By Seth Rudetsky
28 Aug 2007
I also asked Kevin about the brilliant Dirty Blonde. He did a lot of Mae West research and told us one hilarious story about how quick she was. One night Mae was walking through a casino in Vegas, and a guy called out from the craps table, "Hey, Mae! I'll lay 'ya ten to one!" She, without missing a beat, replied, "It's an odd time, but I'll be there." Brava!!!!
Speaking of Dirty Blonde, that's where The Ritz began. Kevin said that one day after the show, Joe Mantello approached him and said that he wanted to do The Ritz with him and Rosie Perez. Kevin said he was totally interested and Joe got on it. And it only took seven years to happen. I guess I better plant the seed now for Joe to direct me in The Gin Game.
At Sirius, I interviewed Donna Murphy. She's so fun and, FYI, her hair looked amazing. I must find out what deep conditioner she uses. She talked about her first Broadway devastation. Hair was revived in the late seventies, and Donna auditioned because one of the understudies was leaving. They said they loved her, and she'd be hearing from them. Well, she was at NYU, and this was before cell phones. And, apparently, before room phones. She gave them the number to her dorm and waited anxiously for their call. She said she harassed the guy who ran the phone constantly to see if they called. They never did, and she was devastated. It wasn't until way later when she told someone the story that she found out that Hair closed right after her audition!
Her first Broadway show was They're Playing Our Song, and for her audition she sang that classic song "This World" from The Me Nobody Knows. Anybody? Actually, I know it because my sister did that show when she was in high school. There's nothing like seeing a 99% Jewish high school sing songs of kids in the 'hood. I recall a lot of torn jeans and guys wearing base.
I brought up her absences in Wonderful Town because I wasn't sure if everyone knew what really happened. She said that she was backstage right before "One Hundred Easy Ways," and she coughed to clear her throat and wound up hemorrhaging a vocal chord! Her doctor said that she'd need months off from singing, but she didn't want to quit the show… She had waited so long to do it since she first did it at Encores! Finally, another doctor said that if she had a week of silence, she could heal it, so she didn't speak for a week and went back. Of course, it was preview time, so there were non-stop early morning publicity events, the recording, and finally opening night. Because her chord wasn't totally healed, it got damaged again.
She said that this went on repeatedly: She'd come back to do the show, but the damage never got a chance to heal. For some reason, she made a deal with the producers to not discuss what was going on in public until way after the show closed! I still don't understand why, but unfortunately it led to a lot of dishy talk about her. She said she didn't care if people thought that she totally lost her voice, but she was devastated that they thought she didn't care about her fellow cast members or the audience. And the horrible part was that she couldn't say anything. Anyhoo, she's fine now and has a delish part in the new film, "The Nanny Diaires." And, judging by the Broadway of today, she could be playing the same part in the musical that's sure to open in two years. And then John Travolta will play it in the movie musical. Speaking of Travolta, Kevin Chamberlin once did summer stock where they jobbed in stars like Joey Travolta and Donna Pescow!
Okay, I'm off to bed early 'cause tomorrow is more rehearsal. The "good" news, I not only may be in a skimpy towel, but Joe Mantello informed me that Act Two will feature me in a unitard. Why?! What's happening? Am I being Punk'd? I do not look attractive in a unitard. I'm the only person who's going to have his debut on Broadway and immediately follow it with his boyfriend breaking up with him. Here I come, Equity Match.com.
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(Seth Rudetsky is the host of "Seth's Big Fat Broadway" on SIRIUS Satellite Radio and the author of "The Q Guide to Broadway." He has played piano in the orchestras of 15 Broadway musicals, and he can be contacted by visiting www.sethsbroadwaychatterbox.com. His first novel, "Broadway Nights," is due in the fall.)
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| Kevin Chamberlin (l.) and Seth Rudetsky at Seth's Broadway Chatterbox.
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