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re: Peter Filchia's Recent Column on Mary Martin/ No Contest?

Posted by:	LegitOnce 12:16 pm EST 12/04/13
In reply to:	re: Peter Filchia's Recent Column on Mary Martin/ No Contest? - JohnDunlop 12:22 pm EST 12/03/13

The people who worked most closely with her probably did know that the demands came from Martin, but they weren't her public. She cultivated the image of the sweet, naive, hard-working, patient gal who just happened to be a star, and the public generally believed it. Rodgers and Hammerstein weren't buying tickets to her shows; the public was. The reason the stories about Martin's diva-by-proxy attitude are better known now is that the people who worked with her closely have talked about it since Martin's retirement and death. But if you'd asked the average matinee lady in the spring of 1960 about it, she would have said, "Oh, that Mary Martin is such a lovely woman, so sweet and down-to-earth!" I have to admit I find Martin's charm, at least as recorded on film and television, a little elusive: I get the impression that she is trying a little too hard to be liked not matter what the character or dramatic situation, and I find that kind of thing sort of selfish in a performer. It's particularly grating when you read about how passive-aggressive or downright difficult she could be behind the scenes.

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