Fred Ebb Memorialized at Ambassador Theatre

“Put down the knitting, the book and the broom.” “Start spreading the news.” “Come on, babe, why don’t we paint the town — and all that jazz.” At Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre, where a revival of the Kander and Ebb musical Chicago is playing, Fred Ebb’s family of friends gathered yesterday afternoon to pay tribute to the lyricist, who died on September 11, 2004.

Among those who performed were Liza Minnelli, star of Flora, the Red Menace, the first musical that Kander and Ebb wrote as a team; and Karen Ziemba, who headed the cast of Steel Pier, the most recent of the team’s shows to reach Broadway. Songs from four Kander & Ebb shows yet to be produced in New York were also sung. Film clips of Ebb performing and (with his partner) receiving the 1998 Kennedy Center Honors were shown.

John Kander, who entered to a standing ovation, was the first to speak. The composer recalled that his “wonderful genius collaborator, friend” and partner for 42 years once remarked that, if Ebb died before him, Kander should choose “a space that’s really big” for a memorial. A realist, Ebb had figured that “Radio City Music Hall is probably unlikely.” Should Kander’s death precede his, Ebb had noted, he would hold a memorial for the composer at “maybe the Booth — no, no, the Lucille Lortel.” Observed Kander, “Freddie was a star, a real bona fide star. Anybody who ever saw him perform knows that.” Kander then asked the audience to give Ebb a standing ovation.

Accompanied by Kander, Joel Grey sang “Willkommen” from Cabaret — the opening song of the Emcee, a role that earned Grey both a Tony Award and an Oscar. Hal Prince remembered Ebb as “sardonic,” and reminisced about Ebb’s June 15 appearance with Kander, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick in a program at the Bruno Walter Auditorium in the Lincoln Center Library to mark the occasion of the two songwriting teams having donated their papers to the library. (Prince had moderated the proceedings that day.) He concluded his comments yesterday by saying that great lyricists were poets; as an example, he read the lyrics of “Yes,” the final song from the Kander and Ebb musical 70, Girls, 70.

Karen Ziemba performed “My Coloring Book,” the first hit song written by Kander and Ebb. Lauren Bacall, who gave a Tony-winning performance in the team’s Woman of the Year, said, “Once you got to know Freddie, you had to fall in love with him.” Working with Kander and Ebb was, stated Bacall, “a highlight of my life.” She once telephoned Ebb, who inquired, “Who is this?” “Oh, come on!” Bacall shot back in her distinctive voice — to which Ebb responded, “Jimmy?” [meaning actor James Coco]. “Jimmy” thus became Bacall’s “favorite name and favorite identity.” She read a letter from Ebb, addressed “Dear Jimmy.” It had been written while he was on a trip to Los Angeles and contained the remark that “nobody out here has read anything more profound than the drivers’ manual.”

Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman, and Tommy (David) Thompson thanked Ebb for the “moment [that] changed our lives,” which was when he had okayed the then-newcomers’ plan to revive Flora, the Red Menace in 1987 at the Vineyard. Next, four songs from Kander and Ebb musicals that will hopefully reach Broadway some day were sung. Debra Monk belted out “It’s a Business” from Curtains, backed by James Clow, Jim Newman, and Danny Burstein. Brent Barrett sang the title song from the K&E musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth. Brian Stokes Mitchell performed “Make Friends with the Truth” from The Minstrel Show. And, accompanied by Kander, Chita Rivera sang “Love and Love Alone” from The Visit, in which she starred at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

Terrence McNally, who wrote the books for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, recalled Ebb’s honesty, saying: “I never caught him in a lie, even a fib.” He had first encountered Ebb in a restaurant across the street from the theater that housed And Things That Go Bump in the Night, the playwright’s second Broadway venture. Someone asked Ebb if he knew anything about the play, and McNally overheard Ebb say that he had heard it was “a real dog.” Years later, McNally relayed this incident to Ebb, who rejoindered: “Well, it was, wasn’t it?”

As a group, Mitchell Bernard (Ebb’s nephew), Tim Pinckney (a close friend of Ebb’s), and producer Arthur Whitelaw spoke about the lyricist, read a letter from Mayor Bloomberg, and stated that a newly formed Fred Ebb Foundation would award $50,000 annually to an upcoming lyricist, composer, or team. Wayne Brady, the current Billy Flynn, and the Chicago dancers performed “Razzle Dazzle” from that show. Film clips were then shown, and the tribute ended with Minnelli’s reminiscences and performances. As she has often done in the past, Minnelli said that “Fred Ebb invented me…he taught me everything I know.” Accompanied by Billy Stritch, she sang “And the World Goes Round” from New York, New York; and then, accompanied by Kander, she performed that film’s title song.