'Gypsy in My Soul' a Donna McKechnie Fundraiser

On Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing 'Gypsy in My Soul', Donna McKechnie's one woman show about her life. What a great event. She talked about PROMISES PROMISES, COMPANY, H2$, A CHORUS LINE, CAN-CAN, her turn in the Papermill's FOLLIES. What wonderful stories she told. A great one about Ann Miller doing Follies. And how she;d leave the stage after 'I'm Still Here' and say "Donna they're Dead!" or "Well they Loved Me!" What an amazing life she's lived. She also sang 'You could Drive a Person Crazy' As if she were three people.

I guess I should clarify, this wasn't a fundraiser for Donna. It was for a little theatre here in her home state of Michigan. She had a lot of family and friends here (about 35) and she even asked me to take a picture of them all. I felt special.

I got to speak with her afterwards for a little while and told her how excited I was for her to be doing 'OVER HERE' in london. She's very much looking forward to her return to the west end. Also, she announced that she will be in attendance of A CHORUS LINE on OPENING NIGHT! Wish I could be there. She is the most Vibrant, lively, gracious woman I have ever met.

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Updated On: 9/18/06 at 10:49 AM

I wish I had been there...it sounds utterly fascinating.

And I do recall Shrleys shows, very well. I have her live album, which I haven't heard it decades. It's time to pull that old piece of vinyl out and give it a listen.

"Your evening sounds lovely. Just to threadjack a bit, does anyone remember the television special of the same name, starring Shirley MacLaine? I recall Lucy being in it, too."

I remember seeing that around 1979. Didn't they do One, from A Chorus Line?

Periodically, I do a search in the hope that it's released to VHS and now DVD. No such luck! I would love to see it again...

I have Donna McKechnie's CD of her one woman show, and love it a lot. Will definately go to see her in 'OVER HERE' with Diane Langton, when it opens in London...

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Updated On: 9/18/06 at 03:47 PM