Questions about 1983 Broadway revival of Mame

[Mimi2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:23am

I saw Mame on Broadway in 1983 when I was a child. I'm almost positive I did not see Angela Lansbury play Mame. Did anybody else play that role in 1983? Also, could I possibly have seen Peggy Cass as Agnes Gooch? Thanks for your help in advance.
Updated On: 4/22/10 at 08:23 AM

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:29am

http://www.ibdb.com

EDIT- The 1983 Mame page has no understudy or replacement listed. They are pretty good about having full information but that just seems wrong, so nevermind.

Updated On: 4/22/10 at 08:29 AM

[Mimi2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:34am

LOL, thanks, jacob. I did look there before I posted here. And I noticed that the run was very short so perhaps I just saw Angela's understudy. I could have sworn I also saw Peggy Cass.

It is weird that IBDB didn't list any understudy or replacement for either character.

[D2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:40am

Peggy Cass played Gooch in both the stage and screen versions of the original, non-musical AUNTIE MAME.

She was also a replacement Maggie Jones in 42nd STREET for a while in the early 80s - did you see that production as well and have perhaps confused the two?

[Mimi2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:44am

D2, thanks for your response. I did actually see 42nd Street in the early 80s! So that probably answers that question.

Still wondering about Angela Lansbury's replacement/understudy. I'm sure it was a celebrity, just not her.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 8:57am

From Ethan Mordden's book "The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen", which I am currently reading and for the most part enjoying: "1983--MAME (with Angela Lansbury, Jane Connell, Willard Waterman, and Sab Shimono of the original cast), for a shockingly short run." Here's a tidbit from the past: Willard Waterman played The Great Gildersleve in a TV sitcom from the early 1950's. It was a popular show, a holdover from the great days of sitcom radio in the 1940's-early 1950's.

AS for the original Broadway production of MAME(1966), Lansbury was succeeded by the one and only Ann Miller for whom Jerry Herman wrote a new song, a tap number which Miller hit out of the park.

Updated On: 4/22/10 at 08:57 AM

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 10:20am

As far as I know, there wasn't a celeb as an understudy for Angela...and she never missed. I could be wrong.

And, when Miller went into the show, they didn't write a new song, they turned "That's How Young I Feel" into a tap number.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 10:21am

In the original Mame, Angie was succeeded by Celeste Holm during her vacation and who later did a tour, Janis Paige, Jane Morgan and finally Ann Miller. There may have been others.

I think for Ann Miller That's How Young I Feel was rechoreographed so Annie could do her patented taps.

The woefully produced 1983 production probably had no understudy except on paper. If Angie was sick, there would be no show.

This production was to have played 6-8 weeks at the Academy of Music in Philly and then come in. It opened there to respectful notices, but not really money reviews, and the advance was small. Producer Mitch Leigh (also the composer of La Mancha) opted to close in Philly after a week and move to New York opening mid-summer at the Gershwin with NO advance. The decision to open in New York was made so quickly and so late that there were no ads in that Sunday's papers. The first ones appeared Monday for a first preview on Wednesday.

I was at the first preview that was 3/4s full and probably had about a thousand dollars in sales. The rest was paper.

Rarely have I heard such a warm welcome for a show. It was all people in the business or on the edges of it. Lansbury's entrance stopped the show. All she did was blow the bugle. Bosom Buddies stopped it cold. Angie and Ann Francine took improvised bows after it so the audience would stop applauding. The curtain calls went on and on. It was an affectionate gesture to a good show with a much-loved star that was limping back into town after being injured on the road.

After a short preview period it opened. They made it through about 5 money-losing weeks before Mitch Leigh pulled the plug. Ironically in the last week the gross which was inching up each week, came pretty close to break even.

I don't think Angie appeared again in a musical until Night Music.

[nealb1]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 11:24am

I remember there was talk of it touring and coming here to LA - but, it never came to be.

Youtube has a lot of clips from the musical numbers of the revival.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 11:46am

I was just 13 when my Aunt Elaine took us to see Mame. Having listened to the cast album, I was looking forward to seeing Angela Lanbury, whom I knew from The Harvey Girls and The Manchurian Candidate--and I already had portions of the Rosalind Russell movie memorized. (I was that kind of kid.)

I was so disappointed when we got to the Winter Garden to find that Mame was going to be played by Jane Morgan. I sat there, grim-faced, but she gradually won me over.

Here is Jane Morgan doing "We Need a Little Christmas" in the original Oona White choreography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CwJxfUsPnE

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 12:09pm

There was talk at the time of the show being taped for TV but that never happened.


The revival also had the misfortune to open when the town was buzzing about the "new" Jerry Herman musical LA CAGE AUX FOLLES which started previews just days after MAME opened.

[perpetualanticipatio]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 3:46pm

It was a real shame this didn't run -- Herman has gone on record as saying Lansbury never sounded better or was more moving in the role and it was her best work. The producers stiffed a lot of people, including the dear sweet photographer Kenn Duncan.

[beaemma]

Posted: 4/22/10 at 7:23pm

My August,1983 program from the MAME revival does not list a standby or understudy for Mame. Cissy Rebich is listed as understudy for Gooch. Understudy for Vera was Barbara Lang. I also saw the original production and thought the revival was excellent. The revival was a big attractive production with fine performances from all. Miss Lansbury looked, sounded, and moved great. Her acting was impeccable as ever. The Gershwin was probably not a very good space for it, but I think the greatest problem was that it got to New York earlier than first announced with little or no advance publicity when the tour was cut short.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 1:15am

I was surprised that they didn't open the revival in California and tour it across America, they way they did with revivals of "Man of La Mancha" and "The King and I". And run those commercials saying that this is your last chance to see the original star in the show that made them famous (sounding as if they're going to kill the star when the tour is over.)

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 1:20am

I was surprised that they didn't open the revival in California and tour it across America, they way they did with revivals of "Man of La Mancha" and "The King and I". And run those commercials saying that this is your last chance to see the original star in the show that made them famous (sounding as if they're going to kill the star when the tour is over.)

[beaemma]

Posted: 4/23/10 at 6:19pm

How great it would be if this excellent revival had been recorded for television, giving us a permanent record of Angela Lansbury's breakthrough. She really was just as wonderful as in 1966, maybe even more touching in the more serious scenes.