Theater News

Loose Lips

Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley find Brigadoon in L.A., Holly Woodlawn acts up at Fez, and Barbra Streisand may star in a film version of Ballroom.

Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley(Photo © Michael Portantiere)
Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)

THE HEATHER ON THE COAST
Can the couple that plays together stay together? Absolutely, say Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, who have been experiencing what they call “our summer of love” in California. Last month, the married Tony nominees co-starred in the Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, followed by a run of their critically acclaimed cabaret act at the Cinegrill. Next up for them is the Reprise! production of Brigadoon, August 17-29 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

As perfectly suited as they are for the roles of lovers Fiona and Tommy, neither had played these parts before. “Actually, I never saw or read the show before now,” says Mazzie. “I saw the movie years ago and I know some of the songs. What’s really surprised me is how much emotion there is to the piece; when Tommy has to leave Fiona, I can hardly say the words.” On the other hand, Danieley is not a complete Brigadoon virgin. “I actually went back to my high school after my first year of college to choreograph it,” he says.

Mazzie and Danieley both earned excellent reviews for 110 in the Shade, and they would love a chance to do the show in New York. “I think audiences and some of the critics would love it, even though it’s probably not cynical enough for Ben Brantley,” says Danieley. “For me, it was great not to play a little boy or a closeted homosexual [as he did in Candide and The Full Monty]. I finally got to be a big strapping man. And I think audiences were surprised to hear that balls-to-the-walls baritone voice come out of me, which I haven’t really had a chance to use in my other shows.” While Mazzie — one of the theater’s most glamorous leading ladies — may have seemed an odd choice for plain old Lizzie, she thinks the role was a great fit. “There’s a lot of Lizzie in me,” she remarks. “What woman doesn’t battle with worrying what she looks like? I loved being in that horrible wig and plain cotton dress with very little make-up.”

After Brigadoon wraps, the pair will have to separate — for professional purposes. Mazzie will stay in California, where she has a recurring role in the CBS sitcom Still Standing, and will concentrate on getting more television roles. Danieley will head down to the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia to star in The Highest Yellow, Michael John LaChiusa‘s new musical, which begins on October 26. “I play Vincent Van Gogh’s physician, Dr. Felix Rey, who tries to help Van Gogh balance the fine line between madness and genius,” he tells me. “I also fall in love with a prostitute, who’s played by Judy Kuhn. If I can’t work with my wife, it’s great to work with someone like Judy, who I know so well and is so talented.” His being asked to do the part was quite fortuitous, adds Danieley: “When I was in London doing The Full Monty, I became obsessed with Van Gogh and did all this reading — and writing — about his life. So I was actually doing research for this part without knowing it.”

HAVING A BALLROOM?
Could Ballroom, the short-lived 1978 Michael Bennett-directed Broadway musical, finally be coming to the big screen? We hear that Chicago helmer Rob Marshall has had at least one conversation about the project with none other than…Barbra Streisand! If this sounds far-fetched, consider that La Streisand’s dear pals Alan & Marilyn Bergman wrote the lyrics for the show (which starred Dorothy Loudon) and the TV movie that inspired it (which starred Maureen Stapleton). Billy Goldenberg wrote the music.

THIS IS THEIR MOMENT
If you missed their big breaks on Broadway, you’ll get another chance to see some lauded performers at this year’s New York International Fringe Festival, which begins on Friday. Taboo‘s Brooke Elliott (a powerful Big Sue during Liz McCartney‘s maternity leave) and Denise Summerford (who understudied Sarah Uriarte Berry as Nicola) will appear in the new musical Andru’s HeadRyan Link, who’s had two significant stints as Roger in Rent, will star in All Good Things, a musical based on the lives of the 1960s rock group The Remains…Billy Eugene Jones, who spelled Sean Combs during his absence from A Raisin in the Sun, is part of the cast of The Jammer! A Roller Derby Love Story…and Thursday Farrar, Heather Headley‘s original standby in Aida, will appear in the much-anticipated musical The Passion of George W. Bush.

Susannah York
Susannah York

OH, SUSANNAH
Talk about your long-lasting love affairs! Acting legend Susannah York first became enamored with the words of William Shakespeare as a child in Scotland. Now, half a century later, the former Oscar nominee will be repeating them nightly in her solo show The Loves of Shakespeare’s Women, which will begin a two-week run at the Blue Heron Theatre on August 18. (Before that, it can be seen on August 12 at the Santa Barbara Shakespeare Festival and August 14 at the Ark in Ann Arbor, Michigan.)

“At one point, there was talk about dropping Shakespeare from the English state school curriculum, and I couldn’t bear that thought,” says York, explaining her motivation for the show. “I didn’t want us to lose that language. I also wanted to persuade people how accessible his work is. I don’t think there’s anything more contemporary than Shakespeare. In fact, after one show, a 10-year-old boy came up to me and said ‘Wow, Shakespeare is cool.'”

York will enact such diverse female characters as Rosalind, Juliet, and Lady Macbeth in the program, which will run about 70 minutes in New York. “My initial idea was to do something like John Gielgud‘s Ages of Man, where I would go from the younger characters to the older ones,” she says. “But I soon realized that there was a theme running through all these women’s speeches: love. I don’t mean just romantic love, but love of family, love of country, love of power, truth, or even mercy.”

In doing this show, York gets to touch upon the few Shakespearean roles she regrets not having played in full productions — most notably, Beatrice and Cleopatra — as well as revisiting some old favorites. “When I was a teenager, I imaginatively informed playing the older characters,” she says. “Now I imaginatively inform and remember the younger ones!”

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
The Worth Street Theater Company is presenting a new version of Voices of Peace and Dissent from Ground Zero, which features readings of news clippings and anti-war literature, on August 16, 23, and 30 at the East 13th Street Theater. Among the celebrities scheduled to lend their voices in this go-round are Michael Cerveris, David Henry Hwang, Brian Murray, and Mario Cantone. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to Moveon.org — which was also the beneficiary of last week’s sold-out reading of two scenes from Tony Kushner‘s Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Unhappy, starring John Cameron Mitchell as Laura Bush. If you missed out on that benefit, you’re in luck: The scenes will be presented again, this time for free, at New York Theater Workshop August 30-September 1 as part of the Imagine Festival. No official casting has been announced but I hear that a real lady may portray the First Lady this time.

THE Y FACTOR
The 92nd Street Y is instituting a major change in its long-running Lyrics & Lyricists series: The 35th anniversary season will begin in November and end in May, in contrast to the normal January-June schedule. The format will be the same as last year’s, with five guest artistic directors presenting programs. Rob Fisher will salute Fiddler on the Roof lyricist Sheldon Harnick; actor André DeShields will look at the legacy of Andy Razaf; authors Robert Kimball and Deborah Grace Winer will examine the work of Mack Gordon and Dorothy Fields, respectively; and musical director Paul Trueblood will pay tribute to his longtime colleagues Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

HELLO, HOLLY!
Holly Woodlawn has decided that her 15 minutes of fame are not yet up. The former Andy Warhol star will appear on Saturday night at Fez in Take a Walk on the Wild Side With Holly Woodlawn. Naturally, she will sing the Lou Reed classic that she inspired, along with standards by Frank Loesser and Cole Porter. If we’re really lucky, maybe Sylvia Miles will show up for a duet.