Juliet Prowse as MAME

[morosco]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 12:27am

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed Juliet Prowse in MAME back in the early 1990s. A national tour. And how nice to hear a full orchestra in the pit.
It's Today!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 1:06am

Fantastic costume. But I'm curious. Wid women (other than women in drag or women in some forms of manual labor)) wear pants in the 20s? Hepburn and Dietrich, of course, famously wore pants in the 30s, but were there fashionable pants garments like this before then? Moreover, this particular outfit is very 60s.

But she's wonderful and so is the number!

Updated On: 11/18/12 at 01:06 AM

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 1:52pm

The original production design had Lansbury in slacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfm4fvci7rU

[matty159]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 2:24pm

WOW! I actually remember seeing that. My mom took me out of school (I think I was a freshman or sophomore in high school) for a mid-week matinee at the Carpenter Center in Richmond, VA and we did lunch and the show with my grandma. It was the first time I had seen the show performed and I absolutely loved it. Good memories. Thanks for posting that, morosco!

[Kristie-K2]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 2:25pm

Wow...Juliet was one of my favorite dancers. Got a chance to see her in Las Vegas. Met her after her show. What a lovely person. Died too young

[morosco]

Posted: 11/18/12 at 4:18pm

Hey Matty, that's where I saw it too. Carpenter Center in Richmond, VA. Was working there then. Still working there as a matter of fact! :)

Watching that clip proves to me that we really don't have anyone who'd be right for a Mame revival today. Very few actresses have the... well whatever it is... the "it" to pull it off. They must completely command the stage and have the audience eating out of their hands.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/2/18 at 12:32pm

I saw JP in "Mame" twice in April 1994 at The Alex Theatre in Glendale, California.   She was fantastic! 

[Demitri2]

Posted: 9/2/18 at 1:08pm

I missed MAME but saw her in CHICAGO and FOLLIES. She was a true triple threat and always lit up the stage. Her dancing as Phyllis was the best I've seen. And as Roxie, Prowse had a great Velma in a very young Bebe Neuwirth. I regret I never saw her in IRMA LA DOUCE. She was wonderful in every thing she did.

[Theater_Nerd]

Posted: 9/2/18 at 1:22pm

JulietProwse! Now there’s a blast from the past! She was a true triple threat! When I was young I always confused her with Mitzi Gaynor!

[goldenboy]

Posted: 9/2/18 at 11:55pm

While I do like Juliet Prowse, I did not like her in Irma La Douce which I saw at the Westbury Music Fair. The book just doesn't work. Also saw Irma La Douce at Encores with Rob Mclure and that didn't work either. Not sure if it was Prowse or the material. The cd and the score is to die for... amazing but that book. Ouch

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/3/18 at 8:16am

I've always heard she was a remarkable Phyllis in "Follies," and recently saw footage of "Lucy and Jesse" (Muny?)  The older show girl persona must've fit her like a glove. (A reason I always wanted to see Vanessa Williams in the role.) She was successful as Charity in the West End.   

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/3/18 at 11:38am

goldenboy said: "While I do like Juliet Prowse, I did not like her in Irma La Douce which I saw at the Westbury Music Fair. The book just doesn't work. Also saw Irma La Douce at Encores with Rob Mclure and that didn't work either. Not sure if it was Prowse or the material. The cd and the score is to die for... amazing but that book. Ouch"

As someone who was featured in a regional production of IRMA, I can say the book stinks. It was one of those shows where we couldn't wait for the final performance.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 9/3/18 at 11:44am

And Hollywood being Hollywood kept that lousy  book for the film and tossed out that gorgeous score which they used as background music.

 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/3/18 at 12:44pm

goldenboy said: "And Hollywood being Hollywood kept that lousybook for the film and tossed out that gorgeous score which they used as background music.

The same was true with FANNY
"

 

[Theater_Nerd]

Posted: 9/4/18 at 7:58am

Dollypop said: "goldenboy said: "And Hollywood being Hollywood kept that lousybook for the film and tossed out that gorgeous score which they used as background music.

The same was true with FANNY
 

Ah! FANNY! Yes, Warner Bros. shied away from keeping Harold Rome's songs in the film because they felt musicals weren't making any money. The film was released in June of 1961. Four months later WEST SIDE STORY was released and dispelled the notion that musicals weren't or couldn't make any money. In spite of that the film adaptation of FANNY still works without the songs (Rome's beautiful score remains in the background) not only because of Pagnol's classic love story but it's wonderful performances by Leslie Caron as "Fanny", Horst Buchholz as "Marius", Maurice Chevalier as "Panisse" and Charles Boyer as "Cesar" and it's beautiful cinematography. It went unseen for years because someone at Warner Bros. did not bother to renew the copyright to the film. 

IRMA LA DOUCE on the other hand is a film that I've always found extremely hard to sit through. It pales besides Wilder, MacLaine and Lemmon's previous collaboration with THE APARTMENT. The book/screenplay is weak and uninteresting and in this particular case keeping the songs would have helped. Also, MacLaine's bad/misunderstood/prostitute with a heart of gold schtick gets tired really fast. 

 

 

[newintown]

Posted: 9/4/18 at 8:05am

henrikegerman asked "Wid [sic] women (other than women in drag or women in some forms of manual labor)) wear pants in the 20s?"

This may be informative: https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/did-women-wear-pants/

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/4/18 at 10:04am