No, No, Nanette Question- Page 2

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 4:35pm

Johnboy2, what were Dagwood and Blondie like? Still with it? I am racking my brain trying to remember who was in the show when I was there. I remember Sven Swensen and Evelyn Keyes and I believe Martha Raye. I had met Harry Rigby a few times. He was always very nice to me. Hae and Man in Chair would have SSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOO much to talk about. Harry would have revived Drowsy Chaperone. It was his kind of show. What a great faded star revival program No No Nanette is. We could use one today.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 9:07pm

I second that!

There were a lot of shows at the time of (the original) NO, NO, NANETTE with titles like LA LA LUCILLE, OH OH DELPHINE, YES YES YVETTE and a London review called YES YES FLANELETTE. These were real shows.

So what other old movie stars appeared in versions of the 1971 revival?
That I know of - Ruby Keeler, Patsy Kelly, Martha Raye (Broadway) June Allyson, Dennis Day (Chicago) Evelyn Keyes, Don Ameche, Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake (US tours), Anna Neagle (London), Cyd Charise and Yvonne de Carlo (Australia). Have I missed anyone?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 9:14pm

"Tea For Two" isn't a tap number. It's a soft-shoe.

(Hey what do you call a cranky soft-shoe dancer? A soft-shoe crab!)

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/25/06 at 9:18pm

Technically, TEA FOR TWO is a ballad, that has a soft-shoe break.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:07am

Well the production I just saw they did soft show and tap (soft-shoe tap?) in the instrumental break. That may have been added by this choreographer. There are no taps on the 1971 revival cast album.

Anyone who enjoys older musical comedies MUST get this CD. Sony remastered it adding the Act II opening ("Peach on the Beach") and other goodies. The CD (as was its LP release) is a delight from start to finish.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:17am

Thanks alterego. It was Don Ameche. I found him rather grumpy. The girls dancing on the 6 foot diameter balls was really something. And they sometimes fell off.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:53am

frontrowcentre2, something that I love in the remastered 1971 CD is the "crossovers" at the end of 'You Can Dance...'. I have a NANETTE audiotape taken from backstage at the 46th Street Theatre and the audience applauds right through this, *magic*!

Another name to add to the roster of older movie stars who did the show is Ginger Rogers who I believe did it at a State Fair in Texas. I recall reading that she decided that she would do 'You Can Dance...' so she took it away from the character of Lucille and it became another number for Sue.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 8:47pm

B-B-B-BUMP.

Posted: 6/26/06 at 10:57pm

Did Virginia Mayo ever play Sue on tour?

I loved the 1971 revival. Patsy Kelly was on vacation when I saw it and a great character actress from the old Warner Bros. movies named Ruth Donnelly was playing Pauline that week. She was wonderful!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 12:10am

The vacuume cleaner was the true star

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 12:15am

Why hasn't "No, No, Nanette" been revived yet? Maybe after "Chaperone" closes, someone will. With Nanette Fabray in the Ruby Keeler part and Kaye Ballard as the maid.

I keep thinking of a line from a Comden and Green routine, about a producer who produced "No, No, Nannette", "Yes, Yes, Yvette" and "If, If, Iphegenia"...

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 12:26am

Maybe Maybe Mabeline

[alterego]

Posted: 6/27/06 at 3:12am

I bet that with the success of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE somebody is already dusting off the 1971 script and playing the album and pondering the possibilities of a revival. Provided that it is presented with the same flair that the 1971 revival was I can't see why it wouldn't be a success again.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 12:57am

It was SO much fun. Ruby Keeler tap danced. That was enough right there. Close up the store and put out the lights. That was enough. (And she was, bless her, no better at acting than in her heyday).

[alterego]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 2:08am

Did Billy Early (Bobby Van) tap dance during Call Of The Sea on Broadway?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but remember reading years ago that when Mary Martin had that car accident in San Francisco (early 80's?) she was there to prepare for a production of NANETTE which was to be filmed for television. Also mentioned for the cast were Stephanie Powers and Donald O'Connor. Anyone else remember this?

If NANETTE was to revived today who could be cast?

[wildcat]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 2:22am

Some other stars in the 1970 revival:

Judy Canova, Betty Kean and Ann B. Davis all played the maid.

And wasn't it revived only a few years ago with Kaye Ballard and Helen Gallagher at Paper Mill or Goodspeed?

[alterego]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 2:29am

Ha! Thank you Wildcat. Yes I believe that Papermill did it (without Raoul Pene du Bois' sets and costumes - I saw some photo's, very all brown and rust). You could be right about Kaye Ballard but Helen Gallagher wasn't in it. I think, Judy Canova did the Broadway revival, with Betty Kean and Ann B. Davis doing the show on tour.

[wildcat]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 2:32am

I'm pretty sure Helen G. played the Ruby Keeler role at Paper Mill....

[alterego]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 2:36am

I checked and you are correct Wildcat. Helen Gallagher was Sue, with Kaye Ballad (Pauline), Eddie Bracken (Jimmy) and Lee Roy Reams (Billy). Updated On: 6/28/06 at 02:36 AM

[wildcat]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 3:14am

What a jolly cast!

Also Marge Champion played Sue at the Muny a few years ago with Susan Egan as Nanette.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 3:47am

Billy has a big tap dance section in "Telephone Girlie".

And that damned vacumn cleaner is so funny. At Paper Mill, Kaye Ballard's Pauline performed a flute solo during "Take a Little One Step" as the vacumn sidled up next to her, lovingly. She stopped, turned to it, and scolded, "I told you - we're THROUGH! GO!" and the vacumn sheepishly ran off stage.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 8:21am

Bobby Van did not tap dance during CALL OF THE SEA. He did dance, however.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 8:42am

Interesting, I suppose they wanted the first taps in the show to have come from Ruby.

A flute solo? Hmmm.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 8:46am

>A flute solo? Hmmm.<

Yeah, I know. But it was funny.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/28/06 at 8:51am

I'll take your word for it Smaxie.