Fun old theatre stories

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:25am

Much like some of the old Merman quotes and backstage stories from the Merman thread, post your favorite (older) theatre stories here, as I think many of us find them fascinating.

I just read that sometimes during SWEET CHARITY, Gwen Verdon would cut "Where Am I Going?" when she got too tired.

One day, she received a letter from an audience member complaining about the cut. Verdon calculated how much of the show was missing due to the lack of that number, and along with the full ticket price, calculated how much money the woman was owed for not getting to see that number. And she sent it to her.


I just thought that was a great story, and would love to hear some others.

[PARISinNYC]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:27am

I'll try to think of some but I needed to tell you this immediately.

That was a REALLY interesting story. Seriously. It seems like one of those stories I would tell so I can fill in awkward moments with friends.

Thanks for the idea! :]

[leefowler]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:00am

Here's a famous punchline, who can supply the theatre story that precedes it?


..."Poisoned jelly!!!"

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:06am

Don't remember the whole thing, but it's from a story told by Elaine Stritch from AT LIBERTY.

Here's another one:

When SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING opened to less than stellar reviews, producer David Merrick wanted to pull a stunt he had been thinking about for years. He went through a Manhattan phone book, and looked up 7 men who shared the same last names as each of the 7 major theatre critics. He took them and their wives all out to dinner at Sardi's, then took them to the show for free. He wrote 7 different rave-review quotes, and asked each of the 7 men to approve of them.

He then put together an ad with all 7 men's names and their rave review quotes. To avoid legalities, he put a little picture of the men's faces next to "their" quotes. The New York Times refused to print the ad, but the New York Herald-Tribune sent it to press without checking it. It only got printed in one early edition of the paper, but it caused such a stir that it was re-printed, photocopied, etc. Merrick got exactly what he wanted - publicity for his show.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:17am

Another cool one:

(can you tell I'm obsessed with David Merrick?)

During the initial stages of I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, the role of Mrs. Marmelstein was cut. One of Merrick's staff, Michael Shurtleff, spotted a young, unknown Barbra Streisand about town. He knew that she was always late, so he told her to show up at 3:00 for a 3:30 audition. She didn't show up until 4. Although she was completely unknown, she acted like she was hollywood royalty. They told her she was late, and she just said "Well I was walking past a thrift shop when this racoon fur caught my eye."

They told her to begin singing, and she replie "Oh, I have to sing?" She started singing, and stopped midway and said "I need a stool." So they got her a stool. She began singing again, stopped and said "I have to take this coat off." They were amazed by her audition, and after her final comedic song, there was silence. And she said "Well, whaddya think?", shading her eyes from the stage lights. They said she was good. She said "That's all?"

Aurthur Laurents wanted her immediately, but Merrick, mostly in denial of his own Jewish roots, told Michael Shurtleff that he absolutely refused to hire an ugly meeskite. (His words, not mine.) Laurents won, and she was cast. The entire rehearsal process, Merrick wanted her fired. He thought she was talented, but hideous. He kept pushing for her removal from the show, but once previews started, he knew he couldn't loose her. She stopped the show every night, and won a Tony nomination for her performance.

That year at the Tony awards, Phyllis Newman was nominated for SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING in the same category as Barbra Streisand. Merrick, having produced both shows, decided to sit with the SUBWAYS table, next to Newman. When her category came along, as they were reading the nominees, Merrick leaned over and whispered to Newman "Streisand's going to win. I know. I voted for her."

Newman won.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:24am

One on occasion, Merrick was walking through the St. James building to his office. In the hallway, he saw a chorus girl signing a contract.

He said "What are you doing?"

She said "Signing a contract for 110 IN THE SHADE."

He said "No you're not." And he ripped it up. "I don't cast girls in my shows that look like they've been in an auto accident."


Nice guy.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:30am

The cast of HAIR got paid and extra $1.50 if they did the nude scene.

Stephen Sondheim was supposed to write the lyrics for FUNNY GIRL. When he found out Mary Martin was being pursued to play brice, he told them that she's completely wrong for the part, and he withdrew from the project. He told someone that they have to hire a Jew - and if not a Jew - she at least had to have a nose.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:40am

I can't remember the person or the show (maybe someone else can fill in the details).

The rehearsal was going horrible. Everyone was stressed out. The director was a tyrant. Finally, one of the actresses broke down and said "Who do you have to f*ck to get out of this show?" A voice in the back of the house piped up and said "The same person you f*cked to get in."

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:45am

That was Larry Kert in Company-- and it was Sondheim who said "The same person you had to f*ck to get in...."

And Munk if you haven't already, read "The Abomnible Showman" about Merrick-- he was a character and a half! To accompany a story of Merrick's latest escapade, Al Herschfeld drew a picture of him as Santa, only carrying a Bell, Book & Candle (Traditionally associated with Satan). Merrick screamed and blustered and threatened lawsuits, then took the picture and sent it out as that year's Christmas card.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:50am

I read that book a few years ago...so fantastic!

I love David Merrick...he was a brilliant producer.


The day following the opening of STOP THE WORLD...I WANT TO GET OFF, people lined up to get their tickets despite the mediocre reviews. To make the line appear longer, he closed all but one box office window causing people to wait longer. He felt the long line was free publicity.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:56am

Joshua Logan was known for exploiting the male image in his shows, and the result was often homo-erotic.

During SOUTH PACIFIC, some of the men had to wear extremely tight, white pants. He refused to allow them to wear underwear, so you could basically see everything AND everything moving around.

Some people complained, so he had to put up a sign at the box office window alerting the audience.

[theatrewolf]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:57am

..."Poisoned jelly!!!"

I've heard several variations on this story. In a nutshell, there was suppossed to be a fight between two characters. One of them is suppossed to pull out a gun/knife, but the prop was not there. Desperate to save the scene, the actor runs to the refridgerator (sp?) and pulls out a jar of jelly, opens it and starts throwing jelly at the other actor screaming...

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:06am

I don't think Jelly was ever thrown, I believe he just held out the jar. I could be wrong.

During WONDERFUL TOWN, Edith Adams always had to quietly hum the first note of "Ohio" every night because Roz Russell was so insecure about the first note.


During one of the out of town tryouts for WEST SIDE STORY, Stephen Sondheim went unmentioned in the reviews, so Bernstein removed his credit for the lyrics.

In SWEENEY TODD, Pirelli's wagon was made of wood found in a junkyard. There were huge wood lice in it, and they infested all of the costumes and the rest of the set.

Scalpers for SOUTH PACIFIC sold tickets for as much as $100.

Merrick approved of the democrats using "Hello, Dolly!" for LBJ's camaign song. When the Republicans used it, he threatened a lawsuit.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:19am

BYE BYE BIRDIE was the first show to use prerecorded voices.

for THE PAJAMA GAME, Janis Paige refused to wear the costumes that were designed for her, so Rosiland Russell went shopping for her costumes.


Mary Martin wanted the role of Eliza Doolittle, but when the score was played for her, she said "Those dear boys have lost their talent."

Bea Arthur on MAME: "You know, the real name of this show is VERA. The only reason they changed the named was because Jerry Herman couldn't think of a rhyme for it. Steve Sondheim could have."

[Flippancy]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:28am

Here's a David Merrick story, told to me by Lee Roy Reams.

In the out of town previews for 42nd STREET in Washington, Wanda Richert had a sultry number -- "Lulu's Back In Town". You see, Wanda had just come off of -- okay, she was fired from -- the tour of A CHORUS LINE, and she still had visions of doing a "Cassie-like" number, complete with a red low-cut costume, awash in bugle beads, sequins, and the like. An expensive outfit for one person in one number.

Problem was: the number was completely out of character for "Peggy Sawyer". "Peggy" is a wide-eyed kid from the sticks, and she's up there doing a low-down sensual number? Uh, no.

Richert had the advantage, however. She was involved with the director, Gower Champion, as we all know. So he built this number for her, and it went into the show in Washington.

And it bombed. BOMBED. TANKED.

After that performance, Lee Roy was backstage in the hall, and he saw Merrick coming down the hall towards him with a scowl on his face. As he passed Lee Roy, Merrick cut his eyes toward him and muttered with venom:

"Know anyone that wants to buy a 'Lulu' dress?"

[ashley0139]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 11:46am

Bea Arthur on MAME: "You know, the real name of this show is VERA. The only reason they changed the named was because Jerry Herman couldn't think of a rhyme for it. Steve Sondheim could have."

I think that's my favorite. I love it.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:06pm

i read a lot of these in the 101 GREATESET MUSICALS OF ALL TIME or 101 BEST BROADWAY MUSICALS...i forgot what it is called, but yeah, lots of stories in there!

like i read that Gwen Verdon went undercover as a dance-hall hostess to get more of a feel for her character, so i find that interesting...

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:06pm

Reportedly, after working on the flop "Henry Sweet Henry" together, young choreographer Michael Bennett and dance music arranger Marvin Hamlisch were saying goodbye and Bennett told Hamlisch he was putting him in his address book under "G" for Genius, and that he just knew they'd work together again someday on a hit.
And they did.

[luvliza89]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:52pm

I'm pretty positive that most of that Streisand story isn't true. She also went through several auditions before getting the part.
Updated On: 9/26/06 at 12:52 PM

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:54pm

As a little boy, Frank Rich used to run around the theatre district, collecting Playbills from trash cans.

Originally, Michael Bennett wanted different characters/ actors to be picked for the chorus line each night.

The book "Making it On Broadway" has a lot of AMAZING ones...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:04pm

Another Merrick:

Dateline - 1996

Julie Andrews turns down her Tony nomination for Victor/Victoria. Merrick, who was shut out of best show nominations for his revival of State Fair, took out an article on the day of the Tony's. It read "Julie - Dinner tonight?"

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:17pm

luvliza: The Streisand story I posted, I believe, is from the book on David Merrick. It was told to Kissell by either Arthur Laurents, Michael Shurtleff, or both.

So what's not true about it?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 4:01pm

The main faux pas of incorrectly spelling MRS. Marmelstein. It's MISS Marmelstein.

Oy!

"...why is it ALWAYS Miss Marmelstein?!"

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 4:23pm

I love the story about Sondheim and Katherine Hepburn.

The late Katherine Hepburn was a neighbour of Stephen Sondheim. Though she made frequent excursions to a family home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Katharine Hepburn mostly lived in a magnificent New York brownstone house that she had bought in the 1930s. There was, however, some discord with her nearest neighbour, the composer Stephen Sondheim, whose late-night piano-playing irritated her.

After he had written one song late at night for the musical Company (it was usually said to be The Ladies Who Lunch, but according to one - probably improved - version of the story, it was You Could Drive A Person Crazy), Sondheim looked out of his windows to see her, in a nightgown, glowering malevolently at him. The composer went out the next day and bought an electric piano and headphones.’

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 4:47pm

"After he had written one song late at night for the musical Company (it was usually said to be The Ladies Who Lunch, but according to one - probably improved - version of the story, it was You Could Drive A Person Crazy), Sondheim looked out of his windows to see her, in a nightgown, glowering malevolently at him."

I heard this story, except the way I heard it was that he was writing Sweeney Todd and this incident inspired him to write some music for the Beggar Woman.