Peter Filichia's Diary at TheaterMania.com

August Leftovers

2008-08-29T00:01:00Z

According to Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen — and that “Teahouse” play that inspired it — of all the moons of the year, the August Moons are the best, because they makes you older and wiser. We can only hope that will have happened to all of us during these 31 August Moons we’ll have experienced when this month comes to an end on Sunday.

But it was a busy month for theatergoing. A Shot in the Dark showed what playwright Harry Kurnitz had in mind before Blake Edwards Inspector Clouseau’d it up. (Thank you, Blake Edwards.) Some Americans Abroad deftly displayed that those who can teach cannot necessarily run departments well or courageously. The First Breeze of Summer had a main character amazingly like Blanche DuBois, though she survived better. And Rajiv Joseph’s terrific Animals out of Paper included a charming idea: A character who, in his youth, took a blank notebook and began filling it with the blessings he perceived he received in his life. Now, decades later, he’s still doing it. Granted, one was hard pressed to believe that he was still using the same book lo these dozens of years later, especially when he started citing readingus blessings in the 7,000 range; shouldn’t hebe up to Volume XLVI at least? But the idea of keeping a book (or books) of our blessings is something that we should think about doing, to remind ourselves how lucky we are.

I remembered two of my great blessings on August 9, as I celebrated the 33rd anniversary of The Best Double-Header I Ever Experienced in Theater. On that date in 1975, I saw the original production of Chicago at the matinee, and the original cast of A Chorus Line at the evening performance. Why didn’t I just say the original cast of each, you ask? Because I didn’t see Gwen Verdon, who was ill — though seeing Liza Minnelli as her replacement wasn’t at all disappointing. Considering that Minnelli had only started rehearsing on Tuesday and was put in on Friday, I can easily say that, pro-rated (and maybe not pro-rated), she gave the Best Performance I Have Ever Seen An Actress Give in a Musical. Remember, this was when the lady was in his prime, and, at 29, was the right age for Roxie Hart. What’s more, think about her voice for those songs: “He LOVES me so.” Can’t you hear her now? Heaven! To all of you who’ve only seen Chicago via the 1996 revival, all I can is, wish you’d been there in 1975; you would have loved it 800 times more. (Oh — and A Chorus Line was awfully good that day, too.) In the meantime, friends, would you care to tell me what Your Best Double-Headers That You’ve Ever Experienced in Theater? If you would, I’m at pfilichia@aol.com

The show that I saw in August that was the best attended — and best appreciated — was Flamingo Court. Now this show about the very old was packed to the rafters on a Sunday matinee with the very old. As people walked in slowly — when they were walking at all — my theater companion, noting that theshow was playing at the same complex that houses My First Time, said, “They should call this one My Last Time.” Perhaps, but producer Carolyn Rossi Copeland and author Luigi Creatore know their niche market, and have given it exactly what it wants. Jokes poured from the stage, and in every row, at least one woman turned to the one next to her, who was turning to her as well, to look at each other and share the laugh at what they’d just heard. The result is a big fat hit that will be done for about as many years as its average patron’s life. Is it great? No, though both Jamie Farr and Anita Gillette do yeoman work in traversing through the three one-acters. But now you don’t have to worry what you’re going to do with your relatives next Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Grandparents Day.

Jack Viertel, the artistic director of Encores! wrote an article about the upcoming season, where Music in the Air will be mounted. In citing the Kern-Hammerstein songs, he said “two of which — ‘I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star’ and ‘The Song Is You’ — became standards.” Well, yes and no. No question that both were popular when released in 1932, and for some time after. The former song even got a second life in 1961, when someone named Linda Scott pepped up the beat and got a gold record out of it. Baby boomers who were then 15 years and younger would have been humiliated to know they were buying a song from an operetta, but indeed they were.

But really, who performs these songs any more? I think we must reluctantly create a new category of song called “Ex-standard” — a song that was popular for a good long time, but hasn’t been heard from in years. Sad to say, we’d have to add to the list such not-forevergreens as “You’re Just in Love,” “I’ve Got Your Number,” and “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” among scores of others that died much too soon.

It was the month in we sadly witnessed the death of a writer who helped to change Broadway musicals without even meaning to. George Furth wrote a bunch of one-acters about marriage, but they wound up on stage in a completely different configuration — as the musical Company. Just as, in 1776, Franklin says, “Revolutions come into this world like bastard children — half improvised and half compromised,” the same can be said of Company. Furth also wrote Precious Sons, one of the most under-appreciated plays of the last quarter century, one that I saw at previews, and was certain would win the Pulitzer Prize. I’m still astonished that it didn’t beguile the critics as it did me. Anyone who does a revival can be assured I’ll be in a front-row seat.

It was the month when A.R. Gurney’s Buffalo Gal did so well that it extended its run into September. If you haven’t heard, the play takes place in a Buffalo theater where a fading TV star is returning to do The Cherry Orchard for a female artistic director we only come to know as Jackie. Jackie’s so terrific (partly from Jennifer Regan’s performance) that we really find ourselves thinking she’s a visionary producer — only to learn later in the script that she recently did Proof, Doubt, and The Vagina Monologues. I’m sure that Gurney wanted to make the point that Jackie couldn’t afford to do bigger shows, but I do wish that she could have been more adventurous than that. And, for that matter, I’m sad to see that so many theaters are offering just that line-up. But even if you artistic directors can only hire four people or fewer at a time, how about doing Out-Cry, Miss Margarida’s Way, K2, or Two for the Seesaw — plays that don’t show up with the predictable regularity? Or spring for five characters, and do Precious Sons.

Buffalo Gal also has a black character named James (smartly played by Dathan B. Williams) who tells of his experiences acting in grammar school. He played a frog — at least until the kiss that turned him into a handsome prince; of course, a white kid then took over. That’s bittersweet funny, to be sure, and we hate to laugh. On the other hand, I can prove from at least one example that we’ve come a long way. At a production of Damn Yankees that I saw at St. Peter’s High School in Jersey City some years ago, schlubby Joe Boyd was played by a white student, but when he turned into the invincible Joe Hardy, a black student took his place. The audience full of parents and grandparents laughed affectionately, but all of them could remember a time when such casting would have been unthinkable. Nevertheless, in reality, the casting made tremendous sense: Aren’t most of baseball’s greatest stars and record-holders black?

On August 13, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave August: Osage County a Mayor’s Proclamation in honor of the show’s 300th performance, and because it has “reaffirmed New York’s proud heritage of welcoming the world’s boldest, most powerful works of art.” Listen, I love the play, too, but isn’t that a bit much for a 300th performance? Guess they’re going to get Governor David Patterson for the 400th performance, and, for the 500th, our new president. For the 600th, I hear the Pope will give his blessing, and when the 1000th performance rolls around (and I hope it will), perhaps the producers of August will get the Messiah to come and say a few words.

Finally, Cathy Jones, who took my 2008 Broadway University Entrance Exam — which concentrated on French words in lyrics — added something deliciously funny to her answers. “When I first started taking French in middle school,” she wrote, “we learned that the French word for ‘stone’ was ‘pierre.’ All I could think was that in France a production of 1776 would attribute the book not to Peter Stone, but to Pierre Pierre. I can guarantee that was not what the rest of the seventh grade was thinking.” Indeed, Cathy, but what a better world this would be if all schoolchildren had the same thought! (And for all of you who are looking forward to the answers to that quiz, do tune in on Monday.)

You may e-mail Peter at pfilichia@aol.com

It's in the Cards

2008-08-27T00:01:00Z

While waiting at the Newark Liberty for my luggage to arrive from my Edmonton trip, I sauntered into a gift shop. There I saw "Baseball Heroes” -- a pack of 52 cards that had pictures of famous Yankees and Mets on them. Soon I was harrumphing, "And where are the 'Broadway Musical Theater Heroes' cards?"

It's a well-known fact that Broadway routinely outgrosses the Yankees and the Mets combined – AND the Rangers in hockey AND the Knicks in basketball, too. So shouldn't New York be celebrating Broadway at least as much as sports? Yes, it's time for a deck of "Broadway Musical Theater Heroes."

So, while waiting an eternity for the carousel to yield my baggage, I started thinking. Who’d be on the Broadway Heroes cards? Well, just as this sports version limited its contenders to players – not managers, coaches, or executives -- let's just list performers (though Lord knows we'd get plenty of possibilities in the writing, producing, directing, and choreographing categories).

For the four Aces, what would seem most fair would be an even split between two men and two women. Let's go for true legends in those categories, and pick Al Jolson, George M. Cohan, Mary Martin, and Ethel Merman.

For the four Kings, Yul Brynner would seem a logical choice, given that he made his fame and fortune as a King. Another King could be someone who almost originated that same role (and, as my buddy Josh Ellis noted, had to settle for spelling Brynner on vacation), the man who gave us Curly, Petruchio, the Public Poet Later Called Hajj, and Kean: Alfred Drake. And sticking with the male sex for the other two Kings seems logical. So how about Zero Mostel and Tommy Tune?

Four women for the Queens, of course. Coming immediately to mind are (in alphabetical order) Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters and Gwen Verdon. I pat myself on the bat for doing so well so far -- until I realize that I haven't yet assigned cards to Noel Coward and Robert Preston, or Elaine Stritch and Chita Rivera. Hmmm, guess they'll have to be the Jacks. Still, that seems especially unfair to Coward, who was certainly not a theatrical jack of all trades, but a master of many skills.

But wait -- Harvey Fierstein has done well too, and so has Brian Stokes Mitchell. Must they be relegated as low as 10? On the other hand, it's at this point that I'm already deciding that Barbra Streisand deserves no more than to be a deuce. After all, she only did two Broadway shows before she spurned us. Had she stayed with us, who knows how high she could have gone?

On a similar note, Julie Andrews waved bye-bye as soon as Hollywood called -- but at least she returned, so to grant her anything less than a 10 would be egregious. So who’s our other female 10? Carol Channing? Liza Minnelli? This is getting tough.

Audra McDonald, with two Tonys in the featured musical category – and another for a play in which she sang (Master Class) – would seem to warrant at least a 9. But Christine Ebersole deserves no less, too. But suddenly I’m feeling bad again, because I haven’t yet assigned anything to Jerry Orbach and Len Cariou. Are they mere 9’s? And shouldn’t Raul Julia be a 9 for more obvious reasons?

Is 8 enough for Donna Murphy? Or Barbara Cook, who, true, hasn’t been in a show for almost four decades, but was pretty busy for the 20 years before that. Oh, what about Phil Silvers, who, it seems to me, should be higher? Or Dolores Gray, who won a Tony even though her show, Carnival in Flanders, closed in a week. Or the Hollidays -- Judy and Jennifer -- even though they only had one smash hit each. Good Lord, the numbers go fast. And Boyd Gaines should soon be in the running, too.

Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel for the lucky 7s? Richard Kiley and Raul Esparza? Marin Mazzie, Gregory Hines, Gertrude Lawrence and Marilyn Miller? Do Betty Comden and Adolph Green get one card together, or two? Whoops, I’ve left out Donna McKechnie, Pearl Bailey, Jack Cassidy, Roger Bart, La Chanze, Judy Kaye, Laura Benanti, Dorothy Loudon, Jane Krakowski, and Betty Buckley.

But what about Bert Lahr, John Raitt, Fred Astaire, Hugh Jackman, Michael Crawford, Michael Cerveris, Jonathan Pryce, and Rex Harrison? Barbara Harris, Ethel Waters, Bebe Neuwirth, Karen Ziemba, Sherie Rene Scott, and Rosie O’Donnell (the last-named for all she did for Broadway on her daytime TV show)? And then there's Fleury D'Antonakis. (Only kidding.)

And I haven’t forgot about Nathan Lane: As Anthony Newley (who deserves a card too) once sang, “There’s always a Joker in the pack.” I’m starting to understand why there’s no “Broadway Musical Theater Heroes” deck of cards. There are just too many more than 53 people who deserve to be on them. But as my pals Rick Thompson and Frank Pickus have noted, there are always those double pinochle decks.

You may e-mail Peter at pfilichia@aol.com