John Kander and Fred Ebb,
a musical theatre writing combo for the ages.
So many wonderful shows that I sorta wish we could
extend the Golden Age of Broadway (1920s to 1960)
to include them...
their feats, their foibles
and all that mishegass in between.
A young Liza readying for Flora The Red Menace
with Hal Prince, Flora's producer.
Liza wasn't the first to be considered for the lead
in this, K&E's first collaboration;
nope, Eydie Gorme and Barbra Streisand were both
in the running (if we can believe the mythology).
But they settled on 19 year old Liza,
who promptly won a Tony
in a flop that lost its entire $400,000 investment.
Below, more from that 1965 production.
Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera,
the very first Roxie and Velma
of Chicago, 1975.
Fred wrote the book in a vaudeville style because
"the characters were performers.
Every musical moment in the show was
loosely modeled on someone else: Sophie Tucker, Ted Lewis, Eddie Kantor, and Bert Williams"...to name a few.
The initial production ran for 2 years,
and the revival for a record-breaking...well, let's just say
it's still running (since 1996)!
The Rink with Liza and more Chita...
K&E's 10th collaboration.
It began Off-Broadway, with Arthur Laurents directing,
moving to Broadway months later
(with Terrence McNally tweaking the book
and Arthur leaving the production).
Negative reviews closed it after 200 performances;
John Kander responded...
"Up there on the stage were two of my best friends, Liza and Chita.
It
was an overwhelming experience;
and when they weren't treated well,
it
was as if we had gotten attacked on the street....
That show hurt me
more than any show I've written....
I felt that I had let them down."
Steel Pier, 1997,
with Karen Ziemba and Daniel McDonald (above)
ran for 76 performances.
Also starring were Debra Monk and
Kristin Chenoweth in her Broadway debut.
Ben Brantley of the NY Times labeled it
"insulated by a fuzzy cover of blandness.
For Mr. Kander and Mr. Ebb,
devils obviously make better company than angels."
70, Girls, 70...
a favorite of mine (well, 70 does LOOM!),
but not a favorite of many others.
Oldsters kickin' up there heels and stealing fur coats,
evidently for a very good reason.
Above, the stars:
Gil Lamb, Mildred Natwick, Hans Conried,
Lucie Lancaster, Goldye Shaw, Lillian Hayman and Lillian Roth.
35 performances and POOF! It was gone.
Most agreed that it was an intimate, charming show,
ill-fitted to a big Broadway venue.
In 2006, Encores! did a concert version with (below)
Tina Fabrique, Mary Jo Catlett, Anita Gillette,
Charlotte Rae, Carole Cook,
and Olympia Dukakis.
And their first smasheroo,
Cabaret, an 8 Tony winner from 1967,
with Joel Grey (above), Liza, Lotte Lenya, and Jack Gilford!
It ran for almost 3 years,
and has been revived here and in London a total of 7 times.
Fred Ebb passed away in 2004, at the age of 76,
whilst the team was forging ahead with Curtains.
John Kander, however, is still with us.
Together they wrote 20 musicals,
and scores for 4 movie musicals.
Do the math = Lotsa songs!
