haines his way

09/02/2002:
"THE NON-LABORIOUS LABOR DAY DOINGS"

Well, dear readers, I trust that you are having a lovely Labor Day. It is unbearably hot here in Los Angeles, California USA. I shall keep today’s notes very brief since everyone is off doing non-laborious Labor Day doings. When everyone is off doing non-laborious Labor Day doings that means that traffic will be slow and if traffic will be slow there is no sense in me slaving over a hot computer for an hour. I myself will be doing absolutely nothing today. Oh, I may watch a DVD or two or I may just sit on the couch like so much fish, but I have no parties to go to and no non-laborious Labor Day doings to attend to.
Last night I watched the final performance of Contact on Live at Lincoln Center. I hadn’t seen it before – somehow I never got around to it in New York, and when it came to the Ahmanson I was supposed to go to opening night and something came up and I couldn’t. I found it interesting, but I know I would have enjoyed it much more actually seeing it on stage. I read various comments on another site from several theater know-it-alls, about how wonderfully they thought it was shot for TV. I also read how annoyed people were with the bleeping out of the ‘F’ word. I also read how people hated it, how people loved it, blah, blah, blah. I am no fan of Mr. John Weidman. I like Susan Stroman, but don’t find her a visionary director/choreographer along the lines of Mr. Jerome Robbins, Mr. Michael Bennett or Mr. Bob Fosse. But I thought there were interesting things in the piece and I thought it looked very good (sets, lighting and costume-wise). The first sequence, Swinging, seems to be the most hated, at least from the comments I read, but I didn’t mind it. Miss Stroman’s strong suit seems to be props and she uses the swing in very clever fun ways and it moved right along as the curtain-opener it’s designed to be. The second piece, Did You Move?, was longer. I found it labored (appropriate since it’s Labor Day) in its caricatured portrayal of “the lout”, but I liked the choreography fine and I thought Charlotte d’Amboise, who I always enjoy, did a terrific job. I wish I’d seen my pal Karen Ziemba do it. The taping of this number was horrid – anyone who thought it was done well knows nothing about dance or camera. The director was often in the wrong place at important moments, focusing on business or dancers who were not central to the point of the piece. The most obvious example was the very end of the biggest dance section. It builds and builds and builds and the director cuts to people who are sliding on the floor or something, instead of staying wide so we can see the final tableau and the final triumphant pose of Miss d’Amboise, which would be the point of the whole damn build.
Then we had an intermission and on the broadcast, Miss Stroman explained the point of Contact for those of the viewers who may have missed that it was a show about contact. Then we had the final and longest piece, The Girl in the Yellow Dress or whatever it was called. Again, Mr. Weidman just hits us over the head constantly – the whole first apartment scene just goes on and on and on, saying the same thing. Some judicious pruning from that scene would have done wonders. But all the stuff in the bar was done very well and Alan Campbell did a fine job, as did the girl in the yellow dress. The choreography was swell, and once you got to the bar it moved right along. The payoff at the end worked well, too. Again, the director was frequently focusing on dancers who were not central to the action, and wide shots are better – however, if you’re going to have continuous closer shots, at least make sure we see the two people who are the point of the piece. Or at least one of the two.
What am I, Ben Brantley all of a sudden? It is fascinating that this show was the hit it was. It is fascinating that it won Best Musical.
These are short notes? Quick, let’s all click on the Unseemly Button below so we can get on with it.

Whatever problems there were with accessing the radio show have apparently been fixed, so do tune in. Since there were problems for some of last week, and since some of you did miss last week’s show, we’ll repeat it for you very soon. And don’t forget, you have until midnight tonight to submit your answers to this week’s Unseemly Trivia contest.
I will admit to you that I have been sneaking glances at the Jerry Lewis telethon. If you haven’t seen Mr. Lewis lately, it’s a bit of a shock. He’s had some very bad health problems and has been taking Prednisone, which has caused his weight to balloon to huge proportions. He jokingly said he was going to become a Sumo wrestler. He seems to have good humor about it, which is nice. He said he’s gone from a 33 waist to a 49 waist. And his neck size has doubled. But he also says he feels better than he has in years, so that’s good. I saw Nancy Sinatra sing These Boots are Made For Walkin’, which was grand fun. I saw Norm Crosby tell some hoary jokes – may I just say that I have never found Mr. Crosby amusing. I saw Mr. Andy Williams, who still sounds very good indeed. The whole affair seems very scaled down from what it once was, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do which in the case of this non-laborious Labor Day, is nothing. I shall do nothing. And if anyone tries to get me to do anything I shall laugh at them. Ha ha, I shall say, and I shall look at them with a bemused expression. Today’s topic of discussion: Since I’ve written about two things today, we’ll have two topics of discussions – I mentioned the visionary Mr. Fosse, Mr. Bennett and Mr. Robbins. What are your favorite dance numbers from each of these men? I’ll start – Mr. Fosse: Magic to Do, Rich Man’s Frug, I’m a Brass Band, With You (Pippin), Coffee Break, Crunchy Granola Suite, Steam Heat and Who’s Got the Pain. Mr. Bennett (keeping in mind that I didn’t see Ballroom): Turkey Lurkey Time, One, Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love (talk about how a number should build), the opening of A Chorus Line, Steppin’ to the Bad Side, It’s Not Where You Start It’s Where You Finish and his uncredited work on Shine, from Smile. Mr. Robbins: America, Prologue, Cool, Tradition, Comedy Tonight, the Baby June and Dainty June numbers from Gypsy, and all of the purely dance sequences in On The Town. Wow, now I want to see all those numbers. Topic two: Since I mentioned Andy Williams, and we’ve done the female side of this, what is your one favorite song for each of the following male vocalists: Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Mel Torme and Mr. Sinatra. I’ll start – Mr. Bennett: Well, I love Mr. Bennett, but I’m going with a song no one else will ever name, because it was the first I ever heard by him, and I fell in love with his voice from it and it’s a great great song – Firefly. Mr. Williams: Well, it should be Moon River, one of the great vocals of all-time, but I also adore his Days of Wine and Roses, too. So, a tie. But for sheer Andy Williams glow, you can’t do better than Can’t Get Used to Losing You. Mr. Torme: Oh, I’ll just go with The Christmas Song and be done with it. Mr. Sinatra: Almost impossible to choose one, isn’t it? But I shall. And again, it’s probably one no one else will choose, but for whatever reason, this song just “gets” to me, especially as done by Mr. Sinatra – This Was My Love. Your turn.

Replies: 27 Unseemly Comments

Regarding CONTACT, it doesn't come off nearly as well on television. In fact "Swinging" which comes off as a time filler on stage came off best on tv.
"Did You Move" is nothing without Karen but then it was written for her. The replacement husband (who doubles as the bartender in "Contact") was also a disappointment. But on stage at least you once had the glory that is Karen Ziemba and that made it worth it.
As for the "Contact" portion of CONTACT, it lost a lot on television. With so many closeups in the aparrtment scenes you lost the sense of isolation you felt on stage when he is alone on this large stage. And there was too much going on in the bar scenes to make them work well in a recorded medium. Alan Campbell was fine, but the one perrformance that was an improvement on the original was Coleen Dunn as the girl in the yellow dress/yellow chenille robe. She was wonderful... both sexy and down to earth at once.
I have read that the lady in the baseball cap is filming CONTACT. I don't know it is is the whole thing or just Part III and reconcieved for film it might work. Televising a live production - particularly in the three-quarter-round can't capture what was seen on that stage.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/02/2002 10:43 AM PST

Am I the only dear reader logged on Labor Day? In NYC it is dreary and rainy and the kind of day to curl up with some good BK-produced CDs and a keyboard.
Your mention of Jerry Lewis made me think of when he replaced Victor Garber in the Ray Walston role in the awful rewrite of DAMN YANKEES. I did not see him and wonder if anyone could confirm or deny this rumor. I heard that when he first took over he tried to play the role straight, as re-written and directed and people hated him because they wanted to see the Jerry Lewis they remembered so he gradually started adding more and more of his crazy bits until it bore no resemblence to the character but drove the audiences wild. If this were the original script I think I would have hated to see him ruin it, but since it was totally wrecked before he even took over I guess it was okay.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/02/2002 11:04 AM PST

Looks as if everyone is
following in BK's footsteps and
doing nothing today, including
not checking in here! Oh well,
I guess that's allowed from
time to time. As for me, all I
have today is the
end-of-the-season picnic for
the summer theatre I've been
involved in these past 5 years.
I suppose it's nice to have the
shows behind us and be able
to resume our other lives, but
the end of the season is
always bittersweet, as I lose
my socialization time with all
the wonderful people I work
with, plus I lose my excuse to
escape my rather boring little
hometown and get an hour
away on a regular basis!
Choreographer faves (all
included in BK's list already):
Fosse: Steam Heat or Who's
Got the Pain
Bennett: ACL opening
Robbins: WSS prologue
Posted by Jed @ 09/02/2002 11:23 AM PST

I saw Jerry at one of his first Damn Yankees performances (prior to his official opening). I went with Rupert Holmes and we adored him. Jerry was visibly taken aback and moved by the ovation he received on his first entrance. He played it straight, with only one "laaady" (which of course brought the house down), and his shtick in Those Were the Good Old Days (which worked wonderfully). We went and met him after the show and he was very funny and very gracious to us.
Posted by bk @ 09/02/2002 11:58 AM PST

I'm here! I'm here!! And wouldn't you know I totally forgot to watch CONTACT last night? Damn. Oh, well...I'm sure they'll release it on video.
And, yes, I've heard that "they" are thinking of making a movie version of "The Girl In the Yellow Dress."
William: I saw that tour with Jerry Lewis and believe it or not, he was actually funny. Of course, he was doing his typical "Hey, Lady" schtick, but it was fun, I guess.
Let's see...on to today's topic. Hmm....
Fosse: Steam Heat, Take Off With Us, Rich Man's Frug, Magic to Do, Mein Herr and Big Spender.
Robbins: Cool, Small House of Uncle Thomas (which I think is just beautiful), The Bottle Dance from FIDDLER, WSS Opening and the Dance at the Gym, America, Let Me Entertain You/Dainty June numbers, On The Town Opening.
Bennett: Steppin' to the Bad Side, One, Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love.
Now, I have to be honest, I don't really know from Tony Bennet, Mel Torme or Andy Williams, but I do know Old Blue Eyes. New York, New York is one of my favorites, and so is It Was A Very Good Year. Young at Heart does it for me, too.
Posted by Jason @ 09/02/2002 12:07 PM PST

Umm..make that Bennett with two T's.
Posted by Jason @ 09/02/2002 12:08 PM PST

I saw Contact when it toured through town and also on tv last night. I liked the first two parts but not the third. It's one of my least favorites of all the shows I've seen that have toured over the last many years.
I also saw Jerry Lewis in Damn Yankees when it toured through here a few years ago. Loved it.
It's Labor Day, which means everyone is home relaxing while I continue to do the usual mom stuff.
Posted by Laura @ 09/02/2002 12:09 PM PST

Funny that CONTACT should be shown last night, as yesterday morining I received an email from choreographer Betty Dunn (Yes, Colleen's MOTHER and teacher) who has decided to join the production team I have assembled for the stage version of ZERO PATIENCE!
Also, I thought that Colleen was infinitely better than Ms. Yates (but I had only seen Ms. Yates' performance on the Tony Awards show, not really enough to go on). I've never had the opportunity to meet Colleen, though her mother and I have worked together before.
For the record, Miss Dunn is also interviewed heavily by Sam Staggs in his opus CLOSE UP ON SUNSET BLVD.
Posted by td @ 09/02/2002 12:31 PM PST

I saw Contact in New York in January, and I may be one of the few who really enjoyed the "Swinging" section, because it wasn't so dragged out. It was short and sweet. The other sections tended to make and remake their points. Someone suggested that the show could have benefited highly from being cut down to 90 intermissionless minutes rather the two hours with intermission. I agree that it would hardly have been hurt by having 15 minutes of dancing (and talking!) cut. I missed it on PBS, but in all I thought that it was a fun and interesting, but not exactly great, dance concert/piece of theatre. (Oh if only the "Special Theatrical Event" category had existed then!)
Posted by Hapgood @ 09/02/2002 01:51 PM PST

I think it's interesting that most memories that people have of Robbins and Fosse are from their film work. As brilliant as I think Mein Heir from Cabaret was in film I wonder how it worked on stage in Fosse. A lot of the impact of this number was in its Academy Award winning editing. If I would have to pick one of Fosse number of a show I have seen on stage it would be I'm a Brass Band. (The film version was overblown)
Robbins reconceived his West Side Story dances for the film medium. A Robbins assistant stage the dances for Fiddler on the Roof and I believe his original choreography was not used in On the Town. Now I did see Jerome Robbins Broadway where many of the dances were recreated (and some edited. But my favorite Robbins choreography was from Peter Pan and his finale for Act One: I'm Flying. I get such a kick out of seeing it and it is my favorite moment from the show.
I did see Bennett's last three shows:The dances in Ballroom were more in the traditional vein. It was wonderful to see some many (past their prime) dancers on stage. My fav from that show was I Wish You a Waltz. I do not remember anything significant from Dreamgirls and knowing what I know now what exactly was Bennett sole contributon to A Chorus Line is hard to tell. I think I would have to say Richies part of Hello 12...
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 09/02/2002 02:18 PM PST

Re: Contact.
I taped it and haven't had a chance to see it yet. Dance is always better seen live because your eyes can be the camera and you can decide what you want to focus on and not relying on another director's vision.
As for the beeping of the dialogue it is obvious what word they were bleeping so who were they fooling. They could have put on a disclaimer ahead time and do they really think young children would be watching Contact anyways.
Also screwed up the taping I ran out of video tape at the climax of the third piece. Although I was able to put a new tape to get the final moments.
Perhaps if there is a home video release that the bleeps won't be there.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 09/02/2002 02:25 PM PST

T. Bennett---Indian Summer
(from his Sinatra
album)
A. Williams---Canadian Sunset
M. Torme----Blue Moon
F. Sinatra(Sr.)---I Have Dreamed
(from "The King
and I")
Posted by mark rothman @ 09/02/2002 02:27 PM PST

Jerry Lewis completely wrecked 'Damn Yankees' in London. His was, I think, the most obnoxiously self-involved stage performance I've *ever* seen. Anywhere.
Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 09/02/2002 02:31 PM PST

Sinatra .... "Cycles" or "Love's Been Good To Me.
Bennett..... "Young & Warm & Wonderful"
Williams.... "The Wonderful World Of The Young"
Torme....."Cast Your Fate To The Wind".
At least you guys get to see "Contact". We very rarely get to see even televised Broadway musicals.
I actually got to see a very poor copy (of a copy of a copy) of this year's Tony awards last night. The show did not get an airing on free to air or pay television this year. Perhaps they should promote it as "reality" television.
BK. I would have chosen "Firefly" myself! Was it really written for "Gypsy" composer auditions?
Posted by Tom Guest @ 09/02/2002 03:06 PM PST

Pushed the wrong key. That's me above of course.
Ron.Your parcel is in the post.
Francois - I am still waiting for a full report.
Jason how goes your friend in London.When does the Workshop start?
How is Gabriel?
Where oh where is the truant Delores?
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 09/02/2002 03:09 PM PST

Hapgood, did you actually READ the notes today, since I say basically everything you're saying about Contact. Or am I the someone you're referring to who said it could have benefitted from cutting. No skipping the notes - that would be too too unseemly after I've slaved over a hot laptop all morning.
As to the errant and truant Dolores Haze, well I'm afraid she has forsaken all of us. I do get the occasional e-mail from her. She's in college now, and I suppose that is some sort of an excuse not to be a loyal and true Hainsie/Kimlet. I feel a good bitch-slapping is in order, but first I have to digest the pound of rice pudding I just ate. Perhaps I'll do the rice pudding dance to work it off (rice pudding, however, is very low in fat grams). Tom from Oz, what year did Mr. Williams sing The Wonderful World of the Young?
Posted by bk @ 09/02/2002 04:37 PM PST

Well, iconoclast musician that I am, I am working TWO gigs today--home for a mo before taking off again.
Tony Bennett: Percy Faith's exquisite "Song from 'The Oscar' (Maybe September)". It was Tony's idea to add the lyric, or so Ray Evans told me once.
Frank Sinatra: Antonio Carlos Jobim's very profound "Sabia." Some people dismiss this song as repetitive and boring; they are idiots, IMHO.
Andy Williams: "If I Could Go Back" from "Lost Horizon" (although the spoken section is a little much).
Mel Torme: in honor of Mr. Hampton's passing, "Midnight Sun," with that sublime Johnny Mercer lyric.
And, thank you for asking, Gabe is on the mend and looking forward to 1st grade on Wednesday.
Posted by JMK @ 09/02/2002 05:00 PM PST

Williams: "The Last Tango in Paris" (followed closely by "I Want to Be Free")
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/02/2002 06:21 PM PST

What a slow day!
BK made a comment about liking Susan Strohman, but not finding her a visionary.
I think that's a fair assessment, but would go further and state that she need not be, so long as she maintains the high standards she has implemented in her work.
Everyone cannot break new ground, but that's certainly no excuse for shoddy work. Broadway has seen some dark days, but fortunately seems to be well past them.
It will be interesting to see -- if I'm permitted in this lifetime -- what new directions musical theater might take -- and what new directions dance might evolve toward. One thing is sure: The human body as we know it can only do so much, but some evolutionary proponents believe major advances in evolution have happened suddenly, rather than over time. I've already seen the normal height in basketball explode from 6 feet to 7 feet. When I was growing up, only freaks grew taller than six feet six inches. Now it's the norm in a professional sport that continues to grow.
So...dance, choreography, music...all can change in a moment ("it only takes a moment"). Don't blink too fast, or we may miss it.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 09/02/2002 09:44 PM PST

Just a comment on "Contact"... I saw the national tour and slept through most of the third part. I watched the televised version last night. Got through the first part and the frist 7 minutes of the second part and was very excited to know that I could turn the TV set off and sleep in my own bed instead of a theatre seat. I guess it's better in NY... isnt' everything?
Posted by Matthew @ 09/02/2002 10:10 PM PST

Hi Bk.
Andy Williams sang "The Wonderful world Of The Young" in 1962.It was a #3 hit in Melbourne that year. It also appears on the album "Andy Williams' Newest Hits" (alongside "May Each Day", "A Fool Never Learns" etc.)
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 09/03/2002 12:08 AM PST

CONTACT: Agreed, the second and third pieces were too long and the camerawork was very frustrating, especially of "The Girl in the Yellow Dress." Colleen Dunn was wonderful, however. When I see Alan Campbell, I can't get it out of my head that he was the surfer waiter in the TV sequel of "Three's Company." Wow, has he come a long way! IMHO, "Swinging," based on a Fragonard painting, was the most interesting of the lot. I saw many of those naughty paintings by Fragonard at the L.A. County Museum of Art several years ago and, as I watched the dance, I kept seeing some of the images from the original paintings (blush, blush). Basing dances on paintings isn't new. As most of you movie mavens probably already know, many of the sequences in "The American in Paris Ballet" were based on Impressionist paintings. For some reason, I didn't realize this until I read Irene Sharaff's (the costume designer) autobiography, "Broadway to Hollywood."
It's late so I'm going off to dreamland and will continue my topic responses tomorrow. Nitey nite!
Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 09/03/2002 01:54 AM PST

One of the errant and truant has returned. I went away on Friday afternoon to the Isle of Long and returned yesterday. I have just caught up with all the various posts (sitting here in my cubicle at the office). I had a great Labor-less Day long weekend, actually sleeping until 9:30 one day (for me that's very late). Missed Contact (we were watching Wonder Boys w/Michael Douglas, Toby Maguire and Robert Downey, Jr.) and forgot it was on until I read the posts here. Oh, well. I saw it live so I didn't miss anything. I needs must get to work. I will check in later and add any other important (or non-important) thoughts. P.S. Hooray for 300 notes!
Posted by Ben @ 09/03/2002 05:08 AM PST

Can it be? Is the company that shall remain nameless really releasing Brent's new CD today (Sept. 3) or did Playbill.com get something wrong yet again? Here's the link:
http://www.playbill.com/cgi-bin/plb/news?cmd=show&code=111958
Posted by Jason @ 09/03/2002 05:55 AM PST

According to the site that shall not be named the release date is now 9/23. I knew they would not live up to their original date. Does anyone know if there is an extra track if you buy it through that site (like in the good old days) or if the version that will be sold in the stores will be complete?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 09/03/2002 06:10 AM PST

Bruce: I did indeed read today's (or rather, yesterday's) notes, and I'm a little hurt that you would suggest otherwise. I was stating my opinions about the show, and if they was similar to your opinions, is that a crime? I believe that the person who suggested the 90 minute Contact was a Cleveland theatre critic, usually an idiot, who was smart on that point. I guyess that I need to work on saying new, rather than old things.
Posted by Hapgood @ 09/03/2002 06:48 AM PST

Now, Hapgood, we were not criticizing you or being mean - it was just the way your original post was worded and because we both felt exactly about the show. No problem there - I just thought, because we were so similar on it (without mention) that maybe you'd skipped the notes. I'm glad you didn't for no man or woman must ever skip the notes.
You may, of course, always post whatever you wish - old, new, different, same, funny, sad. Remember always - we, we are family, and nothing I say is ever a criticism of ANYONE who posts here.
Posted by bk @ 09/03/2002 08:11 AM PST

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