More performers are lobbying about issues unrelated to their day jobs. The famous get their egos stroked, while their causes receive publicity.
WASHINGTON — In four decades as a guitarist with such iconic rock bands as the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, David Crosby played in front of millions of fans at such venues as Woodstock, the Fillmore East, the Hollywood Bowl and London's Wembley Stadium.
Lately, one of his regular gigs has been at one of the nation's most elite clubs: the U.S. Senate.
Last year, the shaggy-haired, 64-year-old musician donned a suit in lieu of his usual bluejeans to lobby the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, seeking to thwart plans to expand Chumash casinos and commercial developments near his home in the tranquil Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County. On another occasion, Crosby opined to lawmakers on campaign finance reform.
"Being a celebrity cuts both ways in Washington," Crosby said. "In some ways it gets you access. But in other ways it makes people dismiss you. You have to be insanely careful about what you say."
Crosby is part of a growing parade of celebrities trekking up Capitol Hill to talk to the nation's lawmakers about issues that rarely have anything to do with their day jobs. Trying to get attention for pet causes easily lost in the clutter of public policy debates, stars hope their cachet can make the difference in opening doors, getting media attention and scoring face time on C-SPAN.
During the last year, Washington's show has starred actress Salma Hayek testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on domestic violence about how she became familiar with the issue researching a movie role. Jazz musician and New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis told the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management how important it was to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.
Actress and AIDS activist Ashley Judd spoke to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the need to develop an HIV vaccine for Africa. Actor Don Cheadle, who starred in the movie "Hotel Rwanda" set in that country's 1994 civil war, joined five members of Congress on a fact-finding mission to learn about refugees in Sudan.
When it comes to hobnobbing with lawmakers, U2 frontman Bono ranks as Washington's reigning celebrity lobbyist. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is a frequent guest at the band's concerts. In October, Bono lunched for 90 minutes with President Bush at the White House, where the two discussed debt relief, AIDS, malaria and world trade, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.
"More and more celebrities are lobbying for particular causes," said Darrell West, a professor of political science at Brown University and author of the book "Celebrity Politics." "They attract the TV cameras, and celebrities are great fundraisers."
For celebrities, testifying and lobbying in the nation's capital offers the ego stroke of being taken seriously on important issues, and a chance to make headlines for something other than their latest loves or public mishaps.
In an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times, actress Mary Tyler Moore said her lobbying on behalf of the Diabetes Research Foundation stemmed from her own experiences as a diabetic. Having the disease "has fueled my desire to help … find a cure," Moore said.
After actor Michael J. Fox testified on Capitol Hill in 1999 about his battles with Parkinson's disease, lawmakers urged the National Institutes of Health to intensify the government's search for better treatments. Since then research grants for Parkinson's have jumped more than tenfold from $25 million to as much as $300 million this year, said Robin Elliott, executive director of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
"In a television culture, celebrity has become crucial to advancing all kinds of causes," Elliott said.
But it also can often backfire when it appears a celebrity is simply fronting for an issue in which he or she has no special expertise.
In 2002, Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) walked out of a Senate subcommittee hearing on the environmental effect of mountain mining when Kevin Richardson, a Kentucky native and member of the Backstreet Boys singing group, was called as a witness. Voinovich told reporters the proceedings had turned into "a joke."
Lou Diamond Phillips, star of such films as "La Bamba" and "Young Guns," said it was unfair to assume celebrities were unqualified to testify. Phillips said he met resistance when he testified in 2002 about extending veterans benefits to Filipinos who had fought in World War II. Phillips is part Filipino and the son of a war veteran.
"It upsets me that people don't think we have the right to speak out," Phillips said in an interview. "We are citizens like everybody else. I made it certain to the senators that I was no carpetbagger."
When Crosby testified last summer on the tribal development plans, Connecticut blogger Edward Janusz questioned his qualifications.
"Mr. Crosby seems like an intelligent person," Janusz said in an interview. "But I'm more inclined to listen to people who are personally involved and have some expertise."
Congressional hearings for decades were mostly dominated by nondescript government, industry and academic experts. Stars called to testify typically were asked about issues directly related to the entertainment industry, such as when the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s investigated alleged Communist infiltration of Hollywood.
Credit former top Hollywood lobbyist Jack Valenti and Washington lawyer Michael Gardner with helping demonstrate during the 1980s the clout celebrities could have on Capitol Hill. They mobilized some of Hollywood's biggest names to counter government efforts to end financial syndication rules that forbade broadcasters from owning any of the TV programs they aired.
Valenti squired Warren Beatty, Stefanie Powers, Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas to Washington to testify, lobby and pose for snapshots with star-struck lawmakers.
Gardner took Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Alda and Jean Stapleton to make the rounds of federal regulators who were siding with the TV networks in favor of the rule change.
In the end, the beleaguered television networks were outmatched by Hollywood's star power.
Financial syndication rules were preserved for nearly a decade before a judicial ruling ended them in the early 1990s.
Valenti, who retired in 2004 as head of the Motion Picture Assn. of America after 38 years, has a relatively simple explanation for why celebrity testimony can be so effective: Congressional hearings are dreadfully dull.
"Most people come in and duck their heads and read their testimony and leave no lasting impression," he said.
But by virtue of their star power and training, Valenti said, "actors can give Oscar-winning performances."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Just Fabulous
Knack For Sewing Launched Donna Salyers' Career
COVINGTON - Donna Salyers didn't grow up wearing furs - neither faux, nor real. She did, however, grow up with a grandmother who could whip a mighty stitch, and under her tutelage Salyers learned to do the same.
"I was just one of those little kids who like to sew," Salyers said. "I loved pretty clothes and I was from a poor family, and if I was going to have them, I thought, I'll learn to sew, and I'll make them."
She not only made her own clothes, but became an expert on how others might do the same.
In 1974, Salyers, who grew up in Northern Kentucky and graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Crestview Hills, wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper saying that publication's sewing column wasn't up to par.
"I said the column in your paper is so bad even I could write a better column," Salyers said. "They called me and said, 'We wish you would.' I wrote six samples, and I remember thinking I've never written anything but a letter to the editor."
But lack of experience didn't matter and for the next 17 years Salyers wrote a weekly sewing column, "Sewing, Etc.," for Gannett newspapers. She also made guest appearances on sewing segments for a cable television show that was taped in New York City.
"I would go to New York to do these shows and I thought everybody in the whole town had a fur coat but me," Salyers said.
So, Salyers made her own fur coat.
Because she had been writing the column for so long, she had some good contacts in the textile business. As a result, she was able to get her hands on good quality faux fur.
"People would just marvel at that coat," Salyers said. "After about four or five years I'd worn that coat so many times and so many people had tried it on, and I thought I'm getting rid of it and I'm buying a fur coat today."
But, as it turned out, Salyers plan changed with the turn of a radio dial.
Salyers was listening to radio commentator Paul Harvey talk about a toy manufacturer in London who took litters of kittens, skinned them, then used their fur to make teddy bears.
"I thought, I don't want a fur coat," Salyers said. But she wanted the look of fur, and she thought others might, too.
Salyers bought an ad in a sewing publication and sold sewing kits for her fur coat. In 1989, her first year of business, she earned $300,000. This year, Fabulous Furs will earn more than $10 million.
Celebrity List
"Do you know who Ice T is?" asked Salyers. "I didn't."
But Salyers soon found out, when the rap star became a customer. As it turns out, Ice T and his wife Coco purchased three custom bed throws from Fabulous Furs for their home which was featured on MTV's "Cribs," a television program that gives viewers a glimpse into celebrities' far-from-humble abodes.
Fabulous Furs established celebrity appeal early on. Actress Loretta Swit of the sitcom M*A*S*H contacted Salyers after reading about her in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.
"She read about us in the Chronicle and said, 'I want one of your coats, but I don't know how to sew,'" Salyers recalled. "I told her I'd turn it over to the ready-to-wear department. So, of course I'm in my kitchen making it that night."
Swit showed the coat to her friend, actress Stefanie Powers, who contacted Salyers and asked her to bring some of her coats backstage while she was in town performing "Love Letters."
Fabulous Fur pillows were on the big screen in the movie, "You've Got Mail," starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. "All My Children's" Susan Lucci sported a faux-lynx coat on the daytime drama, and Cosmopolitan Editor Helen Gurley Brown owns both sable and coyote faux furs.
"We still get excited about celebrities," Salyers said.
Fabulous Furs' business offices are located in Covington along with a showroom that Salyers said has become a tour bus destination. She's hoping her new endeavor, Fabulous Bridal (see related story, this page), located at the corner of Sixth Street and Madison Avenue in Covington, will have similar appeal.
"If we can make Fabulous Bridal a destination, people will travel from down in Kentucky and Tennessee," Salyers said.
COVINGTON - Donna Salyers didn't grow up wearing furs - neither faux, nor real. She did, however, grow up with a grandmother who could whip a mighty stitch, and under her tutelage Salyers learned to do the same.
"I was just one of those little kids who like to sew," Salyers said. "I loved pretty clothes and I was from a poor family, and if I was going to have them, I thought, I'll learn to sew, and I'll make them."
She not only made her own clothes, but became an expert on how others might do the same.
In 1974, Salyers, who grew up in Northern Kentucky and graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Crestview Hills, wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper saying that publication's sewing column wasn't up to par.
"I said the column in your paper is so bad even I could write a better column," Salyers said. "They called me and said, 'We wish you would.' I wrote six samples, and I remember thinking I've never written anything but a letter to the editor."
But lack of experience didn't matter and for the next 17 years Salyers wrote a weekly sewing column, "Sewing, Etc.," for Gannett newspapers. She also made guest appearances on sewing segments for a cable television show that was taped in New York City.
"I would go to New York to do these shows and I thought everybody in the whole town had a fur coat but me," Salyers said.
So, Salyers made her own fur coat.
Because she had been writing the column for so long, she had some good contacts in the textile business. As a result, she was able to get her hands on good quality faux fur.
"People would just marvel at that coat," Salyers said. "After about four or five years I'd worn that coat so many times and so many people had tried it on, and I thought I'm getting rid of it and I'm buying a fur coat today."
But, as it turned out, Salyers plan changed with the turn of a radio dial.
Salyers was listening to radio commentator Paul Harvey talk about a toy manufacturer in London who took litters of kittens, skinned them, then used their fur to make teddy bears.
"I thought, I don't want a fur coat," Salyers said. But she wanted the look of fur, and she thought others might, too.
Salyers bought an ad in a sewing publication and sold sewing kits for her fur coat. In 1989, her first year of business, she earned $300,000. This year, Fabulous Furs will earn more than $10 million.
Celebrity List
"Do you know who Ice T is?" asked Salyers. "I didn't."
But Salyers soon found out, when the rap star became a customer. As it turns out, Ice T and his wife Coco purchased three custom bed throws from Fabulous Furs for their home which was featured on MTV's "Cribs," a television program that gives viewers a glimpse into celebrities' far-from-humble abodes.
Fabulous Furs established celebrity appeal early on. Actress Loretta Swit of the sitcom M*A*S*H contacted Salyers after reading about her in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.
"She read about us in the Chronicle and said, 'I want one of your coats, but I don't know how to sew,'" Salyers recalled. "I told her I'd turn it over to the ready-to-wear department. So, of course I'm in my kitchen making it that night."
Swit showed the coat to her friend, actress Stefanie Powers, who contacted Salyers and asked her to bring some of her coats backstage while she was in town performing "Love Letters."
Fabulous Fur pillows were on the big screen in the movie, "You've Got Mail," starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. "All My Children's" Susan Lucci sported a faux-lynx coat on the daytime drama, and Cosmopolitan Editor Helen Gurley Brown owns both sable and coyote faux furs.
"We still get excited about celebrities," Salyers said.
Fabulous Furs' business offices are located in Covington along with a showroom that Salyers said has become a tour bus destination. She's hoping her new endeavor, Fabulous Bridal (see related story, this page), located at the corner of Sixth Street and Madison Avenue in Covington, will have similar appeal.
"If we can make Fabulous Bridal a destination, people will travel from down in Kentucky and Tennessee," Salyers said.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Otto Lang
Reached many a peak on skis
Otto Lang left a voice mail seeking my help in finding actress Stefanie Powers. She was in Seattle to star in "The King and I," and had left word with him that his free tickets would be at the door. But he was fuzzy on the details and wondered if I knew where she was staying.
I certainly didn't know, but I was curious how Seattle ski legend Otto Lang, who turns 98 next month, got on her comp list.
"Oh, we are dear old friends," he said with his Austrian accent. "She went to Hollywood High School with my son. I saw her in a school production of 'Oklahoma' and identified her as a coming talent and cast her in a TV series."
Lang is so synonymous with skiing in these parts and across the country that you forget his full life involved producing, directing and acting in film and television, from high-brow documentaries such as "Beethoven: Ordeal and Triumph" to the All-American diet of "Daktari," "Cheyenne" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
He traveled the world and wrote two thick books. One, "Around the World in 90 Years," features his beautiful photographs. "A Bird of Passage" chronicles his life, from coming to America to his career in Hollywood and hobnobbing with the rich and famous.
These days, Lang walks with creaky knees. It takes him a bit to tilt back to erect, but he seems as sharp and engaging as ever. He owes it all, he says from his West Seattle home, to skiing.
Emigrating from Austria in 1935, Lang soon decided to head west to Mount Rainier, where he established his own ski school at Paradise Lodge. Skiing in the U.S. was in its infancy, but Lang was a tireless promoter of it. He was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978.
Frustrated with bamboo poles, Lang went to the golf industry to design one with a steel shaft. The 1937 prototype was strong yet flexible, but manufacturing and marketing got shelved when World War II put deep demands on steel production.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
Now, three of his early films are part of a four-DVD set featuring classic ski films developed and marketed by Topics Entertainment of Renton. One is the first theatrical movie about skiing filmed on Rainier and Mount Baker, which premiered at Radio City Music Hall in 1938.
It all goes back to skiing.
"I know it is a broad statement, but it is true. Skiing is responsible for everything in my life. It connected everything."
Otto Lang left a voice mail seeking my help in finding actress Stefanie Powers. She was in Seattle to star in "The King and I," and had left word with him that his free tickets would be at the door. But he was fuzzy on the details and wondered if I knew where she was staying.
I certainly didn't know, but I was curious how Seattle ski legend Otto Lang, who turns 98 next month, got on her comp list.
"Oh, we are dear old friends," he said with his Austrian accent. "She went to Hollywood High School with my son. I saw her in a school production of 'Oklahoma' and identified her as a coming talent and cast her in a TV series."
Lang is so synonymous with skiing in these parts and across the country that you forget his full life involved producing, directing and acting in film and television, from high-brow documentaries such as "Beethoven: Ordeal and Triumph" to the All-American diet of "Daktari," "Cheyenne" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
He traveled the world and wrote two thick books. One, "Around the World in 90 Years," features his beautiful photographs. "A Bird of Passage" chronicles his life, from coming to America to his career in Hollywood and hobnobbing with the rich and famous.
These days, Lang walks with creaky knees. It takes him a bit to tilt back to erect, but he seems as sharp and engaging as ever. He owes it all, he says from his West Seattle home, to skiing.
Emigrating from Austria in 1935, Lang soon decided to head west to Mount Rainier, where he established his own ski school at Paradise Lodge. Skiing in the U.S. was in its infancy, but Lang was a tireless promoter of it. He was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978.
Frustrated with bamboo poles, Lang went to the golf industry to design one with a steel shaft. The 1937 prototype was strong yet flexible, but manufacturing and marketing got shelved when World War II put deep demands on steel production.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it.
Now, three of his early films are part of a four-DVD set featuring classic ski films developed and marketed by Topics Entertainment of Renton. One is the first theatrical movie about skiing filmed on Rainier and Mount Baker, which premiered at Radio City Music Hall in 1938.
It all goes back to skiing.
"I know it is a broad statement, but it is true. Skiing is responsible for everything in my life. It connected everything."
Friday, December 09, 2005
Star Studded Cast Sends Help For AIDS
A remarkable cast performed on Dec. 4 for a spectacular evening of music, comedy, and dance—“Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation Presents Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII”—where 100 percent of the ticket sales went directly to the beneficiaries: Maitri, Project Inform, and Pediatric HIV/AIDS Program of Children’s Hospital Oakland. The Herbst Theatre stage was festooned in holiday décor—including four, large, snow-laden, lit-up Christmas trees upstage; the apron of the stage trimmed with garlands of greens and tiny rainbow lights; dozens of live poinsettia plants; and a larger-than-life snowman. Sharon McNight was honored that night as a hero in the fight against AIDS with the Peggy Ermet Memorial Award. McNight has been active in the fight against AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Whenever she has been asked, she has stepped forward to perform, speak, or otherwise join in the fight. Like so many of us, McNight has lost many dear friends to this terrible disease and it’s a personal battle that truly comes from her heart. She has performed in seven “Help is on the Way” events. Kechia Ley received the Outstanding Volunteer Award. Ley has been an invaluable resource in supporting REAF’s live and silent auctions. In her position at Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, a long-time sponsor of REAF events, she has acted as a lead liaison in soliciting many auction items.
Tia Riebling (Grease/Les Miserablés) and Michael Lynch (Les Miserablés/Fiddler on the Roof) began the program with a love duet of “Just in Time for Christmas” (“You came along and showed me what Christmas is about”). Then out came diminutive Leslie Jordan of TV’s Will & Grace and Boston Legal, as well as film’s hysterical Sordid Lives, as a large elf for his “I Swish You a Merry Christmas” set. He removed his big elf hat so we could see his face and he could expound on his woes as being labeled a sissy with a sibilant setback—a child whose pronunciation of words with “s” in them came out hissing all silly and nelly.
Cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield, for her sixth REAF appearance, gorgeously sang a cappella the sacred “Some Children See Him” (the savior, differently, as black, white, yellow, etc., but all love him). Cabaret, recording star Shawn Ryan was hilariously haughty with “My Simple Christmas Wish,” which was not world peace as one might expect, but rather landing a gig without auditioning and ass-kissing, that made big money and allowed him to be a real bitch! He wanted “to be rich, famous, and powerful.” Yeah, don’t we all?! And his comic bit dishing Oprah and Barbra was simply sidesplitting. Then changing the mood back to serious, singer/actor Adam Lambert (Hair/Brigadoon/The Ten Commandments/Wicked) gave us “O Holy Night” with an amazing high tenor and brought us to our knees when he sang, “Fall on your knees” with a rock beat. But the highlight of the first act was surely Sharon McNight doing her classic “Wizard of Oz Medley,” which this reviewer can recall from the old Fanny’s Castro cabaret club days. To the accompaniment of the veteran Joan Edgar on piano, McNight managed to imitate the voices and mannerisms of almost all the characters from the scene of Dorothy’s fateful landing in Munchkin Land—from Miss Gale herself to the wicked witch to Glinda to both baby and mature munchkins, complete with McNight’s sound effects. Just awesome!
The second act began with the Barbary Coast Cloggers, an all-male Appalachian-style troupe, looking like they came right off the set for Brokeback Mountain with their jeans, suspenders, flannel shirts, and cowboy hats. They whooped it up with line dances and partner dances to “Bucket to the South” and “Banjo Buck,” getting the audience to clapping and stomping along with them. Cabaret and blues artist Tim Hockenberry sang “Christmas by the Bay” in that sultry, smoky voice of his with its composer, Nolan Gasser, on piano. The song referred to the landmark attractions of SF and what a magical, romantic city it is by night. Gaines returned to sing the inspirational “We Can Be Kind” in his sweet lyric tenor: “Together we’ll weather whatever tomorrow may bring.” Stefanie Powers of TV’s Hart To Hart and 28 feature films sang the musical question: “What Are You Dong New Year’s Eve?” with the timely lyrics “Maybe it’s early in the game, but I thought I’d ask you just the same,” hoping she’d “stand a chance to have a dance.”
Recording star and founding member of The Supremes, Mary Wilson, sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with my favorite homophilic line: “Make the yuletide GAY!” and the bittersweet lyrics that certainly apply to this fundraiser against AIDS: “Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow.” Adams and Lambert returned to sing Carole King’s upbeat “You’ve Got a Friend,” just like REAF is such a friend to those in need. Their voices were the perfect blend, especially when the duo really boomed out. Susan Anton of Broadway (Will Rogers Follies), TV (Baywatch), and film (Cannonball Run II) showed off her powerful, rich, sexy, belt-out voice with a very bluesy, torchy “Since I Fell for You,” desperately clutching a Santa’s hat as a prop, indicating the love of her life was gone. But not to fear, because Santa showed up at the end to take her in his arms. American Idol finalist La Toya London showcased her flawless phrasing in her jazzy version of “Silent Night,” and then began “White Christmas” as a lead-in for the entire cast to walk on stage and sing along. The house gave a standing, stomping ovation to a stellar show that truly entertained and raised lots of money for the three deserving AIDS beneficiaries.
Tia Riebling (Grease/Les Miserablés) and Michael Lynch (Les Miserablés/Fiddler on the Roof) began the program with a love duet of “Just in Time for Christmas” (“You came along and showed me what Christmas is about”). Then out came diminutive Leslie Jordan of TV’s Will & Grace and Boston Legal, as well as film’s hysterical Sordid Lives, as a large elf for his “I Swish You a Merry Christmas” set. He removed his big elf hat so we could see his face and he could expound on his woes as being labeled a sissy with a sibilant setback—a child whose pronunciation of words with “s” in them came out hissing all silly and nelly.
Cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield, for her sixth REAF appearance, gorgeously sang a cappella the sacred “Some Children See Him” (the savior, differently, as black, white, yellow, etc., but all love him). Cabaret, recording star Shawn Ryan was hilariously haughty with “My Simple Christmas Wish,” which was not world peace as one might expect, but rather landing a gig without auditioning and ass-kissing, that made big money and allowed him to be a real bitch! He wanted “to be rich, famous, and powerful.” Yeah, don’t we all?! And his comic bit dishing Oprah and Barbra was simply sidesplitting. Then changing the mood back to serious, singer/actor Adam Lambert (Hair/Brigadoon/The Ten Commandments/Wicked) gave us “O Holy Night” with an amazing high tenor and brought us to our knees when he sang, “Fall on your knees” with a rock beat. But the highlight of the first act was surely Sharon McNight doing her classic “Wizard of Oz Medley,” which this reviewer can recall from the old Fanny’s Castro cabaret club days. To the accompaniment of the veteran Joan Edgar on piano, McNight managed to imitate the voices and mannerisms of almost all the characters from the scene of Dorothy’s fateful landing in Munchkin Land—from Miss Gale herself to the wicked witch to Glinda to both baby and mature munchkins, complete with McNight’s sound effects. Just awesome!
The second act began with the Barbary Coast Cloggers, an all-male Appalachian-style troupe, looking like they came right off the set for Brokeback Mountain with their jeans, suspenders, flannel shirts, and cowboy hats. They whooped it up with line dances and partner dances to “Bucket to the South” and “Banjo Buck,” getting the audience to clapping and stomping along with them. Cabaret and blues artist Tim Hockenberry sang “Christmas by the Bay” in that sultry, smoky voice of his with its composer, Nolan Gasser, on piano. The song referred to the landmark attractions of SF and what a magical, romantic city it is by night. Gaines returned to sing the inspirational “We Can Be Kind” in his sweet lyric tenor: “Together we’ll weather whatever tomorrow may bring.” Stefanie Powers of TV’s Hart To Hart and 28 feature films sang the musical question: “What Are You Dong New Year’s Eve?” with the timely lyrics “Maybe it’s early in the game, but I thought I’d ask you just the same,” hoping she’d “stand a chance to have a dance.”
Recording star and founding member of The Supremes, Mary Wilson, sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with my favorite homophilic line: “Make the yuletide GAY!” and the bittersweet lyrics that certainly apply to this fundraiser against AIDS: “Through the years, we all will be together, if the fates allow.” Adams and Lambert returned to sing Carole King’s upbeat “You’ve Got a Friend,” just like REAF is such a friend to those in need. Their voices were the perfect blend, especially when the duo really boomed out. Susan Anton of Broadway (Will Rogers Follies), TV (Baywatch), and film (Cannonball Run II) showed off her powerful, rich, sexy, belt-out voice with a very bluesy, torchy “Since I Fell for You,” desperately clutching a Santa’s hat as a prop, indicating the love of her life was gone. But not to fear, because Santa showed up at the end to take her in his arms. American Idol finalist La Toya London showcased her flawless phrasing in her jazzy version of “Silent Night,” and then began “White Christmas” as a lead-in for the entire cast to walk on stage and sing along. The house gave a standing, stomping ovation to a stellar show that truly entertained and raised lots of money for the three deserving AIDS beneficiaries.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Help Is on the Way for the Holidays VII
The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation is happy to announce two new cast members. Mary Wilson and Catte Adams join the cast of "Help Is on the Way for the Holidays VII." They join a cast of Grammy, Emmy, Tony, & Oscar winner, Rita Moreno, American Idol finalist La Toya London, TV/film stars Stefanie Powers and Leslie Jordan, Broadway stars Susan Anton, Lisa Vroman, Davis Gaines, and local favorites Sharon Mcnight, Wesla Whitfield and Tim Hockenberry as well as principal dancers from San Francisco Ballet. Tickets for the performance and Gala dessert reception with the cast start at $100. Show tickets, $45-$65. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., SF. 415-392-4400. cityboxoffice.com. www.helpisontheway.org.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Open Your Hart (to Hart) This Holiday Season
Here at SFist, we'll admit to a bias toward events where fabulousness and social conscience go hand in hand. That's why we're looking forward to Sunday night, when The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation is presenting Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII. Northern California’s largest annual Aids benefit concert, this night of performances from stage and screen stars will benefit the HIV/AIDS Program at Children’s Hospital Oakland, Project Inform, and Maitri.
You can take in this "all-star holiday benefit concert" Sunday, December 4 at 7:30, at the Herbst Theater. As for the star power of the event, there's a lot of them, but w're especially intrigued by the prospect of performances from Susan Anton and Stefanie Powers -- and, hey, don't forget Oakland's own LaToya London!
General admission tickets are $45 and $65, and will get you into the pre-show silent auction at 5:30, with the show starting at 7:30. For the $100 (and up) Host Underwriter tickets, there's even a post-performance party with the cast in the Green Room of the War Memorial Building featuring complimentary wine, champagne and desserts (and we know you can make up that $55 difference in food, booze, and starf**king), from 9:30-11:30.
You can take in this "all-star holiday benefit concert" Sunday, December 4 at 7:30, at the Herbst Theater. As for the star power of the event, there's a lot of them, but w're especially intrigued by the prospect of performances from Susan Anton and Stefanie Powers -- and, hey, don't forget Oakland's own LaToya London!
General admission tickets are $45 and $65, and will get you into the pre-show silent auction at 5:30, with the show starting at 7:30. For the $100 (and up) Host Underwriter tickets, there's even a post-performance party with the cast in the Green Room of the War Memorial Building featuring complimentary wine, champagne and desserts (and we know you can make up that $55 difference in food, booze, and starf**king), from 9:30-11:30.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Review: Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season
In the retrospective featurette that graces the new DVD set of Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season, creator Sidney Sheldon accurately describes the sort of winky, black-tie tone he was aiming for in this serialized, early ’80s knock-off of The Thin Man films, in which Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers played a globe-trotting, make-cute husband and wife duo whose substantial personal fortune allows them to play amateur sleuths. With this in mind, the laidback charms of this show (after all, as the opening credit narration from co-star Lionel Stander cheerily notes of the Harts, “murder is their hobby”) can wash pleasantly over viewers seeking to relive their small screen past, when rakishness was embraced rather than castigated.
Wagner stars as Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire who is utterly bored with the business world. He runs his conglomeration of industries by loose proxy, leaving him the time to tend his magnificent coif and live a life of luxury and indulged inquisitiveness with his wife Jennifer (Powers), a former freelance journalist and his intellectual equal. Stander is their butler and sidekick, Max, who blends fruit-and-Jack-Daniels smoothies and is quick with a quip. While so many investigatory shows — be they cop, private investigator or, these days, forensic scientist — are little more than colorfully convoluted procedurals, one thing that’s notable about Hart to Hart is the amount of time it took to establish and delight in character. The cases the Harts tackle, therefore, are actually a little less than half the story, as the mock-exasperated interplay between the stars is what gives the show its true zing. The (little) action is dated and silly, sure, and the occasional stunt doubles among the worst you’ll ever see, but Hart to Hart has a great sense of its own style and mission.
While not without its low points (“Which Way, Freeway?,” wherein the Harts’ dog exposes an elaborate scheme to kill a reclusive jeweler and steal millions of dollars in gems, comes to mind), Hart to Hart works chiefly because of its leads. Wagner plays Hart in breezy, Steve McQueen-lite fashion, which isn’t as backhanded a compliment as it sounds; vacuumed free of his complications and surliness, one could see how the character of Hart — and indeed, this series — was a success with audiences, if never quite a critical darling. While it suffered some rocky reviews early on, Hart to Hart eventually went on to score six Emmy nominations and more than a dozen Golden Globe nods. Episode highlights here include a great opening pilot, “A New Kind of High,” “Hit Jennifer Hart,” “Cruise at Your Own Risk” and “With This Gun I Thee Wed.”
The full-frame transfers of the show look surprisingly good given their age, and the audio (in English and… Portuguese, with subtitles in the latter?) is equally crisp. Wagner and Powers sit with writer-director Tom Mankiewicz for a warm audio commentary track on the two-hour pilot. An abundance of anecdotes are shared (after a location set fire early during the shoot, the director of photography used gaffer tape to amend his novelty, pre-show crew T-shirt from, “I have complete confidence in my director” to read “some confidence”), and the banter between the three (“Did you learn that in star school?” jibes Powers to Wagner at one point) is loving and humorous. This track is a veritable blueprint for multi-party effectiveness, so balanced is it between yarns, interesting insight and quantifiable information. The aforementioned retrospective featurette clocks in at 22 minutes, and includes interviews with the stars, plus Mankiewicz, Sheldon, executive producer Leonard Goldberg and others. It too is a fantastic look back at the series, and a model of economic re-visitation — not too long, not too short.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Review: The King and I
The King and I
(Prudential Hall, NJPAC; Newark, N.J.; 2,750 seats; $35 top)
A New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Atlanta's Theater of Stars and Independent Presenters Network presentation of a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Baayork Lee.
Captain Orton, Sir Edward Ramsey - Hal Davis
Louis Leonowens - Patrick Scott Minor
Anna Leonowens - Stefanie Powers
The Interpreter - Scott Kitajima
The Kralahome - Ronald M. Banks
The Royal Dancer - Jessica Wu
The King of Siam - Ronobir Lahiri
Lun Tha - Martin Sola
Tuptim - Nita Baxani
Lady Thiang - Catherine MiEun Choi
Prince Chululongkorn - Allan Mangaser
Princess Ying Yaowlak - Daphne Chen
Fan Dancer - Kumi Kimura
Winding up a 22-city cross-country tour, "The King and I""The King And I" has settled down in Newark with a perfectly lovely Victorian schoolmarm at the helmhelm and the luscious legacy of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's durable score. The lavish bus and truck production has comfortably weathered the half-century mark bolstered by picturesque design and Baayork Lee's well-focused staging.
Anna Leonowens, the dauntless schoolteacher imported from Britain to Siam to educatethe king's expansive household of children, is played with considerable spunk by Stefanie Powers. In addition to the right mix of reserve and stately beauty, she also possesses a lovely soprano voice, only glimpsed when she appeared as Margo Channing in a Paper Mill Playhouse production of "Applause" a few seasons back.
Powers' widowed tutor reveals maternal warmth when she gathers the children about her to "Whistle a Happy Tune." There's witty defiance in the response to her employer's demands, "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" and most embracing is her tender blessing to the star-crossed sweethearts, "Hello, Young Lovers."
The king is no longer quite the star turn once fashioned by Yul Brynner. Ronobir Lahiri is perhaps the most youthful in a long line of theatrical kings. He's certainly not a cuddly emperor, and manages to conveyarrogance and royal authority. But the childish needling humor and warm condescension never seem to successfully surface. His delightful, quizzical delivery of "A Puzzlement," however, is everything it should be.
Catherine MiEun Choi is a wise Lady Thiang, and she makes "Something Wonderful" exactly that. As Tuptim, the errant princess, Nita Baxani together with Martin Sola as her doomed lover deliver two of the most sensuous ballads in the R&H canon, "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." The romantic fervor of the theater's golden age survives with considerable distinction.
A batch of barefoot tots scurry across the stage representing a small parcel of the king's 60-some offspring. The extraordinary capacity of Rodgers' melodies to charm and seduce an audience is in evidence as they enter the throne room in "The March of the Siamese Children."
Director Lee, who appeared in the original Broadway production at the age of 5 and is best known for creating the role of Connie in "A Chorus Line," has harnessed the show's physical beauty and its intrinsic exotic flavor.
Still the centerpiece of act two, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet parody, as originally choreographed by Jerome Robbins, remains an engaging sideshow
Kenneth Foy's bejeweled set design is especially sumptuous for a traveling company. The picture-postcard Thailand is richly dressed with golden Buddha statues and high-columned anterooms for visual allure, enhanced by Roger Kirk's traditional period costumes and sweeping hoop skirts.
Sets, Kenneth Foy; costumes, Roger Kirk; lighting, John McLain; sound, Abe Jacob, Mark Cowburn; musical supervision, Kevin Farrell; production stage manager, John W. Calder III. Opened Nov. 8, 2005. Reviewed Nov. 10, Running time: 2 HOURS 35 MIN.
With: Michiko Takemasa, Greg Zane, Kim Jones, Amy Chang, Jessica Wu, Yuki Ozeki, Nicholas Cook, Jellyn Echon, Eric Liew, Carol Nelson, Jacquelyn Zen, Eileen Ward, Enrique Acevedo, Andrew Cheng, Edward Dias, Vivien Eng, Kuma Kimora, Scott Kitajima, LaToya D. Martin, Christine Nuki, Rommel Ochoa, Mayumi Omagan, Yuki Ozeki, Mata RS Perkins, Joshua Schutteis, Nancy Yang, Zhenjun Zhang.
(Prudential Hall, NJPAC; Newark, N.J.; 2,750 seats; $35 top)
A New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Atlanta's Theater of Stars and Independent Presenters Network presentation of a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Baayork Lee.
Captain Orton, Sir Edward Ramsey - Hal Davis
Louis Leonowens - Patrick Scott Minor
Anna Leonowens - Stefanie Powers
The Interpreter - Scott Kitajima
The Kralahome - Ronald M. Banks
The Royal Dancer - Jessica Wu
The King of Siam - Ronobir Lahiri
Lun Tha - Martin Sola
Tuptim - Nita Baxani
Lady Thiang - Catherine MiEun Choi
Prince Chululongkorn - Allan Mangaser
Princess Ying Yaowlak - Daphne Chen
Fan Dancer - Kumi Kimura
Winding up a 22-city cross-country tour, "The King and I""The King And I" has settled down in Newark with a perfectly lovely Victorian schoolmarm at the helmhelm and the luscious legacy of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's durable score. The lavish bus and truck production has comfortably weathered the half-century mark bolstered by picturesque design and Baayork Lee's well-focused staging.
Anna Leonowens, the dauntless schoolteacher imported from Britain to Siam to educatethe king's expansive household of children, is played with considerable spunk by Stefanie Powers. In addition to the right mix of reserve and stately beauty, she also possesses a lovely soprano voice, only glimpsed when she appeared as Margo Channing in a Paper Mill Playhouse production of "Applause" a few seasons back.
Powers' widowed tutor reveals maternal warmth when she gathers the children about her to "Whistle a Happy Tune." There's witty defiance in the response to her employer's demands, "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" and most embracing is her tender blessing to the star-crossed sweethearts, "Hello, Young Lovers."
The king is no longer quite the star turn once fashioned by Yul Brynner. Ronobir Lahiri is perhaps the most youthful in a long line of theatrical kings. He's certainly not a cuddly emperor, and manages to conveyarrogance and royal authority. But the childish needling humor and warm condescension never seem to successfully surface. His delightful, quizzical delivery of "A Puzzlement," however, is everything it should be.
Catherine MiEun Choi is a wise Lady Thiang, and she makes "Something Wonderful" exactly that. As Tuptim, the errant princess, Nita Baxani together with Martin Sola as her doomed lover deliver two of the most sensuous ballads in the R&H canon, "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." The romantic fervor of the theater's golden age survives with considerable distinction.
A batch of barefoot tots scurry across the stage representing a small parcel of the king's 60-some offspring. The extraordinary capacity of Rodgers' melodies to charm and seduce an audience is in evidence as they enter the throne room in "The March of the Siamese Children."
Director Lee, who appeared in the original Broadway production at the age of 5 and is best known for creating the role of Connie in "A Chorus Line," has harnessed the show's physical beauty and its intrinsic exotic flavor.
Still the centerpiece of act two, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet parody, as originally choreographed by Jerome Robbins, remains an engaging sideshow
Kenneth Foy's bejeweled set design is especially sumptuous for a traveling company. The picture-postcard Thailand is richly dressed with golden Buddha statues and high-columned anterooms for visual allure, enhanced by Roger Kirk's traditional period costumes and sweeping hoop skirts.
Sets, Kenneth Foy; costumes, Roger Kirk; lighting, John McLain; sound, Abe Jacob, Mark Cowburn; musical supervision, Kevin Farrell; production stage manager, John W. Calder III. Opened Nov. 8, 2005. Reviewed Nov. 10, Running time: 2 HOURS 35 MIN.
With: Michiko Takemasa, Greg Zane, Kim Jones, Amy Chang, Jessica Wu, Yuki Ozeki, Nicholas Cook, Jellyn Echon, Eric Liew, Carol Nelson, Jacquelyn Zen, Eileen Ward, Enrique Acevedo, Andrew Cheng, Edward Dias, Vivien Eng, Kuma Kimora, Scott Kitajima, LaToya D. Martin, Christine Nuki, Rommel Ochoa, Mayumi Omagan, Yuki Ozeki, Mata RS Perkins, Joshua Schutteis, Nancy Yang, Zhenjun Zhang.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Warning Shot on DVD
Warning Shot was released on DVD earlier this month.
Cast and Crew
David Janssen...Sgt. Tom Valens
Ed Begley...Capt. Roy Klodin
Keenan Wynn...Sgt. Ed Musso
Sam Wanamaker...Frank Sanderman
Lillian Gish...Alice Willows
Stefanie Powers...Liz Thayer
Eleanor Parker...Mrs. Doris Ruston
George Grizzard...Walt Cody
George Sanders...Calvin York
Steve Allen...Perry Knowland
Carroll O'Connor...Paul Jerez
Joan Collins...Joanie Valens
Walter Pidgeon...Orville Ames
Vito Scotti...Designer
David Garfield...Police Surgeon
Bob Williams...Judge Gerald Lucas
Jerry Dunphy...Himself - TV newscaster
Romo Vincent...Ira Garvin
Jean Carson...Cocktail Waitress
Donald Curtis...Dr. James B. Ruston
Brian Dunne...Philip 'Rusty' Ruston
Cast and Crew
David Janssen...Sgt. Tom Valens
Ed Begley...Capt. Roy Klodin
Keenan Wynn...Sgt. Ed Musso
Sam Wanamaker...Frank Sanderman
Lillian Gish...Alice Willows
Stefanie Powers...Liz Thayer
Eleanor Parker...Mrs. Doris Ruston
George Grizzard...Walt Cody
George Sanders...Calvin York
Steve Allen...Perry Knowland
Carroll O'Connor...Paul Jerez
Joan Collins...Joanie Valens
Walter Pidgeon...Orville Ames
Vito Scotti...Designer
David Garfield...Police Surgeon
Bob Williams...Judge Gerald Lucas
Jerry Dunphy...Himself - TV newscaster
Romo Vincent...Ira Garvin
Jean Carson...Cocktail Waitress
Donald Curtis...Dr. James B. Ruston
Brian Dunne...Philip 'Rusty' Ruston
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Stefanie in San Francisco
Stefanie will be performing in San Francisco.
The Richmond/Ermet Aids Foundation presents "Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII" on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 7:30 pm at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue.
For more information go to:
http://www.richmondermet.org/reaf10.1/HelpHol7.htm
Tickets can be purchased through the City Box Office at 415-392-4400 or your can go on-line at www.cityboxoffice.com.
The Richmond/Ermet Aids Foundation presents "Help is on the Way for the Holidays VII" on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at 7:30 pm at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue.
For more information go to:
http://www.richmondermet.org/reaf10.1/HelpHol7.htm
Tickets can be purchased through the City Box Office at 415-392-4400 or your can go on-line at www.cityboxoffice.com.
Friday, November 04, 2005
The Powers that be Anna
With Stefanie in title role, emphasis returns to the 'I' in 'The King and I'
She'll miss the role and the songs -- and the children. She'll not forget the children, as the lyric goes.
But Stefanie Powers, who next week wraps up her 10-month national tour as Mrs. Anna in "The King and I" at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, won't spend any time yearning for the costume.
"That big hooped skirt weighs a ton," she says. "Then there's the pantaloons underneath it. And you have to wear a corset to keep everything up.
"Of course," she says, "one never knows if you're really hanging up the hoops for good. I thought I was hanging them up after the first time I did the part."
That was in London in 2002, when she took over for Elaine Paige. Then came a tour of England. Last December, when Sandy Duncan wanted to leave this American tour, Powers agreed to once more portray the embattled English schoolteacher who finds that the King of Siam isn't an easy person to have as a boss.
"I stress Anna's frustration," she says. "The King is no one's fool, and while he's not English, he is capable of running his country. At this moment in her life, Anna is without many alternatives in making a living, supporting her son, and maintaining a standard in her life. She was not privileged, or in a position to return to England, so she lives a very precarious life with not many opportunities, despite her education."
Powers, who turned 63 on Wednesday, says Anna is the lead of the show.
"Gertrude Lawrence was the original star of the piece -- and even brought the project to Rodgers and Hammerstein in the first place," she says. "However, over the years it became the King's show, because Yul Brynner made himself the focus, and played it over 4,000 times. Twelve years ago, Clear Channel (the tour's producer) wanted to put the emphasis back where it started -- on Anna."
That seems to be what Rodgers and Hammerstein intended. The King, after all, sings only one song -- "A Puzzlement" -- while Anna gets four of the show's biggest hits: "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance?" (Granted, the King -- here portrayed by Ronobir Lahiri -- partners her in the last-named song.)
"I love doing that polka because it comes so naturally to me -- probably because I'm Polish," says the former Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz.
Powers finds an irony in replicating Jerome Robbins' original choreography, here restaged by Baayork Lee, who was one of the Siamese children in the original 1951 Broadway production.
"I once worked for Mr. Robbins, when he hired me (in 1960) when I was a teenager to be a Jet Girl in the 'West Side Story' movie," she says of the time when her stage name was Taffy Paul. "I was the only minor on the set. He was a very tough man, and a taskmaster who took no prisoners. It was a baptism of fire for me, because he eventually replaced me. Still, I consider it a mixed pleasure to have worked with Mr. Robbins. I wouldn't trade the agony of it all for the experience I had just being there, seeing how hard everyone worked."
Although she took a self-imposed year of exile after the firing, she re-emerged with her new name to do some films ("Experiment in Terror," "Palm Springs Weekend") and TV shows -- becoming a genuine star when portraying Jennifer the journalist in "Hart to Hart," the 1979-84 TV series with Robert Wagner.
"That's what people mention when they come to the stage door after the show," she says. "'When's "Hart to Hart" coming out on DVD?' I'm so glad it just did."
She'll miss the role and the songs -- and the children. She'll not forget the children, as the lyric goes.
But Stefanie Powers, who next week wraps up her 10-month national tour as Mrs. Anna in "The King and I" at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, won't spend any time yearning for the costume.
"That big hooped skirt weighs a ton," she says. "Then there's the pantaloons underneath it. And you have to wear a corset to keep everything up.
"Of course," she says, "one never knows if you're really hanging up the hoops for good. I thought I was hanging them up after the first time I did the part."
That was in London in 2002, when she took over for Elaine Paige. Then came a tour of England. Last December, when Sandy Duncan wanted to leave this American tour, Powers agreed to once more portray the embattled English schoolteacher who finds that the King of Siam isn't an easy person to have as a boss.
"I stress Anna's frustration," she says. "The King is no one's fool, and while he's not English, he is capable of running his country. At this moment in her life, Anna is without many alternatives in making a living, supporting her son, and maintaining a standard in her life. She was not privileged, or in a position to return to England, so she lives a very precarious life with not many opportunities, despite her education."
Powers, who turned 63 on Wednesday, says Anna is the lead of the show.
"Gertrude Lawrence was the original star of the piece -- and even brought the project to Rodgers and Hammerstein in the first place," she says. "However, over the years it became the King's show, because Yul Brynner made himself the focus, and played it over 4,000 times. Twelve years ago, Clear Channel (the tour's producer) wanted to put the emphasis back where it started -- on Anna."
That seems to be what Rodgers and Hammerstein intended. The King, after all, sings only one song -- "A Puzzlement" -- while Anna gets four of the show's biggest hits: "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Hello, Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance?" (Granted, the King -- here portrayed by Ronobir Lahiri -- partners her in the last-named song.)
"I love doing that polka because it comes so naturally to me -- probably because I'm Polish," says the former Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz.
Powers finds an irony in replicating Jerome Robbins' original choreography, here restaged by Baayork Lee, who was one of the Siamese children in the original 1951 Broadway production.
"I once worked for Mr. Robbins, when he hired me (in 1960) when I was a teenager to be a Jet Girl in the 'West Side Story' movie," she says of the time when her stage name was Taffy Paul. "I was the only minor on the set. He was a very tough man, and a taskmaster who took no prisoners. It was a baptism of fire for me, because he eventually replaced me. Still, I consider it a mixed pleasure to have worked with Mr. Robbins. I wouldn't trade the agony of it all for the experience I had just being there, seeing how hard everyone worked."
Although she took a self-imposed year of exile after the firing, she re-emerged with her new name to do some films ("Experiment in Terror," "Palm Springs Weekend") and TV shows -- becoming a genuine star when portraying Jennifer the journalist in "Hart to Hart," the 1979-84 TV series with Robert Wagner.
"That's what people mention when they come to the stage door after the show," she says. "'When's "Hart to Hart" coming out on DVD?' I'm so glad it just did."
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Pleasurable 'King' lacks spark
The resplendent textures, gilded Buddhas and elephant figurines evoking Bangkok provide one facet of a multitude of pleasures in the latest touring production of the classic Broadway musical, "The King and I."
But the show has a key fault -- the lack of sexual tension between the King of Siam and the British governess who arrives in 19th-century Thailand to teach his throng of children.
The last time the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical rolled into town, in 1998, English actress Hayley Mills played Anna Leonowens, the adventurous Welsh widow who accepts a job offer from the inquisitive but stubborn King of Siam, known as "Lord of Light" and ruler of all things in his country.
This time, the PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville presentation at the Kentucky Center features Stefanie Powers as Anna.
Mills had a winning spunkiness but an untrained and unimpressive singing voice. Powers, best known for her role on television's "Hart to Hart," brings a lofty bearing to the role as well as the musical pipes to sing Anna's half-dozen songs, including the poignantly beautiful "Hello, Young Lovers" and the cheerful but tricky "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
Powers is fun to watch, especially when she privately imagines giving the king a piece of her mind while wearing pantaloons and singing "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You."
The problem with this show, however, lies in the scenes between Powers' Anna and Ronobir Lahiri's King. The undercurrent of danger and physical attraction that made the Yul Brynner-Deborah Kerr movie so enchanting and memorable is missing in this version, directed by Baayork Lee, who appeared in the original "The King and I" as the youngest princess.
Lahiri is considerably shorter than Powers and less than commanding. At Tuesday night's opening performance, he failed to crisply articulate "A Puzzlement," and his singing was lost in the orchestration. He's best when quipping about his multitude of children, but it's disappointing that Lahiri, who has an impressive list of film and stage credits -- and who played this role opposite Powers on a United Kingdom tour and was the understudy on Broadway in 1997 -- projects such a tepid presence as the King of Siam.
Compensating pleasures are found in the performances of Nita Baxani and Martin Sola as the sympathetic "young lovers" who sing "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." Catherine MiEun Choi provides a sense of compassionate wisdom with an affecting "Something Wonderful." And the sparkling, instructive Act II number, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas," in which slavery is condemned, is among the most charming scenes of all in the nearly three-hour show.
But the show has a key fault -- the lack of sexual tension between the King of Siam and the British governess who arrives in 19th-century Thailand to teach his throng of children.
The last time the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical rolled into town, in 1998, English actress Hayley Mills played Anna Leonowens, the adventurous Welsh widow who accepts a job offer from the inquisitive but stubborn King of Siam, known as "Lord of Light" and ruler of all things in his country.
This time, the PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville presentation at the Kentucky Center features Stefanie Powers as Anna.
Mills had a winning spunkiness but an untrained and unimpressive singing voice. Powers, best known for her role on television's "Hart to Hart," brings a lofty bearing to the role as well as the musical pipes to sing Anna's half-dozen songs, including the poignantly beautiful "Hello, Young Lovers" and the cheerful but tricky "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
Powers is fun to watch, especially when she privately imagines giving the king a piece of her mind while wearing pantaloons and singing "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You."
The problem with this show, however, lies in the scenes between Powers' Anna and Ronobir Lahiri's King. The undercurrent of danger and physical attraction that made the Yul Brynner-Deborah Kerr movie so enchanting and memorable is missing in this version, directed by Baayork Lee, who appeared in the original "The King and I" as the youngest princess.
Lahiri is considerably shorter than Powers and less than commanding. At Tuesday night's opening performance, he failed to crisply articulate "A Puzzlement," and his singing was lost in the orchestration. He's best when quipping about his multitude of children, but it's disappointing that Lahiri, who has an impressive list of film and stage credits -- and who played this role opposite Powers on a United Kingdom tour and was the understudy on Broadway in 1997 -- projects such a tepid presence as the King of Siam.
Compensating pleasures are found in the performances of Nita Baxani and Martin Sola as the sympathetic "young lovers" who sing "We Kiss in a Shadow" and "I Have Dreamed." Catherine MiEun Choi provides a sense of compassionate wisdom with an affecting "Something Wonderful." And the sparkling, instructive Act II number, "The Small House of Uncle Thomas," in which slavery is condemned, is among the most charming scenes of all in the nearly three-hour show.
Powers loved McLintock
Actress Stefanie Powers says her happiest working experience on a movie came in 1963 when she played John Wayne's daughter in the comic western McLintock.
She also says she will never forget the close chemistry between Wayne and his favorite leading lady, Maureen O'Hara, and reveals that it influenced the rapport she later established with Robert Wagner for their hit television series, Hart To Hart.
Powers makes her comments in a fascinating interview contained in the new special DVD edition of McLintock just released by Paramount Home Entertainment. O'Hara, now 85, also discusses her long friendship with Wayne and her role in this film as cattle Baron George Washington McLintock's estranged and domineering wife.
The movie, a raucous frontier reworking of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew, is an anachronism by current standards -- breaking the rules of political correctness right and left. Indeed its screenwriter James Edward Grant once famously commented: "All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knee and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes...."
But O'Hara makes no apologies about the spanking scene or the sequence where she is covered in mud. She makes it clear that she adored Wayne.
McLintock has never looked its best in previous DVD and VHS releases because of bad transfers. This time it looks excellent. It's also very good value, considering the special features, which include interviews with Powers and O'Hara, a biography of the Duke's producer son, Michael Wayne, and commentary featuring the voices of critic Leonard Maltin and film historian Frank Thompson.
She also says she will never forget the close chemistry between Wayne and his favorite leading lady, Maureen O'Hara, and reveals that it influenced the rapport she later established with Robert Wagner for their hit television series, Hart To Hart.
Powers makes her comments in a fascinating interview contained in the new special DVD edition of McLintock just released by Paramount Home Entertainment. O'Hara, now 85, also discusses her long friendship with Wayne and her role in this film as cattle Baron George Washington McLintock's estranged and domineering wife.
The movie, a raucous frontier reworking of Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew, is an anachronism by current standards -- breaking the rules of political correctness right and left. Indeed its screenwriter James Edward Grant once famously commented: "All you gotta have in a John Wayne picture is a hoity-toity dame with big tits that Duke can throw over his knee and spank, and a collection of jerks he can smash in the face every five minutes...."
But O'Hara makes no apologies about the spanking scene or the sequence where she is covered in mud. She makes it clear that she adored Wayne.
McLintock has never looked its best in previous DVD and VHS releases because of bad transfers. This time it looks excellent. It's also very good value, considering the special features, which include interviews with Powers and O'Hara, a biography of the Duke's producer son, Michael Wayne, and commentary featuring the voices of critic Leonard Maltin and film historian Frank Thompson.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Stefanie,
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Stefanie,
Happy birthday to you.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
'The King and I' - Louisville, KY
Stefanie Powers -- yes, the same actress who starred in TV's "Hart to Hart" and "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." -- plays "I" in the PNC Bank Broadway in Louisville touring production of "The King and I."
Powers' role as Anna the determined governess will be complemented by Ronobir Lahiri's role as the King of Siam.
The musical opens today and runs through Sunday at the Kentucky Center. It is filled with many memorable songs, including "Shall We Dance?" "Getting to Know You" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
IF YOU GO
'The King and I'
When: Performances will be at 8 p.m. today through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center, Sixth and Main streets.
Admission: Tickets are $21.75 to $56.75. Call (502) 584-7777 or visit www.kentuckycenter.org.
Powers' role as Anna the determined governess will be complemented by Ronobir Lahiri's role as the King of Siam.
The musical opens today and runs through Sunday at the Kentucky Center. It is filled with many memorable songs, including "Shall We Dance?" "Getting to Know You" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
IF YOU GO
'The King and I'
When: Performances will be at 8 p.m. today through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Whitney Hall at the Kentucky Center, Sixth and Main streets.
Admission: Tickets are $21.75 to $56.75. Call (502) 584-7777 or visit www.kentuckycenter.org.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Powers reveals what makes 'King' so special
Stefanie Powers, a Hollywood native best known as the co-star of the TV series "Hart to Hart," isn't interested in answering personal questions.
The auburn-haired singer, animal-lover and multilingual president of the Kenya-based William Holden Wildlife Foundation preferred in a recent interview to talk about the musical "The King and I."
Powers plays Anna, governess to the King of Siam's brood of children, in the national tour of the Oscar Hammerstein II-Richard Rodgers musical that opens Tuesday night at the Kentucky Center. Before signing on for the U.S. tour, Powers portrayed Anna on a national tour in the United Kingdom opposite New York actor Ronobir Lahiri, who also plays the King of Siam in this touring production.
"The King and I" first opened on Broadway in 1951 with Gertrude Lawrence as Anna and Yul Brynner as the titular king. It won five Tony Awards, including best musical. A 1956 film adaptation with Brynner and Deborah Kerr won an equal number of Academy Awards.
When she isn't on the road, Powers, who turns 63 on Wednesday, lives in Los Angeles or Kenya. The world traveler has visited Kentucky several times for the Kentucky Derby. She also appeared here with "Hart to Hart" co-star Robert Wagner in the play "Love Letters."
Recently, Powers spent about 20 minutes fielding questions from The Courier-Journal. Here is an edited version of that interview.
Do you have good memories of your past Louisville visits?
Oh, yes. Very positive. We look forward to that beautiful theater. It makes a big difference for us backstage.
Any idea how many interviews you've already given for "The King and I"?
Tons and tons. I don't know how many. You know, I did this in England. I don't know what you've read, but this play was a commission. Gertrude Lawrence was a great Broadway star and she was looking for a vehicle for herself. She bought the rights to the story and commissioned Rodgers and Hammerstein to write it. … The poor thing, she had cancer while they were developing it and died shortly after it opened on Broadway. In the meantime, they had discovered this virtual unknown, Yul Brynner, who did more than 4,000 performances of "The King and I" over his lifetime.
Have you ever been to Thailand yourself?
Many times.
What is special about this touring production?
This probably is the last time that a production of this size and quality -- and having received the "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval from the Rogers and Hammerstein estate -- may be presented. We also have a particular cachet that makes this doubly unusual. This is directed by the woman (Baayork Lee) who as a child was the original Princess Ying Yaowlak, the youngest member of the cast. In addition, the choreographer (Susan Kikuchi) is the daughter of the original lead dancer, who was designated as keeper of the flame for Jerome Robbins' original choreography.
What are the defining traits of Anna in "The King and I"?
Mr. Hammerstein did an extraordinary job of research … and produced the archetypal Colonial British woman of that period. They were very specific. When I was asked to play this in England, I worked with an elocutionist from the National Theatre. … She was of Welsh parentage, born in the Far East. Her parents were in the foreign service and she was married to a British officer.
I live in a former British Colony, Kenya, and have spend a lot of time in former British colonies. … And I suppose that particular arrogance of the Empire was rather prevalent in the way they conducted themselves.
How did you prepare for the role?
The show went along with my curiosity about history. It was a happy marriage and I could intellectually adapt, but I also had to physically adapt. I had never sung operetta before so I worked with opera coaches. I have done lots of musicals but not in this register. I also worked on the posture and decorum of that time period and the ways in which she spoke. It was an interesting journey.
How does the U.S. tour compare with the English tour?
It is very different. This is a huge country and the distances are great. And the comedy (within the show) plays so much better in the United States because it was written by two Americans and it is part of the great American art form.
Is it true that you fluently speak seven languages, including Swahili, Mandarin Chinese and Polish?
I speak fluently about six. I have lost a lot of my Chinese because I don't spend time there.
What do you think is the most common misconception about you?
I don't know. I don't think about myself that much.
The auburn-haired singer, animal-lover and multilingual president of the Kenya-based William Holden Wildlife Foundation preferred in a recent interview to talk about the musical "The King and I."
Powers plays Anna, governess to the King of Siam's brood of children, in the national tour of the Oscar Hammerstein II-Richard Rodgers musical that opens Tuesday night at the Kentucky Center. Before signing on for the U.S. tour, Powers portrayed Anna on a national tour in the United Kingdom opposite New York actor Ronobir Lahiri, who also plays the King of Siam in this touring production.
"The King and I" first opened on Broadway in 1951 with Gertrude Lawrence as Anna and Yul Brynner as the titular king. It won five Tony Awards, including best musical. A 1956 film adaptation with Brynner and Deborah Kerr won an equal number of Academy Awards.
When she isn't on the road, Powers, who turns 63 on Wednesday, lives in Los Angeles or Kenya. The world traveler has visited Kentucky several times for the Kentucky Derby. She also appeared here with "Hart to Hart" co-star Robert Wagner in the play "Love Letters."
Recently, Powers spent about 20 minutes fielding questions from The Courier-Journal. Here is an edited version of that interview.
Do you have good memories of your past Louisville visits?
Oh, yes. Very positive. We look forward to that beautiful theater. It makes a big difference for us backstage.
Any idea how many interviews you've already given for "The King and I"?
Tons and tons. I don't know how many. You know, I did this in England. I don't know what you've read, but this play was a commission. Gertrude Lawrence was a great Broadway star and she was looking for a vehicle for herself. She bought the rights to the story and commissioned Rodgers and Hammerstein to write it. … The poor thing, she had cancer while they were developing it and died shortly after it opened on Broadway. In the meantime, they had discovered this virtual unknown, Yul Brynner, who did more than 4,000 performances of "The King and I" over his lifetime.
Have you ever been to Thailand yourself?
Many times.
What is special about this touring production?
This probably is the last time that a production of this size and quality -- and having received the "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval from the Rogers and Hammerstein estate -- may be presented. We also have a particular cachet that makes this doubly unusual. This is directed by the woman (Baayork Lee) who as a child was the original Princess Ying Yaowlak, the youngest member of the cast. In addition, the choreographer (Susan Kikuchi) is the daughter of the original lead dancer, who was designated as keeper of the flame for Jerome Robbins' original choreography.
What are the defining traits of Anna in "The King and I"?
Mr. Hammerstein did an extraordinary job of research … and produced the archetypal Colonial British woman of that period. They were very specific. When I was asked to play this in England, I worked with an elocutionist from the National Theatre. … She was of Welsh parentage, born in the Far East. Her parents were in the foreign service and she was married to a British officer.
I live in a former British Colony, Kenya, and have spend a lot of time in former British colonies. … And I suppose that particular arrogance of the Empire was rather prevalent in the way they conducted themselves.
How did you prepare for the role?
The show went along with my curiosity about history. It was a happy marriage and I could intellectually adapt, but I also had to physically adapt. I had never sung operetta before so I worked with opera coaches. I have done lots of musicals but not in this register. I also worked on the posture and decorum of that time period and the ways in which she spoke. It was an interesting journey.
How does the U.S. tour compare with the English tour?
It is very different. This is a huge country and the distances are great. And the comedy (within the show) plays so much better in the United States because it was written by two Americans and it is part of the great American art form.
Is it true that you fluently speak seven languages, including Swahili, Mandarin Chinese and Polish?
I speak fluently about six. I have lost a lot of my Chinese because I don't spend time there.
What do you think is the most common misconception about you?
I don't know. I don't think about myself that much.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Orlando: Lacking any passion, production falls flat
Everybody of a certain age loves The King and I.
Just look at the gray-haired woman in front of me at the Carr Performing Arts Centre, where yet another tour of the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical opened Tuesday night. As the orchestra starts to play the first notes of its introduction to "Shall We Dance?," this buttoned-up audience member can't contain herself: She claps in delight.
I know how she feels: "Shall We Dance?" is one of the great numbers in musical theater. But what we're responding to in this version of The King and I isn't on the stage at Carr. It's the ghost of the musical that was.
This particular tour of The King and I is audio-animatronic theater, paint-by-numbers theater -- the kind of theater that faithfully reproduces what you expect to see onstage but leaves out every ounce of the heart. If all you want is to hear somebody sing Rodgers and Hammerstein's glorious songs, this King and I might do for you. But if you want to feel the passion that percolates just below the surface of this beloved musical, you'd be better off renting the film.
You can't fault the handsome production, the scarlet and gold, peacock blue and emerald of the scenic design and the elegant silks of the costumes. Instead, blame the producers for trotting out TV actress Stefanie Powers, whose Anna comes across more as an aging neighbor, always chipper but slightly out of touch, rather than the 30ish governess she's supposed to be. And blame director Baayork Lee, who played one of the smallest children in the original King and I in 1951, when she was 5, but who treats the show like a trusty but not very interesting machine. It's Chevrolet theater, not Porsche.
It's hard to imagine the casting sessions that came up with Powers, who hit her heyday 25 years ago in the TV series Hart to Hart. Surely there are appropriate roles for an attractive actress in her early 60s, despite her quavery, Glynis Johns-like voice. But Anna Leonowens was not yet 30 when she went off to work for the king of Siam, and in the fictionalized version she had a young son in tow. In Orlando, Powers could be her stage son's grandmother -- more significantly, she could be the king of Siam's mother, or maybe his maiden aunt.
Yet age is less the problem than a lack of passion -- an offhand quality that runs all the way through. It's not just that Powers fails to connect with Ronobir Lahiri, the thirty- something actor who plays the king as a goofy, petulant boy. It's that Lun Tha (the handsome-voiced Martin Sola) fails to connect with his lover Tuptim (Nita Baxani), that the king barely connects with his son, Prince Chululongkorn, and that Anna barely connects with the kids.
With so many missed connections, it's a wonder Anna gets to Siam at all.
Just look at the gray-haired woman in front of me at the Carr Performing Arts Centre, where yet another tour of the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II musical opened Tuesday night. As the orchestra starts to play the first notes of its introduction to "Shall We Dance?," this buttoned-up audience member can't contain herself: She claps in delight.
I know how she feels: "Shall We Dance?" is one of the great numbers in musical theater. But what we're responding to in this version of The King and I isn't on the stage at Carr. It's the ghost of the musical that was.
This particular tour of The King and I is audio-animatronic theater, paint-by-numbers theater -- the kind of theater that faithfully reproduces what you expect to see onstage but leaves out every ounce of the heart. If all you want is to hear somebody sing Rodgers and Hammerstein's glorious songs, this King and I might do for you. But if you want to feel the passion that percolates just below the surface of this beloved musical, you'd be better off renting the film.
You can't fault the handsome production, the scarlet and gold, peacock blue and emerald of the scenic design and the elegant silks of the costumes. Instead, blame the producers for trotting out TV actress Stefanie Powers, whose Anna comes across more as an aging neighbor, always chipper but slightly out of touch, rather than the 30ish governess she's supposed to be. And blame director Baayork Lee, who played one of the smallest children in the original King and I in 1951, when she was 5, but who treats the show like a trusty but not very interesting machine. It's Chevrolet theater, not Porsche.
It's hard to imagine the casting sessions that came up with Powers, who hit her heyday 25 years ago in the TV series Hart to Hart. Surely there are appropriate roles for an attractive actress in her early 60s, despite her quavery, Glynis Johns-like voice. But Anna Leonowens was not yet 30 when she went off to work for the king of Siam, and in the fictionalized version she had a young son in tow. In Orlando, Powers could be her stage son's grandmother -- more significantly, she could be the king of Siam's mother, or maybe his maiden aunt.
Yet age is less the problem than a lack of passion -- an offhand quality that runs all the way through. It's not just that Powers fails to connect with Ronobir Lahiri, the thirty- something actor who plays the king as a goofy, petulant boy. It's that Lun Tha (the handsome-voiced Martin Sola) fails to connect with his lover Tuptim (Nita Baxani), that the king barely connects with his son, Prince Chululongkorn, and that Anna barely connects with the kids.
With so many missed connections, it's a wonder Anna gets to Siam at all.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Orlando: Powers is back and ready for a little 'Hart to Hart' with the king of Siam
Some performances of this classic musical benefit her wildlife charity in Kenya.
It's good to be king. It's better to be Stefanie Powers.
Powers is the "I" in the touring production of The King and I that opens tonight at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre; she's also the one who gets her name listed above the title in this production.
That's because Powers, 62, is someone you've heard of, very likely from the TV series Hart to Hart (1979-84) in which Powers and Robert Wagner played a jet-setting couple with a flair for solving crimes.
Powers -- real name Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz -- gets around in real life, too, with homes in Kenya, England and her native California. With this role, she follows in the footsteps of Gertrude Lawrence, Deborah Kerr, Celeste Holm, Angela Lansbury and even Marie Osmond. As Anna Leonowens, an English widow and mother of a young son, she travels to Bangkok in the 1860s to teach the numerous children of Siam's stubborn, proud ruler. Though Anna and the king frequently clash when she arrives, a mutual respect and unrequited love develops.
Question: So how long have you been touring in The King and I?
Powers: Since January. But I did it in England two years ago. I have not been around a lot in the United States. I was married to a Frenchman -- we have been divorced now -- and living outside the United States a great deal and doing a lot of work in Africa, as is my habit. It was a nice opportunity to work with the same actor [as the king] as I did in England, Ronobir Lahiri.
Q.: Musicals don't get much better than The King and I.
Powers: I think it's fair enough to say that Rodgers and Hammerstein are some of the best of the best [composers], and hardly anything they did did not have a wonderful female role. But I think this is the biggest and the best.
In actual fact, it was commissioned by Gertrude Lawrence as a vehicle for herself. She owned the rights to Anna and the King of Siam, which she then shopped around. When [Rodgers & Hammerstein] were interested in doing it, they joined forces. But poor Miss Lawrence was suffering from cancer and during the first six months of the play's run she died.
Q: The "Shall We Dance?" number is the stuff of a lot of little girls' fantasies -- Anna waltzing around with the king in that beautiful gown.
Powers: Do you know how much it weighs? Would you like to have it on? Oh my God. It's a monster of a costume. You are wearing pantaloons and everything underneath, and you have to have the corsetry to be able to hold up the skirt. It is probably much more fun to watch.
Q: Do you have a favorite number in the show?
Powers: My favorite number is not one that I do, but it's beautiful.
Q: Is it "Something Wonderful"?
Powers: Yes. That is the showstopper. Truly, it's a pleasure to be doing a play where you are not only privileged to do a work of such magnificence from start to finish but also to be bringing it to whatever new audiences we have, the children, certainly, and other people who somehow managed to miss it. . . . This is the great American art form.
Q: Have you been singing a long time?
Powers: I have been doing a lot of work in the theater in England. My first big break was as a dancer who would sing a little, but I can't get my leg up that high [anymore]!
Q: Some performances on this tour have benefited the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya, which you founded. Can you talk about what the foundation does?
Powers: The foundation works in concert with a game ranch. It was established to carry out the concept of backing up specific-animal preservation with education. On one hand, you can do the work of preserving the animals with captive-breeding programs, but if you don't educate people for the long term, the minute your back is turned, the animals will be gone. So the education part of it is crucial to any long-term preservation concept. I spend whatever time I can there.
It's good to be king. It's better to be Stefanie Powers.
Powers is the "I" in the touring production of The King and I that opens tonight at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre; she's also the one who gets her name listed above the title in this production.
That's because Powers, 62, is someone you've heard of, very likely from the TV series Hart to Hart (1979-84) in which Powers and Robert Wagner played a jet-setting couple with a flair for solving crimes.
Powers -- real name Stefania Zofia Federkiewicz -- gets around in real life, too, with homes in Kenya, England and her native California. With this role, she follows in the footsteps of Gertrude Lawrence, Deborah Kerr, Celeste Holm, Angela Lansbury and even Marie Osmond. As Anna Leonowens, an English widow and mother of a young son, she travels to Bangkok in the 1860s to teach the numerous children of Siam's stubborn, proud ruler. Though Anna and the king frequently clash when she arrives, a mutual respect and unrequited love develops.
Question: So how long have you been touring in The King and I?
Powers: Since January. But I did it in England two years ago. I have not been around a lot in the United States. I was married to a Frenchman -- we have been divorced now -- and living outside the United States a great deal and doing a lot of work in Africa, as is my habit. It was a nice opportunity to work with the same actor [as the king] as I did in England, Ronobir Lahiri.
Q.: Musicals don't get much better than The King and I.
Powers: I think it's fair enough to say that Rodgers and Hammerstein are some of the best of the best [composers], and hardly anything they did did not have a wonderful female role. But I think this is the biggest and the best.
In actual fact, it was commissioned by Gertrude Lawrence as a vehicle for herself. She owned the rights to Anna and the King of Siam, which she then shopped around. When [Rodgers & Hammerstein] were interested in doing it, they joined forces. But poor Miss Lawrence was suffering from cancer and during the first six months of the play's run she died.
Q: The "Shall We Dance?" number is the stuff of a lot of little girls' fantasies -- Anna waltzing around with the king in that beautiful gown.
Powers: Do you know how much it weighs? Would you like to have it on? Oh my God. It's a monster of a costume. You are wearing pantaloons and everything underneath, and you have to have the corsetry to be able to hold up the skirt. It is probably much more fun to watch.
Q: Do you have a favorite number in the show?
Powers: My favorite number is not one that I do, but it's beautiful.
Q: Is it "Something Wonderful"?
Powers: Yes. That is the showstopper. Truly, it's a pleasure to be doing a play where you are not only privileged to do a work of such magnificence from start to finish but also to be bringing it to whatever new audiences we have, the children, certainly, and other people who somehow managed to miss it. . . . This is the great American art form.
Q: Have you been singing a long time?
Powers: I have been doing a lot of work in the theater in England. My first big break was as a dancer who would sing a little, but I can't get my leg up that high [anymore]!
Q: Some performances on this tour have benefited the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya, which you founded. Can you talk about what the foundation does?
Powers: The foundation works in concert with a game ranch. It was established to carry out the concept of backing up specific-animal preservation with education. On one hand, you can do the work of preserving the animals with captive-breeding programs, but if you don't educate people for the long term, the minute your back is turned, the animals will be gone. So the education part of it is crucial to any long-term preservation concept. I spend whatever time I can there.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
TV on DVD By R.D. Heldenfels
I was not a fan of Hart to Hart when the romantic adventure ran on ABC from 1979 to 1984. But I enjoyed the audio commentary on the new DVD of Hart to Hart: The Complete First Season (Sony, premiere movie and 22 episodes, six discs, $49.95).
Executive producer Tom Mankiewicz and stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers offer a relaxed and conversational look at the show during commentary on the premiere. They joke about the plots and dialogue, offer up trivia (Sugar Ray Robinson was Wagner's first choice to play servant Max) and have such a good time, it makes the show seem better.
The DVD also includes a short feature on the making of the show.
Executive producer Tom Mankiewicz and stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers offer a relaxed and conversational look at the show during commentary on the premiere. They joke about the plots and dialogue, offer up trivia (Sugar Ray Robinson was Wagner's first choice to play servant Max) and have such a good time, it makes the show seem better.
The DVD also includes a short feature on the making of the show.
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