| NY Times on the travails of the production | |
| Posted by: Marlo*Manners 02:04 pm EDT 08/29/18 | |
| In reply to: "My Fair Lady" - the forgotten Broadway revival of 1993-94 - Marlo*Manners 12:22 pm EDT 08/29/18 | |
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| Like Julie Andrews who kept having vocal problems during the original New York and London runs of the musical and Cheryl Kennedy who toured the 1980 revival for months until she developed nodes and withdrew in favor of her understudy, Nancy Ringham who did all the performances on Broadway after the first preview, Melissa Errico ruptured her vocal cords during the pre-Broadway tour. Here is Glen Collins' account of the various crises that occurred prior to Broadway: "Anything but Loverly At Fourth of July picnics a year from now, some theater folk may still be swapping yarns about the bad luck that has bedeviled the national tour of the newest revival of "My Fair Lady." That's the Broadway-bound surrealist reinvention of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical that stars Richard Chamberlain as Henry Higgins. Crisis No. 1: Only a week before the show was to begin its tour in Fort Myers, Fla., Melissa Errico, the actress who had been chosen with much fanfare over 612 others to play Eliza Doolittle, ruptured a capillary in her right vocal cord. Her understudy, Meg Tolin, had never sung the role during rehearsals in New York. Crisis No. 2: On the very first leg of the national tour, in Fort Myers, the set, by the English designer Ralph Koltai, dwarfed the stage. Some frenzied carpentry and instant restaging were undertaken. Crisis No. 3: Miss Errico's costumes did not fit Ms. Tolin, and so there was a last-minute hunt for rental dresses in Florida. Crisis No. 4: On Saturday, April 3, for the first performance, the local stagehands went out on a wildcat strike. ("To this day, we don't know why," said Fran Weissler, who, with her husband, Barry, is producing.) The cast improvised through the performance, and Ms. Tolin and Mr. Chamberlain received a standing ovation. Crisis No. 5: On April 5, at 3 A.M., as the set was waiting in the parking lot to be loaded into 11 trucks for the trip to Orlando, a tornado struck Fort Myers. Part of the set and several costume containers were destroyed. That afternoon, when the set's surviving elements were installed in Orlando, they were still soaked. But The Orlando Sentinel gave the musical an excellent review. Crisis No. 6: After a subsequent profitable engagement in Detroit, the set had to be rebuilt once again to fit the Chicago stage. (The Chicago Tribune review said the show needed much work.) The good news: On April 30, for the last three days of the Chicago run, Miss Errico was able to return to "My Fair Lady." She then appeared on opening night in Washington (to an enthusiastic notice from The Washington Post). Crisis No. 7: On May 23, Miss Errico ruptured the capillary in her vocal cord again. "The doctors said it could lead to something worse if I used the muscle," said Miss Errico, who underwent surgery. Ms. Tolin would open in Boston. Crisis No. 8: On June 1, the day for the first preview at the Colonial Theater in Boston, Ms. Tolin had stomach flu and was too dizzy to stand. The understudy for the understudy, Edwardyne Cowan, took the stage until Ms. Tolin recovered for the opening, which was postponed. (The Boston Globe review was nothing short of a rave.) When the choreographer, Donald Saddler, had another commitment during the Detroit run, Tommy Tune and Jeff Calhoun (he's the director of "Tommy Tune Tonight") were called in by the producers to "give the musical a more rhythmical flow," said Mr. Weissler. Translation: to speed up scene changes and transitions. They have continued to make suggestions, with the approval of Mr. Saddler, who said he "doesn't mind that Tommy is involved," and that he will work on the production again after it heads to the West Coast on Tuesday. A Dec. 9 Broadway opening is planned for the $2.5 million show. "I hope to rejoin the cast in Seattle, and stay right through the New York opening," said Miss Errico. "For me there's been no high drama here. It's just been a nuisance." The producers and Mr. Chamberlain remain optimistic despite their Job-like travails. "Bad luck is a good omen in the theater," said Mr. Chamberlain. "When things go too smoothly in this business, beware." Marlo Manners (Lady Barrington) |
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| Link | On Stage and Off July 1993 |
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