Peter Filichia's Diary at TheaterMania.com http://www.theatermania.com/peterfilichia Read Peter Filichia's Diary every day on TheaterMania.com en Copyright 2008 - TheaterMania.com <![CDATA[The Movies in Your Minds]]> If all had gone as planned, tonight or any night of the year, we could have popped a disc into out DVD-player and seen Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in She Loves Me, or Lerner and Loewe’s 1945 musical, The Day Before Spring. But alas, these and many other movies never happened, though some of them got close.

I wrote about a few of them a couple of weeks ago; click on the calendar to the right of this column, get it back to April, and then select the 28th to see what aborted musical movies I remembered.

Then I asked you if you knew of any. And you did! Some went off on tangents, but they were interesting ones, too – so I’ve included quite a bit -- in alphabetical order.

The Apple Tree -- “I remember reading in a theater column that after Debbie Reynolds saw the show on Broadway she loved it so much that she was determined to be the only one who would star in the film version.” (Tom DiMaggio)

Carnival -- Kevin Dawson: “Did you ever see Chita Rivera's screen test for this? Presumably she was to play Rosalie. Gower Champion introduced her off-camera as Janet Leigh -- a swipe at the Bye Bye Birdie movie." (Kevin Dawson)

Cats – "In 1995-96, there was much talk of an animated film. It was even in pre-production with shooting scheduled to begin September ‘95 for Universal, and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Initial reports had Tom Stoppard writing the script, then Patricia Knopp. It was to cost $50 million.” (Bob Rendell)

Chicago -- “There was plenty of talk, year in and year out, of a film that was supposed to have starred Liza Minnelli and Goldie Hawn. The same producers, though, stuck with it until the film did get made.” (John W. Griffin)

Finian’s Rainbow – “A couple of animation books contain artwork for this would-be film that became a victim of the blacklist and unrealistic budgeting, for the stars would all be in on percentages.” (Kevin Dawson).

Follies – “I'd heard that Henry Fonda was to be Ben, Shirley MacLaine Sally, and Gene Kelly Buddy.” (Jon Maas) “I was told it didn't happen because Hal Prince felt that MGM was reneging on promises. Bette Davis' assistant wrote of her learning ‘I'm Still Here.’” (Kevin Dawson) “Interestingly, I remember a very different cast being announced: Julie Andrews as Phyllis, Richard Burton as Ben, Jack Lemmon as Buddy and Shirley MacLaine as Sally (before the similarly plotted The Turning Point), with Davis as Carlotta and Crawford playing Hattie.” (BwayBear). “Another kind of What Might Have Been came to mind reading your column today: the national tour of Follies played the L.A. Shubert, as you mentioned, and was, in fact, its inaugural show in 1972. A few years ago, when the Shubert was scheduled for demolition, the folks at Reprise! tried very hard to book their concert production with Patty Duke, Vicki Carr, Harry Groener, Bob Gunton, et al. as the Shubert's final production. Alas, things didn't work out. I was severely disappointed, not only at losing a beautiful theatrical symmetry, but missing the chance to see Follies in a truly ironic setting.” (Laura Frankos)

Gypsy – “Before Roz and Warner Brothers, evidently for about five minutes, it was going to come from MGM, starring Judy Garland and her kid, Liza." (Broadway Mishap)

Into the Woods – “Copies of the screenplay used to be sold on eBay; word was Barbra Streisand would have been the Witch opposite the Muppets.” (Kevin Dawson) “It’s even mentioned on Wikipedia: ‘In October 1994, a reading of a screenplay -- written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel was held at the home of director Penny Marshall with a cast that included Robin Williams as The Baker, Goldie Hawn as The Baker's Wife, Cher as The Witch, Danny DeVito as The Giant, and Roseanne Barr as Jack's Mother.” (Scott McClintock)

La Cage aux Folles – “Was to be done by Golan-Globus in the late '80s. Jack Lemmon and Dudley Moore were alternately spoken of for Albin opposite Sinatra's Georges (I'd have chosen Gene Kelly and Danny Kaye, though the latter would soon be dead), with John Travolta as Jean-Michel." (Kevin Dawson)

Little Me -- “If I remember correctly, Joe Levine in the 1960s bought the rights with the intention of starring the then-hot young actress Carroll Baker.” (Jim Lockwood)

Look, Ma, I'm Dancin' – “Steven Suskin wrote that it was briefly considered as a Betty Hutton film.” (Kevin Dawson)

Mame – “A TV production was to have starred Cher, produced by, then rumored to be starring Barbara Streisand. Rob Marshall and Peter Tolan were named to be working on the project.” (Broadway Mishap)

The Merry Widow – “This was first rumored for Streisand and then sometime later for Julie Andrews to star opposite Placido Domingo. As for the latter, the impetus was the simultaneous success of both Victor/Victoria and the 1982 Zeffirelli La Traviata in which Domingo starred opposite Teresa Stratas.” (Mark Dereng)

No Strings – “Nancy Kwan was going to do it.” (Val Addams.) “So was Rock Hudson. But with Kwan, the storyline obviously would have been adjusted somewhat. I guess interracial romance was still touchy, although Asian/Caucasian would have been okay.” (Tom DiMaggio) “Wasn't this also at one point announced for Miss Ross, before Mahogany?” (Bwaybear)

On the Twentieth Century – “As a teen-ager, I remember reading in one of Rona Barrett's gossip magazines that this was going to be a movie with Bette Midler and Burt Reynolds. But that was the last I ever heard of it.” (Tony Fyffe)

Rent – “There was talk that Spike Lee wanted to make it. That would have been a much different picture from the one that was made.” (John W. Griffin)

She Loves Me – “The two songs you alluded to in your original piece that Julie Andrews recorded were ‘HE Loves Me’ and ‘Dear Friend.” (George Connolly) “They weren’t actually demos for the film, but songs she recorded before being invited to do the Broadway production. They were released as 45s in England.” (David Schmittou)

Sweeney Todd -- “Yes, I know a film was made – but I would have liked to have seen the unmade Sam Mendes version of Sweeney Todd. Imagine it done by a director familiar not only with musicals, but also Sondheim musicals. It would be one in which (one hopes) the actors could actually sing! Alas, Sam went off to make Jar-Heads instead.” (Laura Frankos)

Wildcat – “I read that Bette Midler was also up for a much later film version than the one you mentioned with Ann-Margret.” (Tom DiMaggio)

Zorba – “To be retitled I, Zorba. Golan-Globus in the late '80s announced they’d be doing with Anthony Quinn repeating his recent stage role, and John Travolta as Niko. They just forgot to ask Quinn if he was interested in doing it, and he refused after it had already been announced that he would.” (Kevin Dawson) “Its was to be produced by Barry and Frank Weissler, written by Ernest Lehman, and directed by Robert Wise.” (David Kirshenbaum)

Well, I guess life is what they did while they waited for the movie to die.

You may write Peter at pfilichia@aol.com


]]> Fri, 16 May 2008 00:01:00 0600 <![CDATA[A Tough Performance to Give]]> The Will Rogers Follies and Avenue Q emerged victorious.

But around 8:35 on Tuesday morn, I realized I’d have just the opposite experience that night. Days earlier, I’d made plans to revisit A Catered Affair on May 13. Now I’d see it less than 11 hours after it made a disappointing showing at the Tony nominations. While In the Heights undoubtedly started making plans for ads that will say, “13 Tony nominations, including Best Musical,” A Catered Affair was not planning to buy newspaper space that says, “3 Tony nominations, excluding Best Musical.”

When I first saw the show last month, a few days before it officially opened, I saw a number of problems and a greater number of strengths. (Click on the calendar to the upper right of this column to April, and then select the 18th to see what I wrote.) Remember, I saw it before it opened, and I thought, “Even if this gets out-and-out raves, it’s going to be an awfully hard sell.” And, as you know, the raves did not flow forth. Even decent notices didn’t.

So what would Tuesday’s performance be like, given that A Catered Affair was buffeted in the musical, score, book, and direction categories? Sure, Faith Prince and Tom Wopat got nods as Agnes and Tom Hurley, but Leslie Kritzer didn't as their daughter Janey. More to the point, Harvey Fierstein didn’t -- either for his performance as Uncle Winston or for his libretto. All of them – and more – scored in last week’s Drama Desk nominations, racking up more than any other show, but now, the story was sadly different.

I’ve attended a number of performances the night after the reviews were published. I recall the joy from the Crazy for You cast, the despair of too many others to mention, but also Nick & Nora after its pans -- when Barry Bostwick and Joanna Gleason came out and did the show with gusto, as if it were the biggest hit Broadway had ever had. I’ve always admired them for that.

Everyone in the theater knows that shows don’t start until at least seven minutes past the announced starting time, but A Catered Affair didn’t start until nine minutes had passed. Was Fierstein, the leader of every show he’s done, busy giving everyone a two-minute pep talk? Were cast members congratulating Prince and Wopat, or were they talking to the others about the injustices of it all? We’ll never know.

But finally, the lights dimmed, and Fierstein made his entrance – to applause -- Which, incidentally, he didn’t get at the performance I attended a month ago. Did it come from pity? Did the crowd just simply recognize him and feel like clapping? Or was it an endorsement meant to right a wrong?

On the other hand, how many had even heard about the nominations and knew about the snubs? Not everyone cares the way we do, of course, and we’ve got to assume that vast majority came in knowing nothing about it. Yes, across the street Boeing-Boeing already had its sign up stating that it had landed a Best Play Revival nod, and perhaps some theatergoers noticed that no such sign was hanging from the Kerr marquee. But I don’t think so, and I don’t think you think so, either.

The lights finally dimmed, and from my G-2 seat, I saw that everyone in the cast appeared to have tired eyes. Had they been crying? On the other hand, it’s possible that even the most happy cast members on Broadway tonight had tired eyes -- for most everyone got up earlier than usual this morn to switch on New York 1 by 8:30 a.m. – or were awakened a wee bit later by press agents with the good and/or bad news.

And, truth to tell, with a quiet show such as this -- one that stresses a family that already feels defeated when the lights come up -- telling whether the cast’s energy was lower was going to be difficult. Sure, Kritzer’s Janey should be overjoyed that she’s getting married, but the character has a lot on her mind, must worry about finances and hurt feelings, and is old before her time. Granted, there is a good deal of money on the horizon, but suddenly I was thinking, both this show and In the Heights involve a sudden windfall – but Heights has it happen through sheer blind luck, while the Hurleys get their money the hardest way of all: From having a son die in the war. Yes, there’s a death in In the Heights, too, but from someone who lived a long life, which Terry Hurley did not.

The audience gave the first number applause that sounded and seemed polite. That could have also been because some audience members heard before they arrived that they were about to see a Tony also-ran. People who attend losers often feel as if they’re losers just for attending one. But if that were the case, it would be up to the cast to change their minds.

I’m happy to say that it delivered a performance that seemed identical to the one I saw a month ago. Sure, one could attribute that to the show being frozen, but under the heat of the cast’s anger, it could have melted and wilted. No one did.

Along the way, I felt the audience members stay with the show, and become increasingly involved. Every now and then when a funny line happened, they responded immediately with a genuine laugh. Immediately – because they’d been paying rapt attention. And when they had a chance to applaud – they didn’t have many, because A Catered Affair asks for very little – their hand-clapping was always louder and faster than it had been the previous time.

Still, performing on Tuesday had to be difficult for the cast members, considering some of the lines in the script inadvertently commented on their situation: “So afraid we got it wrong.” “Why am I enjoying this so much?” “Be happy, Jane.” “We had the curse of money over us.” Yes, indeed, with nearly 1,000 seats to fill eight times a week, the cast sure does have that curse.

The real test would come at the curtain calls, when every actor could no longer hide behind his character’s emotions, but would have to come out as himself. What troupers: Each of the 10 came out with smiles that looked genuine, not glassy. Prince got the last bow, and distinctively raised her eyebrows, as if to say, “Pretty good, wasn’t it?” Then she threw her arms back with Evita-force, and had the other nine join her in a hand-holding. Kritzer was singing along quietly, but joyously, with the music the orchestra was playing.

These people seem secure in knowing that what they have is this year’s thinking man’s musical, one that explored its complex characters and their all-too-real problems in ways that eclipsed the original film. It offered meat, but when the Tony nominators were asked to pick Best Musical, in at least two instances, the majority of the voters went for cheese.

In an age where the response that most Broadway musicals seek -- and get -- are “Whoos!” and “It blew me away!” here’s a show that’s never sought such reactions. It took a chance on being quiet, and now, with too few nominations about which it can crow, it will probably be quieted soon. There used to be a famous Broadway expression, “Critics don’t close shows; producers do.” In recent years, a lack of Tony nominations and wins speed up most closings. No one can possibly expect this show to win any of its three nominations, so how long will it be able to hold on? But here’s betting that every audience that attends A Catered Affair will see a focused and sharp cast that matches the integrity for which the musical aimed.

You may reach Peter Filichia at pfilichia@aol.com


]]> Wed, 14 May 2008 00:01:00 0600 <![CDATA[Once Was Enough!]]> Note to William Torbert Leonard: Glory Days closed after one performance.

Now who, you ask, is William Torbert Leonard, and why would this fact about the new (and now old) musical that played the Circle-in-the-Square be of any interest to him?

Back in 1986, Leonard wrote a book called Once Was Enough. The 282-page book finishes with 74 pages of indices, but the first 208 detail every Broadway show – each comedy, musical, and drama - that managed to last all of one performance.

From the 1923-24 season -- when something called The Road Together made the mistake of debuting -- right up to 1983-1984 -- when The Guys in the Truck opened on June 19, 1983 and then immediately called it a life – Leonard details 108 one-night flops, giving the casts and credits, describing the plots, and then telling some of the critical responses.

Some of those responses were quite severe. Here, in alphabetical order (as the book is arranged), are some of the excerpts from the less-than-gracious notices.

Abraham Cochrane (Feb. 17, 1964) - “I shall suggest to the editors of the World Almanac that they include it in that section of the book that lists the year’s greatest catastrophes” (Nadel, World-Telegram & Sun)

Animals (April 22, 1981) - “So detached from any known reality that the audience might just as well be staring in a void.” (Rich, Times)

Beyond Evil (June 7, 1926) - “When the final curtain mercifully came down, the audience silenced a smattering of polite applause with a lusty chorus of boos, usually reserved for the Yankee Stadium when Ruth strikes out with the bases full. That response was less unique than the happenings that were set forth on stage.” (Atkinson, Times)

Billy, a musical version of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd (March 22, 1969) - “If the book is unfair to Melville, the music and lyrics positively insult his genius. They are graffiti on the wall of literature.” (Barnes, Times)

Fame - not the musical, but a comedy (Nov. 18, 1974) - “A mistake that withered a long, slow death. The best part of this limp rag of a comedy, based on the life and times of Marilyn Monroe, came at intermission, watching the stagehands shift furniture.” (Barnes, Times)

Fickle Women (Dec. 15, 1937) - “One trouble with the dramatist is that he writes as if he’s never been inside a theater.” (Brown, Post)

First One Asleep, Whistle (Feb. 26, 1966) - “The audience deserves an apology.” (Kauffman, Times). “If this were Europe, the audience would have hissed and thrown things, and more power to them. We spineless Yankees just sit there, suppressed by boredom, and too meek to take our vengeance.” (Nadel, World-Telegram & Sun)

Gantry (Feb. 14, 1970) - “Robert Shaw and Rita Moreno were so miscast as the evangelist and Sister Sharon that if a collection had been taken during the revival meeting scene, the plates would have remained empty.” (Watt, News)

Happiness Is Just a Little Thing Called a Rolls-Royce (May 11, 1968) - “As contrived and mechanical a farce as ever sent a summer-circuit crowd to counting the mosquitoes on the ceiling.” (Sullivan, Times)

Have I Got a Girl for You! (Dec. 2, 1963) - “Irving Cooper, the author of this labored clammy effort, shares the credit with his wife, on the grounds that he based it on her story. It would have been more gallant of him not to mention her.” (Taubman, Times)

I Won’t Dance (May 10, 1981) - “May I suggest that you arrive at the theater armed with ear plugs and a good book?” (Rich, Times)

Julia, Jake, and Uncle Joe (Jan. 28, 1961) - “A comedy that might be described as suffering from malnutrition of the typewriter.” (Schier, Bulletin)

Kelly (Feb. 6, 1965) – “The new musical isn’t the worst you can imagine, though you might have to stop and think a while to come up with its peer.” (Watts, Post)

Little Johnny Jones, starring Donny Osmond (March 21, 1982) – “Miscasting could have gone no further.” (Barnes, Post)

Me and Thee (Dec. 7, 1965 - incidentally, the 24th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor) – “Not for Thou.” (Nadel, World-Telegram & Sun)

Moose Murders (Feb. 22, 1983) – “Oh, I don’t have to cite the reviews from this one; we know them all by heart.” (Filichia, Theatermania.com)

A Murderer among Us (March 25, 1964) – “At the end of the play, we are told that everyone is guilty. I do hope that includes the playwright and the director.” (Kerr, Herald-Tribune)

Rainbow Jones, with book, music, and lyrics by Jill Williams (Feb. 13, 1974) - “For the common good, Miss Williams should be denied access to either a typewriter or a musical instrument of any kind.” (Watt, News)

Stages (March 19, 1978) - “The play was so bad that even Richard Foreman’s direction - which consists of applying certain antiquated and tiresome avant-garde devices arbitrarily to any material that comes to hand - was a welcome relief.” (Simon, New York); “Its finest moment was its final curtain.” (Barnes, Post)

Step on a Crack (Oct. 17, 1962) - “Ridiculous, over-blown, and downright embarrassing. Playwright Evslin has written an impossible play, a stupid play, and by posturing as some kind of poet of the peat bogs, he has outraged the beauty of language.” (Nadel, World-Telegram & Sun)

The Sunday Man (May 13, 1964) - “A play in which three of the male actors lose their pants. I leave you to guess what’s going to happen to the producers’ shirts.” (Kerr, Herald-Tribune)

Tricks of the Trade, about the C.I.A. and the K.G.B: “So limp that it makes the Cold War seem slightly less exciting than Bowling for Dollars.” (Rich, Times)

Truly Valiant (Jan. 9, 1936) - “A Pulitzer Prize or similar award should be given to the actors, for they gave an exhibition of courage in the face of calamity.” (Hammond, Herald-Tribune)

A Warm Body (April 15, 1967) - “Peter Van Zandt directed as if he’d fallen asleep listening to it.” (Watt, News)

Wild and Wonderful (Dec. 7, 1971 - incidentally, the 30th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor)- “A show that insults the intelligence - a terrible and witless show ... The kind of show that sends you back to television - or, if that’s too radical - to television commercials.” (Barnes, Times)

Since Leonard wrote his book, four more shows lasted one performance. The 1984 revival of Take Me Along, The Apple Doesn’t Fall …, and The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, and now Glory Days. I do not know if Leonard is dead or alive, but if he’s still with us, I’m hoping for a second edition of Once Was Enough.

You may reach Peter Filichia at pfilichia@aol.com


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