Jerry Herman: Once in a Lifetime

Jerry Herman has one of the most enviable track records in Tony Awards history, earning nominations for six of the seven Broadway shows he created (Milk and Honey, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Mack & Mabel, The Grand Tour, and La Cage Aux Folles) and taking home the trophy for both Dolly and La Cage. Yet, the 77-year-old composer and lyricist simply could not be more thrilled about receiving the 2009 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement on Sunday, June 7.

“It’s without any question, the cherry on top of the sundae and a culmination of what has already been a great lifetime with more awards than my shelves can hold,” says Herman. “But what makes it so special is because this award comes from my peers, and there’s nothing like that. And it’s also nicer than my other ones because I am not competing against someone else.”

Indeed, Herman says he was shocked both times his name was called as the winner of the Tony. “In 1964, Hello, Dolly! was up against Funny Girl. Jule Styne was and is an idol of mine — even to this moment. Just last night, I was playing ‘Make Someone Happy’ (from Do Re Mi) on my piano at home, because it’s such a great song,” he says. “And I certainly didn’t expect to win over Stephen Sondheim for Sunday in the Park With George. He’s the best of the best. So both times, I wasn’t going to the ceremony with any expectations, although I did think about nice things to say in case I won. I don’t like long speeches, though. Even this one is going to be only two minutes. I just think I can say it all in that amount of time. Plus I can’t mention a name, since if I do, I will offend the 100,000 people who I didn’t mention.”

Still, one name he might mention if he could is Angela Lansbury, who won Tony Awards as Best Actress in a Musical for both Mame and Herman’s 1969 musical Dear World, and who is a nominee this year as Best Featured Actress in a Play for Blithe Spirit. “Nothing could please me more to see her win; she is one of the great ladies of our time, not just one of our great actresses of our time,” he says. “Our relationship is so strong and beautiful, and we have even bonded more through all these years.”

That relationship has lasted for more than 40 years. “I had never met her. but I saw her in Anyone Can Whistle, and then when we were searching for our Mame, every actress in New York came and sang, but no one hit us in the heart,” he recalls. “And then one day, I found the program for Anyone Can Whistle, and I said to the producers that I have an interesting idea — Angela Lansbury — and they laughed at me, because they thought of her as this person who played everyone’s mother. So they saw her as a favor for me, and that’s how she got the part. And to be honest, I didn’t even know she could dance when I called her.”

Herman is also excited about the presence of two of the evening’s other special honorees: actress Phyllis Newman and publicist Shirley Herz. “Phyllis and I grew up in Jersey City together, and starting out, we did each other’s auditions for free for years. I played for her and she sang my songs. And Shirley has worked on a lot of my shows. So it’s almost like kismet and old home week rolled into one for the three of us to be recognized on the same night.”

While Herman is still actively involved in new productions of his classic musicals, he does think the term “lifetime achievement” fully applies. “I am too old to go through the process of creating a new musical again; you know what it takes for a show to get on the stage. And while I wouldn’t have given up those days for anything in the world, I am proud of the fact that I knew when to leave that end of the business. I don’t know how to write these new contemporary shows — or want to write them. I never changed my style to fit the changing times,” he says. “But the thing that makes me proudest and happiest is that I am still here to receive this extraordinary honor.”

For more information or to listen to clips from Herman’s shows, visit www.masterworksbroadway.com/jerryherman.