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RELATED MEDIA:
AUDIO
Gypsy record producer Robert Sher
Recording Gypsy
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DIVA TALK: Chatting with Gypsy's Lenora Nemetz Plus News of LuPone and McDonald
By Andrew Gans
04 Jul 2008
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Gwen Verdon and Lenora Nemetz in Chicago
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Question: Do you have a favorite Broadway experience?
Nemetz: Every one is special to you when you're doing it, but I do think that probably Chicago because it was my first starring role on Broadway and, of course, working with my two idols, Gwen and Chita. And working with them, by the way, and standing by for them at 25, was like going to university. They were the most generous performers I've ever worked with and my favorite dance partners by the way. [Laughs.] They were amazing.
Question: What are your memories of working with Fosse?
Nemetz: He was very generous to me as well. He opened doors that other people wouldn't have done. He really did. I'm basically a nobody from Pittsburgh. [Laughs.] I am! It's like Arthur giving me this opportunity, but Bob literally opened a door that nobody would have dared to have done. The producers wouldn't have put me in that part of Velma. They were looking to find a star, and Bob Fosse, fortunately for me, he was the selling point: "Bob Fosse's Chicago." "Bob Fosse's Pippin." He was that big, so he gave me that opportunity, and I'm eternally grateful for that.
Question: When did you start on Broadway? What was your first show?
Nemetz: My first show on Broadway? Cabaret. I played Fritzie the Kit Kat Girl.
Question: How did that come about?
Nemetz: It's funny, everything that's happened has not been just a coincidence. You can see all the signs leading to it. I was meeting someone at the Broadway theatre. This is a long story. You really wanna hear it?
Question: Yes!
Nemetz: It was a Thursday, and I was auditioning all day. First audition I went to was for a revival of Carnival. I got typecast out. Second audition I went to was for Come Summer with Agnes De Mille choreographing, and Ray Bolger was in it. I was 17 years old. I was a kid. I got typecast out. I was doing a show at the Club Bene [in New Jersey] called Gypsy — see, it all ties together, doesn't it? [Laughs.] It was at the Club Bene with this tiny little cast, but Vincent Gardenia was in that cast. He played Herbie, and Bob Fosse's first wife Mary Ann Niles played Tessie.
Question: Who were you playing?
Nemetz: I was playing the rear end of the cow and Agnes! [Laughs.] There were only two chorus girls in it. It was really a small production of it. That was really my first job when I landed in New York out of high school. Anyway, we had a car that we all drove to the club in New Jersey. It happened to be parked in front of my apartment on 85th Street. I had the keys, so I was going to the Cabaret audition to drop off the keys to one of the gals in the show. I got to the stage door and asked the doorman where the ladies room was. He was this old guy. He said, "Just go in there. You can use that bathroom." It was Lotte Lenya's dressing room! So I went in and I used the bathroom. I came out, and the stage manager was there, Ed Aldridge, and he said to me, "What are you doing in the star's dressing room?" And I said, "Well the doorman told me I could use it." I tried to explain myself, and he didn't buy it, so I said, "I'm here to audition." It was an immediate replacement for Cabaret — there were 250 girls there, and he said, "Your number is one, go downstairs, that's where we dress." And I got the job! Isn't that funny?
Question: Fate.
Nemetz: It's just the way it's supposed to be. Boy, and I'll never forget that. I came out of that audition. It was my first Broadway show. I went into the theatre around one o'clock, and I came out, and it was getting dark. This was in October. All of the lights were lit on Broadway — that was in 1968, and I felt like Ann Marie in "That Girl." She was real popular on TV at that time. I was very young and very naïve and just flying high because I had gotten my first Broadway show.
Question: And, now, it's full circle — from the Club Bene Gypsy to the Broadway Gypsy.
Nemetz: To the Broadway Gypsy with the master, Arthur Laurents. You don't get better than that!
[Gypsy plays the St. James Theatre, located in Manhattan at 246 West 44th Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com.]
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Gunn and McDonald at the Allegro recording session
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| photo by Carol Rosegg |
DIVA TIDBITS
A starry cast — including Tony Award winners Laura Benanti, Norbert Leo Butz and Audra McDonald — has been assembled for the first complete recording of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's Allegro, which features a 50-piece orchestra. The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization confirmed earlier this week that principal orchestral and vocal work has been completed for the recording, which will be released on a date and label to be announced shortly. The cast of the recording boasts Patrick Wilson (The Full Monty, Oklahoma!) as Joe Taylor, Jr.; Nathan Gunn (Camelot) and McDonald (Ragtime, Carousel, Master Class) as Joe's parents; Marni Nixon (My Fair Lady, Nine) as Joe's Grandma; Judy Kuhn (Les Misérables, She Loves Me, Chess) as Beulah; Liz Callaway (Baby, Cats, Miss Saigon) as Emily; Benanti (Gypsy, Into the Woods, Nine) as Jennie; and Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Wicked, Is He Dead?) as Joe's best friend, Charlie. The Allegro ensemble features Judy Blazer, Maureen Brennan, Ashley Brown and Kathy Morath as well as a full chorus and a children's chorus. Vocal cameos are made by New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner Schuyler Chapin; All Souls Church Reverend Dr. Galen Guengerich; and Allegro's original production assistant, Stephen Sondheim. In fact, Sondheim once referred to Allegro as "the first really good experimental show." The orchestra, which recorded the original orchestrations penned by Robert Russell Bennett and Trude Rittmann's dance arrangements, was conducted by Larry Blank. Bruce Pomahac is musical director, and Ben Whiteley is the choral director (with choral arrangements by Crane Calder). Among the songs that will be heard on the new recording are "A Fellow Needs a Girl" (Gunn, McDonald), "Come Home" (McDonald), "You Are Never Away" (Wilson), "The Gentleman is a Dope" (Callaway) and "So Far" (Kuhn). The Allegro recording is produced by David Lai and Bruce Pomahac. Ted Chapin is executive producer. For more information visit www.rnh.com.
Carey Anderson, most recently seen as Sophie in the Broadway production of Mamma Mia!, will join the New York company of the Tony-winning Avenue Q at the John Golden Theatre July 8. Anderson will assume the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy, which were originally created by Tony nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo. Anderson will join a cast that currently includes Christian Anderson (Nicky, Trekkie Monster, Bear and others), Jennifer Barnhart (Mrs. T., Bear and others), Nicholas Kohn (Brian), Carla Renata (Gary Coleman), Ann Sanders (Christmas Eve) and Howie Michael Smith (Princeton and Rod). For more information visit www.avenueq.com. For tickets call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
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Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin
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| photo by Brigitte Lacombe |
An initial list of dates has been announced for the concert evening starring Tony Award-winning actors and former Evita co-stars Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. LuPone and Patinkin first presented An Evening with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin in September 2002 at the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX. That evening featured duets from several musical theatre classics, including tunes from South Pacific, Carousel, Sunday in the Park with George, and, of course, Evita. The award-winning actor-singers also performed individually. Ann Reinking, who won a Best Choreography Tony Award for her work in the long-running revival of Chicago, choreographed the concert act, which was conceived by Patinkin and pianist Paul Ford and directed by Patinkin. Ford accompanies the actors on piano. Confirmed dates, according to a spokesperson for the tour, follow. Several more cities will be announced at a later date.
March 7, 2009 at the Staller Center in Stony Brook, NY
March 10-15, 2009 at the DuPont Theatre in Wilmington, DE
March 29, 2009 at the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ
April 22, 2009 at Centennial Hall in Tucson, AZ
May 5-17, 2009 at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, OH
Speaking of La LuPone, I loved Alec Baldwin's recent blog on the Huffington Post, which was titled "What the World Needs Now Is Patti LuPone." Here is an excerpt: "I have worked in my business since 1980 and I have seen a lot of changes. One thing that hasn't changed is Patti. That year, the year I started, Patti won the Tony for Best Actress in a musical for Evita. And now, more than 25 years later, Patti is as heartbreaking and wicked and volcanic and gorgeous as ever. Maybe more so. Go see her in Gypsy on Broadway. Surrounded by Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti (both also Tony winners for this show), Patti makes the story of Mama Rose worth seeing again and then some."
For the complete blog, click here.
Broadway couple Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell will co-host Divas!, the upcoming benefit for the Hudson Stage Company in Yorktown, NY. The July 19 event will feature performances by Liz Callaway, star of Broadway's Baby, Miss Saigon and Cats; Ann Hampton Callaway, the MAC Award-winning performer who made her Broadway debut in Swing!; and regional theatre actress Mimi Bessette. The concert will be presented on the grounds of a private property on Baptist Church Road in Yorktown Heights, NY. Attendees are invited to bring picnics. The evening will begin at 7 PM with a cocktail party with wine and hors d'oeuvres, followed by a silent auction. The concert will begin at sunset and will be followed by coffee and dessert. For tickets, priced $100 per person, call (914) 271-2811 or visit www.hudsonstage.com.
Soul Deep: An Anthology of Black Music is the title of an upcoming concert at Birdland that will honor stage and screen star Phylicia Rashad and raise funds for Broadway Inspirational Voices, the gospel singing group. The Aug. 18 concert at the famed jazz venue will feature the talents of La La Brooks, Chuck Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Chad Goodwin, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Justin Keyes, Adriane Lenox, Joshua Melvin, Elisabeth Mendes, Maurice Murphy, Harry Thompson, Destan Owens, Shayna Steele and Sophia Stephens. Show time is 7 PM. Singers will pay homage to such entertainers as Bo Diddley, Sarah Vaughn, Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Public Enemy, among others. Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. Tickets, priced $25 and $50 (VIP), are available by calling (212) 581-3080 or by visiting www.birdlandjazz.com.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
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