Theater News

Life Is Like a Train

Douglas Sills, Marin Mazzie, and company offer a sneak peek at On the Twentieth Century

New York City

The Actors’ Fund benefit concert performance of On the Twentieth Century — upcoming on Monday, September 26 — marks the first on-stage pairing of Tony Award nominees Douglas Sills and Marin Mazzie, who play impresario Oscar Jaffe and starlet Lily Garland. “We laugh all the time at rehearsals,” Sills said at a special press preview of the show today. “It’s such a pleasure to work with this group, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of putting all my eggs into this one-night basket.”



Joined by Brooks Ashmanskas and Brad Oscar, Sills sang his character’s first big number, “I Rise Again” — complete with a high A-natural. “For some reason, people often come to me with characters of large scale that need to be filled up,” he says. Does he see any resemblance between Jaffe and producer David O. Selznick, whom he recently played in Moonlight and Magnolias? “They’re very different,” he replies, “but they’re both very passionate about what they do. Oscar’s funny, but he probably thinks he’s a tragedian.”

Mazzie — who did a spectacular version of “Never” — did not see the original Broadway production of the show, which starred Madeline Kahn as Lily. But she has seen Twentieth Century, the classic film that is the musical’s source material. “I’m a huge Carole Lombard fan, so I’ve seen the movie many, many times,” she says. “It’s one of those roles I’ve always wanted to play, and now I get to, even if it’s just for one night. It’s such a great score — it’s got opera, operetta, and jazz — but it’s one that a lot of people don’t know really well.”

Jo Anne Worley is making a rare New York appearance as “religious nut” Letitia Primrose. “I did the show a couple of years ago in San Jose with Judy Blazer and Mark Jacoby, and it’s only because I knew the role that I could come here from L.A. for one week and do it,” she says. “Of course, it’s giving me a chance to see a lot of Broadway shows. I just saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and I thought it was brilliant.”

The show’s chorus sang the show’s title number in rousing fashion. “This concert is going to be spectacular for several reasons, one of which is that we have a cast of 37 and a 27-piece orchestra,” says director Peter Flynn. “I think of this as community theater; it’s just that our community is the best of Broadway.”

It’s been 32 years since Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In was last seen on primetime TV, but Worley’s signature laugh has never been forgotten. In fact, just before coming to New York, she was in Las Vegas unveiling the new “Laugh-In” slot machines that will debut at Bally’s next year. Viva Jo Anne!