THE "MAME" THAT NEVER WAS...

I was reading an article about the original Broadway production of Jerry Herman's "Mame".  Angela Lansbury had told the producers that she wished to leave the show and replacements needed to be found.  Celeste Holm filled in for Lansbury for two weeks during a vacation break and the starred in the National tour of the show.  Lansbury left the show and was replaced by Janis Paige.  However, it seemed that the actress that really wanted to be "Mame" was Judy Garland.  This was after she has been fired from "Valley of the Dolls" and was towards the end of her career.  She had seen the show three times with Lansbury and loved it and hoped that this would bring her back.  Jerry Herman thought that it was a great idea, but was ultimately voted down by the producers considering her to be too big of a risk.  If Garland wasn't the mess that she was, do you think that she would have become Broadway magic?...

Garland reinvented herself by turning into a concert performer so she definitely would have known how to perform the role on stage having only acted in films her entire career.   

Sadly, all the reasons why she never played MAME on Broadway were fully validated pre-MAME as her concert appearances were hits and misses with her attendance.  

Mr. Herman has told a mutual friend more than once that he WROTE the show with Judy Garland in mind as Mame. Angela wasn't yet the musical star that she became when she opened in the show.

But Garland was unwell--given what we know now, I think "unwell" is fairer than "erratic"--and therefore uninsurable.

I have my doubts that Garland wanted to replace Angela or do the tour. Garland was an event, even in the mid-60s. But maybe it was during a period when she was having trouble finding work. I know that Herman still regrets that she never got to do it.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 02:04 AM

Sweetlips, that Australia tour is famous to Garland fans. There's even a line about in THE BOY FROM OZ, if I'm not mistaken. Eventually, IIRC, Garland abandoned the tour and fled to Hong Kong.

It's interesting to contemplate what her later life would have been if her handlers hadn't stolen or squandered her money (again and again). She did a lot of working when she really wasn't able.

fashionguru_23 said: "I will say one of the most difficult times in the theatre was watching "End of the Rainbow" when Michael Cumpsty's characher was begging Judy to run away and leave with him so he could take care of her. I think all of the fans saw themselves in the moment. And when she doesn't go, your heart breaks into a million pieces because you know it won't be the ending you want."

I couldn't agree more. A lot of people criticized the show for overdoing it dramatically and putting her in a bad light, but that scene broke my heart when I saw it at the Guthrie. Both my mother and I started crying.

I've been a massive Garland fan my entire life, and I didn't know a single thing about Mame until I learned they really wanted her to do it. Does that make me a good or a bad gay?  

I saw Garland in concert three times. The first was at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium shortly after her Carnegie Hall concert. She was in incredible voice and every bit of what I had hoped for. The next time was her Palace return with her children. She was hours late and by the time she appeared on stage it was 10:20 pm. At 11pm sharp the entire orchestra got up and left since they weren't getting paid after the hour. Garland seemed in a daze talking to her fans as she sat at the end of the stage apologizing for being so late. The third time was at Westbury Music Fair and she apparently had been up  late the night before (which was opening night) at could barely sing a note. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry.  must have left my voice in the dressing room."

Garland could've never done eight shows a week. Lansbury (in excellent health) stated she had oxygen tanks in the wings in order to keep up her energy. Plus she was seldom off the stage. It was a very taxing role. Could Garland have done a TV adaptation of the role? Possibly but by that time she was frail and in very poor health passing in June of '69.

I honestly feel like the people I would love to see as Mame are a bit too old for the role now (in particular, Christine Baranski), and I'm hard pressed to think who would be able to carry the torch of such a role.

Baranski's reviews at The Kennedy Center a few years back were less than enthusiastic which is probably one of the main reasons it never transferred to Broadway. Regardless of her age, I doubt she would ever be cast again in the role. Lansbury was only 39 when she went into rehearsals for the show. It would be refreshing to see a Mame again under fifty.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 02:15 PM

Also of note, Garland was only 47 when she died in 1969.  Yes, the substance abuse took its toll on her physically as she looked almost 2 decades older.  Crazy to think that frail little old and manic Judy was only about 41-42 when she had THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW on CBS TV in 1963-64.   

When she was cast in "Valley of the Dolls", it was originally intended for her to sing the movie's theme.  After she was fired, the job went to Dionne Warwick.  It's very sad that this great woman was the recipient of these amazing opportunities, but found herself completely incapable to take advantage of them.

If we could live in an alternative universe where Judy Garland was healthy, the possibilities are amazing. Yes, she would have been a great Mame. And Jerry Herman, Ernest Lehman and Gene Kelly would have cast her in the movie of Hello, Dolly! in a split second. Think of what she could have done with Madam Rose in Gypsy. And as JoAnne in Company, or singing "I'm Still Here in Follies, or her Mrs. Lovett? She was the right age at the right time for all those roles. 

Updated On: 9/26/17 at 02:38 AM

OlBlueEyes said: "Bette Midler was interviewed in November, 2014 on one of SiriusXM's Town Hall series,The last question from the audience was about future Broadway roles she might like to play. Very prophetically she said that she would love to play the title character from one of Jerry Herman's big hits. Mame."

Maybe she will return to Broadway in a revival of "MAME"...with ticket prices well over $2,000 for nose bleed.