Author: Chris Van Patten

Upcoming DVDs of Note: The Hitchcock Edition

About a month ago I posted about some upcoming DVD releases, but I wasn’t complete. Since there are so many upcoming Alfred Hitchcock DVD reissues, I felt that it deserved its own post. Hitchcock has long been a favorite director of mine and it is usually easier for me to count the films I haven’t seen when talking about him.
Rebecca, Spellbound and Notorious were previously part of the Criterion Collection catolog but have long been unavailable (going for exorbitant sums on secondary seller sites online). However it appears that you have to buy the boxed set if you want the currently unavailable The Paradine Case, The Lodger, Sabotage and Young and Innocent. Those remastered titles aren’t being sold separately. Lifeboat was released individually about three years ago. Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho have been available individually and also as part of a Hitchcock boxed set of all his Universal titles, but now these three are receiving a 2-disc Legacy series upgrade (which the studio has been giving to many of its classic titles over the past several years).
Some of these will be on my Christmas list this year….

Barbara Walsh Goes to East Hampton

Barbara Walsh is poised to take on the dual roles of Big Edith and Little Edie Beale in an upcoming production of Grey Gardens at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC this fall. For one thing, I’m thrilled that this brilliantly realized musical has started to take on its regional life post-Broadway (where its run was cut woefully short by allegedly poor producing). Though it will be a daunting for any actress to fill those roles so brilliantly characterized by Tony winners Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson, the show provides choice roles for its leading ladies. (Wouldn’t it have been something to have seen Angela Lansbury tackle Big Edie?)

Anyhow, the musical (with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie) will run November 21-December 21. I have heard of Walsh for years. She is well respected for her turns in the original Broadway casts of Falsettos, Blood Brothers and Big, and most recently as Joanne in the John Doyle revival of Company. I’m a latecomer to the Barbara Walsh admiration society as I only saw her for the first time this past May in Inner Voices at the Zipper Factory. Needless to say she lives up to the hype: she is a superlative actress of incredible sophistication, nuance and wit. She won raves from fellow blogger Sarah for her performance as Desiree in the Baltimore Center Stage production of A Little Night Music this previous spring.

Prior to this engagement, she will be performing in concert at the Laurie Beechman Theatre on Monday night and then in the the NYMF production of About Face. So if you haven’t had a chance to appreciate this talented singing actress, there is ample opportunity and little room for excuses. I’m very curious to hear and see what she will bring to the Edies.

Da-da-da-DA-dum…

Ernie: the Autobiography

I’ve long been a fan of Ernest Borgnine. After a decade serving in the US Navy, he decided to become an actor at the age of 28. Usually playing the heavy or antagonist in a slew of films including From Here to Eternity, Bad Day at Black Rock, among many others, it is his role in the 1955 Oscar winning classic Marty that proved that Borgnine had the range and talent that would defy type casting. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this film, it was a small independent written by Paddy Chayefsky for television in 1953, starring Rod Steiger and Nancy Marchand. Burt Lancaster’s independent film corporation greenlighted the project with Delbert Mann at the helm with the intent of writing it off as a tax loss. However, the film was completed and became the sleeper hit of the year, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Picture (the only film two win both). It’s a charming story of a lonely, socially awkward butcher played by Borgnine who’s given up on finding someone to love. Betsy Blair plays Clara, a homely schoolteacher that Marty sees dumped at a dance at the Stardust Ballroom. What a shame romantic comedies aren’t all this affecting and moving. Borgnine won the Oscar for Best Actor over James Dean in East of Eden, Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock, James Cagney in Love Me or Leave Me and Frank Sinatra in The Man With the Golden Arm. He would work steadily, but wouldn’t become a household name until his 1960s sitcom “McHale’s Navy” came to TV screens around the world. Character roles would follow in The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, Willard and Escape from NY. (By the way, when is the Strouse-Adams musical adaptation of Marty coming to NY? Or when is the cast album with John C. Reilly and Carolee Carmello coming out?)

Borgnine, who turned 91 earlier this year, has just come out with his memoir. The book isn’t very concise, it’s a short yet personable work that seems to have been written by Borgnine without any assistance or a ghostwriter. It’s wonderful to see him – he still works steadily, lives for it really and has the vibrancy of a much younger man. His autobiography has two pertinent notes related to the theatre. One of his earlier credits was working in the Broadway play Mrs. McThing opposite Helen Hayes and Brandon de Wilde. His wife became pregnant during the run. When he told Hayes, she immediately told him how happy she was to become a godmother, thus beginning a warm lifelong relationship with the First Lady of the American Theatre.

For those who have read Ethel Merman’s autobiography, they know that Merman summed up the chapter entitled “My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine” with a blank page. In his book, Borgnine delves deeper into the professional jealousies that brought their marriage to a decidedly quick demise. On their honeymoon overseas, Merman got incredibly jealous whenever Borgnine got recognized, mostly because of his sitcom he became world-renown. She didn’t take too kindly to being practically dismissed in his presence. The longer they were on their honeymoon, the worse it became. Merman became cooler and cooler towards him until they finally had it out during a bout of dysentary which left them both under the weather in South East Asia. The final straw for Borgnine was when Merman refused to give him any of her medicine when she was feeling better and he was still sick. Given that one could easily have great vitriol for an embarrassment marital failure, Borgnine is actually very kind to Merman in his book (much the way he is with all his ex-wives). He also goes on to say many, many years later he stumbled across her book, opened it and saw the blank page. His quip to his son: “Well, at least she didn’t say anything bad about me.”

The book isn’t the most concise or in depth memoir or biography I’ve read, but it’s definitely worth reading for these anecdotes and for the Oscar winning actor who has amassed sixty years in show business. That in itself is a marvel.

Borgnine has recently been making the rounds and tours to promote his book. One of the most unintentionally hilarious moments of the year came while he was being interviewed on the Fox News Channel when he was asked the secret of his longevity (possibly not safe for work?):

At his age, he can say anything he wants.

An Email I Received…

Someone sent me an email asking whether or not they could place advertising on my blog, after sending a reply to her, this is what I received:

HI Kevin,

I apologize; I believe I emailed you by mistake. I was looking for sites that were more geared to Broadway theatre blogging. Thanks for your response.

Betsy

I’m not sure if this is the funniest or saddest email I’ve had in regards to my blog (can it be both…?). Here’s an opinion poll – if I’m not a Broadway theatre blog, what should I be blogging about?

To quote that lady in the Post, “Only in NY, kids…”

Two a Day

After taking a two month hiatus, I finally made a triumphant return to the Great White Way. Alright, so it doesn’t actually call for a title song with high-kicks down a staircase, but it’s really good to be back in the Midtown area, inspite of the tourists. I convinced fellow blogger and regular partner in crime Roxie to play hooky from work (almost, she worked the morning) and have a two-show Wednesday with me.

First up was the Tony winning Best Revival of a Play, Boeing-Boeing (sad they relegated this to the off-air hour that wasn’t televised). It was my first time back in the Longacre since Well and the restoration is complete. Rox and I agreed that we didn’t particularly care for the peach-pink paintjob, but the hunter green seats are quite nice and more comfortable than I expected. All I can say about Boeing-Boeing is that it is a fast-paced, first rate and furiously funny production of a rather unremarkable farce. It’s a testament to the company that they can take something that in less capable hands would be lethal and turn it into a comic gold mine. The cast, extraordinarily directed by Matthew Warchus, stars my new hero, Mark Rylance in his Tony-winning Broadway debut, Bradley Whitford and Christine Baranski. The gist of it, Whitford is a savvy businessman in Paris is romancing three stewardesses from three different airlines (each from a different country), played by the gam-happy trio of Kathryn Hahn as the obnoxious American, Gina Gershon as the lusty Italian Gabriella and the scene-stealing, Tony nominated Mary McCormack as the German amazon Gretchen. (Note: Gershon was out, her understudy is the incredibly talented and uber-sexy Roxanna Hope). Rylance plays his childhood friend from Wisconsin, a naive sad sack type who gets thrust into the middle of the hectic day in which Whitford’s carefully calculated affairs collide with the inevitable date with oblivion. Rylance was endearingly funny, as he does his best to cover for his friend, getting more and more outrageous as the play goes on. Whitford excels as the swaggering businessman who suffers panic attacks when his careful existence is threatened. (One of the day’s highlights is when Whitford literally climbs the walls of his apartment while Rylance rolls himself under the carpet). Baranski is a delightfully droll highlight as the long-suffering yet chic maid Berthe. This is the first farce I’ve enjoyed in NY since the 2002 revival of the superlative Noises Off! and you know what? We could use more of this genre in NY. Whitford and McCormack leave the show this Sunday. The rest shall carry on the funny at the Longacre for hopefully quite some time. Here’s his hilariously offbeat acceptance speech at the 2008 Tony Awards, which consisted of his recitation of a prose poem:

In between shows we grabbed dinner at O’Lunney’s with my best friend Matt who happened to be in NY for some auditions where he and Roxie discovered the secret to interpretive dance in Sondheim. The results were nothing short of hilarious. Then as if the comedic gods were still smiling post matinee, an old guy walked into the restroom on Matt directly across from our table, at which point Roxie and I went into complete hysterics. (Who doesn’t love a little low comedy in real life?) Loving the O’Lunney pens, I made sure to grab a handful in the greatest tradition of Sophia Petrillo. (What? I love how they write!)

That night we took in The Marriage of Bette and Boo at the Laura Pels. So far, Roxie and I have taken in both Juno and Inner Voices because of great affection for Victoria Clark. Needless to say, we were going to continue the trend with this revival of Christopher Durang’s darkly absurdist comedy that deconstructs a complex marriage (ripe with Catholicism) over the course of 3o years. Clark was joined onstage by John Glover, Julie Hagerty (who shouldn’t be allowed to ever leave NY theatre), Kate Jennings Grant (whom I adored in Proof and is a decidedly lovely human being as well) and the standout, Terry Beaver, who dominates in the second act as Fr. Donnally, the family priest, with two glorious monologues about marriage and death (leading, respectively, a marriage counseling session and a funeral). One of the highlights of the entire day was the moment in which gives the congregation his impression of a piece of bacon in a frying pan. As someone brought up in the Catholic faith, with nine years of parochial school and countless years in choirs and as an altar server, I could relate to practically everything going on in the play, and laugh at it with knowing incredulity. Clark scored comedic pathos in a scene involving a birthday cake, quite possibly her best moment of the entire evening.

Non-sequitur: I was at one time an incredibly obedient practicing Catholic, so much so that it was thought I’d be a priest. Some even went as far as suggesting I’d be the first American pope. However, I had my “calling” in seventh grade when I decided that I wasn’t about to go through life without sex. Many people laugh when I relay this story.

Anyway, it’s definitely not a play for the faint of heart. The diabolically funny running gag of the play is that Bette constantly delivers stillborns, with the unceremonious dumping of the baby on the stage by the doctor, which eventually lends itself to swaddled bundle being tossed in from the wings. I imagine were I still a devout Catholic I might be offended at what was going on, but years of religious disillusionment open one’s mind to the appreciation of such goings on. (Oh the irony…)

As I type this, Adam LeFevre, who played Paul Brennan in Bette and Boo is currently on TV in a bit role on “Law & Order: SVU.”

It’s Official…

The majority of the original cast of August: Osage County will be reprising their roles for the original London company at the National Theatre later this fall. We first got wind of this about three months ago during Tony time. Michael McGuire, who assumed the role of Beverly Weston from the late Dennis Letts will reprise his performance as well as Molly Ranson, who replaced Madeleine Martin, who had to honor her contract for Californication, as Jean. Frances Guinan will not be in the ensemble as he is already slated to be in The Seafarer at Steppenwolfe this December. Paul Vincent O’Connor will assume the role of Uncle Charlie. They have yet to cast the role of Steve Heidelbrecht, currently played by Brian Kerwin at the Music Box in NY.

However, if you didn’t get a chance to see Deanna Dunagan, Rondi Reed and Jeff Perry all play opposite the magnanimous Amy Morton, here is the opportunity for you. August will run at the National from November 21 to January 21, 2009.

Anybody want to fly (me) out to London…? ;

Julia McKenzie’s "The Worst Pies in London"

We often think about our Angie or Patti (or Elaine or Sheila or Judy, et al), but here’s another solid interpretation of the great Mrs. L. offered by one of the premiere interpreters of Sondheim in the London theatre scene, Julia McKenzie. McKenzie was a lead in Side By Side By Sondheim, a fetching Sally in the London premiere of Follies in 1987 and was the Witch in the original London cast of Follies. She was also the person behind the early 90s revue, a follow-up of sorts to Side By Side called Putting it Together. She won the Olivier award for her performance in the RNT revival of Sweeney Todd and here the awards telecast performance, including the “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd, followed by her rendition of “The Worst Pies in London.”