Amboise. Pretty classy way to announce it.

July, 1997/August, 1997. Returning in Broadway and Tony Awards triumph to its namesake city, the First National Tour of the revival version of Chicago was welcomed home with open arms. And deservedly so, for this production was crackerjack good. From the moment the band started the overture to the final curtain, this was a tight, danced-to-perfection show loaded with top drawer talent. Jasmine Guy played Velma Kelly. A Different World's Jasmine Guy? Really? She can sing and dance? Really? Yes, really. Petite and streetwise, she was a powerful Velma, singing and dancing with an assurance and strength that delightedly surprised the Shubert audience. Dreamgirls' Obba Babatundé was an elegant and slick Billy Flynn. Carol Woods launched her considerable pipes as Matron "Mama" Morton, Ron Orbach played a convincing Amos, and newcomer M.E.Spencer was a delightful Mary Sunshine. Top-billed Charlotte d'Amboise was out at the preview performance we caught in July. Earlier in the tour, she had injured herself and had been out for several weeks as torn tendons healed. In her place was her understudy, Belle Calaway who gave a terrific performance as Roxie. When we returned to the show a few weeks later, the divine d'Amboise was on hand. And truly terrific as Calaway had been, Charlotte d'Amboise brought her über-talent and owned the stage as Roxie. She was sensational.  In fact, so was the entire production. – at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago

Casting Sidebars: In this production Deidre Goodwin played Annie. We would see her six years later in New York as Velma. As the tour progressed, cast changes occurred, of course. One of the more interesting ones was for Matron "Mama" Morton when Lea DeLaria took over the role. (!!) Chicago's Amos, Ron Orbach, was originally cast as Franz Liebkind in The Producers, but blew out his knee during tech rehearsals before its out-of-town opening in, ironically, Chicago.

– Capitol Theatre, Sydney, Australia

(edited from an earlier post)

August, 1999. Since Bob and I both love Chicago, we were delighted to discover it was playing in Sydney during our visit there. A mirror of the 1996 Broadway revival, this production was chock-a-block with Australian musical theatre favorites including Maria Mercedes, a former Norma Desmond, as Matron "Mama" Morton, John Diedrich, whom I saw in London nineteen years earlier as Curly in Oklahoma!, as a suave and handsome Billy Flynn, the totally divine Caroline O'Connor as a scintillating Velma, and Cynthia Gibb, making her professional debut as Roxie. Some debut role! This show started our love affair with the drop-dead talented O'Connor whose Velma was simply divine. Flawlessly danced, sung and acted, this remains by far the sexiest version of the show I've seen with smoking hot men and women in the ensemble who knew how to show off William Ivey Long's costumes to the best sensual advantage. One curious note: an understudy for the understudy stepped in for Mary Sunshine at the performance seen. Having both the listed performer and the understudy out is unusual in and of itself. What was even more unusual in this case was that the role was played that evening by a female. This meant the big reveal in Act Two was cut from the performance for obvious reasons, and the workaround was fine, but strangely and inexplicably, Mary Sunshine's song was cut as well. (Not enough time to get the understudy's understudy up to speed on the song?) The song establishes Mary Sunshine's character, but it's not crucial to the show and truthfully wasn't missed. In the show, a newspaper headline proclaims "Roxie Rocks Chicago!" Well, all I can say is "Sydney Rocked Chicago!” – at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney

Sidebar: Sydney's Capitol Theatre is a gorgeous theatre seating just under 2100. Opening in 1916, it is one of Sydney's premiere venues for musical theatre. 

– Ambassador Theatre, New York

 The Book of Mormon plays across the street at the Eugene O'Neill. Still consistently selling out.

 

 

July, 2003. Press night for Melanie Griffith. Bob and I stood on the cancellation line for over one hour. Patience has its rewards, however, and we snagged eighth row center tickets, being seated literally a minute or so before the overture. Antonio (Banderas) was in the row ahead of us on the aisle; Chita (Rivera) and Jane (Krakowski) were two rows in front of us. We all hobnobbed during the interval. Uh, well, no, but I did congratulate Krakowski on her recent Tony win and got a glittering smile and "thank you." So, you may ask, how did our favorite "Working Girl" fare in the challenging role of Roxie Hart? Well, her singing was shaky and her dancing, in the dumbed-down choreography, was shakier still, but, damn, she actually pulled it off. She was warm, funny, vulnerable, and ultimately endearing. A stage neophyte, she used both her comedic instincts and star wattage to connect with the audience, skills that veterans don't always have. We were impressed. Deidre Goodwin was a dazzling Velma and could easily have overpowered her co-star when they danced together, but didn't. They were having fun together and it showed. Let me hasten to add that Goodwin's and the ensemble's choreography was not dumbed-down. Brent Barrett was a suave and sexy Billy, Camille Saviola gave us a solid Mama Morton, and P.J. Benjamin and D. Sabella provided professional support as Amos and Mary Sunshine. Griffith won over the critics and gave the show a major box-office boost. We had a grand time. – at the Ambassador Theatre, New York

Sidebar: Talented Belle Calaway, see Shubert Theatre entry, was the standby for Roxie and Mama Morton.

October, 2005. We took niece Colleen and nephew Greg to see Chicago, now starring Brooke Shields as Roxie. Yes, she's tall and yes, she's Brooke Shields, but she was also quite good in the role. She had an unexpected killer sense of comic timing, a decent voice, danced the role competently, and had a great rapport with the audience, especially during "Roxie."  For Bob and me, however, the draw was Debra Monk as Mama Morton. We're big fans. We will see her in pretty much anything. And she didn't disappoint. She killed as Mama Morton. Clarke Peters (Billy), P.J. Benjamin (Amos), and R. Lowe (Mary Sunshine) completed this excellent cast. Luba Mason, the listed Velma, was out that day and "second" understudy Solange Sandy was announced at curtain. At bows, Shields told the audience that we saw Sandy's first ever performance as Velma. Couldn't prove it by us; she was wonderful.  - at the Ambassador Theatre, New York

******************** 

It's hard to believe it's been over twelve years since we've visited the Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail and their compatriots. After twenty-one years on Broadway, it still continues to do well at the box office and shows no signs of slowing down. It's not uncommon for past cast members to return to the show. In fact, Charlotte d'Amoise, twenty years after we applauded her Roxie at Chicago's Shubert Theatre, is the current Roxie at the Ambassador (as of 1/15/2018). More than any other show, Chicago is Bob Fosse's enduring legacy. Folks will be dancing those steps, and singing those marvelous Kander and Ebb songs for a long time to come.

And so concludes, for now at least, our visits to the Cook County Jail. He had it coming….

© 2018Jeffrey Geddes