"P" SOUP – THE RETURN! (WITH MUSICAL
UNDERTONES)
("P" Soup is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Alphabet Soup)
Don't make any overtures, Pacific or otherwise, to a pirate
from Penzance unless you make all sorts of promises, promises.
November, 2004. Preview performance. At first glance, the
arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in insular Japan in 1853 to open up trade
with the West, forcibly if necessary, and the subsequent Westernization of
Japan, hardly seems the stuff that musicals are made of. But, in the hands of
John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim, two masters of the craft, it becomes a
fascinating, if flawed, piece of musical theatre. The star of the show is
Sondheim's remarkable score, one of his best in my opinion, and undeservedly
one of his least known. It's a stunner, full of scintillating lyrics and ideas
accompanied by a lush Japanese-inspired score. The 1976 original cast recording
is superb. Roundabout's 2004 revival, the first Broadway production since 1976,
was a mixed bag. Based on a 2000 Lincoln Center production imported from
Japan's New National Theatre, the Roundabout production seemed a bit bare bones
scenically, and musically the seven-piece orchestra, though excellent,
sometimes was just too thin to do justice to Sondheim's melodies. Especially
disappointing was "Please Hello!," the stunning piece of pastiche
which opens Act 2. Musically muddy and messy in its staging, this is the big
Broadway number in the show, brassy and fun, and, sadly, it never gelled. Amon
Miyamoto, repeating his 2000 Lincoln Center chores, directed and choreographed
the show with unremarkable professionalism. B.D. Wong was the above-title star, and
he was proficient as the Reciter, but just wasn't terribly exciting. Among the
cast members were Telly Leung, Paolo Montalban, and most interestingly, Sab
Shimono, a veteran of the 1976 original cast, and perhaps best known as the
original Ito in Mame. If the
production itself was uneven, this was still a rare opportunity to see this
underrated, important work in a professional production. In today's world of
Trump with his relentless and unprecedented lack of diplomacy, sensitivity, and
understanding of the world, Pacific
Overtures reminds us how bombastic, egotistical, and jingoistic the United
States can be, even at the expense of irrevocably altering a country's cultural
heritage. Although I wasn't as enchanted as I had hoped to be, I still left
Studio 54 a happy camper. – at Studio 54, New York
January, 1982. Definitely not your grandfather's The Pirates of Penzance, Joseph Papp's
smash 1981 Broadway version gave the Gilbert and Sullivan chestnut a thorough
renovation, while respecting and honoring the terrific G&S musical bon-bons
and the overall fun of the show. In New York, a stellar cast was assembled,
including Kevin Kline, Estelle Parsons, George Rose, Rex Smith, and, in her
Broadway debut, pop icon Linda Ronstadt. While not as stellar, perhaps, as its
New York counterpart, Papp didn't stint touring audiences with an inferior cast.
The cast of performers onstage at the Shubert were, indeed, a talented and
lively lot. James Belushi, brother of John, was a lively, energetic, and very
funny Pirate King. Peter Noone, yes, Herman's Hermits Peter Noone, was blonde,
English, and charming as the young romantic male lead. Caroline Peyton, here
billed "and introducing Caroline Peyton," sang beautifully and did
everything right. Paul Ainsley, Marsha Bagwell, and Leo Leyden, all Broadway
vets, gave the operetta some comic punch. Lovely to look at, exciting to hear,
and staged and choreographed with verve, this was a thoroughly delightful night
at the theatre. – at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago
Based on Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's screenplay for
the hit 1960 film, The Apartment, Promises, Promises is the, frankly,
smarmy tale of an ambitious junior executive who curries favor and promotions
with higher-ups by letting his apartment be used for senior executives' sexual
trysts. Sexist and more than a bit misogynistic in theme, the creators, writer
Neil Simon, composer Burt Bacharach, lyricist Hal David, director Robert Moore,
and choreographer Michael Bennett, did the almost impossible and somehow created
a show that was touching, funny, and honest. You might have found some of the
morals involved objectionable, but everything and everyone had a humanity that
made them real people with real people flaws. This was, surprisingly and
unfortunately, Burt Bacharach and Hal David's only book musical. But what a
score! Chockablock with one great tune after another, there's not a dud in the
lot. Even the nominal villain of the piece gets a lovely ballad ("Wanting Things").
The big hit of the show, the quiet and unassuming "I'll Never Fall in Love
Again," comes late in the show, right before the secondary big hit,
"Promises, Promises," in which the male lead finally finds his moral
compass. Both are wonderful, but why the smashing "Knowing When to
Leave" and the knockout "Whoever You Are" did not become monster
hits is a mystery. With electronic instruments, an amplified orchestra, an
overture that crackled with excitement and, in my opinion, is one of musical
theatre's best, and four female vocalists in the pit, Promises, Promises broke from the traditional Broadway sound and
gave 1968 theatregoers a contemporary soft-rock experience that satisfied even
the Broadway purists. And the icing on the cake? The insanely thrilling and
absolutely nonsensical "Turkey Lurkey Time" which wraps up the first
act and is one of the most inventive and exciting numbers ever in musical theatre. The lyrics are crazy, the melody is
addictive, and in Michael Bennett's staging, it is pure joy. I am in love with "Turkey Lurkey
Time." Promises, Promises opened
in New York on December 1, 1968, received rave reviews, and ran nearly 1300
performances. It won two performance Tony Awards, and in a season not dominated
by the groundbreaking 1776, would
doubtless have won more. I love the show, but I'm not sure if it would play in
today's environment.
Sidebar:
A 2010 revival starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth had a critically
indifferent nine-month run. Two popular Bacharach/David songs were interpolated
into this version as a means to beef-up Chenoweth's part. Seriously? It's the
female lead. She has two killer solos and two charming duets with the male
lead. How much beefing-up do you need? The reviews liked Hayes, thought
Chenoweth was miscast, and pretty much dismissed the whole thing as tired and
dated.
From the back of Terrace B looking towards the stage. Yes, everyone was very small.
Looking back from near the front. About 1500 seats way in the back are free for every performance on a first come-first served basis. You're way back there, but, hey, it's free!
July, 1970. In July, 1970, producer David Merrick put his
SRO smash hit, Promises, Promises, on
a short hiatus, and brought the entire show to St. Louis for a
week-long engagement at the city's revered 11,000 seat outdoor summer venue,
the Municipal Opera, aka The Muny. From the far reaches of Row X in Terrace B, and
that's a very far distance indeed, I watched Jerry Orbach, a graduate of my
high school in Waukegan, captivate the huge audience with his Tony-winning
performance as Chuck Baxter, whose apartment almost qualifies as a principal
performer. Somehow he made the huge space seem almost intimate, and when he did
one of his character's asides to the audience, you felt as if he was talking
only to you. I was miles away from the stage (not really, but it felt like it);
how did he do that? It was a
polished, yet fresh performance, and when he launched into "She Likes
Basketball," he exhibited a joy and exuberance that was refreshing and
catching. I'd been mad about leading lady Jill O'Hara since I heard her first
notes in "You'll Think of Someone" on the original cast album and had
a huge crush on her with the intensity that only a nineteen-year-old boy could
have. In person, she was even better, so perfectly cast as Fran Kubelik, you
felt her heartbreak when her world started falling apart. She deftly walked the
line between innocence and naivety, and you could sense the entire audience
falling in love with her. Edward Winter, Cabaret's
original Ernst, was the oddly sympathetic adulterer, thanks to his remarkable
ballad, in a strong performance. Norman Shelly and Kay Oslin provided plenty of
laughs as the sympathetic doctor and the bar pickup in the owl coat,
respectively. Oslin's scene with Orbach in the bar on Christmas Eve is one of
the funniest scenes Simon has ever written and the two of them had the Muny
crowd in stitches. "Turkey Lurkey Time" had Bennett favorite Baayork
Lee along with Adrienne Angel and Pam Blair dancing up a storm. I had a hard
time believing I was in a massive outdoor venue and not in a Broadway house. A
triumph. – at the Municipal Opera, St. Louis
Muny
Tidbits: Promises, Promises
wasn't the first time Merrick brought a show to the Muny during its Broadway
run. The first was Hello, Dolly! with
Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway in 1968. Merrick also brought Mack and Mabel and The Baker's Wife to the Muny as part of their out-of-town tryouts.
(I'm trying to picture the intimate The
Baker's Wife in that huge venue.) Gypsy
with Angela Lansbury and Lorelei
with Carol Channing also stopped by the Muny on their way to Broadway. Debbie
Reynolds' Irene, Lauren Bacall in Applause and Over Here! with the Andrews Sisters all interrupted their New York
runs to play lucrative week-long engagements at the Muny. Costs weren't as
astronomical then as they are now and shows haven't closed down for a week or
two in New York to come to St. Louis since the 70s.
About
Jill O'Hara: I met Jill O'Hara in person when I went to a cabaret performance
in Philadelphia with my great pal, Lois, in 2009, and all of a sudden I became
a love-struck nineteen-year-old again. Confessing my teenage crush, we laughed
at long-gone youth and had a lovely chat of several minutes. O'Hara hasn't been
on Broadway since she left the cast of Promises,
Promises in 1970 to be replaced by her sister, Jenny, and has been largely
absent from the theatre scene for decades, instead concentrating on her singing,
cabaret, and recording career, which includes two highly praised CDs.
Confession: I still have a crush on her!
Top: Kelly Britt, Anthony Teague; Middle: Bob Holiday, Melissa Hart; Bottom: Anthony Teague, Melissa Hart, Jack Kruschen
November, 1970; January, 1971; April, 1971; May, 1971; July, 1971. Hmmm…. I guess I liked the show. Promises, Promises' First National Company swung by the Shubert Theatre for an open-end run that ended abruptly after a still-impressive thirty-four weeks. Starring Anthony Teague and personal favorite Melissa Hart, and featuring Bob Holiday, Broadway's Superman, as the adulterous J.D.Sheldrake, and Jack Kruschen, recreating his Academy Award nominated role in The Apartment as Dr. Dreyfuss, this was a polished, high-energy, audience-and-critic-pleasing replica of the New York production. Teague put his own spin on the part of Chuck Baxter, understated and quieter than Jerry Orbach's full-throttle performance, yet with an undeniable youthful charm. Hart was more of a powerhouse singer and actor than originator Jill O'Hara, but that gave her songs a theatricality and dynamism that was a nice opposite of O'Hara's gentler, almost folksy interpretations, and imbued her Fran Kubelik with an edge of worldliness. You believed her Fran had been around the block a few times, and not the unsullied innocent that Baxter pictures her. I was captivated. Kelly Britt, recreating her London role as bar pickup Marge MacDougall was hysterical, Holiday was handsome and appropriately sleazy as Sheldrake and made the most out of "Wanting Things," and Kruschen was feisty and adorable as Dreyfuss. Class production all around. – at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago
Abrupt
Closings: The Sunday, June 27, 1971 Chicago
Tribune featured a Promises ad
promoting a special Sunday performance in two weeks and no indication of an
impending closure. Tickets were still available at the box office and by mail,
with seats available for all performances. The next day, a short three-sentence
press notice announced the show's closing that Saturday. The company was
disbanded, and, I suspect, the physical production was stored away until the
bus-and-truck company started in September.
Cast
Tidbits: Anthony Teague, as Scooter Teague, originated the part of
Jimmy Curry in 110 in the Shade. In
1973, he would return to Chicago in the Bobby Van role in the touring No, No, Nanette. Melissa Hart came to
the Promises tour directly after her
four-performance run on Broadway in the ill-fated Georgy.
June, 1971. On my first "official" trip to New
York, on the heels of two parents-had-no-knowledge "unofficial" trips,
I paid a visit to my then-favorite musical. (Note: I saw this on a Wednesday
evening. Three days later on that Saturday evening, June 12, 1971, to be exact,
I would see Follies for the first
time and my world would change.) Cabaret crush
Gene Rupert was now in the Jerry Orbach role, and that was the main reason I
went. Jenny O'Hara, originator Jill O'Hara's older sister, was now playing
Fran. I scored a seat in front row on the right side and enjoyed the hell out
of the evening. Rupert and O'Hara both gave assured, solid performances, with
O'Hara, perhaps not surprisingly, sounding like her younger sister. James
Congdon was an effective douchebag as J.D. Sheldrake, Norman Shelly continued
to supply hearty laughs as Dr. Dreyfuss, and Marilyn Child was now wearing the
owl coat at Clancy's and very funny doing so. Nothing was especially
"wow" about the performance, but it was as professional as a long-run
show can get, now over 2 ½ years on Broadway, still fresh, still exciting. – at
the Shubert Theatre, New York
February, 2001. For two or three years, Chicago's historic
Auditorium Theatre was home to Ovations!: Concert Celebrations of Great
American Musicals. This was based on New York's wildly successful Encores! Featuring
a full 28-piece orchestra, little scenery and script-carrying performers in
evening wear, this was an earnest, more low-key, less starry affair than the
New York inspiration. Chicago legend Roy Leonard acted as the Narrator,
something that wasn't needed and not done in Encores!, but was well-received by
the Chicago crowd. Stars George Hearn as J.D. Sheldrake, Jason Graae as Chuck
Baxter, future Tony-winner Dick Latessa as Dr. Dreyfuss, and Chicago favorite
Susan Moniz as Fran Kubelik delivered the goods with professionalism, even if
Hearn was a bit florid in "Wanting Things." I especially liked Graae,
an exceptionally likeable performer who gave Baxter an almost naughty boy
charm. He was wonderful. In the ensemble and supporting roles were Chicago
stalwarts Ray Frewen, Catherine Lord, Cory Goodrich, and Aaron Thielen (now
artistic director at Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre). Ensemble member James Moye
would be seen a year or so later as a compelling File in Signature Theatre's
(Arlington, VA) 110 in the Shade, and
we would see him turn in an outstanding performance filling in for an ailing
Peter Gallagher in the Broadway revival of On
the Twentieth Century. The late and beloved Rachel Rockwell played lead
dancer Vivien Della Hoya. The show itself seemed a bit dated and a bit
offensive in the early 21st century, though the laughs were still there and the
music as infectious and fresh as always. Ovations!, sadly, couldn't make it for
whatever reason and it faded from the Chicago scene. – at the Auditorium
Theatre, Chicago
And that's it for now. Later, Gator!
© 2018 Jeffrey Geddes
No comments:
Post a Comment