I once saw footage of "Mame" from the musical of the same name being performed at the Tonys. I'm pretty sure it was from the '83 revival but I can't be positive.
Can anyone confirm/deny? And if anyone has that footage I'd like to do a trade or something.
Don't know about Tony footage, but I saw the show in it's pre-broadway run at the Academy of Music in Philly. It was terrific. Anne Francine was a hilarious Vera.
??? Bea Arthur was the original Broadway Vera. Anne Francine replaced her on Broadway.
Jane Connell, Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury:
Yes, Brody, I know that. I'm sorry...I should have written the pre-Broadway run of the early 80s revival.
Mame
George Gershwin Theatre, (7/24/1983 - 8/28/1983)
Preview: Jul 20, 1983 Total Previews: 7
Opening: Jul 24, 1983
Closing: Aug 28, 1983 Total Performances: 41
Opening Night Cast
Angela Lansbury Mame Dennis
Jane Connell Agnes Gooch
Anne Francine Vera Charles
I don't think the youtube clip is from the revival.
IIRC the YouTube clip is just a one-off performance Angie and Bea did in the late '80's.
I think you are talking the clip where she walks down a set of stairs in a fur whilst actors dressed as butlers sing "Mame" and she eventually winds up dancing with the then mayor of NYC.
Yes, that's the clip that he must be referring to. It's a good clip and Angela is quite surprised when he shows up at the end of the number.
Wow, either I was asleep, or I must have blinked in 1983 and totally missed that revival. I don't recall that happening at all. Only 41 performances? Was that the original "limited run" planned?
No, not the actual "limited run". I think I read somewhere that the economic times of the early '80s had something to do with the show's unsuccessful run
The 1983 Mame revival was a national tour that producer Mitch Leigh hastily booked on Broadway to capitalize on the Jerry Herman renaissance that was occurring with La Cage aux Folles, which was a huge hit in Boston and about to open on Broadway. There was no time to build an advance or promote it properly. Even the Playbill didn't have the show's artwork - just black printer's type that said "MAME" (you can see it used in that YouTube clip earlier in this thread, even though that appearance was a one-off that Lansbury and Arthur did for the 1987 Tony Awards). After some chilly reviews, particularly from Frank Rich, the Mame revival died in about a month. I remember seeing it at a Saturday matinee with maybe 50 other people in the Gershwin. A consummate professional, Lansbury still gave it her all.
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