The brilliant Ken Kazan’s concept for Faust (opera) was The Demons. Our backstory is we all led immoral lives. As penitence, we were sentenced to follow Mephistopheles (Satan) around and do his bidding for the rest of Eternity. A group of us were cast and we all came up with our own backstories. Because I had a background in Ballet, I decided that my character had performed in drag (in the past) and I thought I could dance during some of the most dramatic/intense scenes. Unfortunately, I don’t have any video because this was the days before the quality of cellphone video was acceptable.
Staring into the Gates of Hell with Mephistopheles and groping him
This was one of the most exciting shows I’ve ever performed. It was one of the best times of my actor life!
I played the role of Warren Ives in Ira Levin’s Cantorial at the Surf Theatre. This is the most difficult stage show I’ve ever done. I was on stage the entire 2+ hours, except for 1 small 2 minute scene. Unfortunately, I don’t have any video or pictures of our performances. This was before the quality of cellphone video and camera became acceptable.
Cast
Best putdown ever: The old Jewish deli owner (played by Manny Orbach, cousin of Jerry Orbach) asked me how old I was. After I said how young I was, he replied, “I’ve got SHOES older than you”. LOL!
I was cast in the Chorus of Hello, Dolly! at Naples Dinner Theatre in the Spring 1991. My best moment was as the Waiter trying to get Rudy’s (the Maitre’ d’s) attention when Dolly Levi has arrived (just before she descends the staircase). I played him as a young, awkward kid in school. I yelled 3 times to get Rudy’s attention. He couldn’t hear me over the cacophony of everyone getting the restaurant ready for her arrival. On the 3rd and final time of yelling his name (each time getting louder), all action stopped and everyone looked at me. It was dead silent. I cocked my legs in (like I was peeing myself) and squeaked out in a tiny, pubescent, cracking voice, “She’s here.” It brought the HOUSE down every single night!
All these images were taken in 1990 (before cellphones) so the quality is not the best. I cut them up and put into a 3 ring binder. They are so old, I couldn’t remove them from the binder because they would start to tear. Sorry for the poor quality. Click on below images for larger version.
“Before the Parade Passes By” – Act 1 Finale
Waiters – Act 2
Cast Offstage
Trailer
Here is the trailer for the popular 1969 movie adaptation starring Barbra Streisand.
Synopsis
Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder‘s 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955. The musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, a strong-willed matchmaker, as she travels to Yonkers, New York to find a match for the miserly “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder.
Hello, Dolly! first debuted at the Fisher Theater in Detroit on November 18, 1963[1], directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and produced by David Merrick, and moved to Broadway in 1964, winning 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This set a record which the play held for 37 years. The show album Hello, Dolly! An Original Cast Recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.[2] The album reached number one on the Billboard album chart on June 6, 1964, and was replaced the next week by Louis Armstrong‘s album Hello, Dolly![3]Louis Armstrong also was featured in the film version of the show, performing a small part of the song “Hello, Dolly!”.
The show has become one of the most enduring musical theater hits, with four Broadway revivals and international success. It was also made into the 1969 film Hello Dolly! by 20th Century Fox, which won three Academy Awards, including Best Score of a Musical Picture and was nominated in four other categories, including Best Picture at the 42nd Academy Awards.
Thank Yous
Thank you to Jim Fargo and Julian Fisk for giving me a year contract at the Naples Dinner Theatre. Thank you to the Cast and Crew. I look forward to working with you all again SOON!
Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251–183 BC), specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus, and Mostellaria, the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: “A funny thing happened on the way to the theater”.
The musical’s original 1962 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author (Musical). A Funny Thing has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the stage musical, Zero Mostel.
On Stage Pictures
All these images were taken in 1990 (before cellphones) so the quality is not the best. I cut them up and put into a 3 ring binder. They are so old, I couldn’t remove them from the binder because they would start to tear. Sorry for the poor quality. Click on below images for larger version.
Cast Offstage
Trailer
Below is the trailer for the 1966 movie adaptation starring the brilliant Zero Mostel.
Thank Yous
Thank you to Jim Fargo and Julian Fisk for giving me a year contract at the Naples Dinner Theatre. Thank you to the Cast and Crew. I look forward to working with you all again SOON!
I was cast as Chantal in LaCage aux Folles at Naples Dinner Theatre in the Fall 1990. Her talent was singing in falsetto. During intermission, I took off makeup and became a member of the Ensemble. For the finale, we had a QUICK change back into Drag. It was a nightly struggle! Thankfully, I had 2 girls to help me.
All these images were taken in 1990 (before cellphones) so the quality is not the best. I cut them up and put into a 3 ring binder. They are so old, I couldn’t remove them from the binder because they would start to tear. Sorry for the poor quality. Click on below images for larger version.
Cast Offstage
Trailers
Below is the trailer for the original 1978 movie in French. There are versions with English subtitles and/or dubbed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHC8wmRfKEg
The Birdcage was a popular movie version in 1998 starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. It was loosely based on the stage production.
Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it tells the story of a gay couple, Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic partner and star attraction, and the farcical adventures that ensue when Georges’s son, Jean-Michel, brings home his fiancée‘s ultra-conservative parents to meet them. La cage aux folles literally means “the cage of mad women”. However, folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals (queens).
Opening on Broadway in 1983, La Cage broke barriers for gay representation by becoming one of the first hit Broadway musicals centered on a homosexual relationship. The show’s Act One finale, “I Am What I Am“, received praise as a “gay anthem,” and has been widely recorded.
The success of the musical spawned a West End production and several international runs. The 2004 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival, and the 2008 London revival garnered the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. The 2010 Broadway revival was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. La Cage aux Folles is the first musical which has won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical twice and it has won a Best Musical Tony Award (Best Musical or Best Revival of a Musical) for each of its Broadway productions. The show has garnered five nominations for Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical from its three Broadway productions, twice for portrayers of Georges and three times for portrayers of Albin, winning the award twice (both for actors playing Albin).
Thank Yous
Thank you to Jim Fargo and Julian Fisk for giving me a year contract at the Naples Dinner Theatre. Thank you to the Cast and Crew. I look forward to working with you all again SOON!
