haines his way

06/08/2002:
"THE SOUND SLEEPER"

Well, dear readers, I am getting a late start on these here notes because I slept like a log. In fact, the minute my head hit the pillow last night I was out like a light. I?ve told my head not to keep hitting the pillow because one of these fine days the pillow is going to hit my head back and won?t that be a fine kettle of cheese slices and ham chunks. I didn?t wake up once during the night, that?s how soundly I slept.
Yesterday I received a DVD I?d purchased on eBay of Mr. Otto Preminger?s film of Exodus, which I?m rather fond of. No, Virginia, you won?t be finding said DVD at amazon because said DVD is one of these Hong Kong imports. What these people in Hong Kong do is just make DVDs off laserdiscs and then sell them very cheaply. They?re not very good quality (on a par with the laserdisc) but the film is letterboxed and close to four hours long, and since I can now only play laserdiscs in my bedroom I thought I?d purchase this cheap Hong Kong DVD in case I wanted to watch Exodus in my den. I like options, dear readers, and now I have one, Exodus-wise. One curious thing these clever Hong Kong DVD people have done ? they?ve turned the sound into 5.1 and mastered it very very loudly. However, they?ve placed eighty percent of the 5.1 sound in the rear speakers, so while you?re watching Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint in front of you, they are speaking in back of you. That is very surrealistic, let me tell you. I don?t like it when people are in front of me and their voices come from in back of me. That just gives me the willies. Well, hopefully MGM/UA will get around to Exodus one of these fine days ? it would make a great enhanced for widescreen TVs DVD ? it was beautifully shot in 70mm, all on location. Exodus also features the screen debut of Jill Haworth, who would go on to play Miss Sally Bowles in the original Broadway production of Cabaret.
I?ve been reading a book all about the making of Sunset Boulevard. from film to Andrew Lloyd Webber. It?s by Sam Staggis, who wrote a similar tome on All About Eve. It?s fun, in a bitchy sort of way, but like all these guys who do these books, it?s filled with rumor, misinformation and occasional silliness. One does find out an awful lot about Sunset Boulevard, however, and some of the anecdotes are fun, plus Staggis did get to interview some people, and that?s fun, too. An example of the kind of silly mistake Staggis makes is this: He talks about Sondheim and Harold Prince?s involvement in trying to musicalize Sunset Boulevard (originally with Burt Shevelove doing the book, and then, for a brief moment, with Hugh Wheeler talked about for the book) ? as far as I know Sondheim never actually wrote a note of music, because he ran into Billy Wilder at a party and Billy told him he thought it would only work as an opera and Sondheim agreed with him and decided not to work on it. In any case, Staggis goes on to talk about Harold Prince and how he kept coming back to it occasionally. And then he says that the famous Follies poster was directly inspired by Gloria Swanson standing in the rubble of the torn-down Roxy Theater. Well, if he?d actually bothered to look at the Follies poster by David Byrd (which also graces the Original Cast album) he would know how ridiculous that statement is. What he means is that the whole feel of Follies was inspired by the famous photo of Gloria Swanson standing in the rubble of the Roxy. In any case, if you like Sunset Boulevard, some of this book makes for diverting reading.
What am I, a book critic all of a sudden? Did you know that I am an eBay addict? I will basically purchase anything on eBay. I have bought everything from menus to a Godzilla soap bubble toy. I love to use Buy It Now so I don?t Regret It Later. I love to buy things with my last name on them ? for example, I have a perfume bottle made by Kimmel, I have a set of Kimmel dessert plates, I have an Edison Recorded disc of Kimmel accordion songs, I have a tray from the 30s from Kimmel?s Valley View Ice Cream, I have two paintings by terrifically untalented artists named Kimmel, I have a pencil from Kimmel?s Spring Service in Sabetha, Kansas, and I have a copy of Pearl Harbor?s infamous Admiral Husband E. Kimmel?s autobiography. I also have a Kimmel stein, which I keep next to my Jule Styne. I feel all of you dear readers should go onto eBay and search your last names and purchase everything that has your last name on it. I have also found tapes of all my Donny and Marie appearances and I even watched them and they made me want to vomit.
Well, on that note (Ab) let us all click on the Unseemly Button below because it is late and I simply must get these here notes up and be on my merry way.
Well, as you all know, today is our Unseemly Trivia Contest day, the day in which we play our Unseemly Trivia Contest. Because I haven?t had a moment to even think about a trivia question, today we are having a guest quiz by one of our very own dear readers. Isn?t that exciting? Isn?t that just too too? Even I don?t know the answer to the question yet. Well, shall we get right to it? I believe we shall, because we do not shilly-shally or even shally-shilly here at haineshisway.com. So, let?s get to that question willy-nilly or even nilly-willy and not shally-shilly because that is silly.
Today?s guest quiz is courtesy of dear reader, William F. Orr. Here it is:
A 60's musical had among its principle players a Howdy Doody host and a friend of a horse. Name the musical, the host, and the horse.
Well, that is a stumper, isn?t it? We shall all have to put on our thinking caps and do our best to come up with our collective answers. You have until midnight Monday to submit your guesses to me via e-mail at bruce@haineshisway.com or by using the unseemly Ask Bruce button. DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SITE. All recent contest winners will be happy to know that all sparkling prizes are now on their merry way.
Don?t forget, Donald will have a brand spanking new The Broadway Radio Show up and running for you tomorrow. Tonight I am going to see a one-woman show at a theater on Santa Monica Blvd. I know nothing about the show (I was invited to it), and I will have a full report for you tomorrow.
Well, dear readers, I?m afraid I must be off, I must be on my merry way ? I have things to do, places to go people to see. But I shall return tomorrow with many pithy things to say. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, tomorrow I will have various and sundried pithy things to say. And I will say those pithy things with pith, come hell or high or low water. I may even say some things with vinegar so we can have pith and vinegar. We do not allow groaning here at haineshisway.com. By the way (BTW, in Internet lingo) one of our dear readers wrote me privately to say they were baffled by yesterday?s theme notes, they just didn?t get it at all. Of course, there was nothing I could do to help this person, since I never ?get? these here notes. And isn?t that the point? Isn?t that just the whole deal with these notes? Obscurity for obscurity?s sake? One simply cannot try to make sense of these here notes, for that way madness lies. Have you noticed that madness always lies? I think it?s high time for madness to start telling the truth, don?t you? I, for one, am tired of madness always fabricating. Why just yesterday, madness not only lied but also fabricated, in a lovely twill tweed. Is there such a thing as a lovely twill tweed? Oh, I know there?s twill and I know there?s tweed but do the twill and tweed twain ever meet? And if there is no twill then the twill is gone. We don?t allow groaning here at haineshisway.com. Now I have lost my twain of thought, and all because of the twill tweed fabrication by madness. Well, if our dear reader was baffled by yesterday?s notes, wait until they get a load of this paragraph. Today?s topic of discussion: We?ve talked about many aspects of the musical theater, but there are a few things we haven?t touched upon. So, for today, what do you think are the best sets you?ve ever seen for a Broadway show? I?ll start: Certainly at the head of my list would be the following ? Tony Walton?s marvelous, mad and brilliant sets for Pippin, Boris Aronson?s amazing sets for both Company and Follies, Robin Wagner?s Promises, Promises and A Chorus Line, and Mr. Walton?s design for the original A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Your turn.

Replies: 35 Unseemly Comments

Two that come to mind immediately have one thing in common--they were (for the most part) drawn. I'm talking about Edward Gorey's sets for "Dracula" (black and white bat motifs everywhere) and Oliver Smith's sets for "My Fair Lady" (all the books in Higgin's study). I don't know if this qualifies as sets or costumes, and I haven't seen it in many years, but I remember the horses in Peter Shaffer's "Equus." The actors wore black from head to toe, and on their heads they wore these see-through "wire" horse's heads. They were always on stage "lurking" in the background as part of the set. This was a perfect example (to me) of theatre as imagination. Extremely effective.
P.S. The cabaret performances for June are now up on the Cabaret West website. Just click on my name and you'll go to it.
Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 06/08/2002 12:16 PM PST

Finally! A Trivia Question I know the answer to! But I'm not allowed to guess.
8-(>
8-(>
Three questions, however:
1. Does Bruce get to guess?
2. Do I have to give the prizes?
3. Should answers be sent to me or to Bruce?
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 12:26 PM PST

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday, dear Lulu...
Happy birthday to me.
And many mo-o-o-o-ore.
Posted by Lulu @ 06/08/2002 12:31 PM PST

Ooops. I see BK has already answered my question #3--send your answeres to Bruce. DO NOT POST THEM ON THIS FORUM. (Just thought I'd add that again, for old time's sake.)
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 12:31 PM PST

Yes, send your guesses to me. No, I do not have to guess because Mr. William F. Orr has to send me the answer, and I have no trivia skills whatsoever. And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to our very own LULU! A long time ago, in a notes far away I asked all dear readers to alert me about upcoming birthdays, so that we could have a proper celebration. Since Lulu didn't alert me, we will now have to have an improper celebration, by performing the skit, The Randy Vicar and the Prickly Bush. Then we must all celebrate by putting on our pointy party hats, our colored tights and pantaloons, and our gay apparel and we must dance the Hora and also the Boston Fancy.
Posted by bk @ 06/08/2002 01:00 PM PST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LULU!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/08/2002 02:16 PM PST

Can you please clarify the trivia question.
Are you looking for characters who were in a certain 60's musical and the name of the musical? Was the friend of the horse on Howdy Doody? I have had a couple of other people read it and they are just as perplexed as I am!
Posted by Michael Shayne (looking forward to coming back to the USA tomorrow) @ 06/08/2002 02:20 PM PST

Can you please clarify the trivia question.
Are you looking for characters who were in a certain 60's musical and the name of the musical? Was the friend of the horse on Howdy Doody? I have had a couple of other people read it and they are just as perplexed as I am!
Posted by Michael Shayne (looking forward to coming back to the USA tomorrow) @ 06/08/2002 02:20 PM PST

I posted it twice to make sure you see it. :-)
Posted by MDS @ 06/08/2002 02:21 PM PST

Clarification for Michael Shayne:
It says "among its principle players" meaning actors. And we are looking for two different individuals here.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 02:38 PM PST

Clarification for Michael Shayne:
It says "among its principle players" meaning actors. And we are looking for two different individuals here.
I returned your favor and double-posted.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 03:01 PM PST

and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LULU!
YIPPEE!!!
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 03:03 PM PST

Happy Birthday, Lulu!!!
Posted by Laura and Sandra @ 06/08/2002 03:46 PM PST

As for sets, maybe I just never look at them enough in the theatre, but few stand out in my mind.
The set for the original Sweeney Todd was certainly awesome, but I don't think it served the show well. I would still love to see an intimate Sweeney, as those who have tell me it is a totally different experience.
Alas that I did not see On the 20th Century--I have heard so many raves about the sets. Lehman Engel came into Workshop after seeing it and informed us, "Finally, a show where you really do walk out whistling the sets!"
Any opinions from those who saw it?
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/08/2002 05:19 PM PST

Thank you, everyone, for answering my naked plea for attention!
That's why I love this site.
Posted by Lulu @ 06/08/2002 05:56 PM PST

Indeed, Lulu, happy birthday to you :)
I am green, set-wise. I really loved The Crucible's set this year and was pleased that the young guy who designed them won for Private Lives. I also loved The Music Man's sets (the revival) and Chicago's lack of them.
By the way, I feel inspired to send lots of good vibes to Bruce. Why don't we all pause and send him some good vibes? One, two, three...
Posted by Lolita @ 06/08/2002 06:15 PM PST

For the trivia question, shouldn't it be PRINCIPAL players?
Posted by scott @ 06/08/2002 06:40 PM PST

Yes, it should have been.
Posted by freedunit @ 06/08/2002 07:22 PM PST

Production design -- never saw anything more spectacular than "The Lion King."
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/08/2002 07:43 PM PST

Saw On the Twentieth Century in its original Broadway run with Judy Kaye in the lead. There was on amazing bit of stage craft more than the set design itself I think. During the musical number "She's a Nut when Imogene Coca is being chased at on point you see here in the egineer's cabin and she waves. Next the the front of the engine is now coming towards the audience and Coca is now holding onto the front of train facing the audience. The train then somehow the train rotates and we now see the back of the train and we see Coca on the back platform waving once again as the train disappears upstage.
Other memories are the beautiful art deco show curtain that I believe the porters sing Life Is Like a Train at the start of Act Two. Also the train itself was a beautiful art deco design by Robin Wagner.
There were scenes that took place outside the train and I don't remember much else about it except that when I saw I had a 101 fever and didn't know it. I slept all the way back on the bus to Montreal the next day.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 06/08/2002 07:47 PM PST

Otanjobi omedetou gozaimasu, Lulu!
Now you've been wished Happy Birthday in Japanese.
:-)
Posted by Susan Gordon @ 06/08/2002 07:56 PM PST

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LULU and many many many many many many many MORE!!!!
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 06/08/2002 08:09 PM PST

Happy Birhtday, Lulu! (all I can hear is Jimmy Durante saying this!)
Sets:
I loved the set from a few years ago for Neil Simon's "Proposals" of the house by the lake. Beautiful.
Loved the revival of "The Music Man"
Although I did not see the original production of "Oliver!" I do believe the set was a recreation. That wonderful revolving set was very effective and paved the way for so many other set designs.
All the sets for "42nd St" (the original and the revival) were great.
The revival a year or two ago of "The Man Who Came to Dinner".
The first few productions of "Annie" had some clever bits.
Tony Walton's design for "Chicago" was brilliant.
Posted by Kerry @ 06/08/2002 09:33 PM PST

Sets -
London: 'Chess' - surely the most elegant design of all the big 80s megamusicals (and about as far as it's possible to get from the ugly concrete periaktoids used on Broadway). And 'Into the Woods' at the Phoenix - I noticed last year that the cuckoo clock that hung above the stage is now hanging over a stairwell in Honest Ed's discount store in Toronto (the London production was produced by the Mirvishes). And the RNT 'Carousel' was beautiful to look at.
Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 06/08/2002 09:48 PM PST

As Kerry reminded:
"It's yer boitday!
"Happy Boitday, LuLu!"
-- Jimmy Durante, "Billy Rose's 'Jumbo'"
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/08/2002 10:04 PM PST

I was doing some late evening dusting tonight and ran the cloth across the tome "All About 'All About Eve'" (not to be confused with "More About 'All About Eve'"). Bruce mentioned that the author had a new book out on "Sunset Boulevard.
He said the author's name was Sam Staggis (as in haggis), but the author of the Eve book is Sam Stagg (as in hag).
I think BK ought to explore this "rhymes with haggis" occurrence -- it may be significant.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/08/2002 11:28 PM PST

Stagg it is. Sam Stagg. Very Bitchy, I might add. And precious, too. Still fun to have a book on Sunset Boulevard, though.
Posted by bk @ 06/08/2002 11:54 PM PST

Well, I see Mr. Mark Bakalor has been busy as a little bee widening our margins. Reactions everyone?
We still seem to be in fixed-formatting mode as opposed to format-to-fit-window. Tinker, tinker.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/09/2002 03:39 AM PST

I did nothing of the sort. The column widened after dear reader Arnold posted a comment including a series of characters (manymanyma...) without spaces. :(
Posted by Mr. Mark Bakalor @ 06/09/2002 03:46 AM PST

Mr. Mark Bakalor:
Well! My sincere and humble apologies.
And aren't we the night owl--or the early riser, whatever 3:46 am represents.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/09/2002 07:11 AM PST

...or insomniac...
Posted by William F. Orr @ 06/09/2002 07:12 AM PST

MARK-Is widening a good thing or a bad thing??It looks good to me.What say all?? :)
Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 06/09/2002 09:02 AM PST

Awww..........................................................................nerts!
BK, everybody...
the author's name is STAGGS
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/09/2002 09:06 AM PST

Pulliaming the column ever wider…
Posted by freedunit @ 06/09/2002 11:27 AM PST

Pulliaming the column ever wider…
Posted by freedunit @ 06/09/2002 11:28 AM PST

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