Gigi - 1973 production with Moorehead

[David10086]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 6:00pm

I'm curious if anyone here saw the original B'way production of GIGI, which starred (for a while) the wonderful Agnes Moorehead as 'Aunt Alicia'?  Any memories to share? 

 I know Moorehead was able to play the role from its' Broadway debut (November 13, 1973) until a few weeks after, being replaced by Arlene Francis due to illness (Moorehead died on April 30, 1974 from cancer). 

I was able to get my hands on the CD from this cast, and enjoy Moorhead's singing voice on 'The Contract'. It's too bad she didn't have any more songs to sing in this show. I would have really loved to hear more from her. 

Updated On: 8/1/17 at 06:00 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 6:41pm

David10086 said: "I'm curious if anyone here saw the original B'way production of GIGI, which starred (for a while) the wonderful Agnes Moorehead as 'Aunt Alicia'?  Any memories to share? 

 I know Moorehead was able to play the role from its' Broadway debut (November 13, 1973) until a few weeks after, being replaced by Arlene Francis due to illness (Moorehead died on April 30, 1974 from cancer). 

I was able to get my hands on the CD from this cast, and enjoy Moorhead's singing voice on 'The Contract'. It's too bad she didn't have any more songs to sing in this show. I would have really loved to hear more from her. 

This was one of the first times I remembered truly being disappointed by a show.  At the time, the movie Gigi was not a distant past memory.  It had come out only 15 ears before the show opened.  And boy did I love the movie; I think it still may be my favorite movie musical.  Key problems:

1.  It opened at the Uris, now Gershwin.  Gigi is actually a small musical (think of the movie) and it got smothered up by the huge theatre.

2.  Without a single exception, the entire cast paled next to the movie originals, although Moorehead came closest because the role of Aunt Alicia was a little more prominent in the show than the movie.  Still not a large role, but definitely more prominent.  (Worst, unfortunately, was the ingenue playing the title role.  She was just mediocre, with not an ounce of stage presence.  To add insult to injury, Daniel Massey -- who I never saw in She Loves Me, which was just a little before my time -- was about as unsexy a performer as you could find; since he was replacing Louis Jourdan, who may never have been a big star this side of the Atlantic, but who had looks, charisma and sex appeal to spare, that was a serious void that only further emphasized the void at the center.  Massey also really didn't have much of a voice and Jourdan's voice was PERFECT for those songs.

3.  I mentioned getting swallowed up by the Uris.  The creative team decided to bloat the show at every opportunity they could find.  Had the numbers been brilliantly choreographed or designed, it would have still changed the tone, but it would have been entertaining nevertheless.  As it was, they came across as filler.

4.  I have come to enjoy many of the songs that were added, but they made no impression on first listening.  I remember being particularly disappointed by The Contract, which was singled out by the critics as the best of the new bunch.  it was a very long song, with much of the music a direct replay of the title song in a different tempo, and lyrics that were actually top Alan J Lerner cleverness (but lost in that huge theatre on first hearing).

5.  By the time it was over, the audience had lost interest.  Curtain call applause were tepid; and tepid applause in a huge, sold out theatre (it was Christmas week Sunday matinee) must have been incredibly discouraging for the cast..  Alfred Drake received many more entrance applause that at the curtain call.

As I said, Moorehead was fine, but Dee Hoty made much more of the role in the more recent revival (I really don't remember enough to tell you whether the role was re-written that much, but the big number The Contract was far superior as done by Hoty, and Hoty did pop up very effectively in several other songs in the recent cast recording, which I actually love, so I guess the role was revised enough to give her a bit more singing than Moorehead).  

Ironically, despite the dismissive tone, I didn't hate it.  I was just so disappointed; and, since that was the days before VCRs, I just had to wait for the movie to be on TV again or at a revival house (I did live in Manhattan at the time) to see the real thing.

 

 

[David10086]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 8:59pm

Wow! A huge thank you for sharing this insightful review. I guess there really was a lot of 'wrong' with this musical, which is why it lasted roughly 100 performances. 

I read a biography on Moorehead not too long ago, and it said that Moorehead knew her cancer had returned (it had been in remission since the third season of 'Bewitched', IIRC) as the show started rehearsals. Yet she didn't want to give up the role, as she believed she could fight the terminal illness as she did years before. However, once the show began the schedule was wearing on her and her co-stars and the producers knew she was ill (though she never told them she had cancer). They convinced her to drop out, which she did reluctantly. That is when Francis took over.

 

A sad ending to an astonishing career by Moorehead. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 10:30pm

I enjoyed it and was touched by it, as I was by all the play's/musical's/film's incarnations that I've seen.

The work possesses beauty and magic.

[green waver]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 10:48pm

I doubt this will help you very much, but I saw the 1973 production on its national tour In San Francisco. I was 15, and on a West Coast vacation with my parents. I remember being very excited to see Alfred Drake because of Oklahoma. When he sang the final reprise of Thank Heaven..., you could hear audible sighs in the audience! Nice memory.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 12:43am

After Eight said: "I enjoyed it and was touched by it, as I was by all the play's/musical's/film's incarnations that I've seen.

The work possesses beauty and magic.

 

I agree that the movie possesses much beauty and magic, and continue to wait for a stage production that works.  I was unable to see the last revival, but I do love 90% of the cast recording.

 

[EthelMae]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 1:43am

I remember the sets were great but the overall production was lacking in most other departments. The central problem was the casting of Gigi. Can't compare to the movie. It was a production that was so anticipated but so disappointing.

[David10086]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 7:10am

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and memories of this show (and the more recent revival). I gather it's a tough musical to transfer from screen to stage - even though it seems like it was made for the stage, in some respects. 

[wonkit]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 7:47am

How I wish I had seen Alfred Drake in this! 

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 8:56am

Agree with Jarathan

 

I rememeber there being a lot of buzz around the fact that this was the first time a movie musical was done for the stage (am I wrong about this??)

 

The Uris was just too big.  The production was just ok.  I saw Arlene Francis instead or Moorehead - she was fine, but the role was lost in this production.  Alfred Drake was the best part for me. 

 

Love the movie, didn't like the '73 production.

[David10086]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 2:06pm

theatregeek6 said: "
I rememeber there being a lot of buzz around the fact that this was the first time a movie musical was done for the stage (am I wrong about this??)

Love the movie, didn't like the '73 production."

WOW! Does anyone know if this is correct? The first movie-to-musical? 

Not that she had a great singing voice at all, but I wonder if Lucille Ball would have been a better choice than Francis to take over the role of Aunt Alicia? She definitely would have been a 'name' on the marquee. Possibly kept the show running longer? 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 4:11pm

I never saw the original 1973 ''Gigi,'' so I only remember it well, thanks to the cast album. I also saw the recent and revised 2015 version, starring Vanessa Hudgens. Just to keep things in context, Aunt Alicia was a minor character even in the Oscar-winning movie. Plus, Agnes Moorehead was not a singer, and not in the best of health at the time. But I still think she makes an indelible impression on the cast album, and ''The Contract'' is the best thing among Lerner and Loewe's four new songs. The lyrics are especially so witty and clever. (That said, I thought it was unfair that Lerner and Loewe won their only Best Score Tony for penning only four songs; they beat out the wholly original scores for ''Raisin'' and ''Seesaw.'' )

The misguided 2015 revival expanded Aunt Alicia's role (and yet chopped down ''The Contract'' ) for Dee Hoty. She's a 3-time Tony nominee, so obviously they needed to give her more to do. 

Updated On: 8/2/17 at 04:11 PM

[David10086]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 9:50pm

Was the 2015 revival any good? Was it a hit or a flop on B'way? (I don't remember reading much about it at all). 

[Fan123]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 4:53am

David10086 said: "Does anyone know if this is correct? The first movie-to-musical?"

Not sure if this was the first, but 'Carnival' in 1961 was an adaptation of the film 'Lili', which coincidentally also starred Leslie Caron on screen.

Regarding 'Gigi', veering slightly off-topic, the 1985 London cast recording isn't as good as the original Broadway one IMO,* but it does include a lovely Entr'acte and some interesting lyrics for Gaston in the Finale which weren't recorded on the other albums to my memory. I think it's on Spotify.

*To bring things back to 'Lili' again, Jean-Pierre Aumont from that film played Honore in the London stage cast of 'Gigi'. Though Aumont was a good actor in my opinion, Alfred Drake was far better at singing Honore's songs.

Updated On: 8/3/17 at 04:53 AM

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 5:08am

Just on here to mention La Strada, which was based off the brilliant Fellini film and starred a young Bernadette Peters. It premiered on Broadway in 1969, so Gigi was not the first. I'm sure there were other works based on films, but I don't know any off the top of my head.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 6:54am

Sally Durant Plummer said: "Just on here to mention La Strada, which was based off the brilliant Fellini film and starred a young Bernadette Peters. It premiered on Broadway in 1969, so Gigi was not the first. I'm sure there were other works based on films, but I don't know any off the top of my head.

There were many, many musicals based on films before and after "Gigi" in 1973. 

HERE'S LOVE! based on "Miracle on 34th Street" - 1963

SWEET CHARITY based on Fellini's "Nights of Cabiria" - 1966

HENRY, SWEET, HENRY - based on the film and novel, "The World of Henry Orient - 1967

ILYA, DARLING! - based on "Never on Sunday" - 1967

ZORBA! based on "Zorba the Greek" - 1968

PROMISES, PROMISES based on Billy Wilder's film "The Apartment" - 1968

GEORGY - based on the film, "Georgy Girl" - 1970

APPLAUSE! - very loosely based on the 1950 film "All About Eve" - 1970

SUGAR was based on Billy Wilder's "Some Like it Hot" - 1972

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC  - based on  Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night" - 1973

CARMELINA! - based on "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell" which was also the inspiration for MAMMA MIA! - 1979

Those are just a few off the top of my head.

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 7:50am

Theatergeek6 was clearly talking about it being the first Broadway musical that started out as a movie musical.  All of the other films listed as being the sources of Broadway musicals were non-musical.

 

Updated On: 8/3/17 at 07:50 AM

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 8:35am

The Other One said: "Theatergeek6 was clearly talking about it being the first Broadway musical that started out as a movie musical.  All of the other films listed as being the sources of Broadway musicals were non-musical.

 

 

"

 

Correct-as I remember it the hoopla was about it being the first movie musical to be brought to the Broadway stage. and if my memory serves me it was a pretty pure scene per scene staging.   Of course since then we have had many (42nd street, Meet Me in St. Louie, everything Disney has done,)

 

[Fan123]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 9:35am

'Lili' was a musical film in a minimalist sense (one song, two dances), although possibly what is being sought here are just stage adaptations which used the same score and/or creative team as the original musical films? 'Carnival' used a different score to 'Lili', and while the film's screenwriter and lyricist, Helen Deutsch, was involved with the stage adaptation for a time, she withdrew (or was fired?) and retained just a vague credit for the stage show which probably doesn't signify much. 'Gigi' may indeed have been the first 'musically faithful' stage adaptation of a musical film? I'm not sure.

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 9:44am

I am pretty sure "Gigi" was.  "Lili" really only had that one memorable song.  

 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 10:17am

It may have been the first movie-musical to be given a stage adaptation on Broadway, but the Muny debuted their stage version of The Wizard of Oz sometime in the early 40s if I recall correctly.

[markypoo]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 11:15am

Trivially speaking, a short time after the 1973 Gigi closed on B'way, the Milwaukee Melody Top presented the show's Midwest premiere.  Earl Wrightson and Lois Hunt filled the Drake/Maria Karnilova roles, and David "Coco" Holiday played Gaston.

Then there was the 1984/85 tour with Louis Jourdan, Betsy Palmer, Taina Elg, a young Tom Hewitt as Gaston, and a Lisa Howard as Gigi; although I don't think she was the namesake who appears on B'way currently.  She'd be much older by now, but perhaps someone can clarify this.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 11:37am

Sally Durant Plummer said: "Just on here to mention La Strada, which was based off the brilliant Fellini film and starred a young Bernadette Peters. It premiered on Broadway in 1969, so Gigi was not the first. I'm sure there were other works based on films, but I don't know any off the top of my head.

 

La Strada the movie was not a musical which this is referencing, movie musicals adapted to the stage.

In addition, there were many, many Broadway musicals adapted from movie non-musicals pre-1969.  Off the top of my head, Wonderful Town, Silk Stockings, Mame and Promises Promises were hits.  Donnybrook, Hazel Flagg, Darling of the Day, Illya Darling, and Shangdi La were flops.  

 

[Demitri2]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 12:53pm

I thought I had once read Moorehead's illness finally made it too difficult for her to sing "The Contract" from GIGI's score so she at one point was mouthing the words on stage to a recording of her voice. Anyone recall this?  

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/3/17 at 4:44pm

In addition, there were many, many Broadway musicals adapted from movie non-musicals pre-1969.  Off the top of my head, Wonderful Town, Silk Stockings, Mame and Promises Promises were hits.  Donnybrook, Hazel Flagg, Darling of the Day, Illya Darling, and Shangdi La were flops.  

The films for Wonderful Town, Silk Stockings, Mame, Donnybrook and Shangri-La were all adaptations of previously published stories/novels.  Darling of the Day was a novel and a play first, but never a film.  My Sister Eileen went through three different adaptations before Wonderful Town premiered on Broadway and then two years later, was produced as yet another adaptation as a musical film with a different book and a score by Jule Styne.  After that, it was adapted as a TV series, but only ran one season.