Legs Diamond

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/5/19 at 2:37pm

I listened to the cast album again recently. I know the original production had some flaws but could this show ever work with a new book and the right leading man? I think the score is mostly a lot of fun and its a shame the show isnt produced more often.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/5/19 at 2:38pm

Scott Rudin should have revived this with Hugh Jackman, not the tired horse that is THE MUSIC MAN.

[AADA81]

Posted: 7/5/19 at 2:50pm

My recollection of the reviews of the original production is that whatever the perceived shortcomings were, Peter Allen was definitely not the right leading man, although I also recollect that there was some snide homophobia underlying some of the comments made about him (so typical of the time). 

Book, direction and choreography took hits as well.  I'm not familiar with the show but it almost seems like they'd have to come up with an almost entirely new show to make it work so it might not be worth it, especially with all the negative connotations associated with that title.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 7/5/19 at 4:25pm

I now have Speakeasy stuck in my head:

 

Where are you when no one else knows where you been?

You're having the best time since Original Sin!

[nmartin]

Posted: 7/6/19 at 12:30pm

I saw this. It was an almost totally humorless show and deadly dull; however, I am still glad I saw it because of Julie Wilson. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/6/19 at 1:03pm

Here is a handful of press coverage on the Broadway production:

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 1:42am

Thanks for posting that video, Brody. I enjoyed seeing those clips.

[Tom5]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 7:48am

The music and lyrics seem excellent (from small sample here)  If it needs a new book might be worthwhile. Legs Diamond was a 30's gangster who was famous for continuously getting shot but never dying. (True) And Hugh Jackman would seem to be a perfect fit for him.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 8:29am

Weird that Peter Allen and Hugh Jackman, both clearly Australian, would seem perfect for a show about a Jewish immigrant gangster from the Lower East Side. Brandon Uranowitz would be much closer to my pick.

I worked for half a year on the original Bway Production of LEGS DIAMOND. We were cursed with trying to fix a set that refused to operate for nearly the entire preview period of the run. Those problems masked the real issues with the show which the producers never noticed enough to fix, namely a show with not 1 but 2 impossible romantic relationships and a leading man/book writer/ score composer who was compelled to cram production numbers where they didn’t belong.

We thought we were working on a sort of GUYS AND DOLLS for the post-Golden Age, when the result was closer to a GOT TO GO DISCO-level misfire. Sadly, LEGS DIAMOND was my last Bway production before the movies beckoned.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 3:33pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: “We thought we were working on a sort of GUYS AND DOLLS for the post-Golden Age, when the result was closer to a GOT TO GO DISCO-level misfire.”

I think Legs Diamond could be a Guys and Dolls for the post golden age. The score has the potential. I wonder if Harvey would ever consider writing a whole new book for it. If not Harvey then someone who can fashion it into something with a little of the showbiz flair of the original that more closely matches the tone and plot of the film. Something very much like a Guys and Dolls or a Pal Joey.

I’m fascinated to learn you worked on the show! What was the atmosphere like backstage? Was the cast generally in good spirits or was the writing on the wall even before the reviews came out?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 5:32pm

LEGS was too expensive and cumbersome to ever have an out-of-town tryout, so it ended up loading straight into the beautiful Hellinger (where MY FAIR LADY premiered), and would need to untangle all its kinks right in front of a paying preview audience. The disastrous tech period meant the previews started at least a week late.

So what were the problems with the set? The original deck design used 2 smaller turntables rotating inside a larger turntable to move all the set pieces anywhere on stage at will. Budget cuts meant the turntables were axed and replaced with circular winched tracks, but the units on top were way too heavy for the winches to get them around the curves. End result-- choreographed set moves were radically simplified and some sets were cut entirely. 

That wasn't the end of the preview troubles: our 2nd female lead who we adored was fired, along with her songs; a long prologue in Legs' childhood tenement (all black and white sets and costumes) was tossed out, along with it's huge set; a stage-wide staircase featured in Act II came in midway through previews, and then had to be re-engineered to fit in the storage space upstage; musical numbers were moved from Act to Act willy-nilly, resulting in new set and lighting cues that all had to be teched. Most of all, our director was very weak, and Peter Allen was way too busy performing every night to stand back and see how to fix the thing.

Two bright spots in the whole preview process: Willa Kim's fabulous costumes, and the commitment of the entire ensemble and especially Julie Wilson to sell the material night after night for all they were worth.

Did we know we were in trouble? You bet. Constant set malfunctions and empty preview seats all contributed to low morale. On opening night (Dec 26 1988) the surprise wasn't that the reviews were tepid; the surprise was that the simplified set finally worked perfectly and that there were as many good pull quotes the next morning as there were! The show closed 2 months later and the funny thing is that business actually got better and better as the show went on. 

I'd frankly be all for a revisit of the show with a brand new script, and with a brilliant new director who has a vision for the piece that is more than just "a Vegas spectacle about a Jewish gangster that's fun for the whole family". Maybe a new hit revival will mean the original poster hanging on Joe Allen's Wall of Flops can finally come down!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 7:55pm

Thank you for taking the time to write down some of your memories of the show!

[AADA81]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 8:15pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "LEGS was too expensive and cumbersome to ever have an out-of-town tryout, so it ended up loading straight into the beautiful Hellinger (where MY FAIR LADY premiered), and would need to untangle all its kinks right in front of a paying preview audience. The disastrous tech period meant the previews started at least a week late.

So what were the problems with the set? The original deck design used 2 smaller turntables rotating inside a larger turntable to move allthe set pieces anywhere on stage at will. Budget cuts meant the turntables were axed and replaced with circular winched tracks, but the units on top were way too heavy for the winches to get them around the curves. End result-- choreographed set moves were radically simplified and some sets were cut entirely.

That wasn't the end of the preview troubles: our 2nd female lead who we adored was fired, along with her songs; a long prologue in Legs' childhood tenement (all black and white sets and costumes) was tossed out, along with it's huge set; a stage-wide staircase featured in Act II came in midway through previews, and then had to be re-engineered to fit in the storage space upstage; musical numbers were moved from Actto Act willy-nilly, resulting in new set and lighting cues that all had to be teched. Most of all, our director was very weak, and Peter Allen was way too busy performing every night to stand back and see how to fix the thing.

Two bright spots in the whole preview process: Willa Kim's fabulous costumes, and the commitment of the entire ensemble and especially Julie Wilson to sell the material night after night for all they were worth.

Did we know we were in trouble? You bet. Constant set malfunctions and empty preview seats all contributed to low morale. On opening night (Dec 26 1988) the surprise wasn'tthat the reviews were tepid; the surprise was that the simplified set finally worked perfectly and that there were as many good pull quotes the next morning as there were! The show closed 2 months later and the funny thing is that business actually got better and better as the show went on.

I'd frankly be all for a revisit of the show with a brand new script, and with a brilliant new director who has a vision for the piece that is more than just "a Vegas spectacle about a Jewish gangster that's fun for the whole family". Maybe a new hit revival will mean the original poster hanging on Joe Allen's Wall of Flops can finally come down!"

If that's not a perfect breakdown of how a show with some potential can go all wrong in the production process, I don't know what is.  Very informative!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/7/19 at 11:41pm

^ Thanks, guys! Frankly I haven't thought about LEGS DIAMOND in years, but the memories you form of your Wonder Bread years on Bway are never far from the surface. Happy someone's question prompted me to record it all here. :)

[A Director]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 2:16am

Someone in a Tree2 said: "^ Thanks, guys! Frankly I haven't thought about LEGS DIAMOND in years, but the memories you form of your Wonder Bread years on Bway are never far from the surface. Happy someone's question prompted me to record it all here.:)"

Legs Diamond wasn't Jewish; he was Irish. After reading your account of the show, I'm reminded of Moss Hart's comment, "If Hitler is still alive, may he be out of town with a new musical that's in trouble."

 

[Smaxie]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 8:32am

A Director said: "Someone in a Tree2 said: "^ Thanks, guys! Frankly I haven't thought about LEGS DIAMOND in years, but the memories you form of your Wonder Bread years on Bway are never far from the surface. Happy someone's question prompted me to record it all here.:)"

Legs Diamond wasn't Jewish; he was Irish. After reading your account of the show, I'm reminded of Moss Hart's comment, "If Hitler is still alive, may he be out of town with a new musical that's in trouble."

The quote, which is "If Hitler is alive, I hope he's out of town with a musical," was from Larry Gelbart, during the Philadelphia tryout for The Conquering Hero. 

 

[castlestreet]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 10:02am

I’ve always found the score of Legs Diamond to be very enjoyable. I think the preview period combined with the toxic reviews (many at Allen in the show) doomed what could have been a great production. I know Frank Rich made a comment about the most compelling drama of the night being watching Peter Allen figure out what to do with his hands.

I know a lot of people who saw it and they all said it was over the top but pure fun to watch. While Peter Allen may not have been believable as a gangster who wants to be in show business-he was one helluva performer!

[Joviedamian]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 10:37am

https://youtu.be/3IUdlDEMA8Q

Here’s a clip with Harvey Fierstein on Theater Talk discussing some of the issues.

The conversation starts about 16 minutes into the clip!

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 10:38am

Having seen Legs I can tell you that the actual show was really bad. The recording is very good I think and in the theater the songs were great, but the main problem was Peter Allen ..he was Peter Allen not a character just himself ...as Harvey Fierstein said he knew they were in trouble when Peter didn't even get entrance applause. (most people didn't know who he was that were in the audience) ..if you watch Will and Grace...Beverly Lesley is about as masculine as Peter was...just so wrong to be playing a gangster..I am glad I saw it because it was a wonderful mess..and I got to see the incredibly talented Peter Allen...even if it was all wrong...I still loved him!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 7/8/19 at 10:39am

For those curious ones, here’s a pretty good archive of the entire original Broadway production.   Many familiar with THE BOY FROM OZ will notice many songs came from LEGS DIAMOND.