By Michael Buckley
21 Nov 2004
One of the joys of "Cinderella" is watching the superb timing, warmth and charm of Howard Lindsay and wife Dorothy Stickney, who may not be remembered by many these days. (In one scene, which has Stickney, the Queen, improbably dusting around the palace, the shadow of a crane microphone can be seen on a curtain in back of her.) The couple were the stars of what still remains Broadway's longest-running play, Life with Father, which ran from 1939 to '47, and was written by Lindsay and Crouse. "Cinderella" took place two days after Lindsay's 68th birthday. He died in 1968.
Stickney, who was seven years younger than her husband, outlived him by 30 years, dying in 1998 at 101. Her post-"Cinderella" TV credits were "Evening Primrose" (the 1966 Stephen Sondheim musical) and "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" (the 1971 movie that inspired "The Waltons" series). Stickney's final Broadway appearance was in 1973, when she took over the role of Berthe in Pippin.
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Effervescent as the Fairy Godmother, Edie Adams sparkles like the sequins on her character's eyelashes. Claims Adams, "I was the only one [of the creative team and cast] who really knew television; I'd been doing daily television since 1952. Here, they were going to do a live musical in a tiny studio. I was terrified! I wondered: Do they know what they're doing?
After her Juilliard training, she had once auditioned for Richard Rodgers. "He said that he'd make me an understudy and that first I'd go out on the road. I told him, 'I'm terribly sorry, but I don't want to be an understudy.'"
As the Fairy Godmother, Adams twirls her scepter like a baton. "I could twirl in high school. They got a baton and made it into a scepter." She fondly remembers Joe Layton being a dancer in the show. "He had been one of the cadets in Wonderful Town [her 1953 Broadway debut, in which she played Rosalind Russell's sister Eileen]. Recalls Adams, "Once, Roz was doing 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and had wanted to wear white. They said she couldn't [because white didn't photograph well]. I said, 'Sure you can. Ask for [a certain lighting man].' Roz was impressed that I knew so much about television." But her knowledge worked against Adams.
"When they did 'Wonderful Town' on television [in 1958], I was supposed to be in it, but Roz saw to it that I wasn't. She was afraid I knew more than she did about television." (When "Wonderful Town" was presented on CBS, Nov. 30, 1958, Jacqueline McKeever played Eileen.) "I was crushed," says Adams. "I never forgave Roz; I would've helped her. I didn't speak to her for ten years."
Working on a new book, "Diaries of a Deep-Fried Twinkie," Adams explains, "When I was starting, if you were a blonde interested in makeup and attire, obviously you had no mind." A lot of her TV work paired her with husband, comic genius Ernie Kovacs (1919-62). "That was flying without a net." She has only fond memories of the "Cinderella" cast: "Everyone was so talented. Kaye Ballard is so funny and such a fine singer. Julie Andrews is a sweet lady. I love her! Everyday [in rehearsals], she would have 'proper tea' brought in during the afternoon. She's amazing! Nothing bothers Julie. She could walk through an earthquake, come out and still have the right dress on, and saying the right words."
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Kaye Ballard describes "Cinderella" as "a great experience!" She remembers "the first day of rehearsals, when Rodgers and Hammerstein performed the score. It was the most exciting thing in the world! Tears ran down my eyes when Mister Rodgers played the piano and Oscar Hammersetin sang, 'Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?'
"I was so impressed with Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney. It was thrilling! They were so gracious and had such respect for the theatre. Today, the tradition is not there. When we'd all break for lunch, Howard Lindsay would sit on his throne and she'd sit next to him, and they'd have these brown paper bags with their sandwiches.
"Julie Andrews was delightful! Never any temperament. Edie Adams was wonderful! [Director] Ralph Nelson was a stickler for rehearsing. I adore Alice Ghostley. What was funny was we took a salary and everyone else worked for scale. We did so much overtime that they all made much more money than we did. Oscar Hammerstein gave me "the greatest compliment I ever got in my life. He said, 'You know, Kaye, you're becoming the consummate artist.' That was something special."
Ballard has a memoir due in December: "It's called 'How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years.' It can be ordered on my website, KayeBallard.com, as can a new album of my favorite songs." Starting February 2, the comedienne is signed "for 12 weeks in Palm Springs Follies. I live in Rancho Mirage [CA], so I just have to go down the street to go to work. They named the street I live on 'Kaye Ballard Lane.' I may not have won a Tony, but the street will last a lot longer."
It was her idea to have Stepsister Portia snort, says Kaye Ballard, "and I hope you noticed I did the snort way before Lily Tomlin came along."
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Having played ten years (during holiday time) at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden, "A Christmas Carol" makes it to television on NBC Nov. 28. "How many people these days get their musicals made into movies?" asks lyricist Lynn Ahrens, who wrote the teleplay. "We're very happy." Composer Alan Menken asked Ahrens, who collaborates with Stephen Flaherty, to write the lyrics. "It was fine with Steve; it was a great opportunity."
The show stars Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge, Jason Alexander as Jacob Marley, Jesse L. Martin, Jane Krakowski, and Geraldine Chaplin as the Ghosts of Christmas Present, Past and Future, and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Emily. Arthur Allan Seidelman directed.
Next up for Ahrens is Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center. "We start previews in February. It stars La Chanze and Rachel York as women in the pre-Civil War South, with Michael Hayden and Norm Lewis as the men in their lives. Graciela Daniele is directing. I wrote the book and lyrics, Stephen Flaherty did the music."
Every year for "A Christmas Carol" onstage, says Ahrens, "we made little changes. The TV version is very close to the stage version. For television, you have to think in a visual sense. It adapted beautifully to the medium. Wait till you see Kelsey Grammer. He's fantastic!"
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The DVD of Rick McKay's "Broadway: The Golden Age, By the Legends Who Were There" contains 88 minutes of bonus features, including the New York and Hollywood premieres; more performance footage of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse; an alternate ending; the original trailer; comments from McKay; and a 35-minute sneak preview from the sequel, with (among others) Jason Alexander, Alan Cumming, Cherry Jones, Patti LuPone, Amanda Plummer, Douglas Sills, Mary Testa and Karen Ziemba. For the holidays, it makes a great stocking-stuffer for theatre fans.
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Michael Buckley also writes for TheaterMania.com, and is the author of the book "Between Takes (Interviews with Hollywood Legends)," to be published in 2005.
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| Jon Cypher in Cinderella
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| photo by CBS Photo Archives |
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