| A few memories of Lauren Bacall | |
| Posted by: | seeseveryshow 12:41 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| August 1969 - I am a college kid returning to JFK from London aboard a TWA 707. Relaxing in an aisle seat with my leg extended into the aisle, someone bumped into me and tripped. When she regained her footing, she stood and turned and gave me that famous side-eyed glare. It was Bacall! Ouch! Her look spoke volumes ("get your g-ddam foot out of the way"), and she headed back to her first class seat. Upon arrival at Kennedy she was met by a couple of attendants and rolled through the immigration doors in that classical star pose (at the time) - seated atop her luggage, legs crossed, snazzy suit, and a bouquet of flowers in her arms. Never will forget that. I believe she was returning to NY to get ready to start rehearsals for APPLAUSE, which opened at the Palace in March 1970. Saw her in that and WOMAN OF THE YEAR. a couple more recent sitings... I believe it was 2004 at the Cy Coleman memorial at the Majestic Theatre, I find myself in the main foyer standing next to Bacall and I helped her take off her fur coat. She seemed slightly disoriented at the time, I don't know why. I have seen youtube videos of her in later years where she was fully in command and together. A couple of years later, she arrives in a limo at the Cort Theatre for a performance, I believe, of ON GOLDEN POND. Looks terrific, and still very much the star celebrity that she had been for decades. I love that ALW immortalized her in EVITA's "Rainbow High." | |
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| re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall | |
| Posted by: | showusyourtalent 12:21 am EDT 08/14/14 |
| In reply to: | A few memories of Lauren Bacall - seeseveryshow 12:41 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| Saw "Woman of the Year" and distinctly recall the opening: Betty just standing stage right looking very svelte in her glittering evening gown. I said to myself "she can't sing," but I thoroughly loved her performance. Would love the lights on Broadway to shine even brighter in her memory. Truly a phenomenal actress. | |
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| re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall | |
| Posted by: | mamaleh 01:43 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | A few memories of Lauren Bacall - seeseveryshow 12:41 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| Or more precisely, Tim Rice. Great reminiscences! Wish I'd had a personal encounter; always liked her pizazz and smarts. | |
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| And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | Delvino 04:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall - mamaleh 01:43 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| I had seats for my first night in London. A big mistake, of course, for I'd arrived at dawn that day (overnight from NYC) and by curtain time, enhanced by a couple of glasses of vino, was reeling from jet lag. I was smack in the front row of the stalls. I fought the fatigue, but was in what I call the head rolling stage, when drifting off resulted in my neck snapping me back to attention. Oh, it's a terrible visual, someone drifting off in the theater, then suddenly roaring back to attention. It happened to me at the end of the second act (the part without The Princess), and then, no matter how hard I tried, in the third act. Bacall's biggest scene with Chance. At the curtain call, Bacall looked down and gave me a deadly, withering look, the likes of which I've never experienced before. It was more than clear she'd seen a rude American behaving rudely. In my decades of theater-going, I don't think I ever did that before. Or since. Years later, I saw her buying whitefish salad in Zabar's. I was right there, and almost spoke up. Words failed, luckily. Can you imagine her reaction, if I had said "Loved you in SWEET BIRD in the UK. You won't remember, but the night I was there, I dozed off in the front row." No, there was no anecdote to summon, just my remembered humiliation. So I just glanced into her stunning grey eyes and manages a nervous smile. Not returned. Across the footlights or at a grocery counter, she was intimidating. | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 10:42 am EDT 08/14/14 |
| In reply to: | And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - Delvino 04:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| I was in an elevator with Ms. Bacall once when I worked at the Random House building. She was most likely working on her memoir then. I couldn't get up the courage to say anything. | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 11:10 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - Delvino 04:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| I did that while sitting dead center in the front row at No Man's Land, starring Jason Robards and Christopher Plummer. All through the first act. Fortunately, I had gotten enough rest that I was fully awake for Act Two. ;) | |
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| re: And in London, | |
| Posted by: | SidL 05:10 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - Delvino 04:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| same thing happened to me in London in 1986 - first thing I did when I got off the tube was to buy a ticket to see Lulu in "Guys & Dolls" Jet Lag hit me like a brick wall during the performance that evening. | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | writerkev 04:55 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - Delvino 04:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| Jet lag happens to the best of us. I bet most of us have had similar experiences, in fact. :^) | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:31 am EDT 08/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - writerkev 04:55 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| I know so many people with similar stories that it makes me wonder if the Brits have some tradition of recognizing excited Americans on their first day in London and purposely putting them in the front row. My story involves a musical called LA CAVA. Big, loud, bombastic (and actually interesting from what we saw of it) and my head was rolling the entire time. I very nearly sent a note of apology back to the cast. Ever since, I have always advised people to skip the theatre on their first night in town, just to be safe. Plan for an early night and, if you happen to have the energy, spend time exploring the neighborhood around your hotel. Then, as soon as it hits you, you can quickly go back and go to sleep. | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 04:22 pm EDT 08/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - JereNYC 11:31 am EDT 08/14/14 |
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| The last time I was in London, in 2007, I saw Rufus Wainwright's Judy Garland concert on the night of the day I arrived. I was very jet-lagged, but I'm happy to say I didn't nod off. And, at any rate, I was in the last row of the stalls (orchestra)! | |
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| re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." | |
| Posted by: | writerkev 12:31 pm EDT 08/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: And in London, at "Sweet Bird..." - JereNYC 11:31 am EDT 08/14/14 |
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| It happens traveling the other way too. I got back from Europe a couple weeks ago and was over-ambitious in getting right to the Park to see "King Lear." I met a nice woman in the standby line who shared her wine with me (Sweet!) It seemed like a good idea at the time, and I was fine for the first half of the play. But after intermission I could barely keep my eyes open. (I wasn't in the front row, though.) | |
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| re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 01:32 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | A few memories of Lauren Bacall - seeseveryshow 12:41 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| She was also among the luminaries Comden and Green mentioned in lyrics of the "Bells Are Ringing" number "Drop That Name". | |
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| So Bacall is mentioned in the lyrics of at least three songs from musicals! | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 04:31 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall - PlayWiz 01:32 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| In chronological order: "Drop That Name" (BELLS ARE RINGING), "Rainbow High" (EVITA), and "I Want it All" (BABY). I was thinking yesterday about the last two but, honestly, I didn't quite remember that Bacall is among the many names mentioned in "Drop That Name." Interesting to note that she's one of those mentioned who are still famous today (Fred Astaire, Vincente Minnelli, Grace Kelly, Doris Day, et al.), as compared to those who are much less so (Courtney Burr, Arthur Loewe, Vaughn Monroe, et al.) | |
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| re: So Bacall is mentioned in the lyrics of at least three songs from musicals! | |
| Posted by: | MikeR 04:47 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | So Bacall is mentioned in the lyrics of at least three songs from musicals! - Michael_Portantiere 04:31 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| And moving to non-theater songs, she was one of the many name-dropped in Madonna's "Vogue" - and until yesterday was the last surviving member of that particular group. | |
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| re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall | |
| Posted by: | writerkev 01:45 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: A few memories of Lauren Bacall - PlayWiz 01:32 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| And let's not forget the deathless Bertie Higgins. ("We had it all...just like Bogey and Bacall....starring in our own late, late show...just like they did in Key Largo.") I've actually had that silly tune in my head today. | |
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| So when you helped her with her coat | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 01:28 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
| In reply to: | A few memories of Lauren Bacall - seeseveryshow 12:41 pm EDT 08/13/14 |
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| You didn't ask if she remembered you for tripping her on an airplane in 1970? She might have gotten a good laugh, or grabbed her coat from you. | |
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