|
 |
DIVA TALK: Chatting with My Fair Lady's Sally Ann Howes Plus News of Buckley, Kuhn and Ripley
By Andrew Gans
21 Sep 2007
Question: My nieces, who are five and seven, are big fans of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Howes: Oh, how lovely!
Question: Do you find you continue to have new fans because of that film?
Howes: Absolutely. It's absolutely marvelous. I'm very, very glad I did that film because I think it'll probably be the only thing that's sort of left. Unfortunately, in the theatre you go on and on, and nobody's really captured those moments. They're doing a little bit more now, and people are having performances taped. I think The Dead is in the Theatre Museum at Lincoln Center.
Question: What are your memories of working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke?
Howes: Very good memories. I had a wonderful time on it, and Dick is, of course, a joy to work with. We did a celebration [of the film a few years ago], a documentary for TV. They flew me out to California, and we got together and shrieked about all of the various things that we had to go through. But it was a very long shooting. It took a very, very long time. That was the only tedious thing that I can remember, but the rest of it was a joy.
Question: Did you get to see the stage production of Chitty a few years back?
Howes: Yes, I did! Very kindly, they invited me over and they flew me over [to London]. I stayed a week, and I did some press with them. Michael Ball, who was starring as Potts, they arranged for me to take the last curtain call on the first night. It was at the Palladium, and I will never forget. I think that was a memory I shall always have. After all of these wonderful people working for two hours in this wonderful show, I came on and took a bow. I thought, "That's the best way to do my work — to let everybody else work, and I'll take the applause!" [Laughs.] And it was wonderful. I think it was probably one of the better moments of my life and career.
|  | |
Sally Ann Howes and Edward Mulhare in My Fair Lady.
|
| photo by Friedman-Abeles |
Question: Of all of the stage work that you've done, do you have a favorite experience?
Howes: Not a favorite because I think that whatever you're doing at the moment is always your favorite. I know that's a corny remark, and people say that, but it is actually true. I think my favorite moment was sharing the stage with my father. I think that was so extraordinary a thing to be able to do — to star in a show with your own father, playing father and daughter. That, to me, was a really treasured memory.
Question: How long were you in Paint Your Wagon together?
Howes: We were in there together for two years. Neither one of us wanted to take a holiday or have the understudy on. [Laughs.]
Question: How old were you at the time when you did that production?
Howes: Oh, my gosh. I think I was about 24. . . . About the same age as our Eliza here.
Question: Has the cast been asking for your memories from the original production of My Fair Lady?
Howes: Oh, my goodness! They keep coming up and showing me the most extraordinary things on Google and Wikipedia. And they say, "We've just seen your Life Magazine cover! We've just seen this…" And it's very funny. It's sweet. They're the most lovely and wonderful company. I love being with young people, too.
Question: Do you have any other projects in the works?
Howes: No, I'm sort of semi-retired. I really am. I haven't done anything for a while. The only thing I've been doing is I do charity shows. I went out for the AIDS charity show, the big one they have in Los Angeles. The other thing that I do is I'm on the committee for saving the Royal Poinciana Theatre in Palm Beach, and the cast is going to put a show on to raise money for it when we're in West Palm Beach, which is rather marvelous. They've all signed up to do it, and I think it will go on for about four hours. [Laughs.] But that's what I'm interested in, and another thing I'm interested in is the Lord's Place, which is basically an incredible place for the homeless.
[For more information visit www.myfairladythemusical.com.]
DIVA TIDBITS
"Betty Buckley 1967," the thrilling new release on the Playbill Records/Sony BMG Masterworks Broadway label, is now available for pre-sale by visiting the Playbill Store, which is currently selling the single CD for $11.95 (the retail price is $13.98). The recording will ship Oct. 16, the day it also hits stores around the country. (A special limited vinyl pressing of "Betty Buckley 1967" is also now available for pre-sale.) The never-before-released "Betty Buckley 1967" is the first of two discs from Tony Award winner Buckley that will be released by Playbill Records: the second, the brand-new "Quintessence," will arrive on Valentine's Day 2008. "Betty Buckley 1967" was recorded by the Tony-winning Cats star in Fort Worth, TX, when she was 19. She was accompanied by musicians Charlie Baxter, John Monaghan and Wayland Smajstrala; T Bone Burnett engineered the recording. The 11-track CD reveals a voice whose beauty is second to none, one that is filled with optimism and joy. To pre-order the "Betty Buckley 1967" CD, click here.
The London production of Chicago will celebrate a "decade of decadence in the West End" with a special gala performance at the Cambridge Theatre Dec. 5. The evening, which will benefit the Breast Cancer Haven and the Breast Health Institute, will begin at 6:30 PM and will be followed by a black-tie reception. Original London cast members Ute Lemper, Ruthie Henshall and Henry Goodman will be part of the performance; they will be joined onstage by Brenda Edwards, Jennifer Ellison, Kelly Osbourne, Gaby Roslin, Frances Ruffelle, Claire Sweeney and Nigel Planer. For details of sponsorship packages and ticket prices for the gala performance, contact Linda Marley at lm@breastcancerhaven.org.uk or call 020 7384 0049. For individual tickets visit www.chicagothemusical.co.uk.
Stefanie Powers, most recently seen onstage in the Reprise! mounting of On Your Toes, will debut her new one-woman show this fall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Samueli Theatre. Entitled One From the Hart, the evenings of song and story will play the Costa Mesa venue Nov. 8-11. The show, according to press notes, will "take audiences on a romantic holiday brimming with anecdotes and visual images from Powers' extraordinary life, underscored by some of the most evocative love songs ever written." Audiences can expect to hear tunes from the Great American Songbook. The Samueli Theatre at the Orange County Performing Arts Center is located at 615 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, CA. Tickets are available by visiting www.ocpac.org or by calling (714) 556-2787.
The Musical Mondays series — which presents cabaret evenings in the lobby of the historic Pantages Theatre — will continue this fall with a host of theatre and pop favorites. Former Side Show co-stars Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner will kick off the new season Oct. 1 at 7:30 PM. They will be followed by Melissa Manchester, who was recently seen in the Chicago production of Hats!, Nov. 5 at 7:30 PM. The season will conclude with stage and screen star Sam Harris, who will belt out several tunes Dec. 3 at 7:30 PM. The concerts, produced by John Bowab and Martin Wiviott, will benefit the Actors Fund of America. Tickets, priced $125 (per concert) or $300 (entire series), are available by calling (323) 933-9244, ext. 59. For more information visit www.actorsfund.org. The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA.
In my April 21, 2006, column I listed who I'd like to see star in the then-upcoming revival of Les Misérables. These were my picks: "Mandy Patinkin as Jean Valjean, Judy Kuhn as Fantine, Laura Benanti as Cosette, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Eponine, Steven Pasquale as Enjolras, Michael Arden as Marius, Chip Zien as Thénardier and Alix Korey as Madame Thénardier." So, I was quite excited to learn earlier this week that three-time Tony nominee Kuhn will indeed get her chance to belt out "I Dreamed a Dream" when she begins performances as Fantine at the Broadhurst Theatre Oct. 23; Kuhn succeeds Tony winner Lea Salonga, who will offer her final performance Oct. 21. In a statement Kuhn — who originated the role of Cosette in the original production of Les Miz — said, "I am thrilled to be returning to Les Misérables after all these years. The original production was such an exciting and momentous part of the beginning of my career and now to go back to play the mother of the character I played originally, especially now that I am a mother myself will be great fun." For tickets call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com. (By the way, Kuhn's wonderful new CD, "Serious Playground: The Songs of Laura Nyro," will hit stores on the Ghostlight Records label Oct. 2; she will celebrate that disc with concerts Oct. 1, 8, 15 and 22 at Joe's Pub and Oct. 26 at the Kennedy Center.)
Well, that's all for now. Happy diva-watching! E-mail questions or comments to agans@playbill.com.
 |
|
Lisa O'Hare and Sally Ann Howes in the national tour of My Fair Lady.
|
| photo by Joan Marcus |
Contact Us | Advertise | Privacy Policy
Send questions and comments to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2008 Playbill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
|