Will Barbara Cook star in iSondheim?

The pre-Broadway production of this technologically based Sondheim revue by James Lapine was scrapped this past summer due to a lack of capital. Now it seems that Roundabout is considering it as a part of its season next year, as per Michael Riedel in today’s NY Post. The big rumor seems to be that Barbara Cook will headline. Cook has made several appearances on Broadway in her one-woman concerts/cabarets over the years, but has not starred in a musical since The Grass Harp folded in 1971. Riedel also mentions that Cook and Elaine Stritch were being sought, while disclosing the tidbit that the two legends do not get along. He cites an insider who knows both stars: if you put them in the same rehearsal hall, “no one would come out alive.” Stritch joined Cook onstage for her Metropolitan debut, duetting on “The Grass is Always Greener” from Woman of the Year, but Stritch’s work was left off the CD issue of that evening, with nary a mention of her participation.

While I’m not thrilled about the prospect of yet Sondheim revue (have we not exhausted that yet with Side by Side by Sondheim, You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (A Stephen Sondheim Evening), Putting it Together and Marry Me a Little?), I will jump at the opportunity to see Cook back on a Broadway stage.

The article also discusses some interesting offstage drama regarding Irena’s Vow. I will be reporting on my experiences with Tovah Feldhuh at the Walter Kerr Theatre in the near future.

A lyric you probably don’t know…

This is the opening number from the woefully unrecorded Broadway disaster 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as I posted earlier one of the few shattered remains of the original theatrical concept of a show-within-a-show… (they went through several tries with this slot before arriving on this one for NY). Now just imagine it with a syncopated, distinctively Bernsteinian sound (the melody was recycled as the second theme for Bernstein’s “Slava: A Political Overture”).

Seriously, I obsess so much about this one, I should write a book about it… or maybe just unearth press photos of Patricia Routledge mid “Duet for One.”

“Rehearse!” – 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Alan Jay Lerner (m. Leonard Bernstein)
Let’s start looking alive
When we arrive
It’s gonna be great.
Keep that fervor ablaze
And one of these days
It’s gonna be great.

In the course of human events,
There’s only one event that makes sense
Rehearse and rehearse
Rehearse and don’t stop
And if we do and if we don’t drop,
It’s gonna be great.

Grindstone under your nose
Up on your toes,
It’s gonna be great.
Keep that fervor ablaze
And one of these days
It’s gonna be great.

If we all have plenty of grit
And if we don’t fall into the pit
Of gloom and
Rehearse, rehearse and don’t stop
And if we do and if we don’t drop
It’s gonna be great.

Don’t let go of the thread
Way up ahead
It’s gonna be great.
Stitch wipe stitch
And you’ll see eventually
It’s gonna be great.

Pray to God as much as you please
He’ll only say,
“Get off of your knees.”
Rise up and rehearse
Rehearse and don’t stop
And if we do and if we don’t drop
It’s gonna be great!

Let’s start knockin’ them dead
Looking ahead
It’s gonna be great.
Let’s make everything pop
For up at the top
It’s gonna be great.

Pray to God as much as you please
He’ll only say,
“Get off of your knees.”
Rise up and rehearse,
Rehearse and don’t stop
And if we do and if we don’t drop
It’s gonna be great!

Let’s start looking alive
When we arrive
It’s gonna be great
Keep that fervor ablaze
And one of these days
It’s gonna be great.

In the course of human events
There’s only one event that makes sense
Rise up and rehearse,
Rehearse and don’t stop
And if we do and if we don’t drop
It’s gonna be great.
Gonna be great!
Gonna be great!
If we rehearse!
If we rehearse!
Rehearse!
Rehearse!
It’s gonna be great!

At Large Elsewhere: Kiley vs. Lansbury

I posted a few days ago that Peter Filichia recently pitted the winners of Actor and Actress Tonys against each other after discussing whether or not women should be called actors or actresses. According to Filichia, there was a three to one landslide in favor of Lansbury. Here was my response, which is surprisingly posted in its entirety:

This really IS a tough call! Both were giving career-defining performances. Kiley was anchoring the Best Musical winning juggernaut. Lansbury was a revelation as the star-turn diva carrying the latest Jerry Herman vehicle. Wow, I wouldn’t want to have had to choose!

However, I think that the votes would have had to go to Lansbury, as she had the bigger challenge, the bigger star turn, and the most to prove. Kiley was already renowned for his musical theatre work, but Lansbury only had nine performances as the third-billed star in Anyone Can Whistle, which wouldn’t have been seen by enough of the populace to make a lasting impression. For Lansbury, it was a total transformation from respected character actress into leading lady. Both roles are hard: Kiley had to enchant an audience while making up for a libretto and lyrics that fall short of the mark, comedy and pathos. Kiley’s transformation was incredible, too. However, Lansbury, sliding down the banister with a bugle, became the toast of New York with the magazine covers and spreads, and the incredible press and audience buzz. It was the start of Lansbury’s Act Two as a musical theatre star/legend.

Looking back on it, La Mancha was the musical apex for Kiley, who would never have another successful musical performance after it, while Lansbury as Mame was the first of so many diverse star turns. (Even Prettybelle in its out-of-town flopping, was important enough to warrant a cast album, and Lansbury cannot herself be faulted in the least for that show’s failure).

From a voting perspective, if you were going to vote Man of La Mancha Best Musical, you might be more inclined to vote for Lansbury in an attempt to honor her hard work, discipline, unexpected total triumph and also not let Mame go home without a major Tony. Thank God it’s merely speculation and that there is such a thing as an ‘actress’ or we’d have so much more agita than necessary in choosing the apples and oranges of who is the best of the best.

Marilyn Cooper (1936-2009)

“What’s so wonderful?”

That’s the line most closely associated with character actress Marilyn Cooper. Her distinctive delivery of that line in “The Grass is Always Greener,” the eleven o’clock showstopper from Woman of the Year was enough for her to win the Tony award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Cooper, a regular supporting actress in countless shows, died yesterday at the age of 72 in the Actor’s Fund Home in New Jersey.

Cooper made her Broadway debut in Mr. Wonderful, a vehicle for Sammy Davis Jr, in 1956. The following year she was part of history as Rosalia in the original cast of West Side Story, or the leader of the pro-Puerto Rican faction in “America.” It’s been reported that Arthur Laurents liked her so much, he wrote the role of Agnes/Amanda in Gypsy specifically for her. (She would also play a variety of roles in Hallelujah, Baby!) Cooper appeared in I Can Get it for You Wholesale, replaced Jane Connell as Gooch in the original Broadway production of Mame (that must have been nothing short of riotous), standing by for Eydie Gorme in Golden Rainbow and understudying Bernadette Peters in the 1971 revival of On the Town (in which she appeared as Lucy Schmeeler), Two by Two, Working and Ballroom. She also made appearances in the all-female Odd Couple revival and Broadway Bound. Her TV appearances included Lilith’s mother on Cheers and Fran’s paternal grandmother on The Nanny. She was also Mae Peterson in the Tommy Tune national tour of Bye Bye Birdie.

However, it is really the role of Jan Donovan, the frumpy housewife married to Lauren Bacall’s ex-husband in Woman of the Year that garnered her what is probably the biggest critical success of her career. The musical was carried by Bacall throughout the entire evening. However, late in the second act Cooper entered in a bathrobe and curlers, with her entire high pitched nasal deadpan delivery. The hilarity grew out of the incredible dichotomy of the women’s lives: one a successful career woman, the other a housewife and mother – and a friendly expression of their envy for each other. Suffice it to say, Cooper walked away with the show. Cooper took home the Drama Desk and Tony awards for her work. To see the scene and song in all its glory, click here.

The cast album performance of the song captures every nuance of humor, making it one of the most enjoyable cuts on a theater album (which is out of print for whatever reason). A comic talent like Ms. Cooper’s doesn’t come around so often. Though never a star, she was one of the most reliable professionals in the NY theatre scene and her death is definitely a big loss to musical comedy fans.

Amy Morton, Amy Morton, Amy Morton

Amy Morton, the Tony-nominated powerhouse who gave what I think was the greatest performance of any I saw last season, returns to the Broadway company of August: Osage County on May 26. Phylicia Rashad will be donning the teal pajamas of Violet Weston on that same day. Morton left the NY production in October 12, taking a well-deserved rest before shipping off to London for the National Theatre production that opened in November.

"The Story Goes On"

This song has been popping up a lot on my ipod (as referenced a few days ago in a previous post) and found this in my internet searches. It’s Liz Callaway in the original Broadway production of Baby in 1983. Quality is poor, but Callaway is stunning. Enjoy.

And the Pulitzer Prize Goes to…

Ruined.

Congratulations to playwright Lynn Nottage for the prestigious win. The play is running off-Broadway at MTC’s City Center Stage I until May 10. Perhaps with the win, an extension might be in order. It’s been a mixed year for the Manhattan Theatre Club. Their off-Broadway shows have been met with far more success than anything on-Broadway at the Biltmore this season. Regardless, kudos on the win to all those involved, including Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where the play had its world premiere.

According to Playbill, other finalists for the prize were Second Stage’s Becky Shaw and the Tony-winning In the Heights. Interesting selections.

Outer Critics Circle Nominations

Today is a big day for theatre awards: the Outer Critics Circle nominations have been announced and later this afternoon, the Puliter Prize for Drama will be announced.

Outstanding New Broadway Play
God of Carnage
Irena’s Vow
reasons to be pretty
33 Variations

Outstanding New Broadway Musical
Billy Elliot: The Musical
Rock of Ages
Shrek the Musical
A Tale of Two Cities

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play
Becky Shaw
Farragut North
Ruined
Shipwrecked! The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself)
Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them

Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
Happiness
Rooms: A Rock Romance
The Toxic Avenger
What’s That Smell? The Music of Jacob Sterling

Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Billy Elliot: The Musical
Happiness
Rooms: A Rock Romance
Shrek The Musical

Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Blithe Spirit
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot

Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
Enter Laughing
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

Outstanding Director of a Play
Garry Hynes, The Cripple of Inishmaan
Anthony Page, Waiting for Godot
Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests
Moises Kaufman, 33 Variations

Outstanding Director of a Musical
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot the Musical
Arthur Laurents, West Side Story
Jason Moore, Shrek the Musical
Diane Paulus, Hair
Susan Stroman, Happiness

Outstanding Choreographer
Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot the Musical
Josh Prince, Shrek the Musical
Susan Stroman, Happiness

Outstanding Set Design (Play or Musical)
Tim Hatley, Shrek the Musical
Santo Loquasto, Waiting for Godot
Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot the Musical
Walt Spangler, Desire Under the Elms

Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical)
Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot the Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek the Musical
John Napier, Equus
Martin Pakledinaz, Blithe Spirit
Catherine Zuber, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical)
Kevin Adams, Hair
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot the Musical
David Hersey, Equus
Peter Kaczorowski, Ruined
David Lander, 33 Variations

Outstanding Actor in a Play
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
Bill Irwin, Waiting for Godot
Nathan Lane, Waiting for Godot
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, reasons to be pretty

Outstanding Actress in a Play
Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Ruined
Carla Gugino, Desire Under the Elms
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
James Barbour, A Tale of Two Cities
Matt Cavenaugh, West Side Story
Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek the Musical
Josh Grisetti, Enter Laughing
David Pittu, What’s That Smell? The Music of Jacob Sterling

Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Sutton Foster, Shrek the Musical
Megan Hilty, 9 to 5
Leslie Kritzer, Rooms A Rock Romance
Nancy Opel, The Toxic Avenger
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
John Benjamin Hickey, Mary Stuart
Russell G. Jones, Ruined
Patrick Page, A Man for All Seasons
David Pearse, The Cripple of Inishmaan

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Andrea Martin, Exit the King
Kristine Nielsen, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them
Susan Louise O’Connor, Blithe Spirit
Condola Rashad, Ruined

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical
Daniel Breaker, Shrek the Musical
Aaron Simon Gross, 13
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot the Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek the Musical
Wesley Taylor, Rock of Ages

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Kathy Fitzgerald, 9 to 5
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot the Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot the Musical

Outstanding Solo Performance
Mike Birbiglia, Sleepwalk With Me
Mike Burstyn, Lansky
Mike Daisey, If You See Something, Say Something
Lorenzo Pisoni, Humor Abuse
Matt Sax, Clay

Outstanding Ensemble Performance
The cast of The Norman Conquests: Amelia Bullmore, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Mangan, Ben Miles, Paul Ritter, Amanda Root

John Gassner Award (Presented for an American Play, Preferably by a New Playwright)
Annie Baker, Body Awareness
Gina Gionfriddo, Becky Shaw
Beau Willimon, Farragut North

Special Achievement Award
For their performances in Billy Elliot the Musical: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish

Also: Dividing the Estate, next to normal and [title of show] were previously eligible for the Outer Critics Circle awards when their shows were first presented in their off-Broadway berth. They will, however, turn up come Tony time.