MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS The Honor Roll - Part 4

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS

The Honor Roll - Part 4

Some more musicals from the fifteen shows that make up my musical Honor Roll. Lots to talk about, so sit back, pour some coffee and let's begin.

SHE LOVES ME - Music by Jerry Bock, Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Book by Joe Masteroff

If the only thing She Loves Me had going for it was the glorious score by Sheldon Harnick  and Jerry Bock, that alone would be enough to place it among my top twenty-five musicals. Happily, though, this jewel box of a musical has many more beautiful gems on display. Joe Masteroff's book sparkles with wit and sophistication with a smattering of adult themes all told with taste and class. Unique, perhaps, among musicals, each principal has at least one solo musical moment to shine and the show goes from one musical treat to another. And what musical treats! "Dear Friend," "Will He Like Me?," "She Loves Me," "A Trip to the Library," "Vanilla Ice Cream." I think it's fair to say there isn't a bad, or even mediocre, song in the lot. Not often done, this bon-bon of a show had a too-short original run despite a press kit full of great notices. Producer/director Harold Prince, in an isn't-hindsight-great reflection on the show's financial failure, suggested that the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, which Prince praised as the "perfect" theatre for this show, at just over 1000 seats was too small to financially support the show. Try telling that to the producers of The Book of Mormon, which has been making fistfuls of money at the O'Neill since it opened.  It's also been suggested that She Loves Me was just too delicate, too quiet of a show when most musicals being offered at the time were louder, more obviously there to entertain you. Whatever the case, it played a respectable, though money-losing, nine months and quietly slipped away to the Music Theatre International (MTI) catalog. A revival by Roundabout Theatre in the early 1990s did fine in its Roundabout run, but, sadly, failed once again to find an audience to embrace its remarkable charms in a Broadway transfer. This much-neglected show deserves better. UPDATE: Roundabout has announced She Loves Me as part of its 2015-2016 season!!

October, 2010. As performed at Writers' Theatre's intimate Tudor Court  venue, Michael Halberstam's production of She Loves Me was a mostly lovely affair that played things a bit too gently and sang the songs a bit too delicately. Part of this, I believe, was due to the size of the cast. In the original production, the cast numbered twenty-two. In a 1993 revival by Roundabout Theatre, the cast numbered seventeen. In the Writers' production, the cast numbered only twelve. What this meant was that the ensemble numbers were under-populated and didn't register as well as they should have, most especially in "Twelve Days to Christmas," which just sounded anemic. The five ensemble members needed to be beefed up by three. With an orchestra of four, the score sometimes sounded a bit too thin and I wonder if just using a piano might not have worked better. The talented principals all played their roles with skill and professionalism, including a perfectly charming performance by Jessie Mueller as Amalia, but the acting also seemed muted at times, almost as though Halberstam didn't trust the show enough to let it sing out with unrestrained joy. Yes, She Loves Me is not your typical brassy Broadway musical, but it is a Broadway musical, after all, and far from being a delicate flower, it's full of brio and sass and doesn't need to be handled with kid gloves. Having said all this, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, I really did, but I wanted to be enchanted, and, frankly, I wasn't. – at Writers' Theatre, Glencoe IL

December, 2011. All the sass and brio that was missing from the Writers' Theatre production was in ample supply in this one-night only staged reading benefit for Roundabout Theatre. This was a star-packed, joyous evening that respected the gentle charm of the property, yet let it be funny, stylish, and joyous at the same time. Jane Krakowski as "bad girl" Ilona knows how to work both a stage and an audience and nailed her two solo numbers. Gavin Creel, handsome and debonair, was a suitably sleazy Kodaly. Michael McGrath was a wise and sardonic Sipos (the part I would love to play….attention, Bob!). Rory O'Malley's Arpad was adorable innocence. Peter Bartlett's pinched and overly-proper Headwaiter made a smallish part memorable. Victor Garber can practically do no wrong in my book. His talent has impressed me for decades and he made Mr. Maraczek a warm, yet formidable, character. Josh Radnor's wildly appealing and thoroughly well-sung Georg was a treat. And, best for last, Kelli O'Hara's luminous Amalia centered the entire evening. When she hit that magnificent high note near the very end of "Vanilla Ice Cream," the audience burst into rapturous applause. Yes, she was that good. Yes, she is always that good. It was pure pleasure from beginning to end, smartly staged by Scott Ellis and played to perfection by a seventeen-piece orchestra. I cannot wait for Roundabout's remount next season! – at the Sondheim Theatre, New York

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One of our favorite companies, this was their stellar 2011-2012 season. We saw all of them except for "The Road to Mecca."

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MAME - Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman, Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

From Pinterest...the Winter Garden marquee heralding the first post-Angela Lansbury Mame.

Auntie Mame, Patrick, Vera, Gooch and the cavalcade of fabulous characters that inhabit their lives are old friends of mine. The original novel by Patrick Dennis is a much-loved favorite in my library, a book I have read an almost obscene number of times. The play adaptation by Lawrence and Lee is among my top twenty-five favorite plays. I adore the film version of the play featuring Rosalind Russell's definitive portrayal of Mame Dennis. Lawrence and Lee skillfully adapted their play to a musical book and Jerry Herman added a delightful score to the mix and…voila!...a top twenty-five favorite musical. (The less said about the legendary-for-all-the-wrong-reasons film version of the musical starring a woefully miscast Lucille Ball, the better. Come to think of it, the woefully miscast Barbra Streisand made a hash out of the film version of Hello, Dolly! Mr. Herman just doesn't have good luck with screen versions of his shows apparently.) Mame is not a perfect show. The character of Ito seems more annoying than ever in the musical version. The title tune, while catchy and a toe-tapper, is, well, boring; a lot of cakewalking, running around in circles, twirling parasols and serenading the leading lady who does nothing but smile and nod and look thrilled. She sings not a single note in the song. Odd. "That's How Young I Feel" is an extraneous number for Mame and the younger members of the chorus that's supposed to be fun and festive, but comes off as annoying and makes me want to jump up on stage, smack Mame and tell her to grow up and act her age. "Open a New Window" could be cut by half. It's a great song, but goes on for too long. Yeah, we get it. "Open a new window," blah, blah, blah. Great philosophy, nice tune, but do we really have to open every window in New York City before the song ends? But then, ah…but then, Mr. Herman also offers us "My Best Girl," "Bosom Buddies," "We Need a Little Christmas," "Gooch's Song," and, most especially, the soaring, magnificent "If He Walked Into My Life." Jerry, love, you are forgiven those little musical oopsies. It's a show that makes me smile and feel on top of the world, a joyous romp celebrating life. We all should have an Auntie Mame!

June, 1968. To celebrate graduating from high school, some friends and I went to see the final performance of the 1st National Touring Company of Mame. While the tour did well up to this point, apparently the six-month Chicago run did not live up to financial expectations and the producers decided to close the tour. And that was a pity because Celeste Holm was a marvelous Mame. Not as outwardly madcap or lovably eccentric as either Angela Lansbury or Rosalind Russell, Holm infused the part with a wry wit and genuine warmth that gave this Mame a softer patina. Make no mistake, Holm was no schlub in the glamour department and sang the score with power and confidence. A duplicate of the then-running Broadway original, this production featured an outstanding cast including Wesley Addy (Babcock…and Holm's husband), Ruth Gillette (Mother Burnside), Arsenio Trinidad (Ito), Robert Kaye (Beauregard), Shawn McGill (young Patrick) and especially delicious performances by Vicki Cummings as an hysterical and acerbic Vera and a pre –"M*A*S*H" Loretta Swit (!!) as Gooch. Lovely production. – at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago

 The Muny program was so loaded with adverts and sponsors that the credits were awkwardly spread out over three pages. A bit cheesy and disrespectful of the talented folks involved in my book.

July, 1976. Ten years after she set Broadway on fire with her Tony-winning performance as everyone's favorite aunt, Angela Lansbury traveled to the historic and massive Municipal Opera in St. Louis, affectionately called The Muny, to show the folks who packed the 11,000 seat outdoor venue exactly what all the fuss was about. So was all the hoopla and the Tony Award win justified? Absolutely. Elegant, funny, loving and just plain fun, you wanted to be Patrick almost from the moment she made her entrance. She commanded the giant Muny stage and that's no small feat. Accompanying her were old pals from the original production, Anne Francine as Vera (Bea Arthur's replacement) and the original Gooch, Jane Connell, and the affection and ease that these ladies had for each other was obvious. Robert Kaye and Arsenio Trinidad were back as Beauregard and Ito, respectively, and Charlotte Jones was a formidable Mother Burnside. Staying close to the look and feel of the Broadway original, the show pretty much copied Gene Saks' original direction and Onna White's original choreography was recreated. How great it was to see this incredible actress in one of her iconic roles. And what a perfect way to spend a warm July evening in beautiful Forest Park. – at the Municipal Opera (Muny), St. Louis

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"In sight, it must be right." 

One of the full-page Muny adverts, this is interesting because none of these places still exist. The Holiday Inn Riverfront Resort (Resort??) is now either the Crowne Plaza or the Mansion Center Apartments, can't tell for sure, but all the establishments that formed "St. Louis' Number One Entertainment Center" are gone.

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June, 2006. You would be justified in thinking that a lavishly mounted, spare-no-expense production of a beloved musical starring a two-time Tony Award-winning and Emmy-winning star and featuring both a Tony-nominated actress and a Tony-winning actress as its primary supporting players and played to musical perfection by a great, big, full orchestra would be greeted with valentines by the critics. Yes, you would be justified in thinking that, but you would be wrong. Curiously, the lush Kennedy Center production of Mame starring a vivacious and radiant Christine Baranski as Mame and featuring Harriet Harris as a peerless Vera and Emily Skinner as a hapless Gooch received less than enthusiastic notices. Primarily focusing on what the critics felt was a lack of connection between Mame and Patrick and a fuzziness in some of the supporting players, the reviews just did not reflect the quality of the performance that we had the pleasure of seeing. Exquisitely designed by Walt Spangler (sets), Gregg Barnes (costumes) and the redoubtable Ken Billington (lights), choreographed with energy by Warren Carlyle and directed with great taste and great fun by Eric Schaeffer, this was overall my favorite production of Mame. Christine Baranski's Mame was vibrant, classy, and touching and her chemistry with both her Patricks was palpable. In terrific vocal form, her rendition of the iconic "If He Walked Into My Life" blew me away in what I now consider the definitive version. Harriet Harris has few peers when it comes to comic timing and her Vera was priceless. Happily, Baranski's comic timing is equally spot-on and the scenes between Mame and Vera were sensational. Emily Skinner's Gooch was winsome, Jeff McCarthy's Beauregard made the most out of a usually thankless role and Max von Essen and Harrison Chad were both charming as Old and Young Patrick, respectively. Both of us thought the production was fantastic. Sorry, critics. You were dead wrong on this one. Sadly, this production did not move to Broadway as was widely rumored and, except for a short-lived 1983 production starring Angela Lansbury, Mame has not been coaxing the blues right out of Broadway's horn. – at the Eisenhower Theatre, Washington D.C.

Sidebar: After the performance, we had the pleasure of meeting Christine Baranski and chatting with her in the outdoor plaza at the Kennedy Center. Gracious, charming and very funny, when I commented how off-base I felt the reviews were, she revealed that many in the production, including her, felt that the show had been reviewed too soon, after only three previews, following a rigorous rehearsal schedule, but the powers-that-be refused to push back the press opening. By comparison, a pre-Broadway tryout of First Wives Club during its Chicago run played a month of previews before being reviewed by the critics. Later reviews of Mame were more in tune with what we felt.

 Bob in front of the Kennedy Center.

 The two of us pre-show.

Bob and Christine enjoying a beautiful day and a chat in the Kennedy Center courtyard. Christine Baranski=class.

That's it for now! Take time out to enjoy a show.

© 2015 Jeffrey Geddes