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Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

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#3

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 7:34am

"Henry Sweet Henry" was supposed to make another young girl a star, but fifth-billed (or worse) Playten stole the whole show and never gave it back. She got rave reviews, Ed Sullivan drooled over her and the other young lady was never heard of again; (not that Playten became a big star either).

Oh and of course, Pia Zadora is adorably scene stealing right behind the show-stealer.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=972787#3631451 http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=963561#3533883 http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=955158#3440952 http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=954269#3427915 http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=955012#3441622 http://www.broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.cfm?thread=954344#3428699

Updated On: 4/18/12 at 07:34 AM

#4

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 7:42am

I love Alice Playten in HENRY SWEET HENRY. I've seen those clips hundreds of times and they are great but the clip I am most interested in seeing is Michael Bennett's staging of the Act II hippie ballet "Weary Near to Dyin'". It's such a weird song to begin with.

Was HENRY SWEET HENRY the first Broadway musical to depict hippies? I don't recall them in the original version of the story THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT.
#5

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 8:21am

^

There may have been hippie types in Sweet Charity's "Rhythm of Life."

There were certainly beatniks in previous musicals: The Nervous Set, The Billy Barnes Revue, Show Girl.

As for "Weary Near to Dyin','" it came across as a real dud on stage. (Likewise on the album.)
#7

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 9:20am

It demonstrates how a creative team can shoot themselves in the foot without realizing it - giving two of the best numbers in the show to a character who has absolutely nothing to do with the central (or secondary) story.

It would have been a good idea (if they had the time) to completely overhaul the show to be about Kafritz, rather than Val, once they saw where their dynamo was.

Of course, it wouldn't have been a musical based on The World of Henry Orient, but it may have been more successful.
#8

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 9:49am

A story Alice Playten told on a talk show in about 1968:

Background: in the first few years of the Tonys, producer Alex Cohen decided that there would be no comps andf that everyone would have a paid ticket. This was all well and good since the shows always in the forefront would buy the tickets for their nominees.

Alice Playten's show, Henry, Sweet Henry, was long closed so she bought her own ticket. However all she could afford was the cheapest ticket in the balcony of the Shubert where the awards were handed out that year.

She said that if she had won (and there was a possibility she could have), she would have had to stand up, yell out, "I'll be right down!" and then tear down the two flights of stairs and up the aisle to the stage.

The practice of giving nominees comps came into being the following year.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable." --Carrie Fisher
#9

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 10:25am

awh she should have won! that's bs she had to buy her own ticket. glad she got that changed.

@CarlosAlberto I'm totally obsessed with the Poor Little Person clip. I could watch it over and over.

I'm not that familiar with the whole storyline but I'm surprised Alice wasn't more of a star, especially since she started so young and had a great booming voice. I guess they called her a lil Ethel Merman back then.

If I didn't know better I would have thought she was Catherine Burns, who got a Oscar nom in 69' a year after Alice did in 68'. They look very similar.

Catherine Burns Oscar nommed role in 'Last Summer'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag4ZiuQQJ7I
Hesione Hushabye thinks it tastes like ashes.
#10

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/18/12 at 11:47am

Beautiful Soup is doing it next spring at the end of our season here in NYC! Stay tuned, gang.
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
#11

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/19/12 at 8:31am

Alice Playten was called by someone a "Li'l Merman". Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I saw her as Baby June in the original Broadway cast of GYPSY in 1959. If so, she certainly had the model for her stentorian voice on stage with her.

I loved the movie THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT and would like to have seen HENRY, SWEET HENRY. Playten sure can belt.
"Madam Rose...and her daughter...Gypsy!"
#15

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/19/12 at 10:30am

William Goldman explained in his book The Season that while audiences were enjoying Alice Playten's performance during out of town tryouts, it wasn't until they came to New York for a week and a half of previews that audiences began enthusiastically responding to the character's campiness and she started stealing the show.
#16

Alice Playten in Henry Sweet Henry (1967)

Posted: 4/19/12 at 10:50am

I'm pretty sure it was the times who called her a "Toy Merman" in the review of the show. I have been obsessed with both of these songs for years. So great! At one point her memorial was up on youtube which featured some terrific anecdotes and clips from her career.

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