It isn't necessarily either or. Madeline Kahn may have been one of those genius film actors who instinctively rebels against doing the same thing over and over, eight times per week. The same was said of Marlon Brando, that his Stanley in STREETCAR would change your life--IF you saw him during the one show per week when he was really inspired. Barbra Streisand herself has said she doesn't care for the repetition of Broadway and William Goldman compared her Fannie Brice toward the end of her run to a bad Jerry Lewis impersonation.
Unfortunately, Oscar and Lily have to carry 20th CENTURY; there really isn't much room for "off" nights. If Cullum and Kaye aren't comics on the level of a Kahn, Lahr or Mostel, they are great singing stars. I've seen both of them countless times over 46 years with never a dull performance from either one of them. What's more, they are both fine actors who play character, and the characters in 20th CENTURY are funny enough without unique comic gifts.
So it seems perfectly possible to me that Kahn was ill-suited to carry a long run of a major musical, genius though I believe her to have been. And at the same time, Prince didn't know what to do with the star he hired or how to help her and resorted to shouting in frustration. Not fair to Kahn, not really fair to Prince either (but he made the decision and has nobody else to blame). Big break for Judy Kaye.
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JUDY KAYE TAUGHT ME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS I've ever learned in the theater: that it isn't enough to be highly skilled if you give the audience the impression you don't really want to be there. Not a bad lesson for real life, actually.
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BTW, I've already admitted my bias in favor of Judy Kaye's performances. But I had a personal encounter with her that only confirmed my affection. My now-husband and I saw her from a front table when she did her club act shortly after CENTURY closed. Apparently, we were enthusiastic in response, because she finished the show, stepped off the stage and pulled a chair up to our table. She sat with us, ordered a round of drinks and then spent the next hour and then some chatting, mostly asking us about our lives. Frankly, we would have rather talked about her, but she insisted on behaving like a genuine human being. Very classy lady and a monster talent, regardless of what a few members of the 20th CENTURY ensemble may have thought of her performance. (Of course it isn't possible they were jealous of someone who stepped out of the ensemble and became a Broadway star.)
Updated On: 3/12/12 at 08:25 PM
