MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 13a: THE TOP TEN – #6

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS – Part 13a

THE TOP TEN – #6

NOTE: Due to the length of this post, I'm dividing it into two parts. THIS IS PART ONE OF TWO..

Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Score, Best Director of a Musical, Best Scenic Design. A landmark musical. A musical definitely of its time, yet one that still is relevant and current. "Phone rings, door chimes, in comes company."

 # 6: COMPANY  – Book by George Furth; Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Urban and urbane. Bitter, disillusioned, yet ultimately hopeful. Populated with people that you knew you shouldn't care about, yet, somehow, you did. From the driving title tune, to "Another Hundred People" pulsating with the vibrancy of the city, to the vaudevillian "What Would Be Do Without You?," to the fierceness of "The Ladies Who Lunch," to the comic brilliance of "Getting Married Today," to the tenderness of "Someone Is Waiting," to the soaring "Being Alive," Stephen Sondheim's score bristles, even today, with innovation, life, and sheer brilliance. George Furth's book shows a bit of creakiness these days. The pot scene with Jenny and David now seems a bit too coy, but in 1970, when Company debuted, this was really quite outré. And the depiction of airline flight attendants, née stewardesses, as vapid, air-headed bimbo sex objects is the stuff of the past, though, as a retired flight attendant I hang my head in shame to admit this, very funny, and, I suspect, still the view held by the more Neanderthal straight males in our society. And frankly, I don't know how April's scenes could be rewritten to reflect the times and still be that combination of innocence and comedy. (Character change to male perhaps? Vapid, air-headed bimbo male sex object? Hmmm.)

Company has legions of fans who adore it and legions of people who loathe it. Many feel it's anti-marriage. I don't think it is, but I don't necessarily agree with its core premise that one needs to be committed to someone to be happy, a premise that oddly conflicts with the musical's conclusion when Bobby is alone on stage and he happily smiles. Is that because his friends are leaving him alone for once or is it because he is alone? The question of Bobby's sexuality has been the subject of debate since the show opened. By the time the 1995 revival rolled around, some tweaks had been made to the show and the scene with Susan and Peter now concludes with Peter coming on to Bobby to possibly rekindle a former liaison, indicating that Bobby is bisexual or, perhaps, sexually fluid. (Yes, there's a difference. Google it.) Many feel the character of Joanne was always meant to be male, something Sondheim has vehemently denied over the decades. But time marches on. Views about relationships have matured, sexual dynamics have evolved. I've read that a production of Company is being mounted in the U.K. with a female lead, now called "Bobbie." Sondheim has approved and tweaks to the script are being made. Perhaps it's time for an all-male Company, an all-female Company, a Company with a sexually versatile Bobby with gay, straight, transgender, and pansexual couples and lovers. Company may be, GASP!, a few years shy of being fifty years old (!!), but it is still a powerful, relevant show. Long live Company! "Company! Lots of company. Life  is company! Love is company! Company!"

February, 1971. The lights dimmed. From the pit, hauntingly, teasingly, voices sang "Bobby, Bobby, Bah Bah Bah Bah Bah Bah Bah Bah, Bobby…" as the curtain rose on Boris Aronson's now iconic set of levels, scaffolding, elevators, and projections, cold and utterly breathtaking at the same time. I was hooked before a word was even spoken. I mean one of the characters was wearing a wedding dress and another was wearing a flight attendant, née stewardess, uniform, for crying out loud. Who wouldn't be hooked? Company was unlike anything I had seen up to that point. I was twenty. This was only my second trip to New York, my third Broadway show. (The first two were Coco and Applause.) I was dead center in the last row of the rear mezzanine of the Alvin Theatre. It didn't take long for me to realize that this wasn't a case of a legendary star single-handedly, with some brilliant help from designer Cecil Beaton, making a mediocre show shine like a diamond (Katharine Hepburn, Coco) or a case of a legendary star taking on an iconic role in a musical version of an iconic film and making it her own by sheer force of her personality (Lauren Bacall, Applause). As the title number came to a close, I knew I was watching something very special indeed. Harold Prince's staging and Michael Bennett's choreography kept everything moving, and in the case of "Tick Tock," Bennett's dazzling tour-de-force for the character of Kathy, thrillingly so, foreshadowing Bennett's pinnacle of choreographic genius, "The Music and the Mirror," which would be a few years down the road. Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics always seemed so right, totally in sync with the characters and the plot. I wanted to be Donna McKechnie, Susan Browning or Pamela Myers so I could do "You Could Drive a Person Crazy."  Pamela Myers' electrifying "Another Hundred People" gave me chills of delight. Beth Howland's hysterical and inimitable "Getting Married Today" was just about the funniest thing I'd seen on stage. Is there a better Act Two opening number than "Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You?" Off-hand, I can't think of one. Donna McKechnie blazed through "Tick Tock" with a passion and a precision that was breathtaking to behold. Larry Kert thrilled the audience with a heartfelt and hopeful "Being Alive" that pretty much wrapped up the evening. But Company reached its peak when the incomparable Elaine Stritch uttered "I'd like to propose a toast" and then proceeded to give a master class in what happens on that rare occasion  when performer and material are totally and unequivocally aligned. Her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" is justifiably considered one of the great moments in musical theatre. This was a true show-stopping moment, back when stopping the show meant more than over-amplified screeching. You can see videos of Stritch performing the number on various specials, but, trust me, while it's thrilling to watch her on film, it's nothing compared to seeing her do the number, live and in character, in total command of the stage and taking no prisoners. To Company. I'd like to propose a toast! – at the Alvin Theatre, New York

Sidebar: Although I have never been in a production of Company, that show was an important part of my performing life during the 70s. In 1974, at Fort Sheridan, my acting/directing home-away-from-home, I performed in a Sondheim revue conceived by Ft. Sheridan's artistic director called A Funny Thing Happened to Stephen Sondheim. This was a few years before Side by Side by Sondheim and before Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, etc. The set, a riff on Boris Aronson's design, was levels and steps, simple and elegant. (Partially because the set looked good and partially because it was, if you'll pardon the expression, built like a brick shithouse, it would stay up for years and be the basis for other shows' scenic designs. It was a concept that was rarely successful, scenically speaking.) In the show, my solo was "The Ladies Who Lunch," sung in tandem with "The Little Things You Do Together," which was performed by a group of ladies sitting downstage. In another revue at Ft. Sheridan, I would sing, at last!, the Donna McKechnie part in "You Could Drive a Person Crazy." I would perform "Ladies" off and on at singing engagements, but my biggest Sondheim "hit," to use the term loosely…very, very loosely, was "Getting Married Today" a song I would perform often in gigs with my singing partner, Pat. (She sang the Teri Ralston and Steve Elmore parts; I sang the Beth Howland part. And, yes, I could rattle off those lyrics at breakneck speed when I was younger. Today? Not a prayer.) This all seems like a lifetime ago. Ironically, the last show I performed in before taking a twenty-four year hiatus, was a production of another Sondheim revue, Side by Side by Sondheim, where my big solo was "Could I Leave You?" In both "Ladies" and "Leave You," I was too young to really appreciate what I was singing. Now in my late 60s, I could do killer versions of both.

Sidebar of the Above Sidebar: A Funny Thing…Stephen Sondheim was Ft. Sheridan's entry in a Army-wide competition, the big prize being the Irving Berlin Award. At the time, fine arts programs were widely supported by Army brass, and, as a result, good work was frequently presented on Army base stages.  Actor Jerry Orbach spent part of his youth in my hometown of Waukegan, Illinois. He went to Waukegan Township High School and was a friend of our set designer. For whatever reason, Orbach was in town and came to our Saturday performance. Added a bit of show-biz pizzazz to the evening.

Casting Fun Fact: Elaine Stritch's understudy was Sandra Deel, who would play Lucille Early in the Chicago company of No, No, Nanette.

June, 1971. In late May/early June, 1971, I made my first "official" trip to New York, i.e. the first trip to New York my parents knew about. I was twenty, still a minor according to the laws of the day. (!!) In the intervening months since my first visit to Company, many cast changes had occurred, the most intriguing being the casting of film star, WWII pin-up goddess, and Playtex "'Cross-Your-Heart Bras' for us full-figured gals" spokeswoman Jane Russell in her Broadway debut, and only Broadway appearance, in the Elaine Stritch role of Joanne. (Stritch left to join the First National Tour.) Russell was noted for being a devout Christian and to accommodate her beliefs, Sondheim temporarily changed lyrics in "The Little Things You Do Together" from "And, Jesus Christ, is it fun!" to "And, my oh my, is it fun!" I don't think it bothered anyone in the audience, but, since by this time, I knew the cast recording forwards and backwards, I found the change jarring. But lyric changes and breast-size notoriety notwithstanding, her performance was polished, totally professional, and suitably acerbic. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and the audience clearly loved her. In addition to Russell, there was one other standout replacement: Marian Hailey in the Beth Howland role of Amy. Funny and touching as Amy, her career as an actress was short-lived, despite critical success, especially in the film Lovers and Other Strangers, and she is now the author of children's books and a psychotherapist.  Larry Kert was still on hand as Robert. Future Tony-winner Priscilla Lopez was an understudy. This production was a perfect example of how, with careful and thoughtful recasting and TLC from its director and choreographer, a show can remain as vibrant, as exciting as it was with the original cast. – at the Alvin Theatre, New York

Sidebar: Today the Tony Award broadcast  takes place in early June, with a qualification cutoff date around May 1. But that wasn't always the case. In 1971, the Tony broadcast was held on March 28. So when Company won its Tonys, it had been open for almost a year.

November, 1971. On my way to New York for a Thanksgiving weekend of Broadway, I decided to stop over in Cleveland for the night to catch the First National Tour of Company starring Oscar-winner George Chakiris as Robert and the indomitable Elaine Stritch as Joanne. Some folks from the New York company I saw in June, most notably Marian Hailey reprising her triumph as Amy, had left the Broadway company by this time to tour the provinces and were in the Cleveland cast. (Mini Sidebar: In the dance-centric role of Kathy was Carolyn Kirsch, who, a few years later, would play the Blackstone Theatre in Chicago as Velma Kelly in Chicago.) As Joanne, Stritch commanded the stage with ease and the ferocity of her interpretation remained intact. George Chakiris brought a smoldering sexuality to the part of Robert, contrasting with the easygoing good pal vibe Larry Kert brought to the role. Both valid interpretations, but this Bobby positively sizzled, boy, did he sizzle, and the penultimate scene between Joanne and Robert crackled with sensuality and electricity. A memorable evening in Cleveland. – at the Hanna Theatre, Cleveland

Sidebar: The Hanna Theatre was a lovely legitimate house that seated approximately 1500 patrons. Built in 1921, for many years it was Cleveland's theatre of choice for touring shows. But theatre economics changed, and producers began to book larger, more impersonal houses, and the charming Hanna fell out of favor, closing in 1989. After an extensive renovation which reduced capacity to 550, it reopened in 2008 and, though perhaps no longer used to house touring Broadway hits, it is still a viable venue and the main performing space for the Great Lakes Theater. And a theatre being used as a theatre is always a good thing.

The original London cast.

OMG! Those prices!!!

(revised from an earlier post)

May, 1972. My first West End show. My first trip to London. I was 21. I was pretty much obsessed with Company back then, so it's not surprising I would see it in London. A chance to see Elaine Stritch again in her landmark performance? Well, duh! Actually, I saw it twice that week. Another reason I really wanted to see Company in London was to see Dilys Watling, who was Tony-nominated for her role in the short-lived Georgy. She played Amy and was very good in the role, but it was Julia McKenzie as April who captured my heart. I adore this woman and have seen her in several shows since then, both in London and New York, and even had the privilege of sharing a drink with her after a performance of Sweeney Todd back in 1994. This was a replacement cast with London actors taking over from their American counterparts who opened the show. Larry Kert, Marti Stephens (from the Cleveland cast), and Elaine Stritch were the holdovers, and all of them, not surprisingly, gave assured performances. What was surprising, however, was that this very New York show was quite a success in London. A perfect introduction to the West End and a perfect way to begin my love affair, not only with Ms. McKenzie, but also with the London theatre scene. – at Her Majesty's Theatre, London.

Sidebar: In 1972, a decent, modest B&B-type hotel cost under 2 quid a night (The Crescent Hotel, Cartwright Gardens, London. Still in business, though my single with shared facilities is now ₤78/night…a bit of an increase!). You could see a show in the gallery for 40p. I left the States with just over $100 and lived off that for my week's stay and even came back with about $10. Ah….those were the days!

Stritch Sidebar: London loved Stritch and Stritch loved London. She would move there and not return to the United States until the mid-1980s.

And that's it for part one. Part two coming soon.

© 2017Jeffrey Geddes

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS The Honor Roll - Part 2

MUSICAL MAYHEM: MY TOP TWENTY-FIVE MUSICALS

The Honor Roll - Part 2

Some more musicals from the fifteen shows that make up my musical Honor Roll. Lots to talk about, so this is going to be on the long side. Enjoy! Let's begin.

BILLY ELLIOT - Music by Elton John, Book and Lyrics by Lee Hall

Winter, 2005; Spring, 2006, January, 2008. In an earlier post I talked about this show and the New York incarnation of it. I mentioned that somehow the show didn't seem to play as well in New York as it had in London; that it didn't seem as moving or as dynamic despite a superb cast and the recreated London design, direction and choreography. In London, however, Bob and I (and niece Colleen in 2008) were simply blown away by the show. There is humanity and warmth in this show that skillfully manage to combine family with politics, that frequently had the audience erupt into prolonged applause and cheers, yet also could turn on a dime and bring a few tears to even this old curmudgeon's eyes. For the first two London performances, we were privileged to see the remarkable Haydn Gwynne as Mrs. Wilkinson. With Colleen, we saw a polished and terrific performance by Jackie Clune as Mrs. Wilkinson. Both ladies had top-notch support from the large cast of West End pros. Stephen Daldry's direction was seamless; Peter Darling's choreography was amazing; the production designs by Ian MacNeil (sets), Nicky Gillibrand (costumes) and Rick Fisher (lights) were spot-on, and Lee Hall's book and lyrics and Elton John's excellent score gave all these talented folks a remarkable story to tell with words, dance and music. Now here's the odd thing: although this is among my favorite musicals, it's perversely the only show in my top twenty-five that I don't especially want to see again. - at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London

THE VISIT - Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by Terrence McNally

September, 2001. This is in my top twenty-five in both the original play by Friedrich  Dürrenmatt and the musical version by Kander/Ebb/McNally. You either loved this musical or you hated it. I loved it. It was dark, daring, provocotive and ultimately disturbing. Terrence McNally's book was a skillful retelling of Dürrenmatt's tale of payback. Kander and Ebb's score was haunting and, at times, downright creepy (witness the Act One closing number "Yellow Shoes"…..brrrrr!). The lead performances by Chita Rivera and John McMartin were memorable and powerful and demonstrated why they are considered, after decades in the business, among the theatre's finest. And let's talk about a supporting cast chock full of New York and Chicago A-listers including: Jim Corti, James Harms, Brian Herriott, Mark Jacoby, Adam Pelty, Ami Silvestre and Steven Sutcliffe. This was a first-class production in all aspects and had a Broadway production in its sights. Sadly, those plans were derailed by the horrors on 9/11. It was felt that a dark tale of revenge would not play well in the post-9/11 atmosphere. Twelve years after it's premiere, The Visit has yet to receive a Broadway production and that is a great loss for the musical theatre. (Note: there are talks that a production will be mounted at the Williamstown Theatre Festival next season (2014) prior to a Broadway opening. We can hope!) (Factoid: Angela Lansbury was originally attached to the project, but dropped out to care for her very ill husband. She would have been fascinating in the role.) - at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago

BELLS ARE RINGING - Music by Jule Styne, Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

My introduction to this terrific example of a classic musical comedy from the Golden Age of Musical Theatre was the 1960 film starring the incandescent Judy Holliday, recreating her Tony-winning role, and Dean Martin playing, essentially, Dean Martin. The fairytale storyline about a big-hearted switchboard operator at a small answering service in New York is pure 50s fluff. Comden and Green wrote the warm and funny book to match the considerable skill set of their friend and star, Judy Holliday and, if her performance in the movie is any indication, and by all accounts she was even better on stage, Holliday more than returned the favor. But where the show really soars is in the glorious score with impeccable lyrics by Comden and Green and remarkable music by the prolific Jule Styne in one of his best efforts. It's a true treasure with comic turns for the leading lady, some rousing chorus numbers, two breakout standards, "Just in Time" and "The Party's Over," and a sensational ballad that is pretty much unknown; in fact it was replaced with a more uptempo number in the movie, but is unforgettable once you've heard it, "Long Before I Knew You." (It was one of the songs Bob and I chose for our pre-ceremony music CD at our wedding.) Yes, the show is hopelessly dated and absolutely must be played in its original time period, but is that a bad thing? This show makes me smile. There's not a mean bone in its theatrical body. All Bells Are Ringing wants to do is entertain you, give you some laughs and let you listen to some great songs. It accomplishes all that in spades. I love it.

The floating heads of the two stars are a bit disturbing, don't you think?

July, 1976. Okay. I think I may need to seriously consider turning in my gay card. I saw this summer stock production of Bells Are Ringing starring Rita Moreno (!!) and Tab Hunter  (!!) and I don't remember a thing about it except that I enjoyed it, thought that the role of Ella wasn't exactly a perfect fit for the uber-talented Moreno and was surprised at the easy-going stage presence of Hunter in a very likeable turn. Why wasn't I taking notes? Why didn't I sneak in a tape recorder or something? I hang my head in shame. - at the Melody Top Theatre, Milwaukee 

(Sidebar: Melody Top was a summer stock theatre in Milwaukee. It produced 23 seasons of musicals and operettas, most of which featured a star or two from theatre, movies or TV. Some were A-list, like Moreno, who had won her Tony for The Ritz the previous year, but most were B-list celebrities getting up close and personal with the folks to boost their visibility. Local favorites usually filled the supporting roles and the chorus.The shows were done in a big tent seating approximately 2200 patrons. If the quality wasn't exactly Broadway, it was still professionally done and enjoyable.)

June, 2001. Little did I know months earlier when I purchased these tickets that Bob and I would be attending the final performance of this show. It was an incredible experience. Not only was the show closing, but it was also being taped for the Lincoln Center archives. During the intermission, we went down from our perches in the mezzanine to the stage as is our custom so Bob can touch the stage. (It's a tech theatre geek thing.) Seated in the front row and mere inches from me was the legendary Betty Comden! She graciously signed my program and beamed when I told her the first show I appeared in was the Comden/Green/Bernstein classic, Wonderful Town. There's class and there's class. Comden was class. Faith Prince burned up the stage and stopped the show with her final number, "I'm Going Back," which resulted in a standing ovation that lasted several very loud minutes. Marc Kudisch made a handsome leading man and there was fine support from David Garrison, Beth Fowler and Martin Moran. At times the physical production looked a bit cheap and Tina Landau's direction didn't point up the breeziness of the show. I don't think musicals are her forte and it especially showed during those parts where everyone just appeared to be working too damn hard.  We thoroughly enjoyed it, though, and it deserved a longer run. - at the Plymouth Theatre, New York

(Sidebar: The 2000-2001 season was not an especially good year for highly anticipated musical revivals. Bells Are Ringing, in its first ever Broadway revival, received very lukewarm reviews during its tryout in Connecticut and when it opened in New York. Most of the criticism was leveled at the dated quality of the show and faulted director Landau with making a featherweight 50s bon-bon leaden and even more dated. Star Faith Prince also received very mixed reviews. There is a huge difference between a performer making a part iconic (for example: Carol Channing and Dolly Levi, Ethel Merman and Rose Hovick, etc.) and a part becoming iconic because of the performer (for example: Judy Holliday and Ella Peterson, Barbara Harris and her roles in The Apple Tree). In the former, it's easier for an actor to bring their own unique take to the role - there have been terrific Dollys besides Channing and there have been terrific Roses besides Merman - but in the latter, it's difficult to establish your own take on a role that is so indelibly associated with its originator. It's even more difficult when the part in the show that you are starring in was written specifically for its originator. In this case, lots of critics pointed out, unfairly I hasten to add, that Faith Prince was not Judy Holliday and didn't bring the same qualities to the part. Well, of course she wouldn't; she's Faith Prince, not Judy Holliday, and has her own comedic sensibility. The mediocre critical reception, however, wasn’t the only thing that adversely affected the show. It was widely reported that Prince was not consistent in her performances. Some days she'd be merely adequate and other days she'd be brilliant and that had an effect on box office sales. Patrons wanted brilliant, not adequate. For the record, we saw brilliant. Perhaps the reviews got to her; perhaps she felt misdirected by Landau; perhaps all the apparent backstage drama with management ineptitude (revealed after the show closed) wore her down. In any event, the show closed after a very short run and it's unlikely Bells will receive another major revival. For the record, the hugely-anticipated first NYC revival of Follies also received a great deal of critical indifference (lots of finger pointing at the director in that one, too) and closed after a short run. At least Bells got a cast recording of the revival; Follies did not.)

THE FULL MONTY - Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek, Book by Terrence McNally

I'm a big fan of the film, but frankly couldn't see how they could take this very English film and translate it into a musical. Happily composer/lyricist David Yazbek and playwright Terrence McNally figured it all out. Probably the best move they made was to shift the locale of the piece from Sheffield, England to Buffalo, New York. Crossing the Pond didn't detract from the story at all and in all likelihood made the piece more accessible to American audiences. Unlike Billy Elliot, which absolutely could not be done in any other locale or time frame, The Full Monty deals with issues that are the same in the United States as they are in the United Kingdom as they are in Brazil as they are everywhere in the world: unemployment, family, loss, love, self-respect. McNally's book combines great humor with heart and warmth and more than the occasional moments of tenderness that at first glance might seem out of place, but by second glance are just so perfectly right. He creates characters that you want to know. Yazbek's score is fresh, yet rooted in musical theatre tradition with numbers that range from an almost discordant and jarring opening number to gorgeous ballads that make your heart happy, "Breeze Off the River," "You Walk with Me," and the reprise of "You Rule My World." One of the best things about this musical is that is not dependent on a star performance. All this show needs are talented actors and good direction and choreography to make it a winner. Although it was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2001, it had the misfortune of opening the same season as The Producers, which won in every category in which it received a nomination. No matter. In my humble opinion, this is the better show!

A fun flyer stuffed in our NYC program. Buy now...get the coveted first seven rows!! All the better to ogle the boys!

June, 2001. There were a lot of understudies performing at our matinee, but as is typical in New York, you would never know these talented folks weren't the usual performers in the roles. From the first brassy, rhythmic chords of the overture to the final backlit moment when the guys go the full monty, I was hooked.  Leading the troupe of great actors at the Eugene O'Neill was Patrick Wilson, whose  nicely layered performance that combined macho bravado with loving tenderness won the audience's affection. Joining him in the full monty adventure were these wonderful gentlemen:  John Ellison Conlee, Jason Danieley, Denis Jones, Todd Weeks and the extraordinary Andre DeShields as Horse. The distaff side wasn't short-changed on talent, either, with Annie Golden and Emily Skinner in the primary ladies' roles. The great Kathleen Freeman, who, sadly, would die during the run of the show, transformed her song, "Jeanette's Showbiz Number," which, in my opinion, is the weakest number in the show and the only one that tries too hard, into a triumph of talent and showbiz savvy over so-so material and easily stopped the show. A delightful afternoon at the theatre. We thoroughly enjoyed it. - at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York

The boys against the Chicago skyline. Kinda fun!

September, 2001. The tragic events of 9/11 derailed this production, the First National Tour, after only a short time on the road and on its second stop. (It would close in Chicago a few weeks after we saw it.) It had the misfortune of officially opening in Chicago on September 12, 2001, and, sadly, despite good reviews and a popular title, the production could not overcome the box office ennui that seemed to be a direct result of those horrid events. When we took our boys to see the show, we bought half-price tickets at Hot Tix and ended up in the 7th row. The theatre wasn't even 50% full! That was truly a shame since the company headed by Rod Weber, Danny Gurwin, Larry Marshall and the legendary Kaye Ballard was outstanding and their performance was just what those tragic times needed. The guys were great and Ballard used her considerable comic skills to nail her big number. (We met Kaye after the show…one of those six degrees of separation things. In person, she's warm and friendly and seemed genuinely happy to meet us.) Also in the cast were the now-popular musical performer Heidi Blickenstaff, Kevin M. Burrows, who is Christopher Sieber's husband, and James Moye, who would soon play File in Signature Theatre's amazing production of 110 in the Shade. The boys, by the way, liked the show a lot. - at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago

June, 2005. My Playbill states that this production was the inaugural production at the newly reopened and redecorated (gaudy beyond belief) Drury Lane Water Tower Place Theatre. The cast, a mixture of Equity and non-Equity actors, was talented and did well, though I felt the show lacked the energy and pizzazz that both the original Broadway company and the touring company had. Nothing was wrong, mind you, it just wasn't very exciting. Chicago favorite Renee Matthews was Jeanette and played the role sassily enough, but just didn't have the charismatic chops to really put across her number. Kathleen Freeman and Kaye Ballard both stopped the show with this number; Matthews did not. Peter James Zielinski was a fine Jerry Lukowski and anchored the show well. This wasn't a bad production by any means, but it wasn't an outstanding one either. - at the Drury Lane Water Tower Place Theatre, Chicago

June, 2009. Full disclosure. The reason we trucked out to Millburn, New Jersey, was because of the actress playing Jeanette, the legendary Elaine Stritch.  With Stritch, one simply must pay homage. At eighty-four, she was as feisty as ever and it was a joy to see her again in a book show. Now mind you, her performance was pure Stritch despite the character name listed in the program, but the capacity audience cared not one whit and she stopped the show with her solo number as only a seasoned pro can. She was a marvel to watch. The cast was full of accomplished New York actors, including Michael Rupert and Jenn Colella. Rob Richardson covered the lead role of Jerry Lukowski that night and he was excellent. The was the second show we'd seen at Paper Mill and this production confirmed for us Paper Mill's commitment to quality. As a bonus, we discovered that Millburn has a variety of nice restaurants a short walk from the theatre. Who knew? - at the Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey.

THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS - Music and Lyrics by Carol Hall, Book by Larry L King and Peter Masterson

This musical is thisclose to making my top ten. I love everything about it: the book, the music, the story, the sheer exuberance of it that's tempered by a wearily resigned view of life that infuses the show with heart and humanity. Carol Hall's score is a marvel from start to finish and Larry L King and Peter Masterson's book keeps everything remarkably real even when the sometimes in-your-face satire could easily overwhelm the proceedings, but, props to the creators, doesn't. There is an honesty to this underappreciated show that is refreshing. I'd love to see Encores tackle it. And I would absolutely kill to play the Sheriff, Melvin P. Thorpe or the Governor. (Bob, take note!) The flavorless 1982 movie version did the show absolutely no favors. It's a musical that, though wildly successful in its original New York run and throughout a profitable tour, hasn't received the respect I think it deserves. It's time for a revival! I would love to see Connie Britton as Mona, wouldn't you? This is a first-rate, A-quality show. Full stop. 

August, 1979. By the time I first saw this show, it had been open for a little over a year and many of the original supporting players had already left. Fortunately, Henderson Forsythe, Carlin Glynn and Delores Hall were still on hand with Forsythe and Glynn handily demonstrating why they won Tony Awards for their performances two months earlier.

(Note: Both won supporting Tonys for performing leading roles, a quirk that has happened more than once in Tony history. This was probably due to the fact that when the show opened, no one was listed above the title, and listing was/is a primary factor in determining leading vs. supporting Tony eligibility.)

Forsythe's profane and gruff Sheriff was an absolute delight. Texas-born Glynn offered an honest, humorous and heartfelt performance as a thoroughly decent human being who just happened to be a madam at Texas' most famous whorehouse. And just listen to the way she performs her songs on the original cast album! (Example: "The Bus from Amarillo." Divine!) Delores Hall, as Miss Mona's trusted friend, Jewel, tore up the house with her gospel-influenced "Twenty-Four Hours of Lovin'." Clinton Allman, still in his original role as Melvin P. Thorpe, Barbara Marineau as Doatsey Mae (beautiful version of the haunting "Doatsey Mae") and Tom Avera as the side-stepping Governor were especially noteworthy among the large and talented cast.

(Note: Years later I had the good fortune to meet and work with Michael Scott, one of Whorehouse's ensemble members, during the early development of Such a Pretty Face. See earlier post.)

Sets, lights and costumes were all first-rate. The Rio Grande band provided atmospheric accompaniment. Tommy Tune's choreography, especially the sexy and athletic "The Aggie Song" and Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune's direction perfectly complimented the fine book by Larry L King and Peter Masterson and Carol Hall's exquisite score. No surprise. I had a fabulous time! - at the 46th Street Theatre, New York

February, 1980. When my BFF, Pat, decided to stay with me for an extra few days following our appearance at a national word-processing conference, I took her to see this. There were further cast changes, but the three above-the-title stars were still around and still as wonderful as when I first saw them six months earlier. (Imagine…stars still performing in their original roles eighteen months after opening. How often does that happen today?) Pat became a fan. - at the 46th Street Theatre, New York

May, 1980. When the producers of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas rolled out the First National Tour, they made sure they stacked the deck in their favor by casting a bona fide star as Mona. Now this is absolutely no reflection on the marvelous Carlin Glynn. whose performance as Mona Stangley remains one of my fondest theatre memories. With that tricky show title, however, I'm sure the producers felt they needed an extra measure of insurance to put bums in seats while traveling the great American hinterland, so they cast the glamorous Alexis Smith in the role. Alexis Smith was not a star; Alexis Smith was a STAR. And that was, well, problematic. It wasn't that Alexis Smith wasn't good; she was. But…Smith was inherently very elegant and sophisticated with a commanding stage presence and all of that, perversely, worked against the role. She didn't try to steal focus; it was just hard not to concentrate on her and on what she was doing, even if she was only listening to another actor. She was on-the-mark and often very funny, but I didn't find her especially warm or vulnerable. Maybe it was me. Maybe I couldn't get her Tony-winning performance as Phyllis in Follies out of my mind. But maybe it was just an…uncomfortable fit of actor to role. Larry Hovis of "Hogan's Heroes" fame played Melvin P. Thorpe, Jay Garner recreated his Broadway role as the Governor and Barbara Marineau left the New York company to bring her Doatsey Mae to this tour. (Note: Marineau was Alexis Smith's cover. I suspect she would have been incredible in the role.) Also in the cast were future Tony-nominated director and choreographer Jeff Calhoun as the featured Aggie/Ensemble,  George Dvorsky, who I would see decades later in The Happy Time at Signature Theatre (see earlier post), as an Aggie/Ensemble and Ruth Gottschall, who I would see on Broadway years later in several shows, as Ginger, one of Miss Mona's girls. My companion for the evening, a houseguest, of sorts, from the UK (strange, complicated and ended badly) had a grand time. I enjoyed it, but… - at the Shubert Theatre, Chicago

July, 1981. When the Second National Tour toe-tapped its way to Milwaukee, Pat and I made the drive up from Waukegan to see it. This first-class edition starred William Larsen as the Sheriff  and in the leading role of Miss Mona, June Terry. A Google search for June Terry came up empty, but according to her bio, June Terry was a Dot recording artist and a busy singer and actress, primarily in the Houston area. I'm not sure if she was cast for her box office allure or whether it was simply a matter of casting two skilled actors in, at this time, a very marketable property and letting the property be the star. Whatever the reason, it was a wise choice. Larsen and Terry, both Texans, gave the show a verisimilitude that was absent in the Alexis Smith production and was a better fit for the material. Understudying the role of Jewel was a young Avery Sommers. I would see her twenty years later as Jewel in the Ann-Margret version. And in an interesting twist, William Hardy, who played the Sheriff in Chicago, was now the understudy for the Sheriff. Ah, the vicissitudes of the theatre! The audience loved the show; so did we. - at Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee

Drury Lane even had its own Stagebill cover design! 

February, 1986. This version unexpectedly turned out to be my second favorite production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, right behind the Broadway original. It was as though director/choreographer Jerry Yoder took a good look at the book and score and decided to keep it simple, keep it clean and keep it honest, unlike the misguided movie version which took this unpretentious musical and blew everything completely out of proportion, took songs out, added songs by Dolly Parton, who was also the affable, but miscast, star, cast Burt Reynolds in a singing role (talk about miscast!) and pretty much made it all unwatchable. Yoder wisely cast Texas-born, Northwestern University-educated and veteran of the original Houston company, Connie Cooper as Mona. Supported by a fine company of actors, many from Chicago, Cooper had an easy-going charm and a way with Carol Hall's songs that energized the proceedings and had the audience in the palm of her hand. She was quite marvelous. Everything about this production was done with skill and professionalism. Curiously, however, "The Bus from Amarillo" was moved from the end of Act One and placed as the show's closing. I understand the reasoning behind it and it worked, but not as well as the song's original placement. According to an article I just read, this was a stop on a national tour and not part of the Drury Lane subscription series. Steve and I had a grand time. Yee-haw! - at the Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre, Oakbrook Terrace, IL

(Sidebar: Drury Lane Oakbrook is the sole surviving theatre of the Drury Lane theatres. At one time, there were also a Drury Lane South in Evergreen Park, a Drury Lane Water Tower Place in Chicago (now the Broadway Playhouse), a Drury Lane North in Lincolnshire (now the Marriott Theatre) and a Drury Lane East at Chicago's McCormick Place. The Oakbrook theatre is an ostentatiously-decorated affair that borders on bad taste. The redeeming factor is that rather than being bashful about its over-the-top awfulness, it revels in it. The dinner/show package is a staple there and after the performance, pre-show diners head to the lobby tables to pick up their doggie bags. It's a trip. The auditorium seats about 1000 on one nicely-raked level. It's a very wide house, however, which can make sightlines less than ideal. Drury Lane has a great reputation for spending money on their productions and doing quality work. Hmm, I may need to return to Drury Lane soon. The pictures on the website feature a gray color scheme instead of the red that I'm used to seeing. It's still pretty over-the-top, but it looks as if they may finally have toned down the awfulness.)

Drury Lane South was still committed to presenting shows with well-known names, some talented, some not-so-talented. Think of Drury Lane South as the theatrical version of "Dancing with the Stars" and you'll get the predominant caliber of the starring talent. The very idea of Carol Lynley starring in Bernard Slade's charming, unpretentious comedy chills me to the bone, but, truth be told, I wish I'd seen it.

May, 2001. Ann-Margret starring in a tour of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas? Who wouldn't go see our favorite Kitten with a Whip make her stage debut at age 60? As it turned out, a lot of people didn't and for good reason. It was pretty awful. When the show opened in Chicago, Ann-Margret was, according to the show's management, fighting a throat infection. When we saw it several days later, she was, per the pre-show announcement, still fighting it. Unlike Jim Dale, who, even with laryngitis, gave a sensational all-stops-out performance in Barnum (see earlier post), Ann-Margret, wearing  costumes designed by Bob Mackie that belonged on a Vegas stage instead of on the madam of the Chicken Ranch in Texas, gave a listless, dull, odd performance that had the leading lady not really connecting with anyone and singing everything full front as though nobody else was on stage. (For the record, everyone else wore costumes by Dona Granata.) She looked totally out of her element and that rather surprised me. Years earlier I saw Ann-Margret do her concert act at the Auditorium and she was wonderful: vibrant, exciting, connecting with her dancers and the audience. Although not the greatest actor on the block, despite two Academy Award nominations, she's always had a personality that I thought would work well for her in this role. I was wrong. Not helping matters was the overall tattiness of this production. It looked tired even this early in the tour. Two bright spots: the Aggie number and Gary Sandy's portrayal of the Sheriff. The critics blasted it; the audiences stayed away. At the performance we attended the house was very small. We bought half-price tickets; the guys sitting next to us paid full price and were pissed. I would have been, too. Avery Sommers from the Second National Tour graduated from playing Jewel's cover in that production to playing it on this tour. I'm sure she was fine, but her performance didn't register one way or the other. Roxie Lucas played one of Miss Mona's girls in the First National Tour starring Alexis Smith and was now played Doatsey Mae and I don't remember her at all. To be fair, I understand things improved as the tour progressed and by all accounts Ann-Margret was extremely well-liked by everyone in the company. What I was most disappointed in was that Bob to this day doesn't understand why I love this show. With this as his only point of reference, I can see why. - at the Oriental Theatre, Chicago

That's it for now. I so enjoyed writing this! More later.

© 2013 Jeffrey Geddes