Happy Birthday, Tommy Tune

Today, the actor/dancer/director Tommy Tune turns 73. My own earliest memories of Tune are that he is exceedingly tall, and most of that height was in his legs! I would guess the first time I was him was when he played Ambrose Kemper in the movie musical Hello Dolly!, starring Barbra Streisand and directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly.



But my first real memory is when I was still in college in Reading, Pennsylvania. We took yearly trips to New York City to see shows, both Broadway and off-Broadway. It was organized by the late Dr. Lynn Morrow, head of the Albright College Theater Department. We'd go by bus on Thursday, catch five shows, stay at the Empire Hotel, and return to Reading on Sunday after catching a matinee. I saw so many amazing shows on those trips, and among them was A Day In Hollywood/A Night In The Ukraine. The musical featured Priscilla Lopez, who I had seen in A Chorus Line, and David Garrison, who I just fell in love with. He was funny and danced so well. This was long before I saw him in as Steve, the neighbor in Married...With Children. The show was directed by Tommy Tune, who also choreographed it with Thommie Walsh. Here is a number from the show, The Production Code.



I started working in Greenwich Village at the Circle Repertory Theatre in 1983, and he had a show running down the street at the Lucille Lortel Theater. The show, Cloud Nine, was winning all the awards that year, the Drama Desk and the Obies, and when they had some extra tickets, they offered them to the theater, so I saw it a couple of times. Begrudgingly, I have to say it was great. And since The Lortel was just down Christopher Street, I would sometimes see Tune walking down the block - well, he was hard to miss! He also had another show running at the time, a Broadway musical. Nine took the world by storm, and also the Tony Awards.



The next year, Tune was back out there, this time taking center stage in the musical My One And Only. He costarred in the show with Twiggy and Charles "Honi" Coles.The show was brilliant, using the music of George & Ira Gershwin. The show was the talk of the theater community, for it featured model turned star Twiggy, singing and dancing. During the out-of-town tryouts, it was rumored to be fraught with problems, and in turmoil. By the time it hit New York, it was in tune and amazing, complete with a dance taking place in an on stage pool. Tune and Coles won Tony Awards for their performances, and Twiggy was nominated. Here is a performance from the Tony Awards of 1983.



Tune also appeared on Broadway's Best With The Pops, a special with the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1998. He sings and dances to Tap Your Troubles Away, the song by Jerry Herman from Mack And Mabel.



So, Happy Birthday, Tommy Tune! You have given much over your career, and your work has inspired many.

Dark Monday • Before The Parade Passes By

In 1964, the original Broadway production of Hello Dolly! premiered on January 16, at the St. James Theater. The show was based on Thorton Wilder's 1938 play The Merchant of Yonkers, itself a failure. In 1955, Wilder was adapted the play and renamed it The Matchmaker, which was successful both on the stage and screen, starring Ruth Gordon and Shirley Booth, respectively. In the early 60s, Jerry Herman was working on musical remake of the show, and wrote the lead role of Dolly Levi for the great Ethel Merman. It was then offered to Mary Martin, who also turned it down. After many auditions of some of the top Broadway stars of the day, Carol Channing was cast in the lead, and will be forever remembered for this iconic role. Here she is singing the song that closes the first act with a huge exclamation point. This is Carol singing Before The Parade Passes By.



Interestingly enough, Before The Parade Passes By was not in the original tryout version of the show. The Producers and Herman thought the show needed a better end to Act 1, and the song was added. In 1967, an all-black version of the show was on Broadway, featuring the gifted Pearl Bailey as Dolly Levi. Here the two Dollys, Carol and Pearl, singing a few of the songs from the show. This was a clip from the 1969 television special Carol Channing & Pearl Bailey: On Broadway.



To purchase the soundtrack, you can find Carol's original Broadway cast recording on Amazon and on iTunes. You can find Pearl's on Amazon and iTunes. Interestingly enough, Mary Martin played the role in the London production, and Merman took the role in a replacement cast. But none were the choice for the movie version, as the studio cast Barbra Streisand, who was just 27 years old, much younger than the role was played before.

Put On Your Sunday Clothes • Michael Crawford

Above: Movie Poster; Michael Crawford & Marrianne McAndrew; Streisand, Tommy Tune, Crawford & Danny Lockin.

For your Sunday morning, I thought I would post a clip from the movie version of Hello Dolly!, directed by musical legend Gene Kelly and starring Barbra Streisand. The song, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, was written by the great Jerry Herman for the 1964 Broadway production. The movie was released in 1969, when Streisand was 27, and romantic lead, Walter Matthau, was 59. She played Dolly Levi, the widowed matchmaker from Yonkers, New York. Michael Crawford, who garnered much acclaim for the leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, sings the song, and is later joined by Streisand. If you look closely, you can also see the quite tall and thin Tommy Tune, a Broadway legend himself, playing Ambrose Kemper. He dances with Streisand in the park.



Have a great Sunday!

Happy Birthday, Jerry Herman

Pictured: Jerry Herman, Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, John Barrowman, Michael Feinstein, and Carol Channing.

Jerry Herman was born on July 10, 1931, so he is celebrating his 80th today. He made his career writing some amazing songs through the years, as well as some iconic roles for some of the greatest leading ladies musical theater has known. He is at least in part responsible for the magical creations of Dolly Levi, Mame Dennis, and Zaza, who offstage was known as Albin. He wrote about love in every form, be it the love of an aunt for a nephew, two best friends, a widow and a widower, or two men who run a drag bar.

But he also made sure all of his leads were strong. They didn't bend to the winds blowing from the society at large, as you can tell when Zaza stands up to tell everyone, I Am What I Am from the 1983 show, La Cage Aux Folles. This is John Barrowman performing it when he starred in a recent London revival of the show.



Sure, Vera might have had a tendency to drink a bit more than most and Mame might have marched to the beat of a different drummer, but when push came to shove, the ladies were inseparable. Here Angela Lansbury & Bea Arthur sing Bosom Buddies from Mame.



Mame celebrated her unconventional nature, something her nephew Patrick loved when he was young, and seemed to be uncomfortable, and even embarrassed about later. But when Patrick was having a tough time because of the passing of his parents, she was right there, singing We Need A Little Christmas from Mame. This is a clip of Angela Lansbury singing it for a Christmas special.



In 1974, Herman wrote a special show called Mack & Mabel. The story revolved around Hollywood legend Mack Sennett and his rocky relationship with Mabel Normand, who went on to be a big star in the movies. The original production was not a big success, closing after 8 weeks. But it grew in cult status, and subsequent revivals garnered some great reviews. Here is Michael Feinstein singing I Won't Send Roses from the show.



Everyone knows the story behind Hello Dolly!, which first opened on Broadway in 1964. Countless woman have played the role, from Carol Channing to Ginger Rogers to Martha Raye to Betty Grable to Pearl Bailey. Here is the original Dolly Levi, Carol Channing, singing the number that closed the first act, Before The Parade Passes By.



Of course, if you mention Hello Dolly!, you can't ignore the title song, can you? Especially if it is sung in the movies by a young Barbra Streisand and the great Louis Armstrong. Here they are, singing Hello Dolly.



Happy Birthday, Jerry! May you celebrate many more!