haines his way

10/15/2002:
"THE LATE WAKE-UP CALL"

Well, dear readers, my pal Rick Waln e-mailed me yesterday to remind me that it was twenty years ago today (yesterday) that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. No, that’s not right. It was twenty years ago yesterday that my musical comedy entitled Together Again had its opening night. Mr. Waln was in the cast, along with myself, Alan Abelew, Joan Ryan, Udana Power, Debbie Tilton, Jeff Maxwell and Debbie Moradzedeh (now Gracie Moore). We all had a wonderful time doing the show, even though at that time there were still quite a few things that would get changed and rewritten by the time we moved the show to a theater in Burbank. In Burbank, we ran for a couple of months if I recall correctly – same cast except for two replacements – Penny Peyser for Miss Power, and Marsha Kramer for Miss Ryan. It seems like yesterday and it is quite hard to believe that twenty long years have passed.
Yesterday, dear reader Sandra asked for some help in solving a trigonometry problem – what is the sine, cosine and tangent of alpha/2. That sounded very familiar to me and with good reason – it’s also a song by Meltz and Ernest, and one of their finest, in my opinion. It’s got real logic and precision. I print it here for you now.
THE SINE, COSINE AND TANGENT OF ALPHA/2
Music by Hinky Meltz Lyrics by Ernest Ernest
Our love is complicated
Like trigonometry
No simple math here
Our twisted path here
Is the strangest thing you'll see -
What is the sine, cosine and tangent of alpha/2
If I knew the answer then I might know everything that I should do.
I can't figure you out
You’re very hard to solve
The square root of one
Is simply no fun
Yet the world continues to revolve
What is the sine, cosine and tangent of alpha/2
If the tan of alpha/2 equals one, does that mean that we are through?
The sum of what I feel
Is not a simple thing
Are we minus or plus
A one or an "us"
Will we drift apart or congeal?
Are we just a bunch of sines and cosines
Am I on a tangent?
Can you hear my heart break apart
With a sound that’s very plangent
What is the sine, cosine and tangent of alpha/2
Won’t you give me your answer, don’t make me wait, now before my tears accrue
The problem is at hand
We really mustn’t fail
We’re in quadrant 1
And believe me hon
This problem we’ve got to nail
So, what’s the sine, cosine and tangent of alpha/2
And will we find that the total equals me and you?
Isn’t that a lovely song? It only had one recording – by Professor Victor Wistwell and his Eight Minus Four Quartet. I believe it was a limited pressing on 78rpm, for students of Professor Wistwell, a higher mathematics teacher in Rye, New York, and I am ever hopeful of finding a copy
on eBay.
Well, the only thing that can follow that is to click on the Unseemly Button below.

Now I will let you in on a little secret. These days, most of the time I write the notes the previous night so I don’t have to rush, rush, rush (that is three rushes) in the morning. But, last night I’d only written the previous section, because I figured it wouldn’t take me long to do this section in the morning and frankly I was too tired to finish them last night. So, wouldn’t you know that my wake-up call came twenty-five minutes late and now I have to rush, rush, rush (that is three more rushes) to finish.
We had only two real winners and one fake winner (mostly complete answers – but I gave it to him anyway) for this week’s Unseemly Trivia Contest. Here is the question:
In the late 60s, a novelist and playwright had a hit comedy playing in New York, but he also wrote a notorious flop musical the same season that his hit comedy closed. In the hit comedy cast was an actor who who’d done several musicals, and who has recently been in a hit TV show (and still is, I think). Also in the cast of the hit comedy were two actors who went onto star in two hit TV comedy series. Also in the hit comedy was an actor who would soon star in a classic seventies comedy. The star of the notorious flop musical also went on to star in one of the most beloved TV series ever. Isn’t this convoluted? Of course, knowing you dear readers, you’ll come up with several different things that will work. In any case:
Name the playwright and his hit comedy and flop musical.
Name the actor who’d done several musicals, and who is now (I believe) still in a hit TV series.
Name the two actors who would go on to star in two hit comedy series, and name the series.
Name the actor who would go on to star in a classic seventies comedy.
Name the star of the notorious flop musical and name the beloved TV series they starred in.
And the answers are:
Bruce Jay Friedman – Scuba Duba and A Mother’s Kisses
Jerry Orbach
Conrad Bain and Judd Hirsch – Maude and Taxi (I also allowed Jennifer Warren)
Cleavon Little – Blazing Saddles
Bea Arthur – Maude
And there you have it. Our High Winners were Steve Gurey, Michael Shayne and our partial High Winner, Mark Rothman. And our Highest Winner, chosen at random by our handy-dandy Electronic Hat, is Steve Gurey.
Well, you see, now I have to scurry about like a chicken with its head cut off, because of the late wake-up call. I must take the day and do the things I do but in order to do same I must scurry about. I do not like scurrying about, and believe-you-me the perpetrator of the late wake-up call will be roundly bitch-slapped. Don’t forget, tomorrow is Ask BK Day, so be thinking of your excellent questions. Today’s topic of discussion: I don’t even have a fershluganah topic of discussion on account of all the scurrying about because of the late wake-up call – but here’s a quickie and if you don’t like it talk about something else – we’ve never discussed our favorite supporting performances of the musical theater (always the leads, damn them, damn them all to hell), so let’s right that wrong this very minute. I’ll join in the fun after I finish scurrying about because of the late wake-up call.

Replies: 32 Unseemly Comments

First Post!
(Wow...I haven't done that in a long time!)
Posted by Jason @ 10/15/2002 08:23 AM PST

Favorite supporting performances:
Audra McDonald as Sarah in RAGTIME.
Kristin Chenoweth as Sally in YAGMCB.
Corey Reynolds as Seaweed in HAIRSPRAY.
Karen Mason as Tanya in MAMMA MIA!
Alice Ripley as Amy in COMPANY.
The "Chinese" guys in MILLIE.
Jessica Molaskey as Mrs. Patrick in A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE.
Jason Alexander as the Producer in MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.
Posted by Jason @ 10/15/2002 08:34 AM PST

Bruce,
Thanks for the inclusion as Partial High Winner, but in fact, mine was the only answer that did not include incorrect information.
I had thought of Cleavon Little, but could not include him because he did not have a hit TV series. Blazing Saddles was never a TV series. Cleavon Little appeared in a show called Temperature's Rising, which lasted a season-and-a-half. Hardly what you'd call a hit.
I request a recount.
M. Rothman
Posted by mark rothman @ 10/15/2002 09:13 AM PST

What is this...a presidential election?
Posted by Florida @ 10/15/2002 09:14 AM PST

Re-reading the question and the answers, I withdraw my objection.
I had Judd Hirsch as my answer to the star of the classic 70's comedy,not realizing that it could have been a movie.
My humble apologies.
Posted by mark rothman @ 10/15/2002 09:20 AM PST

OK...it's getting WAY too quiet. Where the hell is everyone?!?!
Posted by Jason @ 10/15/2002 10:50 AM PST

I think my favorite supporting role will always be Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera.
Posted by Laura @ 10/15/2002 11:14 AM PST

John McMartin in "Sweet Charity."
Posted by JMK @ 10/15/2002 11:18 AM PST

I've used the Tonys web site to refresh my recollection of the shows I have seen with their original casts. Here's my list:
The entire ensemble of A Chorus Line
Bea Arthur in Fiddler and Mame
Barbra - I Can Get it For You Wholesale
Helen Gallagher - Sweet Charity
Marian Mercer - Promises, Promises
Donna McKechnie - Company
Roger Bart and Gary Beach - The Producers
Tommy Tune - SeeSaw
Maria Karnilova - Fiddler and Zorba
Lillias White - The Life
Charles Nelson Reilly - HTSIBWRT and Hello, Dolly!
Jack Gifford - Forum
Jack Cassidy - She Loves Me
Posted by steveg @ 10/15/2002 11:57 AM PST

Why no Marilyn Cooper in "Woman of the Year"?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 10/15/2002 12:13 PM PST

A moment of silence please to honor the passing of Keene Curtis, Broadway actor who did everything from the classics to Daddy Warbucks in Annie.
http://www.playbill.com/cgi-bin/plb/news?cmd=show&code=113272
Posted by Ben @ 10/15/2002 12:26 PM PST

Rita Moreno as Ilona in a concert version (called a "reading", I believe) of She Loves Me! at Town Hall in the Seventies.
I also saw Richard Kiley in Knickerbocker Holiday there, but they canceled the rest of the proposed readings due to lack of sales. A sort of prerun for Encores, I guess.
But, oh Bruce, I am so happy you discovered that lost gem of H & E. It brought mathematical tears to my mathematical eyes. Such beautiful imagery, such euphony.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 10/15/2002 12:29 PM PST

Sad to hear about Keene Curtis. I had the opportunity to meet him after a performance of La Cage when it played Montreal. I had him sign the original cast album of The Rothschilds and we chatted for a bit. Very nice person.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 10/15/2002 12:47 PM PST

Some more recent supporting performances...
Alix Korey in WILD PARTY (MTC version) and also in SUBURB
Eartha Kitt in WILD PARTY (Broadway version)
Christopher Fitzgerald in AMOUR
Mary Bond Davis in HAIRSPRAY
Spenser Kayden in URINETOWN... THE MUSICAL
Nancy Anderson in JOLSON AND COMPANY
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 10/15/2002 12:57 PM PST

And on a totally different topic.
There is a line from Auntie Mame that I always thought was an off-the-wall joke. But, of course, like all satire, it is not as strange as the truth.
Since we moved into our new house, Joe and I have been watching lots of Home & Garden Channel, getting decorating ideas, ogling the houses of the rich and shameless.
We have become used to seeing the $ 15,000,000 houses on Fantasy Open House that sport huge gymns and theatres and discos--and often large, mahoganny-paneled "libraries" with everything you might want... except book shelves.
Oh, yes, we have seen the decorators who run out to buy books (since the home-owners presumably have none) that they place in neat stacks on the tables, as though someone were reading them--and then put a lamp on top of them to make them inaccessible.
But last night on "Sensible Chic", they reached the limit. This show begins with a very expensive room, decorated at enormous cost by someone who has nothing better to do with their money. Then the professionals show you how to achieve the same effect very cheaply.
Well, last night the expensive room had a simply marvelous idea, which the cheap room followed. It seems while spending $ 130,000 decorating their room, the home-owners did have a lot of books, but the covers were all different colors and just did not fit into the design plan. So the host of the show positively gushed over the brilliant idea of covering all the books in brown paper!
Brilliant! Now the books had a uniform look and were put on shelves, stacked on end tables (so there was no place to put your drink, of course), scattered on the ottoman (so there was no place to put your feet). Such an élégante look!
Uh, never mind you couldn't read the titles on the spine. Given the plain brown wrappers, I would assume they were all pornographic.
Do we all remember the line from Auntie Mame?
Posted by William F. Orr @ 10/15/2002 01:04 PM PST

Thank you everyone who helped me with my homework last night.
*Sigh* What a lovely song. Somehow, Hinky Meltz and Ernest Ernest always have the perfect song for every occasion.
My favorite supporting performance would me as Queen Beatriz in Prince Whitling and the Stone Princess in third grade. I was phenomenal.
Posted by Sandra @ 10/15/2002 01:17 PM PST

Sorry, I'm not sticking to the topic, but can I just say I'm so excited - and not because I'm going to the High School of Performing Arts (Hamlisch & Kleban reference), but because I'm going to see Elaine Stritch at Liberty (actually at the Old Vic, London) tomorrow night. Can't wait!
Posted by Allan @ 10/15/2002 01:18 PM PST

Allan...prepare yourself. You will be amazed. Have fun at the show, chap.
Posted by Jason @ 10/15/2002 01:35 PM PST

And don't forget- tonight on Hidden Hills on NBC, our very own Jason Graae stars as the vasectomy doctor. Dear Reader Megan is coming over, and we're throwing a party.
Posted by Sandra @ 10/15/2002 01:43 PM PST

I thought that Sponge Bob and Mr. Rogers' puppets have a lot in common. Do you agree?
Posted by Roger Pebbledash @ 10/15/2002 02:43 PM PST

Of performers actually seen:
Anthony Warlowe in "Les Mis" was a standout. (That comment is just not to please Francois). This was of course the Australian production of the show.
On disc (and on the Tonys),Judy Kuhn in "Rags".
Are there recorded performances of Sandra in third grade?
Great answer. Were you nominated for a Tony? a Bruce? a Kimmel? I must now check all my reference books.
I would much prefer it if were always allowed to substitute "teh" for "the". I have to correct it so many times. And I taught typing for quite a few years!
Ron P was surely nominated for costumes in "Antigone" some years back. (Hope I remembered the right show).
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 10/15/2002 03:16 PM PST

The best supporting cast I remember seeing was for Triumph of Love. Roger Bart, Kevin Chamberlain, Nancy Opel...wonder what became of them?
And of course there was Gary Beach as Thenaudier in les Miz. Gary Beach backing Carol Burnett in something she did for the Long Beach CLO, the title of which escapes me. Gary Beach in Closer than Ever. Gary Beach as Lumiere in B&tB. He's going to get somewhere someday, I'm sure of it!
Keene Curtis was wonderful in The Cocktail Hour, BTW. I really enjoyed his performance that evening.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 10/15/2002 03:24 PM PST

Keene Curtis, with whom I acted in a pilot in the seventies, was a wonderful man - warm-hearted, down-to-earth and a terrific actor. RIP.
Mark Rothman - glad you saw the way the question was worded - I could have been clearer, I suppose, but there you are.
Favorite supporting performances:
Kay Cole - A Chorus Line
Marian Mercer - Promises, Promises
Marilyn Cooper - Woman of the Year
Tammy Minoff - The Goodbye Girl
Ethel Shutta - Follies
Yvonne de Carlo - Follies
Barbara Barrie - Company
Art Lund - Most Happy Fella
and many others
Posted by bk @ 10/15/2002 04:57 PM PST

Sorry to disappoint, Tom, but I only wore my costume. I didn't design or make any of the costumes!
That was my task on a theater-in-the-round production of "The Subject Was Roses" and my costumes, of which I have zero photos, were phenomenal -- totally and authentically "period". THANK YOU SALVATION ARMY!!!!! And GOOD WILL!! And local THRIFT SHOPS!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 10/15/2002 05:58 PM PST

Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up. I originally misread the post, and thought Tom was talking about Ron PLAYING Antigone. Very Greek, what?
Posted by S. Woody White @ 10/15/2002 06:36 PM PST

I, too, knew Keene Curtis from my days in SLC and he of course worked with my sister-in-law for many years on "Cheers." A true gentleman and gentle man. And a GREAT supporting performance (actually, performances) in the woefully underrated "Rothschilds".
Posted by JMK @ 10/15/2002 06:55 PM PST

Good evening. Sorry for not posting earlier, but I had my final day of studio time for a friend's CD - she's quite a wonderful singer. I just always forget how mentally exhausting studio work can be, and all that time inside with no windows can really start to take its toll. In any case, we finished everything we had planned, and even got a few extra tracks down for good measure. -So, bk, looking for a debut release? ;-)
As for supporting casts, I think the most remarkable one I have ever seen was the first national tour of Les Miserables. The company was packed with talent: Hugh Panaro, Barbara Walsh, Diane Fratantoni (now Sutherland), Kurt Johns (a friend of mine), Ray Frewen (when it hit Chicago), etc.
As for particular individual performances, I've like almost anything Eddie Korbich has been in. And Cynthia Onrubia, who seems to be in almost every major hit since I first saw her in A Chorus Line in the late 80's, has also impressed me. She's a classic "gypsy" - and I think she's gotten the robe a few times too.
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 10/15/2002 07:16 PM PST

I met Keene Curtis after a performance of La Cage here in Phoenix. I saw the show again a few days later, and he remembered me and was very nice. When my partner and I saw him on Broadway a few months later, he still remembered me and seemed genuinely touched that we would bother to see him again in the same performance. He could not have been kinder (or more brilliant in that part).
Thank you, Ben, for letting us know.
Posted by Kerry @ 10/15/2002 09:12 PM PST

And, William F. Orr, of course we remember the line from Auntie Mame (It's one of my favorite lines). Shall we all say it in unison? On the count of three.....
Posted by Kerry @ 10/15/2002 09:15 PM PST

Hope everyone got to see our very own Mr. Jason Graae in Hidden Hills tonight. It was hysterical. That sure was... umm... yeah...
Anyway, unfortunately, there are no known recordings of my outstanding portrayal as HRH Queen Beatriz the queen bee. It was a three performance engagement, and then I retired from the stage at the peak of my career.
Posted by Sandra @ 10/15/2002 09:49 PM PST

I want to tell Bruce that I received the sparkling surprise today and it is really nice. Thank you very much . It was worth the wait.
Supporting Actors in Musicals
Roger Bart & Gary Beach for The Producers,
Ken Jennings for "Sweeney Todd"
Spencer Kayden for "Urinetown"
Harriet Harris for "TM Millie"
Brian d'arcy James for "Titanic" and "Wild Card"
Leonora Nemetz in a number of musicals.
Posted by Dennis Clancy @ 10/15/2002 10:23 PM PST

Sandra. "Knowing When To Leave" is a rare attribute. It is also a good song from "Promises Promises". I hope your other careers reach the top as well. Even in triganometry!!
Posted by Tom from OZ @ 10/15/2002 11:52 PM PST

Ask BK: Got a question? Ask Bruce Kimmel...

© Copyright 2001-2003 Bruce Kimmel.
All Rights Reserved. Site design by hijinks design.