By Andrew Gans Q: Can you explain what seven out of ten, ten out of thirteen means?
Q: What were their reactions to it?
Q: Do you remember how the "MTM" episode came about where you performed "Steam Heat"? Did they know you had a musical background?
That show was running over because there was so much good in the show that week that they were going to have to cut my dance number. And I was heartbroken because I'd spent weeks learning it and going into a studio and recording it. And dear Ted wasn't going to let anything of his get cut because he liked his stuff, and it was Mary and Ed Asner that had their scene cut, and their scene was so wonderful. That's telling you a love story — because of their unselfishness, that's why that little number got on. And what's nice is the editor ended up getting an Emmy for editing that show because it couldn't have been an easy show to edit when there was so much going on.
11 Aug 2006
Engel: Seven out of every ten shows, and then by the time you get ten out of every thirteen shows, you're literally a regular. At that time they did more episodes than they do today. On "Raymond," I think they only did 22 per season, but we did 26 during "The Mary Tyler Moore" years. . . . I loved those people so much. And, do you know, all of them except Ted Knight, who's passed on, and Ed [Asner] have come to see [The Drowsy Chaperone] in the past few weeks.
Engel: Mary loved it so much. And Valerie [Harper], too — they didn't know each other had come. Betty [White] and Gavin [MacLeod] came in Los Angeles, and Gavin came again in New York. They were actually considering Gavin to be the butler, but then they thought he was too lovable. [Laughs.] It was exciting to see them all again. They're the kinds of friends that you may not see for even a few years and then you carry on where you last saw each other. I do consider them lifetime friends.
Engel: Yes, but I don't know if you know that Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie and I took ballet class every day during our lunch hour, and then the prop men would make us a little lunch after. Instead of tiring us out, it actually invigorated us. There's so much sitting around in television that it was a wonderful way to keep in shape, and Mary was a lovely, lovely dancer, and Valerie, too, had been in the chorus on Broadway for years. So we just continued our dancing, and Mary knew I loved dancing, and [that episode] was a tremendous gift. I once asked whose idea it was, and I think she told me it was hers and ["MTM" creator] Jim Brooks, and I loved them so much for it.
Engel: I have to tell you it was so many years in between — and so many hard years for me in between. I did three short-lived series, and you always gain from every experience you have — good, bad or indifferent — there's always life lessons to be learned. But once I was on "Everybody Loves Raymond," even though I was only on a few times a year, I felt, "My goodness, this is like 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' was. The stars are so confident in their gifts that they can afford to be generous to other people." So that was one experience where it hadn't changed at all. The only thing that had changed is because [creator] Phil [Rosenthal] is a connoisseur and likes to share four-star food with people, the food was incredible on "Everybody Says Raymond." [Laughs.] There was four-star restaurant food the entire day, from morning to night on the set. So that's the only funny difference. We didn't think about food that much on "MTM." There'd be the usual little candy and popcorn late in the week when you do the producers' run-through, but on "Raymond" there was food non-stop, but really beautiful, delicious, healthy food.
Q: Getting back to Drowsy. How long do you think you'll stay with the show?
Engel: At least a year.
Q: Are you based in New York?
Engel: Yes, New York is my permanent legal address — it always has been. The funny thing is they used to kid me on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that I would go back to New York whenever I could. And now Mary has made New York her home for a long, long time. She loves it, too. Once you fall in love with New York, you may love going to L.A. to work and you love going to all the other different places to work, but every time I'm away and come back, when you're going in a taxi over one of the bridges into Manhattan, there's always excitement about coming back to New York.
[The Drowsy Chaperone plays the Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway. Call (212) 307-4100 for tickets or visit www.ticketmaster.com]
FOR THE RECORD
Audra McDonald: "Build a Bridge"
There are few who would argue that Audra McDonald possesses one of, if not the, finest sopranos in the musical theatre today — a lush, malleable instrument that she uses with skill whether she's singing Broadway standards, newer theatre material or arias from the opera world.
On her newest recording for Nonesuch Records, "Build a Bridge" (in stores Sept. 26), the four-time Tony Award winner presents a repertoire of non-theatre songs with but one exception, Adam Guettel's "Dividing Day" from the acclaimed musical The Light in the Piazza. The singing actress, who is in wonderful voice, offers an eclectic mix of songwriters on this latest outing, including works by Neil Young, Laura Nyro, Rufus Wainwright, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello and Ricky Ian Gordon.
McDonald begins her 13-track disc with a powerful version of Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello's "God Give Me Strength," which was first heard in the 1996 film "Grace of My Heart." McDonald, who begins the song with gentle tones, builds to a thrilling finale that showcases the power of her upper register. She brings a dramatic weight to John Mayer's "My Stupid Mouth," a bittersweet tale about a woman who somehow manages to always say the wrong thing and vows, "I'm never speaking again."
The aforementioned "Dividing Day" is another high point of the recording. McDonald slows the tempo a touch, mining the touching ballad for all its theatrical value. Other highlights include Neil Young's melodic and haunting "My Heart"; Joe Raposo's inspirational "Bein' Green"; Jane Kelly Williams' upbeat "Wonderful You"; and an emotional rendition of Laura Nyro's "Tom Cat Goodbye."
McDonald concludes her recording with Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today." Her version is straightforward in its honesty and beautifully sung.
[title of show]
Ghostlight Records has released the original cast recording of [title of show], the critically praised Off-Broadway production about two writers attempting to compose a musical in three weeks. The musical, which returned to the Vineyard in July for a second limited engagement, was penned by the same two writers who star in the show, composer-lyricist Jeff Bowen and librettist Hunter Bell. Listening to the new recording, which also features the witty Susan Blackwell and the enjoyably belty Heidi Blickenstaff, is a frequently hilarious experience. In fact, it's often so funny that one might not realize just how tuneful the score is.
Highlights of the 16-track disc include the opening number, which is simply titled "Untitled Opening Number"; the infectious "An Original Musical," which contains laugh-out-loud commentary by co-star Bowen; the wonderful duet between Blackwell and Blickenstaff, "What Kind of Girl Is She?," in which each worries, "She might try to steal my husband. She might try to have my baby!"; the ode to insecurity, "Die Vampire Die!"; the melodic "September Song," about the premiere of the musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival; the Blickenstaff life-history song "A Way Back to Then"; and the inspirational "Nine People's Favorite Thing."
DIVA TIDBITS
Barbra Streisand fans, who are eagerly awaiting the Academy Award winner's upcoming concert tour — it kicks off in October at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia — will want to check out the newest tome on the celebrated actress-singer-director. Entitled "The Importance of Being Barbra," Tom Santopietro's 228-page book was recently released by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press and has been garnering great reviews from the critics, including this praise from The Boston Globe: "Santopietro offers a fresh approach to Streisand's career, applying both a fan's affection and a cultural critic's analysis to the role she played in the larger culture of her times." The author divides his Streisand exploration into several chapters — including Recordings, Film, Television, Concerts, Theater and Politics — and chronicles her entire award-winning career. "The Importance of Being Barbra" retails for $22.95.
The fall-winter cabaret season at the Empire Plush Room, located within San Francisco's famed York Hotel, has been announced. Tony Award winner Melba Moore, who is currently co-starring in the national tour of Brooklyn, the Musical, will kick off the fall season Sept. 12-17 with The Return of the Peach Melba Tour. She will be followed by political satirist Mort Sahl, who will play a Sept. 27-30 run at the intimate nightspot. Singer-songwriter Paul Williams will make his Empire Plush Room debut Oct. 3-8 with A Life of Song, and that month will also boast performances by former Dreamgirls star Jenifer Lewis (Oct. 17-22) and Broadway couple Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley (Oct. 24-29). New cabaret sensation Maude Maggart will offer a brand-new show Nov. 1-12, and Jane Olivor will perform a holiday cabaret show entitled Christmas and Romance Dec. 5-10. The year will conclude with two unique personalities: Tony Award winner Faith Prince will hold fort at the San Francisco venue Dec. 12-17, and former Funny Girl Lainie Kazan will play a New Year's engagement Dec. 27-31. The York Hotel is located in San Francisco at 940 Sutter Street. For reservations call (866) 468-3399 or visit www.empireplushroom.com.
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
