"Mame" still planning on Palace run per NY Post

[jimnysf]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 6:21am

BARANSKI TURNS UP FLAME ON 'MAME'
By MICHAEL RIEDEL

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/67095.htm


June 7, 2006 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The disappointing

reviews last week for Christine Baranski's star turn in "Mame" here at the Kennedy Center haven't scuttled a move to Broadway this summer.

There is, in fact, a big reason why this production - which, while hardly flawless, still gets toes tapping and faces beaming - just might slip into the Palace in July.

That reason is economic.

The Nederlanders, who have the rights to this classic 1966 musical by Jerry Herman, are co-owners of the Palace. And with the abrupt closing of Elton John's "Lestat," they're facing a Broadway landlord's worst nightmare: a prime musical house, smack in the middle of Times Square, that's going to be dark during the height of the tourist season.

The Palace's next official tenant is "Legally Blonde." But that doesn't arrive until February. A limited run of "Mame" (20 weeks is under discussion) would be the perfect stopgap.

The deal being worked out is that the Kennedy Center, which has sunk $4 million into "Mame," will turn the production over to the Nederlanders for free, in exchange for above-the-title billing.

If the move doesn't cost more than $2 million, the Nederlanders might get that back in New York, with Baranski and the famous title drawing in the summer tourists.

Long a favorite with New York theater audiences, Baranski found national fame as Cybill Shepherd's hard-drinking, zinger-slinging sidekick Maryanne Thorpe in the long-running TV comedy "Cybill."

So well did she embody the role that when the "Mame" revival was announced with her in the title role, show queens were puzzled.

Shouldn't she, they buzzed, be playing Mame's hard-drinking, zinger-slinging sidekick, Vera Charles?

The notion that Baranski is miscast has dogged the production from the beginning (as have the inevitable comparisons to Angela Lansbury, the original Mame).

But Mame drinks and zings almost as much as Vera does in the show, and for critics of this production, it wasn't so much that Baranski was miscast as that she seemed tentative and smaller-than-life.

"She's in the ballpark vocally, but she does not yet make Mame totally her own," wrote Peter Marks, the critic for the Washington Post.

"Her work isn't sufficiently take charge; it exposes us to the gifts of a skilled actress rather than a star."

Ben Brantley, writing in the Times, complained that Baranski "never brings the sheer conviction to her part that would make it the show's irresistible center of gravity."

If the actress seemed unsettled the night the critics were in the house, production sources said it was because she had only four performances under her belt (the Kennedy Center doesn't do weeks of previews the way Broadway does).

Those performances were rocky. The sets and costumes weren't finished, and the dress rehearsal was canceled due to a giant moving staircase that kept malfunctioning.

Minutes before the first preview, the cast was told to look out for the staircase, the source said, "because we don't know what it's going to do."

What it did was lurch all over the place, with Baranski hanging onto the railing for dear life.

The staircase is behaving itself now, and Baranski has taken her reviews to heart, turning up her star power to the delight of her castmates and her audiences.

Sensitive to the fact that he saw an early preview, the Washington Post's Marks is planning to revisit "Mame" in a couple of weeks.

You can bet the Nederlanders will be reading that review very carefully.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 6:40am

Wait, so total shift of focus...was it already announced that Legally Blonde will go to the Palace in February? I missed that one. Anyway, proceed...MAME!

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 6:51am

Ohhh Exciting news! I hope it goes to the palace! That would be awesome! Also, Jeff McCarthy needs to be back on broadway!

[RYANWOODS]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 7:39am

The Palace faced that problem last year after All Shook Up suddenly left and Le Stat didnt start until April leaving the theatre dark for like half a year.

I hope Mame does go in - but im so uninterested in Legally Blonde The Musical - There are too many of these slap-stick films being turned into musicals and lets face it the chance of them being majorly successful are slim - The Wedding Singer will probably close next season - I hope , like Jupe Box musicals have, this area of "musicals" will die out soon.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 8:01am

i would really love to see this happen! i'm hoping it's not another showqueen blowing off at the mouth again.

that seems REALLY fun!

[Glebb]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 8:27am

I'd like to see it. :)

[Johnnytoc]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 11:37am

That would be really nice to see!

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 12:07pm

Well, all things point towards that possibility of Mame's very short run, if everything just gets transferred intact. Will the sets fit perfectly into the Palace from KC?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 12:48pm

MAME'd be great...but get Ebersole in there!

F**k Legally Blonde.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 1:45pm

Won't Jeff McCarthy be gearing up for The Pirate Queen set to begin in Chicago in October?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 1:59pm

So I guess Pirate Queen is going into the Hilton. Unless they keep milking Hot Feet until it has an attendence of about 10%.

[bare_nakedlady]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 1:59pm

OOOOOOOOOOOOH... I'm coming to NY the last week of July... could they be in previews by then?????? Here's Hoping Bring Max Von Essen back to broadway

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 2:00pm

I would think it would be open by July if they were going to do it. If they want to hit it at the height of tourist season, why wait until August?

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 2:26pm

Well, if they have to reconfigure the sets for the Palace, that would take time...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 3:09pm

Let's wait to see if Baranski can get her performance up and running. On the other hand, some people will go to see anything

[ShuQ]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 3:23pm

Well I wish Baranski wouldn't have waited until the reviews came out to step up her game. Maybe more will follow suit and revisit the show.

Or, here's an idea! RECAST THE ROLE!

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 4:29pm

I am sure if there were a "better" MAME with a bigger name out there, they would have cast her in DC.

The role was almost uncastable the first time out, with Lansbury pushed on producers by Jerry Herman (for a long time, the producers were going to go with Nanette Fabray as Mame.)

Baranski can sing, dance, play comedy expertly, look great in the requisite fashion parade that comes with the show. She had three preview performances in DC before the critics came. Cut the lady a break if it's taken her a couple of weeks to settle into what is a massive role.

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 4:44pm

I would love to see her play Mame, I think she would be great. I hope this is true.

[craftymarley]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 5:22pm

I don't care whether or not Mame comes in for a few months, but I'm seriously hoping that Legally Blonde is not going into the Palace after. Anyone else agree?

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 5:27pm

yea Legally Blonde definately needs something a little smaller. Mame is such a brilliant show and I am dying to see Baranski in this role!

[.LittleWing. 0224]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 6:41pm

agreed... the Palace is just way too big for its own good. MAME might do well with a limited run there, but legally blonde should not go to that theatre. i'd say that's a bit ambitious of jerry mitchell and the production team.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 6:52pm

I don't care where or who is leading it, I just need to see this show live. I bought the OBCR last summer and think it's so dated, but in a GREAT way.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 6/7/06 at 8:30pm

I just saw the show last night and I am excited to hear that transfer plans may allegedly still be in place.

I hope they keep the show intact and keep Emily Skinner if she is available and willing. Some may argue she was miscast, but I thought she was a highlight. It was good to see her in a different kind of role. Baranski too, was better than I thought she would be. Of course, my only exposure to the show prior to this is repeat listenings of the OBCR.

[harrietharrisfan]

Posted: 6/10/06 at 1:48pm

I found new interviews with Harriet amd Christine and also an article about "Mame" at the Metro Weekly website.

http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=2162 Interview w/ Harriet
http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=2163 Interview w/ Christine
http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=2164 Bosom Buddies - Christine Baranski and Harriet Harris take the stage with 'Mame'

Hope you like it! =)
Updated On: 6/10/06 at 01:48 PM