Kline/LuPone Robber Bridegroom- Page 3

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:09pm

Uh, at the time of RB, Bostwick was fresh off a successful run in GREASE ...

[dancinfan]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 7:23pm

The Jamie Lockhart in the Showtime TV version was blond.

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 5/25/08 at 9:58pm

"The Jamie Lockhart in the Showtime TV version was blond"


you've actually SEEN that? I've never come across ANYONE who has seen it.

Does Kaye Ballard blow that part away?

[dancinfan]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:21pm

You can watch it at Lincoln Center, as I did last year. It's only interesting if you know the show and want to see how they did it back then. Mostly it's a snooze-fest, both in terms of its theatrical tricks (which are very simple and boring these days) and its television transfer. The Lockhart, who I believe was a soap star or something, really ruined it for me - charmless and not sexy.

[ahmelie]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:34pm

^ With Kline and LuPone?

[Ludlow29]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:57pm

My apprenticeship in musical theatre was at the Stuart Ostow/St. Clement's Musical Theatre Lab, back in 1974 (I was the assistant to Stephanie Copeland, the artistic director). This was the first non-profit theatre company founded expressly for developing new musicals. Actors received only transportation costs, if that; but they had the right of first refusal if a show were picked up commercially. Our first production (and one of the few to go beyond the workshop) was the original production of THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM. Many cast members who eventually opened on Broadway were in that company, originating roles: Rhonda Coulet, Ernie Sabella, Steve Vinovich, Trip Plymale, Carolyn McCurry, Susan Berger. Others who didn't make it to Broadway (as well as actors who played roles in the subsequent Actors Company version) were represented by character names: i.e. villagers were named "Kyle Nunnery" (alluding to actors Dana Kyle and Bill Nunnery) and "K.K. Pone" (I think readers can figure that one out). Half of our 3-week rehearsal time was spent improvising an opening number "Look at That" which was the first sequence to be totally cut from the show. Not only was Rosamund's nude scene improvised during rehearsals, but there was also a topless scene for Salome (first played by Susan Berger) who—as in the novella—danced "naked under the sun" until she dies (Fortunately, Salome's death was reconceived in subsequent productions; I shudder at the thought of the video version featuring a topless Kaye Ballard). What few people remember is that the role of "Jaimie Lockart" was originated by (I kid you not) Raul Julia (And he was darn good). The authors wanted Barry Bostwick, but he wasn't available. Kevin Kline auditioned but was considered "too stiff" (at least at that point). The whole experience is one of my fondest theatre memories.-Michael Colby

[Ludlow29]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 9:25pm

I realized I wasn't clear on one point. The combination names like "KK Pone" were in the Broadway version, paying homage to actors and participants in previous incarnations.

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 5/26/08 at 10:54pm

m,

Updated On: 6/20/09 at 10:54 PM

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 11:20am

That is great info Michael Colby! I would love it if you had anymore you felt like sharing on this production!

[Ludlow29]

Posted: 5/27/08 at 1:04pm

Proteges of Frank Loesser, lyricist/bookwriter Alfred Uhry and composer Robert Waldman seemed to be heading nowhere after the 1-night closing of their first Broadway show (HERE'S WHERE WE BELONG) and the unsuccessful attempts at producing another musical (FULL CIRCLE which was to star Jan Clayton and John Raitt). Their agent, Flora Roberts, submitted THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM to Stuart Ostrow for the Musical Theatre Lab, when no one else was interested. Artistic director Stephanie Copeland fell in love with it, and the show became the inaugural presentation at Ostrow's Musical Theatre Lab, co-sponsored by Theatre at St. Clement's. This version, produced on a shoestring, owed a lot to the improvisations of the original cast. At least, that was the case with the opening number "Look at Me," in which characters strutted around in a square dance where they demonstrated their individual personalities in an exaggerated style, conveying the "tall tale" theme of the show. As I've mentioned, this sequence was the first number cut from the show, taking too long to get to the storyline.

Another early sequence was also cut (after the Acting Company version). Taken directly from the novella, it revolved around Mike Fink. Fink told his tall tales in the song "The Real Mike Fink." "Fink" was played by John Getz (who originally had been offered the role of "Jaimie," but turned it down to make his Broadway debut in FAME, a play about Marilyn Monroe; he ended up leaving that flop and playing "Mike Fink" instead).

Despite the positive response given the workshop, no producer made an offer until the final performance, when John Houseman attended c/o The Acting Company.

The original cast members grew very close and most of them subsequently played in one production of THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM or another. Everyone also enjoyed a memorable evening at the Algonquin Hotel, sititng and chatting with the enthusiastic Eudora Welty (I arranged for the gathering myself, since Ms. Welty was a friend of my family).

-Michael Colby

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 6/13/08 at 12:13pm

yesterday I watched the Showtime version over at the library.



The Deeper in the Woods number was beautifully sung by the ensemble

Updated On: 6/20/09 at 12:13 PM

[ashers2u]

Posted: 6/13/08 at 12:20pm

I saw the Showtime TV version too...just last week in fact! I also went to Lincoln Center to watch it. It's the only version of the show i've ever seen, so i have nothing to compare it to...but i'd say it's...interesting. I did not like the guy who played Jamie Lockhart either...he didn't look the part and his acting left much to be desired.

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 1:02am

Look the part? Welty describes Jamie:

>>>>though but six feet tall, and dressed up like a New Orleans dandy, with his short coat knotted about him capewise. But for some reason he wore no hat, and his heavy yellow locks hung over his forehead and down to his shoulders.<<<<<<

OK

Updated On: 6/20/09 at 01:02 AM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 3:14pm

Mea culpa! I found the EP from Original Cast Records (originalcastrecords.com) ... but not with Kline/LuPone!

With Jerry Orbach and Virginia Vestoff!!

Bumping this years-old thread because I would LOVE to know where I could find that.