BLT III - clip from 1980 WEST SIDE STORY Revival

[PalJoey]

Well, I don't know that he's showing any "vulnerability"...

[miss pennywise]

Hey, Pal Joey, I'm trying to be NICE!

[PalJoey]

Bump for LadyDramaturg2

[Reginald Tresilian]

PalJoey, I don't believe you've included the coda to this story, which I love: the note from Bernstein.

PJ has a little note in his possession, written on one of Bernstein's correspondence cards. Lenny struck through the printed name and then wrote a short message, concluding with: "You're a fine lad, and a big spirit."

The funny part is that in Bernstein's scrawl, it looks as though he actually called PJ a "big sh!t."

(I'm not being mean; PJ is always the first to point this out.)

[miss pennywise]

That IS funny, Reg! But only because we know that PJ is not a "big sh!t."

[PalJoey]

It would be just like Lenny to hand-write a thank-you note and call someone "a big sh!t."

He would be chuckling as he wrote it, thinking, "There you go--frame THAT!"

[BobbyBubby]

Great stories.

The title of this thread has me craving a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Anyone remember the 1968 Lincoln Center production?
Victoria Mallory and Kurt Peterson, (two Sondheimites) as Tony and Maria were excellent, as was Barabra Luna as Anita.
Oliver Smith redid his original sets and Lee Becker Theodore recreated the direction and choreography.
It was probably the closest to the original.

[PalJoey]

I didn't see it but I heard wonderful things about Barbara Luna...whatever happened to her?

Oliver Smith and Lee Theodore also re-created their work on the 1980 revival.

He was elegance personified and she was still Anybodys.

[miss pennywise]

CPD, are you old enough to remember the 1968 production? (I mean that in a nice way, BTW.)

[CurtainPullDowner]

Yes, it was the year after I graduated from High School.

Barbara Luna was on ONE LIFE TO LIVE for several years.
She was one of Emile's children in the original SOUTH PACIFIC and did a stint in A CHORUS LINE as Dina.
Her last credit is a TV Star Trek episode, she was also in the original series.

[Usnavi]

Poster from the 1968 Lincoln Center Production:


Ad for the production


The Program



Miss BarBara Luna as "Anita"

[miss pennywise]

Wow, CPD, I thought you were a youngster, but, instead, you're old...like me! You have a youthful exuberance, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Now, tell us more about the 1968 WSS.

[PalJoey]

Nice legs, Barbara!

Avind Harum was in that. I saw him play Zach several times in A Chorus Line on Broadway. He may have been the best Zach ever.

[CurtainPullDowner]

I had worked with Vicky in Children's Theatre so I knew she could sing.
But her Maria was luminous, and Kurt Peterson was full of youthfull good looks and passion. They had great (wink) chemistry.

Luna was a sptfire as you can see from those photos.

It was a beautiful production in that large theatre.

[LadyDramaturg2]

Thanks for the bump. I had read parts of this thread previously (your long Lenny blogs) but had missed the self-identifying phrase "assistant to the book director."

Check your PM.

Whatever your new line of work is, you are an ace researcher, and you do have a wonderful breadth and depth of specific knowledge that many of us respect and enjoy so much. If not a memoir, a blog for sure.

[theaterkid1015]

Or, maybe, one of us could buy you a lunch (a cheap lunch because I, for one, am po) and record it, PJ. Then, we create a smash hit Broadway musical based on your memoir and save musical theatre!!!!


Ready, gang?

[LadyDramaturg2]

Theaterkid has the right idea! One of the best ways to get something down, after you've read Alice In Wonderland Out Loud, is to talk to a friend about what you're writing about and record it. imho

The listening person often asks good questions where you need to clarify your thinking, and stuff. I'd chip in so that you could go to a really Nice Diner there with PJ.

Or you could just copy and paste all of your BWW messages from over the years and see what needs filling in.
^
[A very goofy way of saying "thanks" to PJ again.]

[PalJoey]

Bumping this thread again.

[fizzthelibertine]

Your stories are incredible, Pal Joey.

[PalJoey]

The air is rife with ghosts tonight, the Ghosts of West Side Stories Past.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Bump.

[givesmevoice]

I suppose I should bump this. You have some amazing stories, PJ.

[alliez92092]

I agree. I would love to read more! I always feel more educated after reading this thread, which I have done quite a few times :)

[LadyDramaturg2]

And how IS that memoir going?

[PalJoey]

As Mary Rodgers said, "Ask me when he's dead."