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Alexander Cohen's greatest hits, 3 September 2003
Author:
F Gwynplaine MacIntyre (Borroloola@aol.com) from Minffordd, North Wales
In the early 1980s, I briefly had the honour of working for Broadway
producer Alexander H. Cohen, one of the greatest showmen of all time. Mr
Cohen ('Alex' to his thousands of friends) was the only producer to
maintain
permanent production offices both on Broadway and in London's West End. In
addition to mounting many intelligent dramas and comedies, Alexander Cohen
also invented the "nine o'clock musical": an intimate, plotless revue
featuring one piano and a minimal cast. Ironically, the only form of
theatre
production in which Alexander Cohen never had significant success was the
book musical: the type of stage musical that has a plot as well as a
score.
For many years, Mr Cohen was ably abetted by his wife (former actress
Hildy
Parks), their two sons, and his associate Roy Somlyo.
Alexander Cohen's greatest achievement (among many) was his long stint as
producer of the Tony Awards: an annual special presentation on CBS-TV, in
which the American Theatre Wing presented awards to the best plays and
musicals of each theatre season. Regrettably, Mr Cohen was pressured into
stepping down as presenter of the Tonys when he publicly made a
disparaging
remark about one (extremely unpopular) theatre critic, and implied that he
spoke for the American Theatre Wing as well as himself when he made this
remark.
"Broadway's Lost Treasures" is a compilation of 17 musical numbers from
several annual editions of the Tony Awards, all produced under Alexander
Cohen's aegis. A disproportionate percentage of these numbers are from the
1971 Tony Awards ceremony. The 1971 Broadway theatre season was less
distinguished than usual, and the American Theatre Wing expected that
year's
edition of the Tony Awards to be thin pickings. With one of his legendary
bursts of inspiration, Alex Cohen realised that this year (1971) was the
25th anniversary of the Tony Awards. He decided to celebrate the occasion
by
having several of Broadway's most legendary performers reprise their most
famous musical numbers. "Broadway's Lost Treasures" contains several of
those re-enactments.
Unfortunately, some of the re-enactments in "Broadway's Lost Treasures"
are
less than first-rate. From the 1971 Tony special, we see Vivian Blaine
doing
an abbreviated version of "Adelaide's Lament" from 'Guys and Dolls', plus
Robert Preston doing 'Trouble' from 'The Music Man', Yul Brynner doing
'Shall We Dance?' from 'The King and I' and John Raitt singing 'Hey There'
from 'The Pyjama Game'. But all of these performers did these songs much
more brilliantly in the respective film versions of these musicals, which
are now (although not in 1971) readily available on video. The John Raitt
number is especially disappointing: why didn't he reprise for the Tony
Awards his greatest number of all, 'Soliloquy' from 'Carousel'? This is
especially regrettable, since -- unlike 'The Pyjama Game' -- Raitt didn't
get a chance to repeat his performance in the film version of 'Carousel'.
Also on offer here, Zero Mostel repeats his biddy-biddy-boom routine from
'Fiddler'. I've always thought of this grossly overrated and undisciplined
performer as Less-than-Zero Mostel, and his performance here does nothing
to
convince me otherwise.
On the plus side, we get Joel Grey's brilliant performance of 'Wilkommen'
from 'Cabaret'. Here too is a number which the Broadway performer has
repeated in the movie version ... but Grey's characterisation here, as the
German cabaret's compere, is astonishingly different from his
Oscar-winning
performance of this same role in the film. I was thrilled to see this.
(Intriguingly, Joel Grey is backed here by an interracial chorus ... a
surprising decision, as this show takes place in 1930s Berlin.) The great
Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera are slinky and sexy in their Bob Fosse duet
from 'Chicago': it's intriguing to see their different dance styles side
by
side. (Ms Verdon's legwork had much more amplitude than Ms Rivera's, even
before Chita Rivera's taxi accident.)
Also extremely enjoyable here are 'Kickin' the Clouds Away' from 'My One
and
Only', performed in sprightly fashion by Twiggy, Tommy Tune and some
tap-dancing bridesmaids, and 'Hello, Argentina' from 'Evita'. I found the
'Lullaby of Broadway' number from '42nd Street' much too overblown, but
some
people will like it. Angela Lansbury performs a rapid-fire patter song
(with
tongue-twisting Sondheim lyrics) from 'Sweeney Todd'. A close-up reveals
that she's lip-synching to her own pre-recorded voice. Since the Tony
Awards
were broadcast live, I can't blame Alexander Cohen's decision to take this
precaution.
The most pleasant surprise here is Julie Andrews warbling 'Send in the
Clowns' from 'A Little Night Music'. Ms Andrews was one of those rare
singers who actually emoted a song rather than merely performing it: her
rendition here is warm and enchanting. At one point during this live
performance, she glances offstage to check the lyrics on a cue card ...
but
her performance is so deft that you'll barely notice this.
The finest vocal performance here is by the young Andrea McArdle, singing
'Tomorrow' from 'Annie'. This is one of the greatest examples I've ever
heard of the 'Broadway belt' voice: the fact that it's emerging from a
child
performer makes it even more astonishing. How regrettable that Ms McArdle
has never had equal success during her adult career as an
actress.
Despite its flaws, "Broadway's Lost Treasures" is required viewing for
anyone interested in the American musical theatre. I'll rate this tv
special
10 points out of 10. Alex Cohen, you are missed and loved by your legions
of
friends and theatre audiences in New York and London.
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