Woman of the Year- Page 5

#100I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

And that is the reason WOTY exists at all.

#102I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

Had fun reading the NYT review of the show.



STAGE: LAUREN BACALL IN 'WOMAN OF YEAR'



By FRANK RICH
Published: March 30, 1981, Monday

'I WROTE the book on class,' sings Lauren Bacall in her new musical, 'Woman of the Year,' and you had better believe it. This star's elegance is no charade, no mere matter of beautiful looks and gorgeous gowns. Her class begins where real class must - in her spirit -and only then makes its way to her angular physique, her big, sensuous eyes and that snapdragon of a voice. Even when her leading man, Harry Guardino, dumps a pot of water over her head, she remains not only mesmerizing, but also completely fresh. As hard and well as Miss Bacall works in 'Woman of the Year,' she never lets us see any sweat.

That's why this actress is a natural musical-comedy star. By making life and art look as easy and elegant as a perfect song, Miss Bacall embodies the very spirit of the carefree American musical. She also, as a result, makes extraordinary demands on her theatrical collaborators. When we see Miss Bacall on stage, we want the entertainment that contains her to come together as simply and delightfully as her performance. If it doesn't, we're going to notice the esthetic gap between the star and her vehicle very fast.

'Woman of the Year,' which opened at the Palace last night, is an amiable show that suffers from such a gap. It boasts other assets besides Miss Bacall - most crucially a tuneful score by John Kander - but it often huffs and puffs to achieve effects that its leading lady can pull off with a flick of her regal head. And, even then, it doesn't always deliver. While this show never drops below a certain, hard-nosed level of Broadway professionalism, neither does it rise to a steadily exciting pitch. Its creators are most fortunate to have a star who crackles whether they light a fire under her or not.

The musical has been adapted by Peter Stone from the tender and funny Ring Lardner Jr.-Michael Kanin screenplay that first brought Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy together in 1942. Mr. Stone's book isn't up to his source material, but it doesn't disfigure it. This 'Woman of the Year' is still a modern battle between the sexes: the story of how a man's man, Sam Craig (Mr. Guardino), and a fabulously successful career woman, Tess Harding (Miss Bacall), try to build a marriage around their powerful egos.

Mr. Stone has, by necessity, made his heroine and hero older than the originals. He has changed their professions as well. Tess, formerly a newspaper columnist, has been smartly reinvented as a superstar broadcast journalist modeled on Barbara Walters. Sam has been transformed from a sports writer into a cartoonist - an alteration that proves a mixed blessing. Though Sam's new career allows the musical to mix screen animation with live action for amusing results, it backs the book into some unfortunate corners early on. In order to bring about a first meeting for his leads, Mr. Stone must have Tess recite a television editorial against comic strips - a phony bit that introduces the heroine on an obnoxious note. When Sam reacts with outrage -he objects to cartoons being called 'funnies' - we wonder how a cartoonist can be so humorless.

This jerry-built conflict is eventually and mercifully shoved aside, at which point the book's other problems present themselves. Though there are a few funny jokes scattered about - especially one that details the one sure-fire way to get a table at Pearl's restaurant - the batting average is not high. Mr. Stone seems to believe that the dropping of fading famous names - from G. Gordon Liddy to Marie Osmond -automatically provokes laughs. He's also insisted on recounting so much of the movie's plot that he bloats the show into overlength in Act I.

The book's top-heaviness is compounded by its inefficient, oldfashioned structure. Mr. Stone's song cues announce themselves like sirens - and then give way to numbers that tend to illustrate the action rather than advance it. Nor is there a first-rate choreographer present to take up the slackened forward drive. Tony Charmoli, who staged the dances, all too clearly hails from television. While his numbers have energy, they're simplified, variety-special versions of dances that have been done better by Bob Fosse (in his slouch-hat vein) and Michael Bennett (in 'Company'). There's even a gratuitous Russian kickline that recalls the Jerome Robbins of 'Fiddler on the Roof.'

Yet Mr. Kander's accompanying music is sprightly indeed. From the moment we hear the cheering overture (superbly orchestrated by Michael Gibson), it's clear that the score is flush with melodic ballads and show-biz brio. Miss Bacall gets to whoop it up with some male barflies in a trademark Kander rouser in Act I and then returns to the same bar to harmonize sweetly (in her fashion) with a pair of cleaning women in Act II. For Mr. Guardino and his animated alter-ego (a cat named Katz), there's a charming, sardonic duet that, if anything, seems too brief. While Fred Ebb's lyrics are sometimes routine (especially in the inadequate title song), they ascend to witty heights in the prolific comedy turns. Miss Bacall and Marilyn Cooper, as a hilariously frumpy housewife, bring down the house when they try to decide whose 'grass is greener' late in Act II.

Robert Moore, a good comedy director, has cast able clowns (Roderick Cook, Grace Keagy) in the minor roles and punched up every joke he can. He hasn't quite succeeded in providing Miss Bacall with an evenly matched leading man. Though Mr. Guardino is skillful, his blandness recalls the salad days of Sydney Chaplin. Until Sam arrives at a touching Act II ballad, we're unclear about why Tess finds him so fascinating. Even then, we don't believe that she would consider, however briefly, abandoning her career for him.

The production's design could also use some spiffing up. Tony Walton's elaborate sets are clever yet colorless, and Marilyn Rennagel's lighting is gloomy. The usually inspired costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge has done well by her star, only to dress the rest of the cast in varying shades of drab. But that may be the point. The people who concocted this musical know what their show is really about. Miss Bacall is on hand virtually the whole time, and she's vibrant whether no-nonsense or tipsy, domineering or moony, dry or wet. If 'Woman of the Year' is tired around the edges, it is always smart enough to keep its live wire center stage. Tracy-Hepburn Update WOMAN OF THE YEAR, book by Peter Stone; music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred Ebb; based on the M-G-M film by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin; musical numbers staged by Tony Charmoli; directed by Robert Moore; settings designed by Tony Walton; costumes designed by Theoni V. Aldredge; lighting designed by Marilyn Rennagel; sound designed by Abe Jacob; musical direction and vocal arrangements by Donald Pippin; orchestrations by Michael Gibson; production stage manager, David Taylor. Presented by Lawrence Kasha, David S. Landay, James M. Nederlander, Warner Theater Produc- tions Inc./Claire Nichtern, Carol J. Shorenstein and Stewart F. Lane. At the Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway. Chairperson and Cleaning Woman ...........Helon Blount Tess Harding ............................Lauren Bacall Floor Manager ........................Michael O'Gorman Chip Salisbury ............................Daren Kelly Gerald ..................................Roderick Cook Pinky Peters ..............................Gerry Vichi Phil Witaker ................................Tom Avera Sam Craig ..............................Harry Guardino Ellis McMaster ...............................Rex Hays Abbott Canfield .......................Lawrence Raiken Maury ....................................Rex Everhart Helga .....................................Grace Keagy Alexi Petrikov ...........................Eivind Harum Cleaning Woman .......................Marian Haraldson Jan Donovan ............................Marilyn Cooper Larry Donovan ..............................Jamie Ross Chorus: DeWright Baxter, Joan Bell, Helon Blount, Sergio Cal, Donna Drake, Richard Glendon-Larson, Marian Haraldson, Michael Kubala, Paige Massman, Gene Montoya, Michael O'Gorman, Susan Powers, Daniel Quinn and Robert Warners. Swings: Ed Nolfi and Karen Giombetti.

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9D0CE2DD1039F933A05750C0A967948260&_r=0

#104I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

It's obvious Frank Rich had never met Betty Perske. OF COURSE her elegance was a charade.

A brilliantly crafted one at that.

Updated On: 8/29/12 at 10:00 PM

#106I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

(ETA compare "Greener" to "Class (CHICAGO) or "Two Ladies (CABARET). THOSE are songs where the writers have something to say.)"

Those two songs were period songs. "Grass" is a modern (for the time) song with topical references that I'm sure were much funnier and knowing then (and yes I know you were so superior and way more intelligent than any other theatre goer to have known that those references were stinkers even then!)

Plus, I didn't say they had something to say in that number. I said they knew WHAT they were saying and (more importantly) knew HOW to say it.

Every theatre song doesn't have to "say something". You know that, right?

Even if the "What's so wonderful's" were an accident (and I'm pretty sure they weren't) that IS genius to recognize and construct a lyric around comic inflections of an artist's delivery. Plus that husband line at the end is so great that even though some of the other lines aren't the greatest, you don't care.

#108I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

Through all of this discussion, I'm just mystified that Lauren Bacall has TWO Tony awards for Best Performance in a Musical...

#110I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

Through all of this discussion, I'm just mystified that Lauren Bacall has TWO Tony awards for Best Performance in a Musical...

I understand your point, but did you see her? I saw APPLAUSE from the last row in the Palace balcony. In most scenes, all I could see was the platinum top of Bacall's head.

She was STILL magnificent! I've since seen several other capable women play the role and they only managed to make Bacall look even better.

Being the "Best Actress" in a musical is about more than singing.

#112I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

^^^What DAME said.

#114I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

This has to be one of the greatest threads I have ever found on here, with so many great video links throughout. The discussion sort of goes off the rails near the end with people arguing over the quality of songwriting - which seems like a moot point since even K&E felt it was some of their weakest work.

For myself, I think what I have always liked the most about the song "One of the Boys" is how campy it is.

But then, I always vote style over substance.

#116I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

I saw it four times in Boston where it previewed in 1981 and each performance was different. Unbelievably, one version had Tess Harding thinking she might be pregnant.

When I later saw it on Broadway with Raquel, the show was vastly different. She stopped the orchestra to begin a song again, spoke to audience members in the front row and lost her composure during the duet with Marilyn Cooper.

Rex Reed wrote a devastating review when the show opened. I'm surprised Bacall ever spoke to him again.

#118I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

I just saw the concert of "Women of the Year" at Chicago's Porchlight Theater. I'd seen their concert of "Applause" a while back. I realized my chief issue with Lauren Bacall's star vehicles is that her characters don't strive for anything. They start with everything, It gets taken away from them by the act one finale, and they spend the second act coping and settling for less. Tess Harding has a little more fire than Margo Channing but she never sees the gray area between ignoring her husband and quitting her job. The final song, "We're Going to Work It Out," feels like an act one finale but the show ends before we see what "working it out" looks like.

#120I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

Did anyone see the "Woman of the Year" concert at 54 Below? I was hoping for video clips but have only seen photos. Each song was sung by a different guest star and I can get a vague sense of who sang what from the photo order:

• Title Song - Joyce DeWitt
• When You're Right - Christine Pedi
• Shut up Gerald? - Luba Mason  
• It Isn't Working - Mary Callahan seem to be playing Helga
• Title Song reprise? I Wrote the Book?- Natalie Douglas - She's singing with a group of women, so it could also be the title song reprise. One version of I Wrote the Book has a women's chorus. The rewrite has a men's chorus.
• One of the Boys? I Wrote the Book? - Klea Blackhurst - She's singing with a group of men, but it seems out of order in the show.
• Dee Hoty, Anita Gillette - The Grass Is Always Greener
• Julia Murney - We're Gonna Work It Out
   

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-54-Below-Sings-Kander-and-Ebbs-WOMAN-OF-THE-YEAR-20171201

#122I'm the WOOOOOMAN...OF. THE. YEEEEEEAAAR!!!

Does anyone remember the set design for the song "It Isn't Working"? I saw a tour of the show a million years ago and just came across the souvenier program. In it, there is a picture of that song and there are skyscrapers hanging upstage. But instead of the buildings reaching all the way to the ground, they turn into swaths of fabric. Was this just a way to cut costs for the tour? Or was this the design on Broadway as well?