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Ahhhh ... the Alley Theatre. Maybe you saw a production of Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll & Hyde" that was there several years ago? Then they brought it back to the Alley a few years later on its way to Broadway. I simply adored "Jekyll & Hyde," particularly Linda Eder, the principal female lead ... I became editor and writer of her newsletter and met with her a few times beyond seeing her in cabaret and concert settings over the years. Ever hear of "Jekyll & Hyde" or Linda Eder?
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Of course Frank and Linda are no longer together. But for a while they created magic between them. Just loved her in "Jekyll & Hyde" and was knocked out by several live performances by her. But I DO have a problem with her country album! (Sorry, Linda!)
And Gary S., do you have the "Pimpernel" concept album? I've always preferred that one, which is the only "Pimpernel" with Linda, and she has some amazing moments on it.
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Right. I had seen that when looking at the CD box, but had never bought it after listening to much of it. Thanks.
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Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming"
Please indulge me when I digress a bit with filmed theatre. I first saw that remarkable play around 1967 at the Huntington Hartford Theatre in Hollywood, and while it had a fine cast, the only name that stands out now for me is Carolyn Jones (from "The Addams Family," I think), and she was very good. But I just love the filmed version they did through The American Film Theatre with Paul Rogers, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant, Cyril Cusack, Michael Jayston, and Terrence Rigby. Everyone is wonderful, but Paul Rogers, as the stubborn and horrifyingly uncouth matriarch of this working class family of misfits truly steals the show. Let me quote from the back of the DVD:
In North London, an all-male bee-hive of inactivity is ruled with a foul mouth and an iron hand by the abusive Max (Paul Rogers) and his brother, the priggish palace eunuch Sam (Cyril Cusack). Rounding out the precision vulgarity of THE HOMECOMING's "situation tragedy" are the sons, punch-drunk demolition man Joey (Terrence Rigby) and the magnificent Ian Holm as pimp-smart Lenny. When, under cover of darkness, the prodigal son Lenny (Michael Jayston) brings his wife Ruth (Vivien Merchant) home to meet his family for the first time, he gets far more and less than he bargained for. To Teddy's rueful discomfort, Ruth's Mona Lisa smile forms the gateway to a labyrinth of Freudian dread, venal family values and naked neediness that could only come from the mind of Harold Pinter. Director Sir Peter Hall re-renders his original Royal Shakespeare Company London stage triumph as a bleached, claustrophobic delirium that exploits the jagged tempos and seductive tensions of Pinter's best play as no theatre staging could. The New York Times declared the American Film Theatre's production of THE HOMECOMING "a movie of astonishing dynamism." Indeed, director Atom Egoyan went so far as to say, "I often find myself seeking solace from this film. Its poetry and twisted sense of compassion and humor have assuaged many moments of despair and confusion. Other people have religion, I have my copy of THE HOMECOMING."
Three of the principals, Paul Rogers, Ian Holm, and Viven Merchant (at the time Mrs. Harold Pinter) originated their roles and their brilliance is nearly matched by the others. Pinter is an acquired taste, so many out there, including many regular theatre-goers, may not warm to this odd and, some say, quite misogynistic play. But I think it is brilliant and am so glad they had the foresight to preserve it on film. And I would also like to cite The American Film Theatre's fine version of Robert Shaw's THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH, with which I have a very personal connection to one member of its cast. Max Schell is terrific and I strongly recommend it as well.
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Picking a single greatest experience is tough. Too many years of going to the theater. The first that comes to mine (it was life altering, for me), was MY FAIR LADY with Julie Andrews and Alec Clunes. The greatest single theatrical event I ever saw. Bobby Morse in TRU was a magical night; and Suzanne Pleshette and Patty Duke in THE MIRACLE WORKER was pretty special. Oh, and Lee Remick and company in WAIT UNTIL DARK. Loved that! Many, many more.
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Speaking of Robert Morse in TRU, among my huge collection of now ignored reel-to-reel tapes is a recording I made off FM of someone playing Truman Capote, which I loved at the time, but don't remember if it was Robert Morse. Have some treasures hiding in those bulky tape boxes!
Follow-Up: I just called my friend Thomas Royal, who long hosted CURTAIN TIME on KUSC-FM to see if he remembered who had done the Capote program I had heard and recorded off FM, but he didn't. But he did remember Morse in TRU -- he said that Morse had been in his Strasberg class and he knew him well, but that when he saw TRU he didn't even recognize him. "I think he won the Tony for it," I said, and Tom answered "Well, he DESERVED it!!"
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Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming"
Please indulge me when I digress a bit with filmed theatre. I first saw that remarkable play around 1967 at the Huntington Hartford Theatre in Hollywood, and while it had a fine cast, the only name that stands out now for me is Carolyn Jones (from "The Addams Family," I think), and she was very good. But I just love the filmed version they did through The American Film Theatre with Paul Rogers, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant, Cyril Cusack, Michael Jayston, and Terrence Rigby. Everyone is wonderful, but Paul Rogers, as the stubborn and horrifyingly uncouth matriarch of this working class family of misfits truly steals the show. Let me quote from the back of the DVD:
In North London, an all-male bee-hive of inactivity is ruled with a foul mouth and an iron hand by the abusive Max (Paul Rogers) and his brother, the priggish palace eunuch Sam (Cyril Cusack). Rounding out the precision vulgarity of THE HOMECOMING's "situation tragedy" are the sons, punch-drunk demolition man Joey (Terrence Rigby) and the magnificent Ian Holm as pimp-smart Lenny. When, under cover of darkness, the prodigal son Lenny (Michael Jayston) brings his wife Ruth (Vivien Merchant) home to meet his family for the first time, he gets far more and less than he bargained for. To Teddy's rueful discomfort, Ruth's Mona Lisa smile forms the gateway to a labyrinth of Freudian dread, venal family values and naked neediness that could only come from the mind of Harold Pinter. Director Sir Peter Hall re-renders his original Royal Shakespeare Company London stage triumph as a bleached, claustrophobic delirium that exploits the jagged tempos and seductive tensions of Pinter's best play as no theatre staging could. The New York Times declared the American Film Theatre's production of THE HOMECOMING "a movie of astonishing dynamism." Indeed, director Atom Egoyan went so far as to say, "I often find myself seeking solace from this film. Its poetry and twisted sense of compassion and humor have assuaged many moments of despair and confusion. Other people have religion, I have my copy of THE HOMECOMING."
Three of the principals, Paul Rogers, Ian Holm, and Viven Merchant (at the time Mrs. Harold Pinter) originated their roles and their brilliance is nearly matched by the others. Pinter is an acquired taste, so many out there, including many regular theatre-goers, may not warm to this odd and, some say, quite misogynistic play. But I think it is brilliant and am so glad they had the foresight to preserve it on film. And I would also like to cite The American Film Theatre's fine version of Robert Shaw's THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH, with which I have a very personal connection to one member of its cast. Max Schell is terrific and I strongly recommend it as well.
Say Ron,
Since you've mentioned the A.F.T. productions did you see their's of The Iceman Cometh? I'm sad that with Robert Ryan and Fredric March giving such magnificent performances, Frankenheimer didn't cast Jason Robards in the lead instead of Lee Marvin who I thought was only adequate after seeing Robards on stage as Hickey. Any thoughts?
I also want to say how much I enjoyed Schell in The Man in the Glass Booth! On one of the DVD's extra features director Hiller states that Shaw changed his mind about the film and really enjoyed it.
(Uh oh....Ralph out there?)
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Arthur Grant:
I definitely agree about Robards/Marvin! As for Schell in Robert Shaw's "The Man In The Glass Booth," I would have loved to have seen the playwright himself doing it on stage, but Schell was probably just as good. He has such confidence, and is believable as he goes from his initial arrogance to a man disintegrating before our eyes. I wrote that I had a personal friendship with someone in a lesser role in that movie. Remember the Israeli agent who bursts into Schell's penthouse and does the intimate search, with Schell saying something like "If you are going to check all body cavities, I wish you'd check my mouth first." Well, that was my beach buddy David Nash, with whom I would often jog for miles on the beach in Santa Monica and hold his legs as he did his sit-ups afterwards, and he spent a lot of time at my house when I lived in Westwood. I went into the movie theatre not knowing which part he played, and almost didn't recognize him (for about 3 seconds) because the character had a coldness alien to David as well as an odd quasi-Israeli accent -- he had worked with director Heller in coming up with the accent. But it just didn't look like him, or sound like him, although it was him. He died several years ago at a fairly young age. Still thinking about you, David.
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I adored Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" the many times I saw it, mostly with Jean Simmons. Here's a little piece I put together years ago with Glynnis Johns and Len Cariou singing "Send In The Clowns," which, at the bridge (1:52), I switched to a live performance the two did at the Tonys. Interestingly, at the end, when Fredrik says "You and me and Fredrika" (their daughter), they omitted the reference to her, probably because they were afraid that some would think he was referring to a menage!
https://soundcloud.com/ron-hardcastle/send-in-the-clowns-partial
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Re: Arthur Grant:
I definitely agree about Robards/Marvin! As for Schell in Robert Shaw's "The Man In The Glass Booth," I would have loved to have seen the playwright himself doing it on stage, but Schell was probably just as good. He has such confidence, and is believable as he goes from his initial arrogance to a man disintegrating before our eyes. I wrote that I had a personal friendship with someone in a lesser role in that movie. Remember the Israeli agent who bursts into Schell's penthouse and does the intimate search, with Schell saying something like "If you are going to check all body cavities, I wish you'd check my mouth first." Well, that was my beach buddy David Nash, with whom I would often jog for miles on the beach in Santa Monica and hold his legs as he did his sit-ups afterwards, and he spent a lot of time at my house when I lived in Westwood. I went into the movie theatre not knowing which part he played, and almost didn't recognize him (for about 3 seconds) because the character had a coldness alien to David as well as an odd quasi-Israeli accent -- he had worked with director Heller in coming up with the accent. But it just didn't look like him, or sound like him, although it was him. He died several years ago at a fairly young age. Still thinking about you, David.
After the recent death of the great Max Schell, I just wanted to dust off the above, which I wrote on 9/30 last year.
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