IF THE
SHOE FITS…
(The Shoebox Files)
Part 3
Still more programs snugly stored away in shoeboxes. Let's
see…what's on for today?
ONCE – Jacobs
Theatre, New York
March, 2012. 4th preview. The primary set piece is a bar and
the audience was invited to join cast members and fellow patrons to enjoy a
brew and impromptu hootenanny featuring ensemble members of the cast before the
show. Kinda cool. The show itself was unabashedly romantic and featured a
monstrously talented cast of musician-actors (or actor-musicians, but in this
case the music was the focus) lead by Steve Kazee, that devilishly handsome and
talented star from 110 in the Shade, and
Cristin Milioti, who was just so very good in this show. The packed house loved
every second of it. So did we. Wanted to see it again. But here's the thing…six
years later, nothing specific about the show stands out. The show was
beautifully performed, designed, and staged, but it's all a blur today. What I do remember, however, and this is not an
especially good thing, is diction during the musical numbers was, uh, well,
spotty, a bit too mumbly and internal. You got the gist, if not the details,
and the big hit tune, Oscar-winning Best Song from the film Once, "Falling Slowly," was a
bit of a dirge, and, frankly, the most diction-challenged song in the show. Once won a bunch of Tony Awards at the
end of the season, including Best Musical and one for Mr. Kazee, and ran for
nearly 1200 performances. I don't mean for this to sound negative, because,
questionable diction notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It just didn't stick. For the record, I've not seen it again.– at the Jacobs Theatre, New York
SIDEBAR:
This loved-it-when-I-saw-it-but-now-neutral-about-it attitude towards a show
has only happened with one other show, Spring
Awakening. Thought that was brilliant when I saw it. Now I can't get
through the cast album. Go figure.
TALLULAH – Shubert
Theatre, Chicago
November, 2000. As theatrical literature, Tallulah is minor league. As an
opportunity to see the incomparable Kathleen Turner slink about on the Shubert
stage for two hours, it's brilliant. The script isn't the greatest, but with
Turner mesmerizing us all and doing it on a great physical production, well,
it's all great fun. Set in 1948, the feisty Tallulah is busy preparing to host
a fund-raiser for incumbent presidential candidate, Harry Truman. As she
prepared for the event, we, the audience, became her BFFs as she regaled us
with gossip, stories, and lots and lots of "darlings." The critics
liked her, didn't like the play, and the planned 2001 Broadway opening was, uh,
"postponed," according to a spokesperson, "to allow the creative
team to further develop the play." Everyone
knows that's showbiz speak for "ain't gonna happen." Turner ended her
tenure as Tallulah in early 2001, but returned to Broadway in 2002 in another
iconic role, Mrs. Robinson, in The
Graduate, recreating her London portrayal. Tallulah was wildly entertaining. – at
the Shubert Theatre, Chicago
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON – Colonial Theatre, Boston
June, 1974. In 1972 when Jason Miller's That Championship Season opened, it won the Tony for Best Play and
the Pulitzer. It went on to a successful 700 performance run, a healthy tour,
was made into a film, had a successful off-Broadway revival in 1999, and a
critically-panned Broadway revival in 2011. I saw it during my first trip to
Boston, not because I necessarily wanted to see the play, but because I wanted
to see the historic Colonial Theatre, tryout home of many Broadway shows
including Follies. (And, yes, that
was the deciding factor.) Jason Miller's play about four adult former high
school basketball stars and their coach could have been subtitled "Five
White Men Bitching." There wasn't an especially likeable one among the
lot, but they weren't reprehensible enough or sleazy enough to be interesting. A
work of the 70s, if it were produced today (March, 2018), all of them would wear
MAGA hats, be huge Trump supporters, and blame their unremarkable adult lives
on immigrants, minorities, women, gays, and anyone and anything except
themselves. The production I saw was solid and the cast, headed up by Forrest
Tucker and including future TV/film star George Dzundza, were all competently
professional. I was underwhelmed, but the Colonial Theatre was, and is, a
smash! – at the Colonial Theatre, Boston
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
– McVickers Theatre, Chicago
Chicago Tribune ad. Note that Paul Lipson is prominently displayed as the matinee star.
The escape plan from the McVickers. That mezzanine/balcony was huge!
February, 1967. The Broadway smash had been open less than
two weeks at the McVickers when I saw it. A replica of the New York production
and with a cast of 44 (!!!), Fiddler
had not yet become the iconic classic it is today. In 1967, it was still just a
Broadway hit and Chicago was just another stop on this company's tour. Two Tevyes
headed this cast: Luther Adler, the renowned actor/director for the evening
performances, and Paul Lipson, Lazar Wolf at evening performances, played Tevye
at the matinees. I saw Lipson. Former opera star Delores Wilson was Golde and
Ruth Jaroslow was Yente. The production was lovely to look at, directed and
choreographed by Jerome Robbins with flair, and everyone was very good. I
simply didn't much care for it. The first act seemed interminable and I just
wasn't connecting with the folks onstage. This is no defense, but this was, as
of March, 2018, fifty-one years ago. I was sixteen and this was only my third
professional show, the first two being Hello,
Dolly! and Half a Sixpence, so I
was still in my infancy as far as being a theatergoer goes, and perhaps my
critical faculties weren't acute enough to appreciate the show. Or perhaps I
simply didn't especially care for it. Full stop. My attitude would radically
change thirty-eight years later. (See next entry.) – at the McVickers Theatre,
Chicago
Sidebar:
Paul Lipson would go on to play Tevye over 2000 times on tour and on
Broadway, first as Zero Mostel's understudy. In Chicago, he would succeed
Luther Adler who left the tour shortly before the Chicago engagement ended. At
the time of his death, he held the record for playing the most performances as
Tevye, later eclipsed by Topol. Delores Wilson's Broadway career included
originating three roles in Broadway failures (Cry for Us All, 9 performances; The
Yearling, 3 performances; I Remember
Mama, 108 performances), a one-performance gig as Vivian Proclo in a
revival of The Ritz, which starred
porn star Casey Donovan, and a stint as Miss Hannigan in the original
production of Annie. Ruth Jaroslow
would play Yente in various Broadway revivals of Fiddler for nearly three decades. Her only other IBDB.com credit is
originating Vivian Proclo in the original production of The Ritz.
Sidebar:
With a run of ten months, Fiddler on
the Roof was the longest-running production at the McVickers Theatre during
its relatively short life as a legit playhouse. Never the first choice for
productions, it had a reputation for being something of a barn with a huge
balcony. Not as elegant, perhaps, at the Shubert, the number one choice for
musicals, or the Blackstone, the number one choice for non-musicals, or even
the Studebaker, the bridesmaid to the Blackstone, I rather liked the McVickers.
I was saddened when it reverted to film, then exploitation/blue films, and then
was demolished.
A bit of Marriott history back in the days when Marriott was star-driven. Note the "Fiddler Weekend" package! For the record, the theatre is now simply the Marriott Theatre.
– Minskoff Theatre,
New York
Bob's former student, Laura Shoop, is just to the right of Andrea Martin.
June, 2005. The first thing one noticed upon entering the
Minskoff Theatre was that Tom Pye's elegant, spare set design of trees and wood looked
so unlike the classic Boris Aronson design that it was hard to believe you were
at a performance of Fiddler on the Roof.
This elegance was evident in all the production elements, with only the
costumes reflecting a more, well, traditional look, to borrow the musical's catchphrase.
The Jerome Robbins choreography was there, as it must be per contractual
obligation, but David Leveaux's direction moved the show with an efficiency
and, again, elegant sparseness that, for me at least, brought the story of
Tevye, Golde, their daughters, their suitors and the folks of Anatevka to vivid
life. Where thirty-eight years earlier, my reaction was one of indifference, I
was now involved, interested, and I pretty much loved every minute of the show.
Harvey Fierstein was, let's face it, an unlikely choice to play Tevye. Edna
Turnblad in the Shtetl? But Fierstein took his unmistakable voice, his enormous
talent, and his abundance of humanity and gave Tevye depth and nuance, laced
with a large dose of humor and a bit of over-the-top acting. I thought his
performance was a triumph. Andrea Martin brought her considerable skillset to
the role of Golde, holding her own against the larger-than-life Fierstein.
Nancy Opel was a fine Yente, though I could have lived without her added-for-this-revival
"Topsy-Turvy," a mediocre waste of time that not even the resourceful
Ms. Opel could make palatable. The sons/daughters/suitors were all first-rate,
including Patrick Heusinger and Laura Shoop. With original stars Alfred Molina
and Randy Graff, the critics were divided. Fierstein gave the show a welcome
box office boost and this revival is, to date, the longest running Fiddler revival. I loved this
production. I have a new appreciation for the show itself, but I don't know if
I would necessarily want to see another production of it. – at the Minskoff
Theatre, New York
Post-Fiddler Cast Tidbits: In 2010,
Patrick Heusinger (Fyedka) would co-star in my favorite play, Next Fall. Playing Hodel was Laura
Shoop, a former student of Bob's. In 2016, we had the pleasure of seeing Laura
as Amalia Balash in She Loves Me,
filling in for an ailing Laura Benanti. We would cheer Andrea Martin in her
Tony-winning role in the revival of Pippin.
Nancy Opel would appear as Chicago's Drowsy Chaperone during its tour stop at
the Cadillac Palace. Harvey Fierstein, along with co-star Christopher Sieber,
would give the 2010 Tony-winning revival of La
Cage aux Folles a sense of gay verisimilitude that brought new depth to the
groundbreaking Jerry Herman musical. In 2017, Fierstein would give an unforgettable
performance in the Martin Sherman play, Gently
Down the Stream.
March, 1982. No the title is not a typo. Though abbreviated
to just Gertrude Stein, this is the
official title of this remarkable one-woman show. One person shows are tricky.
You need to have an interesting script, unobtrusive, yet efficient, direction,
and, probably most important, a star capable of delivering the goods on his/her
own. Some stars are better at this than others. As mentioned earlier, Kathleen
Turner was great fun in Tallulah,
but you were always aware you were watching Kathleen Turner. Ditto Bette Midler
in I'll Eat You Last. Midler was
amazing, but, again, the Midler charisma was always front and center. Julie
Harris, however, totally inhabited the spirit and character of Emily Dickinson
in The Belle of Amherst and Robert
Morse was unrecognizable in Tru, so
completely did he become Truman Capote. Add Pat Carroll as Gertrude Stein to
this second group. For those of us who knew Carroll as a superb comic performer
and especially as an evil Stepsister in the Lesley Ann Warren Cinderella, her performance as one of
the high priestesses of mid-20th century Parisian society was a revelation. By
this time Carroll had been playing this show for about three years, to critical
acclaim and award glory, including a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, the
Drama Critics Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, and the Outer Critics
Circle Award for Best Performance in an Off Broadway Play. As staged in the
intimate Goodman Theatre Studio in its old home at the Art Institute, this was
like sitting in Stein's salon at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris with our hostess
Gertrude Stein regaling us, her special guests, with stories from her life.
Everything about this production was class and Ms. Carroll was simply
breathtakingly good. – at the Goodman Theatre Studio, Chicago
Not sure what it is, but Madeline's rocking it! A biblical dominatrix?
May, 1971. The 38th
Broadway show by esteemed and beloved composer Richard Rodgers, Two by Two does not rank among his
finest work. The score is melodic, if not especially compelling, and has two
gorgeous ballads in the best Richard Rodgers tradition in "Something
Doesn't Happen," movingly sung by Tricia O'Neil, and the takeaway ballad
that didn't exactly takeaway, "I Do Not Know a Day I Did Not Love
You," a deceptively simple song that's somewhat of a bitch to sing, sung
by Walter Willison in his Tony-nominated role. The supporting cast was loaded
with talent, including Fiddler alum,
Harry Goz; Arthur Miller's sister and Kate Hepburn's Coco standby, Joan Copeland; the already-mentioned Willison and
O'Neil; Broadway favorite and future Tony-winner for Woman of the Year, Marilyn Cooper; a really, really handsome
Michael Karm; and, in a broadly comic role and saddled with a very strange song, "The Golden
Ram," Madeline Kahn, just prior to What's
Up, Doc? and stardom. The book by Peter Stone and the lyrics by Martin
Charnin were serviceable enough, and it all could have been an enjoyable night
at the theatre if it hadn't been for Two
by Two's leading man, Danny Kaye. Warmly received by critics when the show
opened, he suffered a muscle injury in February, was out for two weeks, and
when he returned to show, in a wheelchair and/or crutches (by the time I saw
the show, Kaye was using either a cane or a single crutch), he all but
abandoned the show, ad-libbing throughout, stealing focus, with all pretenses
of character and honoring the material jettisoned. It was the single most
unprofessional and disrespectful performance I have seen to date, and nearly
forty-seven years later, I'm still angry about it. When Kaye wasn't on stage,
which, sadly, wasn't often enough, the show was quite charming. When Kaye was on stage, however, the mood
instantly changed. It was sad to see Joan Copeland, an accomplished pro, trying
so hard to look like she was actually getting a kick out of all the Kaye
antics. If you looked closely, though, you saw the occasional eye roll and the
hardening of her smile. The younger cast members often just had a resigned look
about them, trying to hold their own and do their roles the best they could
while constantly in danger of being sabotaged by the egotistical star. I have
despised Kaye ever since. – at the Imperial Theatre, New York
Sidebar:
After Two by Two, Richard Rodgers
would only pen two more original musicals, Rex
and I Remember Mama, both critical
and financial failures. Surprisingly, given the difficult working relationship
the two had during Two by Two, Martin
Charnin was the lyricist on Mama.
According to Charnin, that was also a rocky ride. Despite a mixed set of
reviews and complaints about Kaye's behavior following his injury, Two by Two became a modest financial hit
with a run of 343 performances. Despite the creative pedigree, Two by Two is little more than a
footnote today.
Another
Sidebar: Kaye threatened to quit if Equity got involved. He was the reason
tickets were sold, so the producer, Richard Rodgers, more or less turned a
blind eye. At the performance I saw, the audience was clearly divided. Those in
the pricey seats downstairs seemed to groove on "The Danny Kaye
Show." Those of us upstairs applauded like mad for the supporting actors,
and then grew much quieter when Kaye took his bow. Kaye, not surprisingly
considering his attitude throughout the performance, didn't seem to care one
whit how the cheap seats felt. The Tony committee, however, did take note of Kaye's shenanigans, and
perhaps as punishment, awarded Two by Two
with a single Tony nomination (Willison's) in a season where only three
musicals were up for the major awards: Company
(the big winner that year), The
Rothschilds, the Harnick and Bock show, which picked up a couple of acting
awards, and The Me Nobody Knows, a
70s rock musical about kids in low-income NYC neighborhoods. Nothing for the
show itself, its creators, and the biggest, nothing for Kaye. This was a
huge snub since Kaye's return was one of the 1970-1971 season's most
anticipated events. Danny Kaye, thankfully, would never again be in a Broadway
musical, no great loss there, and according to every source I consulted to
refresh my memory of the show, Kaye's obnoxious diva behavior started pretty
much from Day One, but prior to the accident, he was playing the character and
keeping to the script and direction given to him. How things changed!
Still
Another Sidebar: At the tender age of twenty, I had a bit of a crush on
Walter Willison, thought he was super-cute. He was the reason why I found
myself at the Lyceum Theatre in November of 1971 at the first preview of the
musical, Wild and Wonderful, which,
as I said in an earlier post, was neither, and for decades reigned number one
as the worst show I've seen. Handsome Michael Karm hated his experience in his
Broadway debut in Two by Two so much,
he left the profession and became an accomplished acting instructor and coach.
And my personal favorite from the Karma's A Bitch Department, when it came time
to cast the role of Oscar Jaffe in On the
Twentieth Century, Madeline Kahn, by then a major star, and I quote here
from More Opening Nights on Broadway by
Steven Suskin, "vociferously vetoed Kaye for the role of Oscar
Jaffe." The part went to John Cullum. Sucks to be you, Danny Kaye!
About
Madeline's Song: "The Golden Ram." Odd, but melodically addictive,
and, truth be told, a filthy song filled with double entendres to keep it, uh,
clean, so to speak. Rodgers' melody showcases Kahn's opera training and voice and
is an aria in the middle of a musical comedy. A foreshadowing of Kahn's vocal pyrotechnics in 1978's On the Twentieth
Century.
And on that note, I'll stop for today. Two one-person shows,
a musical classic, two Tony winners, and an egotistical asshole of a star!
Quite a mixture. Until next time! And remember, if the shoe fits...
© 2018 Jeffrey Geddes
