STAGE TO SCREENS: Colin Hanks, Rita Moreno, "Damages" and "The Electric Company"
By Michael Buckley
09 Feb 2009
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Colin Hanks
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
This month: Colin Hanks of 33 Variations; Rita Moreno on Jerome Robbins; the creators of "Damages"; and Willie Reale of the New "Electric Company."
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In 1819, music publisher Anton Diabelli wrote a waltz, and invited composers to create a variation on it. Although he initially dismissed the piece as trivial, Beethoven worked on it for years, writing 33 variations, formally known as "33 Variations on a Waltz by Anton Diabelli."
Moisιs Kaufman has written and directed a new drama, 33 Variations, which previews Feb. 9, and opens March 9, at the Eugene O'Neill, and it not only marks the Broadway debut of Colin Hanks, but also the return, after 46 years, of Jane Fonda, who plays Beethoven scholar Katherine Brandt.
At his audition to play a male nurse, Hanks was "deathly ill. I had a very bad cold, and came in doped-up on all sorts of over-the-counter medications. I don't remember much of it." When the meds started working, so did Hanks, who "did a little better" at his callback, and was cast as Mike Clark, "a very loving guy, sweet and sincere."
Clark's a healthcare provider for Brandt, ill with ALS (Lou Gehrig 's disease), and is also dating her daughter, Clara (Samantha Mathis). Brandt travels from New York to Bonn, to try to solve the centuries-old mystery as to why Beethoven became fixated on what now is considered the most important work in variation form.
Completing the cast are Zach Grenier (as Beethoven), Susan Kellermann (Dr. Ladenburger, a researcher, and Brandt's new friend), Erik Steele (Beethoven's servant-biographer, Anton Schindler), Don Amendolia (Diabelli), and pianist Diane
Walsh (who occasionally plays variations discussed).
Son of Tom Hanks, whose awards include back-to-back Best Actor Oscars (for "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump"), Colin's working with other second-generation actors.
The star's father, Henry Fonda (1905-82), also received back-to-back Oscars: an honorary award and Best Actor for "On Golden Pond," produced by Jane who (for the only time) played his daughter.
Mathis is actually third-generation: daughter of Bibi Besch (1940-96), and granddaughter of Gusti Huber (1914-93), who played the title character's mother, onstage and screen, in "The Diary of Anne Frank." Of the connections, Hanks says, "We all had a laugh. Then, it was: 'Okay, that's covered. Let's get to work.'"
Hanks' previous stage work includes college productions of Cuckoo's Nest and Noises Off, and a 2002 West End run in Kenneth Lonergan's three-character play, This Is Our Youth, with Kieran Culkin and Alison Lohman.
He tried out for the role of a World War I British soldier in the Broadway revival of Journey's End. "I was the guy who auditioned right after Stark Sands [who was cast]. Stark's a very, very good guy. I met him doing '11:14,' my first foray into the independent [film] world. It was great fun, but never made it to theatres."
Born in California, Hanks was the first of two children (he has a sister, Elizabeth) of actors Tom Hanks (then 22) and Samantha Lewes. Hanks' parents were divorced in 1987; in 2002, Lewes died of bone cancer, age 49. Colin has two half-brothers, Chester and Truman (his father's sons with actress wife Rita Wilson).
Recalls Colin, "I visited all the sets [of his father's films]," but the first time he got paid for being on one "was as a production assistant on 'Apollo 13.'" Colin's first time in front of a camera was for "Sleepless in Seattle," but his scene was deleted.
Written and directed by his father, "That Thing You Do" was his second movie. He had "three or four scenes." However, the elder Hanks "cut me out of all but one [where he's briefly seen, but not heard]. I was a glamorized extra."
Young Hanks fared better on TV: in "Roswell" (44 episodes, 1999-2001), he played Katherine Heigl's love interest, and "Band of Brothers" (2001) cast him in "the audition [role] for every young actor [in the miniseries]. There was a lot of pressure not to mess that one up."
Other Hanks' films include "Orange County" ("My first starring role"), "Rx" ("I co-produced it"), "King Kong" ("Working with amazing people, living ten months in New Zealand a life-changing experience"), and "W" ("A chance to work with Oliver Stone; it was cathartic, after spending too much of eight years crying about George W. Bush").
For three "Mad Men" episodes, Hanks played Father John Gill, "My first adult role. It's started a new phase of my career." Among his upcoming movies are "Barry Munday," "High School," and "The Great Buck Howard" (in which co-producer Tom Hanks has a few scenes as his dad). "I'm extremely proud of that one. It's coming out in March the same month as my Broadway debut."
So far, 33 Variations, claims Hanks, "has been a great learning experience not only as an actor, but also as a human being." (Thanks Hanks!)
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Fans of Jerome Robbins: Draw a box around Feb. 18 on your calendars. That's when "American Masters: Something to Dance About," a two-hour tribute to the choreographer-director (1918-98), airs on PBS-TV (Thirteen/WNET New York, 9 PM ET).
Narrated by Ron Rifkin, the documentary was written by biographer Amanda Vaill ("Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins"), produced and directed by six-time Emmy winner Judy Kinberg.
An acknowledgement of Robbins' contributions to the worlds of Broadway and ballet, the toast also focuses on a perfectionist (frequently cruel) who was insecure about his art and conflicted by his sexuality. Casting director Rose Tobias Shaw remembers a night when Monty Clift returned from Hollywood wanting Robbins to resume their relationship - at the same time that the dancer-choreographer had proposed to her.
Among other contributors: Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence,
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Peter Martins, Sono Osato, Nanette Fabray, Tony Mordente, Jacques d'Amboise, Charlotte d'Amboise, Sondra Lee, Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Helen Gallagher, Suzanne Farrell, John Kander, James Mitchell, Patricia McBride, Violette Verdy.
Featured are comments from Robbins (including parts of an Edward R. Murrow "Person to Person"); excerpts of him dancing and of his dances; vintage clips (Imogene Coca, Nancy Walker); rehearsals (West Side Story, Gypsy); scenes from his movies, and TV's "Peter Pan"; and the award winner (being presented a Tony for Jerome Robbins' Broadway by Broadway's Gwen Verdon).
Detailed: Robbins' political past comes to light in the McCarthy era, causing Ed Sullivan to cancel an appearance on his TV show, and also pressure him to testify for the HUAC by threatening to reveal Robbins' homosexuality in his newspaper column.
According to Arthur Laurents, Robbins wanted to work in movies, and therefore named names. When Robbins later told the librettist that he'd "never know...whether I did the right thing," Laurents informed him: "I can tell you now. You were a shit."
Notes Stephen Sondheim, "Jerry is the only genius I've ever worked with, but he could be a really mean and awful man." Sondheim also substantiates a recollection by Lane Bradbury (the original June in Gypsy) of how she incurred Robbins' wrath after forgetting to move a prop during the first preview, and recounts Robbins' revenge when Bradbury repeated the mistake opening night.
"American Masters: Something to Dance About" (available on DVD, March 31) is a sterling salute that should appeal to everyone who likes Broadway, dance, and talent.
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Rita Moreno
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
"Jerry was unable to say, 'Print it,'" explains
Rita Moreno. "He was such a perfectionist that he kept doing take after take after take. That's why he was fired [midway through "West Side Story"]. They warned him; I know they did. We showed up one morning and were told, 'Jerry's not here anymore.' We were decimated, in absolute shock!
"As difficult as he was, as demanding a task-master of the first order as he was I've never, ever seen dancers work so hard and as mean as he could be, he was necessary to that film. We were shooting the mambo-in-the-gym, which is the one number that doesn't work. People say, 'It's great!' and it is. But it needed something. It needed Jerry!"
Moreno performed in both of Robbins' films as Tuptim in "The King and I" (1956), and as Anita in "West Side Story" (1961), for which she won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. She recalls first meeting him on "The King and I" set: "In comes this ferocious person. I'd never seen anything like him in my life. People in Hollywood weren't that way.
"Because I knew that Jerry very much wanted me as Anita, I spent days and days in dance school. I wanted that part so badly that I killed myself." Continues Moreno, "Because of my really high lyric-soprano voice and those first low notes in 'A Boy Like That' to my dismay, they had to find a voice for me. It was a woman called Betty Wand. The sad part is she claims that she did all the singing for me."
Broadway legend Chita Rivera originated the role of Anita, and Moreno's aware of a Chita-Rita-Anita confusion. "It's inevitable, and it's for life, but if I'm going to be compared to anyone, or mistaken for anyone I'm proud to have it be Chita. She's so talented, and such a wonderful person. We have a great time when we're together.
"Jerry's behavior was bizarre," observes Moreno, "but look at the end results." Pleased to participate in "American Masters: Something to Dance About," she adds, "The term's overused but Jerry was a genius." Continued...
