How Angela Lansbury got "Mame" — Page 2

fashionguru_23 said: "mikey2573 said: "According to the Publisher's Weekly review of Herman's autobiography, SHOWTUNES, "Judy Garland was the top contender to replace Angela Lansbury in Mame but was vetoed because of her unreliability stemming from drinking and drug problems." Notice that she was supposed to REPLACE Lansbury. I am assuming the reviewer read the book."

I have read the book a few times, and yes, as Jerry Herman wrote in his book, Judy Garland was to replace in Mame. He also notes that a friend saw a concert of Judy's where she sang 'If He Walked into My Life", and broke everyone's heart."

Thanks for the confirmation (I was one of the ones who thought it was Dolly, not Mame). While I can imagine Garland doing an amazing "If He Walked Into My Life" in concert, I think she would have been wrong as Mame. Garland's type (much like Lucille Ball's) was the common/average person, generally middle class. I don't know that she had the aristocratic airs for Mame (honestly am not sure a lot of the stars did who took over the role after Lansbury). I think she would have been a wonderful Dolly.

David10086 said: "WOW! Rogers was pushing 60 at this time, and what a dancer she still was - incredible!"

 

My seat was near the stage, and all these years later I have a vivid memory of how muscular and defined her legs were.  I believe she helped keep fit by playing tennis (and she may have had a tennis court at one of her homes).

And just a personal memory.  In the early 1990's, a couple of years before Miss Rogers' passing, I met her at a book signing of her autobiography.  I took along the program from "Mame" and asked if she would sign it.  I told her that when I saw her in London, I was a young sailor stationed onboard a U.S. Navy ship in Scotland, and had come down to London specifically to see her in "Mame".  She extended her hand, shook my hand, and said "Thank you for serving our country".  She is the only person ever to have said that to me, and I thought it was a very classy moment.

 

And here are Ginger, Angela and Lucy all dancing "Mame".

 

The casting of Dame Lansbury was discussed numerous times by Mr Herman, you can hear it in this other short documentary from 2002, at the 6 minute mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YOu0SMtyxM&feature=youtu.be Perhaps owing to some poetic licence, he did portray the scene as being her audition and subsequent immediate casting, but as AADA81 explained the audition process for her was much more prolonged, to the extent that she travelled from her home in Malibu to New York as many as six times over a number of several months (if memory serves me right). It was at the final audition that she put her foot down and said, "you have to make up your mind now", and has later described this as one of the few times she really pursued a role. 

One of these auditions was even captured for prosperity, either by Jerry Herman himself or Don Pippin, in December of 1965 in New York, with both Kaye Ballard and Dame Lansbury. The recording is housed at the R&H archive, but has also snuggled it way out...

cfbrrr said: "Of course Jerry Herman’s comment about “hummable tunes” at the 1984 Tony Awards was a direct, unsubtle jab at Sondheim and, in particular, at “Sunday in the Park with George,” the main Tony competition that year for “La Cage aux folles.” Herman’s show may have bested Sondheim’s at the awards ceremony, but “Sunday” had been the clear preference of the “important crowd,” prime among them The New York Times, whose relentless promotion of the show toward a Pulitzer Prize, which it did receive (despite Frank Rich’s not-quite-rave review), led to the sarcastic labeling of the campaign as “Sunday In the Times with George.”

One senses that Mr. Rich’s review, if written today, would be stronger, and that at least several of the Tony decisions, if arrived at 35 years later, would be reversed.
"

What review are you talking about? Frank Rich single-handedly made SUNDAY a hit. I was at the opening night and people were snoring during Act II. The lady next to me actually yelled, "Maybe this would be fun if I were stoned!" The buzz at Charlie's afterwards was very "WTF was that?!" Then the Rich review came out the following day and made a hit out of a seeming disaster.

SUNDAY was the most important step in Rich's campaign to make the intelligentsia re-evaluate Sondheim's entire career. Rich "revisited" every one of Sondheim's shows, prompting many a reevaluation and not a few revivals.

ETA: Here's a link to the 1984 Rich review:

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/03/theater/stage-sunday-in-the-park-with-george.html

It's true Rich acknowledges the thinness of the second act plot. (And how could he not?) But brief references to the mechanics of Act II are buried in accolades such as "lovely", "brilliant", "uncompromising", "audacious", "haunting", "touching", "tour de force", etc.

Updated On: 1/8/20 at 03:39 PM

GavestonPS said: "cfbrrr said: "Of course Jerry Herman’s comment about “hummable tunes” at the 1984 Tony Awards was a direct, unsubtle jab at Sondheim and, in particular, at “Sunday in the Park with George,” the main Tony competition that year for “La Cage aux folles.” Herman’s show may have bested Sondheim’s at the awards ceremony, but “Sunday” had been the clear preference of the “important crowd,” prime among them The New York Times, whose relentless promotion of the show toward a Pulitzer Prize, which it did receive (despite Frank Rich’s not-quite-rave review), led to the sarcastic labeling of the campaign as “Sunday In the Times with George.”

One senses that Mr. Rich’s review, if written today, would be stronger, and that at least several of the Tony decisions, if arrived at 35 years later, would be reversed.
"

What review are you talking about? Frank Rich single-handedly made SUNDAY a hit. I was at the opening night and people were snoring during Act II. The lady next to me actually yelled, "Maybe this would be fun if I were stoned!"The buzz at Charlie's afterwards was very "WTF was that?!" Then the Rich review came out the following day and made a hit out of a seeming disaster.

SUNDAY was the most important step in Rich's campaign to make the intelligentsia re-evaluate Sondheim's entire career. Rich "revisited" every one of Sondheim's shows, prompting many a reevaluation and not a few revivals.

ETA: Here's a link to the 1984 Rich review:

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/03/theater/stage-sunday-in-the-park-with-george.html

It's true Rich acknowledges the thinness of the second act plot. (And how could he not?) But brief references to the mechanics of Act II are buried in accolades such as "lovely", "brilliant", "uncompromising", "audacious", "haunting", "touching", "tour de force", etc."

Funny to read that, as I thought that the second Act was atrociously pretentious when I saw it originally.  It was only after I saw the Roundabout production a decade ago (in which the approach to the chromolume was more than ffective) that I did enjoy it.  I don’t think it was because of the new chromolume.  I thought the.production was better, and actually liked Act 2 better than Act 1 (and in a production I saw it n Boston on about 3 years ago).

i have always thought that the second half of Act 1 drags a Little, when they are featuring some of the other characters in the picture.  Act 2 never drags for me now (I have seen it a few additional times in less brilliant versions than the Roundabout and Boston versions).

 

You're entirely correct GavestonPS, I was confusing the two. 

I saw Ginger Rogers in MAME sometime in the late 60s / early 70s in a summer stock theater inn the round production. Audrey Christie was Vera. Production was wonderful. Our seats were very close to the stage and Rogers looked gorgeous and was terrific in the role.

Jarethan said: "Funny to read that, as I thought that the second Act was atrociously pretentious when I saw it originally. It was only after I saw the Roundabout production a decade ago (in which the approach to the chromolume was more than ffective) that Idid enjoy it. I don’t think it was because of the new chromolume. I thought the.production was better, and actuallyliked Act 2 better than Act 1 (and in a production I saw it n Boston on about 3 years ago).

i have always thought that the second half of Act1dragsa Little, when they are featuring some of the other characters in the picture. Act 2never drags formenow (I have seen it a few additional times in less brilliant versions than the Roundabout and Boston versions).

"

I found the whole exercise incredibly self-indulgent. (It didn't help that it originally starred two of our most indulgent musical actors. And I say that despite loving Miss Peters.)

I saw Act I at Playwright's Horizon originally (before they started performing Act II) and, despite some lovely music, thought it was 60 minutes of waiting for them to make the painting.

My response to Act II was the same as yours.

I haven't bothered to see it since (except on DVD), but I found the recent off-Broadway recording a surprising delight, thanks to the two stars. Maybe it's time I give the piece another try. After all, I'm the one who absolutely loves PASSION. LOL.

Updated On: 1/10/20 at 09:12 PM

Cora Hoover Hooper said: "
I think it was the Wang Center booking in Boston that was cut short, but for all I know maybe it was both. It moved to Broadway with little advance notice. Frank RIch's review didn't help either. I recall he liked Lansbury, but little else about the revival calling it a tired businessman's type of musical.......



"

Now that we're on the subject, Lansbury's GYPSY--a life-changing evening in the theater for me and a personal triumph for her--only ran about 4 months on Broadway. Maybe it was meant to be a limited run; I wasn't in NYC at the time.

I remember being told--prior to MURDER, SHE WROTE, which made her an international star--that Angela was a huge b.o. draw in some cities (including Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, where she packed houses in MAME and GYPSY), but not as much in others. She would sell out in Kansas City, but play to 2/3 houses in St. Louis, or maybe it was the other way around. The point is that despite her brilliant performances in films and in the original production of MAME, she wasn't yet a money maker on the scale of Carol Channing in DOLLY or Yul Brynner in THE KING AND I.

 

 

BWAY Baby2 said: "Judy in Dolly- Judy in Mame- so many possibilities- and such a tragic end fora great star."

I just saw Traci Bennett in Mame and one of my first thoughts was that I’m seeing Traci as Judy in Mame!!!

Jarethan said: "GavestonPS said: "markypoo said: "Why was the 1983 Mame revival with Angela - its only B'way revival to date - so short lived?
Oliver! with Patti suffered a similar fate the same season."

I'm not sure. Maybe Broadway audiences weren't ready to revisit MAME after its long Broadway run. It was a huge hit on the road in many places; in Miami Beach where I worked on it, we had a line around the block waiting for cancellations for the finalSunday matinee. (There was one, single ticket released at show time and we very nearly had a riot.)

Or maybe NYC audiences were too enthralled by the then-current rage for British poperettas to appreciate what is a fairly traditional American musical comedy."

The mega-British 'poperettas' hadn't really started when the revival failed. The revival was 1983 and Les Mis -- the first one IMO, although an argument could be made for Evita being the start -- opened in London in March 1986. I really think little advanced notice, no publicity, summer opening, little tourism in those days, barn of a Uris Theatre, somewhat tacky production values,meant that it started with a huge disadvantage;also, despite 3 Tonys by then, I am not sure that Lansbury was as big a box office draw as the show needed to overcome the above obstacles.

NOTE:Personally, her performances on Broadway have given me more memorable evenings in the theatre than any other performerI have seen on the stage in 55+ years;but I remember that Prettybelle closed out of town (although she was the best thing about it);Dear World lasted about 5 - 6 months (although she was responsible for a lot of the run it did have); when Gypsy extended 5 lousy weeks in 1975, after doing great business in the first 10 weeks, the last five weeks did poor business. She had had a career triumph in Sweeney Todd, but a lot of audience members expecting to see Mame or Mama Rose were disappointed,she was not doing much in the movies, and had not 'discovered' Murder She Wrote. I think I read that that the limited movie work was a key contributor to her decision revive Mame. And maybe it was just too soon. Who knows in the final analysis. But I go with 'little advanced notice, etc.'

"Going off on a tangent here, but the very experience of seeing her for the very first time on a January 1969 trip to NYC in Dear World - and at the Hellinger (the first of two memorable experiences there ) -  is something I still cherish.

I was 13.

 

joevitus said: "You're entirely correct GavestonPS, I was confusing the two."

Easy to do, Joe, easy to do.