Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)

[broadwaydanwi]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#1

Posted: 4/1/11 at 8:28am

Two years ago today, the world lost a sensational musical theatre performer named Elaine Cancilla. In addition to her eight Broadway credits, Ms. Cancilla worked regularly in stock and industrial shows. For five summers, she delighted audiences in Milwaukee with a variety of roles at Melody Top Theatre. I recently published a tribute to her on my website, Memories of Melody Top. Please take a look at the site, which features some unique photographs of her both on- and off-stage. I also included quotes from her fantastic reviews in the daily newspapers. I wish I could have seen her perform on stage, but I was only three years old in 1973. Judging from her rave reviews, she was a wonderful musical comedy star.

Also on the page is an interview with Tommy Tune, published in 1987, in which he talks about his early history as both choreographer and performer at Melody Top. There are some wonderful pictures of Mr. Tune on the page, and I love the extremely rare image of him staging a number from SWEET CHARITY.

Finally, I posted five new photographs at the bottom of the huge gallery of Melody Top stars. Be sure to check out the priceless shots of Monty Hall, Jo Anne Worley, Gretchen Wyler, Nanette Fabray and Margaret Hamilton. The sweet look on Margaret’s face always makes me smile. I hope you like it, too.

Thanks for visiting the site and making it a popular spot on the web!
Memories of Melody Top: Seeing Stars (2)

[beaemma]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#2

Posted: 4/1/11 at 10:55pm

How great to see photos of Tommy Tune and Kurt Peterson when they were just starting out! The SWEET CHARITY rehearsal photo looks like Tune was taking a different approach to staging "Hey Big Spender" than the Fosse inspired "girls draped on a rail." He would have the creativity to try something unusual. It was also wonderful to see Elaine Cancilla remembered. She was an expert singer, dancer, comedienne, and actress. The list of her credits at Melody Top illustrates her versatility, too! It's amazing to think one person played Lola in DAMN YANKEES, Rosalie in CARNIVAL, and Gooch in MAME.

[broadwaydanwi]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#2

Posted: 4/2/11 at 7:06pm

Thanks for mentioning Kurt Peterson! He worked as an ensemble member at Melody Top during the 1967 season. I'm including a picture of him (dressed as a baseball player) in that year's production of SWEET CHARITY. He would later appear in the original Broadway productions of two of my all-time favorite musicals, DEAR WORLD (Julian) and FOLLIES (Young Ben). Melody Top sure hired a lot of talented people in the late 1960s!

[JOak]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#3

Posted: 4/2/11 at 7:39pm

Thank you for these wonderful photos.

[broadwaydanwi]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#4

Posted: 4/3/11 at 4:19pm

You're welcome, JOak.

I'm thinking about what to post in my next update:

Gretchen Wyler as MAME...

Leonard Nimoy in OLIVER...

Or Rita Moreno and George Chakiris in GUYS & DOLLS?

[TxTwoStep]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#5

Posted: 4/6/11 at 8:59pm

all of the above please. i have heard Melody Top stories for years and to see them illustrated...magical.

Will: They don't give out awards for helping people be gay... unless you count the Tonys. "I guarantee that we'll have tough times. I guarantee that at some point one or both of us will want to get out. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life..."

[broadwaydanwi]

Remembering Elaine Cancilla (and thinking about Tommy Tune)#6

Posted: 4/7/11 at 5:14pm

I think I'll post something about MAME -- just in time for Mother's Day 2011!