THE "MAME" THAT NEVER WAS...
THE "MAME" THAT NEVER WAS...
#1THE "MAME" THAT NEVER WAS...
Posted: 9/24/17 at 10:47pm
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?...
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#3THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 12:48am
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.
#5THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:04am
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.
#6THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:07am
Oh my Lord--memories stirred up by a remark above.
I was at one of Ms Garlands almost final concerts in Melbourne. She was hours late and everyone waited to see this legend. When finally appeared we all screamed the place down and then she sang Oh my Lord--that voice--then she lost it. Forgot words, restarted songs and the poor lead violinist had the mic cord drapped around her neck.
When Ms Garland did get through a number, she was glorious, but the moments were too few and she left the stage, not to return.
We all sat,stunned and most were crying but we did get a glimpse of what She was.
#7THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:20am
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.
#8THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 8:31am
I know that in Herman's autobiography, he says that she performed "If He Walked Into My Life" in some of her concerts around this time.
I could go on for hours about my deep, deep, deep love of and for Judy Garland, but 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.
#9THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 8:44am
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 am big. It’s the REVIVALS that got small.
#11THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 12:05pm
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.
#12THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 12:50pm
Garland would have been a major box-office draw for the show - one of those 'events' which people would talk about for decades after (like Streisand in 'Funny Girl', or Channing in 'Dolly'. It's too bad it never came to be.
I wonder if Liza could have been a great MAME about 20 years ago?
#13THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:59pm
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.
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
#15THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:15pm
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#16THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 4:14pm
^^^Especially since the story takes place over 15 years or so. If Mame is 70 at the opening, is she 85 when she performs "That's How Young I Feel"?
I woke up this morning thinking this thread is unintentionally unfair to Angela. I was too young to see her on Broadway, but the theater where I worked hosted her mid-70s MAME on its way back to New York.
Like her performances in GYPSY and SWEENEY, Angela's MAME is among my top ten all-time favorite performances! Her charisma was stunning: by simply strutting in rhythm in the title number, she had the audience on its feet at the first act curtain. (It took a lot to get Miami Beach audiences on their feet back in those days.)
And her "If He Walked into my Life" had 3,000 people in tears.
So while I, too, would love to see a film or TV version of Garland in the role, the world lost nothing when Angela was cast.
P.S. I feel I need to repeat this from time to time. With celebrities and everyday people, I use the same naming convention. If I never met the person, I refer to her by her last name. If I've met the person, I use the name I was told to call them to their face. Hence, Garland (or Miss Garland), but Angela (with whom I worked twice). Cher and Madonna are exceptions to this rule.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#17THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 4:15pm
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.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#18THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 4:58pm
quizking101 said: "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."
You didn't miss anything. I saw her at the Kennedy Center and was very disappointed. She is a Vera, not a Mame.
#19THE
Posted: 9/25/17 at 8:23pm
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.
#20THE
Posted: 9/26/17 at 1:03am
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.
#21THE
Posted: 9/26/17 at 2:38am
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
#22THE
Posted: 9/26/17 at 6:11am
CallMeAl2 said: "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, orsinging "I'm Still Here in Follies,or her Mrs. Lovett? She was the right age at the right time for all those roles."
You are so cruel for making me dream about these with her in them.
#23THE
Posted: 9/26/17 at 9:01am
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.
Videos