The Sunday Memory Drawer - My Life On The New York Stage

Well, not really on stage.  But does being in the audience count?

I just enjoyed a week in New York and I wound up going to not one, not two, but three different shows.  No excursion to my former and still sometime home gave me a taste of what my life used to be like than this one.  Back in the days when I used to go to a new show once a month, if not more.  Seeing the new hot musical as soon as it would open.  Checking out the buzz for some clever comedy still in previews.

That would be me. And, other than my friends, the NY theater scene is the one thing I miss most after re-locating to Los Angeles.  Oh, sure, I go to shows there.  And, trust me, the venues on the West Coast offer more amenities, wider seats, and ample more legroom.  But, there is nothing more exciting than seeing live people performing in front of you.  Perhaps on a stage that is over 100 years old.

So, the last journey prompted me to open up my NY file cabinet.  Every Playbill gets thrust in there.  I open it again and they spill out in no particular order.  And the memories...or, in some cases, lack of them...overwhelm me.

Angry Housewives:  This sounds like one I got dragged to by my good buddy and theater maven, Lorraine.   She has all the inside scoop on what's new and what's coming.  She must have gotten advance word on this.  It played Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theater.  Sadly, I remember nothing of the play, the venue, or even the meal beforehand.  Anybody? 

Sophisticated Ladies: I vaguely remember seeing this tribute to Duke Ellington. Must have been 25 years ago at least. I vaguely remember not liking it. I vaguely remember enjoying parts of it. I vaguely remember remembering.

My Fair Lady: No, not the original with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. How old do you think I am??? This is one of my favorite musicals with a no-name Brit cast.

The Crucifer of Blood:  It's amazing to pick up an old and yellowed Playbill to see cast notes and realize that you saw somebody before they were well known. This Sherlock Holmes mystery included Glenn Close as a femme fatale, ages before she cooked a rabbit in "Fatal Attraction."  And, in a supporting role, there's Dwight Schultz.  Heck, didn't he end up on "The A Team??"

The Front Page:  Yeah, this play's been around for almost a century.  The version I saw starred Richard Thomas, John Lithgow, and Julie Hagerty.  There's the dreaded slip of paper included that tells me Miss Hagerty was understudied that night.  I probably dropped an F bomb or two.

Present Laughter: I saw a Noel Coward play? Apparently. I actually saw George C. Scott live on stage. Apparently. And, listed in smaller roles, I apparently also saw Nathan Lane and Christine Lahti at very early stages of their careers. 

Victor/Victoria:  I loved the movie so I, of course, saw the Broadway version in previews.  It still hadn't opened because I saw director Blake Edwards making notes at the end of the row I was seated in.   This was Julie Andrews singing before the botched surgery.  Oh, and speaking of Nathan Lane, I met him in the men's room at intermission and we traded chit-chat about the show as we peed side-by-side.

Gilda Radner Live From New York:  As Yogi Berra would say, I saw this when she was alive.   Sad, sad, sad.

Precious Sons: I have no recollection of what this play was, when I saw it, what it was about, or whether I enjoyed it. I hope the meal was good that night. The small cast includes Judith Ivey and Ed Harris. Not just unmemorable. Memory-less.

The Graduate: Oh, yeah. A brutal night in the theater. One of the worst evenings I ever spent on the planet, let alone a Broadway theater. The stage version of the movie was a sewage spill. Kathleen Turner took her clothes off, but you could see nothing because they reduced the lighting to 30 watt bulbs. I remember being pissed because the theater was full of tourists, who gave this a standing ovation. It was like they heard Bennigan's was giving out free buffalo wings. One slob in the row ahead of me was munching on potato chips. I think I spit my gum on his coat. 

Same Time Next Year:  So long ago that the girl I took has been married for probably 25 years.   I remember they used to shuttle in TV actors to do this play as a means of keeping it running for ages.   I saw it with Loretta Swit and Ted Bessell.  Like my date, he's long gone, too.  Not married.  Dead.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee:  This is the Broadway show that got Jesse Tyler Ferguson of "Modern Family" on the road to success.  He apparently was in it that night, according to my Playbill.  So was Josh Gad who amounted to something as well.

Chicago: This was when the revival of the revival first opened. I actually saw Bebe Neuwirth and Ann Reinking. A great production that inspired the movie. Reinking fell about ten feet into the orchestra pit and that was the most original choreography of the show.

Neil Simon's 45 Seconds from Broadway: A Neil Simon play from about 15 years that never became either a movie, a TV show, a musical, or, apparently, a good play. I have no clue what it was about, except it probably was based on about five minutes of his life.

The Music Man: Arguably one of my top ten Broadway experiences. This is the revival that came out about 9 years ago with Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker. My favorite music of all time and they did it justice.

Night of the Iguana: I am not sure how I saw this, except perhaps I had a book report due. According to the cast list, I saw Jane Alexander perform live for probably fifty bucks. I also once saw her crossing a street in Westwood for nothing.

Whose Life is It Anyway?: This was ages ago. Mary Tyler Moore took the male lead. I had seats in the very front row. Depressing, of course. As are most plays about people with broken necks and spines.

Show Boat: This was the revival about 15 years ago, and I remember liking it a lot. Nice cast. Audra McDonald. Rebecca Luker. Elaine Stritch. I saw the latter in her own one-woman show, too.   I do recall having a fight with the woman next to me who would not dissolve a sour ball in her mouth.

They're Playing Our Song: Well, heck, I was bound to pick up this Playbill. You've no doubt read about this musical in my blog before.  I saw the freakin' show five times. It was one of those Broadway experiences of serendipity. I loved it so much that I had to treat all my friends to it one at a time. In retrospect, the score was just okay, the script was a little sitcom, and it really was only about two characters. But, it became the only musical score that I would sing out loud to completion at home. This particular Playbill must have been early in the run, because it lists the original players, Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz.

The Devil's Disciple:  Another one I am completely clueless about.  George Bernard Shaw wrote it.  Okay, I know him.  The cast?  Philip Bosco.  Victor Garber.  Rosemary Murphy.  Anybody?

The Pirates of Penzance:  I saw it years ago when Linda Ronstadt was in it and really nice to look at.  If nothing else, this particular blog entry is aging the crap out of me.

Meet Me in St, Louis:   They made this legendary screen musical into a stage version and I remember tourists from Missouri flocked to see it.  As a matter of fact, I took a friend from Missouri who was visiting at the time.  Oh, look, more actors who have passed were in the cast that night.  Betty Garrett and Milo O'Shea.  Yikes!  The passage of time.

On The Twentieth Century:  Yes, you just read my review of the 2015 revival.  Well, I found the Playbill for the first version.  By the time I saw it, Madeline Kahn was long gone.  I had John Cullum, Judy Kaye, Kevin Kline, and Imogene Coca.   And, way down in the small print in a bit part, the now well-known Christine Ebersole.

Grease:  Okay, this thing has been running since William Shakespeare was in short pants.   I knew I saw it at some point.  The version I saw had Brooke Shields as Rizzo.   And TV's own Adrian Zmed.   At the time, it likely prompted me to use the joke that "I never miss an Adrian Zmed musical."

Lunch Hour:  I totally forgot that I saw Gilda Radner on Broadway twice.  This time, it was a comedy (?) with Sam Waterston.  The play was directed by Mike Nichols.   So, I suppose this was a big deal.   Unfortunately, even big deals can fade from memory.

Sugar Babies:  It was a huge hit and ran as long as Ann Miller's long legs and Mickey Rooney's short legs could.  It was the hottest ticket on Broadway when I was much younger and the gags in the show were already a thousand and one years old.  

Grandchild of Kings:  This had disaster written all over it for me.  It was an Irish theater company way off-Broadway.  I went because my date was doing pro bono work for the play's famed director Hal Prince.  It was one of those theater events where the actors would have scenes in the audience.  I remember that one of them next to me screamed so loud that I was wearing his saliva.  The things you do for a cute girl. 

Picnic: It's one of my favorite movies and I wanted to finally see the stage play in some revival from about 15 years ago. Kyle Chandler and Ashley Judd played the leads. I didn't think she appeared anywhere unless it was a B movie with Morgan Freeman. I remember preferring the movie over the play.

Carousel: Wow, I recall this evening. It was a Lincoln Center revival and another great performance by Audra McDonald. But, there was more to the evening. I was taken by a friend and her then 15 year-old daughter as a Christmas present. I almost didn't go. My mom was on a respirator at the time and we were just waiting for the inevitable. They convinced me to partake in the show as a respite. I know I was a mental mess by the end when they did "You'll Never Walk Alone" (which, by the way, was not written by Jerry Lewis). But I will always be grateful that they coaxed me out that night. She died the next evening.

And that's what I call a lasting NY theater memory.  But, heck, aren't they all?

Dinner last night:  Not feeling well so just Greek yogurt with strawberries.