By Seth Rudetsky
29 Sep 2008

I just realized that I had so many interviews last week, I forgot to write about the wonderful Michele Lee whom I had at the Chatterbox! Her first Broadway show was Bravo Giovanni and her co-star was the opera singer, Cesare Siepi. Michele said that whenever he was playing a scene with her, Cesare would look only at her forehead. Finally, Michele asked him why he said all of his lines while looking at her forehead. He said, "If I looked in your eyes…I'd forget my lines." It sounded charming til I remembered that he was 20 years older than her. She got the part of Rosemary in How to Succeed in Business… because the original Rosemary got pregnant with twins. Everyone said that it was going to be difficult to play opposite Robert Morse because he was so unpredictable but she loved it. Michele said that he'd run all around the stage and change his blocking constantly, but all she mainly had to do was sit in a chair and look on adoringly, which was easy because that's what she was feeling! She remembered filming the movie, but told us that, at the time, Europeans didn't like musicals. So they filmed one version with the songs, and then they'd film the exact same scene again, but leave out the music! How the hell would the scene end?

SMITTY: Rosemary, what are you thinking about?
ROSEMARY: I'd be so happy to keep his dinner warm.
SMITTY: Oh. OK, see ya.
ROSEMARY: See ya.
Fade to black

Finally, I brought up Seesaw. That's the show that was out of town in Detroit and in trouble. They fired the director and brought in Michael Bennett who fired many of the cast members, including the lead, Lainie Kazan. Michele got the lead and Ken Howard kept his role as her love interest. She said it was a nightmare for him because he would rehearse an all-new version of the show during the day, but at night he'd have to do the same show, but with the old lines and songs. What a headache. As for Lainie Kazan, Michele said that it was very difficult. They had been friends since they both did Bravo Giovanni together and then they lived down the hall from one another! They became estranged for many years, and then, ten years ago, they were both at a New Year's Eve party at Lee Grant's house. OK, get that old-school Hollywood image in your head. Michele said that she and Lainie were standing on opposite sides of a buffet table when "Auld Lang Syne" began to play. They both burst into tears and ran to hug each other. Now, they're best friends and, she suddenly remembered, Lainie's coming over to her house this Thursday to watch the vice-presidential debate! It sounded like such a fun girls' night I wanted to be invited…especially since Michele said they'd be joined by Donna Mills!

I also saw the new Off-Broadway show called The Marvelous Wonderettes which is about a close harmony girl group in the late '50s, and then ten years later. I can't wait for the CD because the singing is great. One of my favorite singers, Farah Alvin, is in the show and she goes from singing crazy high soprano to belting up a storm. A few years, I did a salute to Neil Sedaka with the Actors Fund and Farah sang "Solitaire." She totally brought down the house and Neil thought she was incredible. I just put up a video of her singing it on my website, www.SethRudetsky.com. Pay special attention to the final note (an F!) and spot how the camera view gets obscured at the end because the crowd is giving her a standing ovation. Speaking of my website, a while ago I wrote that I posted a deconstruction of Gavin Creel singing "Going Down" from Hair and it wasn't there. (I got as many emails complaining about that as I did last week when I mistook Clytemnestra for Cassandra. I'm glad there are so many Greek scholars out there that have my email address. You've all inspired me to re-read "The Iliad." And by "re-read," I mean "throw out".)

Regardless, I finally posted the deconstruction of Gavin which begins with my retort to a email I got from someone asking me why I was so obsessed with vibrato. She said that vibrato comes from proper vocal placement, and straight tone is more impressive. After my state of shock wore off, I started filming and literally demonstrated the difference between straight tone and vibrato with the help of my trusty violin! That's right, when I haul out the props, you know I'm serious. This week I got an email from someone asking me why I like belting so much. Don't make me haul out a viola, people. I'll do it.

Saturday night, I went to Birdland to see one of my favorite belters, with vibrato, Betty Buckley! The place was packed and her song choices were great, especially the devastating pairing of the Brazilian songs "Dindi" and "How Insensitive." You can get that on her new CD, "Quintessence" (BettyBuckley.com). She started the show by announcing that she would not be singing anything from Broadway. The announcement was met with stunned silence and then one person applauded. But then she cheered everybody up by saying she's going to be doing her all-Broadway show at Feinstein's in February! Brava! Richard Jay-Alexander is going to direct it for her and he was backstage after the show with me and James. Jim Caruso (who runs Broadway at Birdland and books all those amazing acts) came backstage too and asked Betty to take a picture for a project the cast of [title of show] is doing to keep their show running. They posted a closing notice for later this month but aren't going lying down. They've recruited their legions of fans to do tons of projects to keep the show running. One of the main projects they have is a petition to get the show on "Ellen," which would be perfect because Hunter and Jeff literally sing a song in the show with lyrics about being on "Ellen"! The petition is at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/221/petition-to-get-title-of-show-on-ellen. Sign it! I don't know what this latest [title of show] project is, but it involved Betty holding up a sign with her name on it. After taking Betty's picture, Jim took a picture of Betty, me with Betty's sign and Richard Jay.

All right, that's it for me. This week will feature cast members from Hairspray at my free Sirius on Broadway show on Wednesday at noon at the Times Square Information Center. And for you fellow Jews out there, it's the New Year… L'shana Tovah! And for you fellow Jewish Broadway lovers, L'Shoshana Bean Tovah Feldshuh!

*

(Seth Rudetsky is the host of "Seth's Big Fat Broadway" on SIRIUS Satellite Radio and the author of "The Q Guide to Broadway" and the novel "Broadway Nights." He has played piano in the orchestras of 15 Broadway musicals and hosts the BC/EFA benefit weekly interview show Seth's Broadway Chatterbox at Don't Tell Mama every Thursday at 6 PM. He can be contacted by visiting www.sethrudetsky.com.)

Seth with Betty Buckley and Richard Jay-Alexander
photo by Jim Caruso

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