Theatre Memories

[actor61]

My young niece who is in drama school is coming for a visit, and so I'm getting out old programs and playbills to share with her as one of her subjects is Theatre History and she wants to do some research. I'm 64 and trained for the theatre in London from 1970 to 1972, then embarked on a long and really fascinating career all over the world. The theatre in London was cheap in those days and on nights when I didn't have rehearsals at school, I bolted for the West End to see anything and everything. You could sit in the second balcony (Upper Circle) for 50 pence and with a good pair of opera glasses or binoculars, you didn't miss a thing. The National Theatre was still at the Old Vic as their new facility on the South Bank hadn't yet opened, and the Young Vic was at a smaller theatre also in Waterloo, as I remember. The Royal Shakespare Company played fall and winter seasons at the Aldwych, and they also did performances at a converted train station called the Roundhouse. A lot of the National's and RSC's productions transferred to the West End, so I saw various things by them at the New and Wyndham's. Here's a list of some of the remarkable things I saw.

 

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at the New Theatre with Laurence Olivier, Constance Cumming, Ronald Pickup and Dennis Quilly. Unforgettable

THE BEAUX STRATAGEM at the Old Vic with Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens.

TWELFTH NIGHT at the Aldwych with Judi Dench, Donald Sinden and Michael Williams

Peter Brook's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the Aldwych with, among others, Ben Kingsley

ROMEO & JULIET at the Young Vic

TAMING OF THE SHREW at the Young Vic with Jim Dale

THE MAIDS at the Young Vic with an all male cast including Nicki Henson

JUMPERS at the Old Vic with Michael Hordern and Diana Rigg

COMPANY at Her Majesty's with the B'way cast, including Larry Kert and Elaine Stritch

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Her Majesty's with Alfie Bass and then Lex Gouldsmit

VIVAT, VIVAT REGINA with Eileen Atkins and Sarah Miles

CHARLEY'S AUNT with Tom Courtenay

SHOWBOAT with Cleo Laine as Julie

WHEN THOU ART KING - Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V in one evening at the Roundhouse with Michael Williams

PETER PAN with Dorothy Tutin at the Coliseum

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, Bejart ballet with Jorge Donn and Suzanne Farrell at Sadlers Wells

A BEQUEST TO THE NATION at the Haymarket with Zoe Caldwell

A VOYAGE AROUND MY FATHER at the Haymarket with Alec Guiness and then Michael Redgrave

MAN IS MAN at the Royal Court with Georgia Brown

PROMISES, PROMISES at the Prince of Wales with Tony Roberts and Betty Buckley

HOME with Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud

LLOYD GEORGE KNEW MY FATHER at the Savoy with Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft

CHILD'S PLAY at the Globe (now the Gielgud, I think)

HEDDA GABLER with Maggie Smith directed by Ingmar Bergman at the Old Vic

BUTLEY with Richard Briers

HAIR at the Shafstbury

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Palace

ABELARD AND HELOISE with Keith Michell and Diana Rigg at the New

GONE WITH THE WIND, the Musical (I'm not kidding!) at the Drury Lane with Harve Presnell as Rhett, June Ritchie as Scarlett and Bessie Love as Aunt Pittypat

 

I'd love to hear from others on their theatregoing experiences, especially Broadway, as I spent so much of my career in Europe and didn't see a lot of the very famous B'way shows unless they transferred overseas.

[+ WilliamM]

I do not have any theater programs, so I shall have to use my memory for 1959-1965. My list is not as impressive as actor61's because for the entire time I lived in the suburbs of Boston

 

SILENT NIGHT, LONELY NIGHT with Henry Fonda and Barbara Bel Geddes

A MAJORITY OF ONE with Gertrude Berg and Cedric Hardwicke

TAKE ME ALONG with Walter Pidgeon and Jackie Gleason

GYPSY with Ethel Merman (Broadway and Boston)

THE SOUND OF MUSIC with Mary Martin

TAKE HER SHE'S MINE with Art Carney and Elizabeth Ashley

MARY MARY with Barbara Bel Geddes

SUBWAYS ARE FOR SLEEPING with Sydney Chaplin and Phyllis Newman

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE with Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand

TOVARICH (musical) with Vivien Leigh

THE THREE SISTERS with Kim Stanley

AFTER THE FALL with Barbara Loden and Jason Robards

FUNNY GIRL with Barbra Streisand

WILDCAT with Lucille Ball

FLORA THE RED MENACE with Liza Minnelli

OLIVER with Georgia Brown

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER with Barbara Harris

 

(I am sure my memory has let me down, but the best I could do in about 20 minutes of thought.)

[actor61]

I would love to read whatever you can recall of TAKE ME ALONG. Jackie Gleason got a Tony for it and I've heard the score but have never seen a production. Also, was Elizabeth Ashley as special as everyone claims when she became a star in TAKE HER SHE'S MINE?

[+ WilliamM]

"Take Me Along"

 

As with many of the musicals on my list, the cast album is more memorable than the show. Gleason was wonderful and did not add any "improvements."

At the time (1960), I had not read "Ah, Wilderness." It was a once in a lifetime cast, which is why it has not been successfully revived. Mary Martin won a Tony Award that year in the Female category for best performance in a musical. Her role was much more difficult. Eight times a week, she had the responsibility for keeping "The Sound of Music" on track for children and adults in the audience. Ethel Merman in "Gypsy" deserved the Tony Award. But, I understand why Mary Martin won; I would have voted for her myself.

 

I am sorry I do not remember more about "Take Me Along."

 

I saw the Boston try-out of "Take Her She's Mine," so Ashley may have still been working on her role. Streisand in "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" literally stopped the show during the Boston tryout performance I saw. The same thing happened with Newman in "Subways Are For Sleeping."

[+ quoththeraven]

I did not notice Oliver! on your list at first, @WilliamM! It was the first musical I ever saw; a cousin was in the chorus of a high school production of it. I liked it so much I bought the cast album (or made my parents buy it for me) and the sheet music.

 

It also inspired me to try reading Oliver Twist, but at the time the Britishisms and Victorian-era vocabulary were too much for me to cope with. I returned to it later on with more success.

[mike carey]

Oh dear, my memories of the stage are so mundane! I was in the chorus of the Gondoliers and Patience in 1st and 3rd form at high school and had the minor role of Samuel in Pirates in 2nd form (I was still a boy soprano at the time). With cat like tread ...

[Becket]

"Goddamm Patty Lupone" in the starring role of Evita on Broadway. Stunningly ballsy.

[jimboivyo]

"Goddamm Patty Lupone" in the starring role of Evita on Broadway. Stunningly ballsy.

 

saw patti as well and ended up afterward at les mouche for her midnight show. now that was ballsy.

 

also saw nancy opel as her understudy a few months later. she was fabulous.

[+ WilliamM]

@actor61, Am I getting across my point about the star of sold-out musical, like "The Sound of Music," having a responsibility to the cast and audience to make sure all is well? I know that's mostly the stage manager's job. But. people are not buying tickets to see the stage manager.

Edited September 20, 2016 by WilliamM

[+ Robster]

My list is embarrassingly short. I saw the L.A. production of Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close as Norma Desmond, New Year's Day 1994. My first boyfriend and I both had the flu, but we weren't about to let that stop us from seeing the show. I can only hope we didn't give it to anyone else who was there that night.

 

Rob

[+ purplekow]

My strangest theater memory was a production of Amadeus with Jane Seymour. In a scene in which Jane, as Mozart's wife shows her breasts to Salieri in order to get Mozart some consideration, the man in back of me pulled on my seat and then stood and then quickly dropped back into his seat. I looked back in anger, only to realize he was ill. A quick check revealed no pulse. I ran out my aisle and grabbed him, dragging him to the aisle and laid him down on the floor. The lights went up when the audience began yelling and his pulse returned and in less than a minute he regained consciousness. His first words were to ask if it was intermission. Then despite requests not to do so, he stood up and walked to the rear to meet the arriving gurney. The audience gave him a standing ovation. The same cannot be said of Miss Seymour whose performance was not well received that night. I apologize to those who may have read a similiar account of this episode. I do not recall if I previous had written about this in this forum.

 

Grease with Travolta and Marilu Henner

Tap Dance Kid with Alfonso Ribiero

Cats with Betty Buckley

Chicago with Chita Rivera

Starlight Express with Andrea McArdle and Jane Krakowski

Scarlet Pimpernel with Terrance Mann

Jekyll & Hyde with Linda Eder and Christiane Noll

Noises Off with Dorothy Louden

Good Evening with Dudley Moore First time theater goer

 

Others.

Edited September 21, 2016 by purplekow

[gallahadesquire]

My young niece who is in drama school is coming for a visit, and so I'm getting out old programs and playbills to share with her as one of her subjects is Theatre History and she wants to do some research. I'm 64 and trained for the theatre in London from 1970 to 1972, then embarked on a long and really fascinating career all over the world. The theatre in London was cheap in those days and on nights when I didn't have rehearsals at school, I bolted for the West End to see anything and everything. You could sit in the second balcony (Upper Circle) for 50 pence and with a good pair of opera glasses or binoculars, you didn't miss a thing. The National Theatre was still at the Old Vic as their new facility on the South Bank hadn't yet opened, and the Young Vic was at a smaller theatre also in Waterloo, as I remember. The Royal Shakespare Company played fall and winter seasons at the Aldwych, and they also did performances at a converted train station called the Roundhouse. A lot of the National's and RSC's productions transferred to the West End, so I saw various things by them at the New and Wyndham's. Here's a list of some of the remarkable things I saw.

 

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT at the New Theatre with Laurence Olivier, Constance Cumming, Ronald Pickup and Dennis Quilly. Unforgettable

THE BEAUX STRATAGEM at the Old Vic with Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens.

TWELFTH NIGHT at the Aldwych with Judi Dench, Donald Sinden and Michael Williams

Peter Brook's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the Aldwych with, among others, Ben Kingsley

ROMEO & JULIET at the Young Vic

TAMING OF THE SHREW at the Young Vic with Jim Dale

THE MAIDS at the Young Vic with an all male cast including Nicki Henson

JUMPERS at the Old Vic with Michael Hordern and Diana Rigg

COMPANY at Her Majesty's with the B'way cast, including Larry Kert and Elaine Stritch

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Her Majesty's with Alfie Bass and then Lex Gouldsmit

VIVAT, VIVAT REGINA with Eileen Atkins and Sarah Miles

CHARLEY'S AUNT with Tom Courtenay

SHOWBOAT with Cleo Laine as Julie

WHEN THOU ART KING - Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and Henry V in one evening at the Roundhouse with Michael Williams

PETER PAN with Dorothy Tutin at the Coliseum

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, Bejart ballet with Jorge Donn and Suzanne Farrell at Sadlers Wells

A BEQUEST TO THE NATION at the Haymarket with Zoe Caldwell

A VOYAGE AROUND MY FATHER at the Haymarket with Alec Guiness and then Michael Redgrave

MAN IS MAN at the Royal Court with Georgia Brown

PROMISES, PROMISES at the Prince of Wales with Tony Roberts and Betty Buckley

HOME with Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud

LLOYD GEORGE KNEW MY FATHER at the Savoy with Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft

CHILD'S PLAY at the Globe (now the Gielgud, I think)

HEDDA GABLER with Maggie Smith directed by Ingmar Bergman at the Old Vic

BUTLEY with Richard Briers

HAIR at the Shafstbury

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Palace

ABELARD AND HELOISE with Keith Michell and Diana Rigg at the New

GONE WITH THE WIND, the Musical (I'm not kidding!) at the Drury Lane with Harve Presnell as Rhett, June Ritchie as Scarlett and Bessie Love as Aunt Pittypat

 

I'd love to hear from others on their theatregoing experiences, especially Broadway, as I spent so much of my career in Europe and didn't see a lot of the very famous B'way shows unless they transferred overseas.

 

How was Charley's Aunt? I remember learning The New Ashmolean Marching Society and Student's Conservatory Band and Once in Love with Amy in seventh grade from the musical adaptation of Charley's aunt, called Where's Charley?

I want to re-enter the theatre. My first role would be that of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, which I could do with the proper voice AND the proper bosom.

[body2body]

When I was 12 in 1963 my Father had to make an unexpected business trip to New York. My Mother was in California visiting relatives so my Dad took me with him. We stayed in a suite at the Barbizon Plaza on Central Park South. I spent four days experiencing a new world. Lunch at the fascinating (to a twelve year old) Horn & Hardart Automat, dancing the Twist at the Peppermint Lounge, dinner at Sardi's, Ice Cream Sundaes at Rumplemeyer's, F.A.O. Schwartz, and my first Broadway plays. I wanted to see Beyond the Fringe with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, my Dad wanted to see The Sound of Music. We saw them both. I remember being disappointed that Mary Martin was no longer in the musical, but it was still wonderful. Until I was in my 30s most of my Theater was in Los Angeles where I saw (to name a few)-

More Stately Mansions- Ingrid Bergman, Colleen Dewhurst

The Beaux Stratagem- Maggie Smith

The Crucible- Charton Heston

Talley's Folley- Judd Hirsch

The Fifth of July- Jeff Daniels

A Midsummer Nights Dream - Peter Brook's Legendary production with Tammy Grimes

Private Lives- Maggie Smith

Knickerbocker Holiday - Burt Lancaster

A Streetcar Named Desire- Faye Dunaway, Jon Voight

Night of the Iguana- Richard Chamberlin, Dorothy McGuire, Raymond Massey, Eleanor Parker

Coco- Katherine Hepburn

Mack and Mabel (pre Broadway) Bernadette Peters, Robert Preston

Evita (pre Broadway)- Patti Lupone, Mandy Patinkin

Our Town- Henry Fonda, Elizabeth Hartman

Many of these productions originated at the Ahmanson Theater, or the Mark Taper Forum, quite a few transferred to Broadway, the musicals were often out of town tryouts. L.A. Wasn't the cultural wasteland it was so often depicted as.

[actor61]

I love this thread! I moved to Los Angeles from London in 1977 and saw some of the productions quoted above. I had seen The Beaux Stratagem at the Old Vic in London but thought the L.A. production was somehow better; maybe because Maggie Smith by then was world famous and people were so happy to see her being so funny, and she seemed very relaxed. The Crucible with Heston was horrendous. I also saw him do A Man for All Seasons and Long Day's Journey Into Night. I just always thought he was terrible in everything he did. Streetcar with Dunaway and Voight was very odd. She was so over-the-top that I lost interest, and he was far too cerebral. You mentioned seeing musicals in their pre-Broadway tryouts and I saw a lot of those too. They're Playing Our Song was at the Ahmanson prior to moving to New York and it was delightful with Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein. Evita at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was thrilling and everybody knew it was going to be a huge hit. Raul Esparza and Brooke Shields did a musical version of a Steve Martin film about a huckster preacher that was so horrible I can't remember the name. They replaced her and took the show to New York but it still flopped - deservedly. I also saw the pre Broadway tryout of Nine to Five at the Ahmanson with Alison Janney in the Jane Fonda role. The night I was there, Dolly Parton was in the audience taking notes. I mentioned seeing the musical version of Gone With the Wind in London and there was a production of it at the Dorothy Chandler with Leslie Ann Warren as Scarlett that closed in L.A. It was as dreadful as the London production had been. I liked Night of the Iguana quite a bit and think Chamberlain can be quite splendid in the right roles. I have also seen him in Cyrano, The Sound of Music, and he was excellent as the malevolent father in a production of The Heiress at the Pasadena Playhouse a few years ago. The Geffen Theatre used to be called the Westwood Playhouse and they did some very interesting things. I worked there when it was still the Westwood and it was a jewel box of a theatre. I saw David Hyde Pierce and Uta Hagen in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks there (did I get that right?). Lousy play but they were magnificent together. Streamers had Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, Pat Hingle and Ralph Meeker and was chilling and powerful. Annette Benning did Hedda Gabler there and was lovely but badly directed. One of the best performances I have ever seen on a stage was given by Laurie Metcalfe as the mother in All My Sons at the Geffen with Len Cariou and Neil Patrick Harris. Speaking of Richard Chamberlain, he and Brooke Shields did a stage version of The Exorcist at the Geffen that was pretty awful. While the Westwood was undergoing its transformation into the Geffen Playhouse, they used a theatre near the Veterans Hospital and that's where I saw a superb production of Take Me Out with Jeremy Sisto.

 

The Pasadena Playhouse can be interesting but it's hit or miss. They tend do do "star casting" and some of the stars just shouldn't have been offered contracts. Chamberlain was good in the aforementioned production of The Heiress but the soap opera star, Heather Toms, who played Catherine was really bad. They did a terrible production of The Glass Menagerie with Susan Sullivan as Amanda. The apartment looked like it had been done by Design on a Dime - all shabby chic - and Sullivan didn't have a hair out of place. They did a revival of Camelot as a sort of chamber production; no ensemble, and 3 major characters - King Pellinore, Merlin and Morgan Le Fey - were cut. Guinevere and Lancelot had a nude scene at the end of Act One. I'm still shuddering. I quite liked 110 In the Shade there with Marin Mazzie. She was far too pretty for the role but she sang the hell out of it. There was a superb performance by the man who played her oldest brother, and the rain at the end of the show was very moving in an odd way.

 

Los Angeles is a bit of a theatrical wasteland. Apart from the major Equity houses, which don't hire many local actors, there is the dreaded Equity waiver scene, which is undergoing a major overhaul of its policies by the union at the moment. A lot of the theatres are hole-in-the-wall venues that seat under 100 (which means salaries and union conditions are waived) and a lot of them are dues paying companies. I made the mistake of joining one of them out of a desire to do anything in between Equity paying gigs and paid $85 a month for the privilege of maybe being cast in something. That being said, I have seen some really wonderful stuff in Equity waiver houses but usually they were wonderful because of the acting and not any production values. For example, I saw a production of Shakespeare's Henry IV at the Banshee that was done on a tiny stage without sets and was stunning and the Colony in Burbank (before it went Equity) did some very good stuff too but the majority of the non-Union, actor subsidized productions was crap.

[+ Charlie]

I have never been much of a theater-goer, so I didn't save programs, and my memories are pretty vague. The first show I ever went to in NY was the original 1960 off-Broadway production (somewhere in the Village--Sullivan St?) of The Fantasticks with Jerry Ohrbach; all I remember of it is (appropriately) "Try to remember." I also went to the original off-Broadway productions of Hair and The Boys in the Band. On Broadway I remember seeing Amadeus (not the performance that purplekow described) and C0mpany. The only plays I remember seeing in London in the 1970s were The Mousetrap (it had already been running on Shaftesbury Avenue for years) and A Chorus Line, although I know I saw some lesser known works in small theaters.

[+ Cash4Trash]

A few of my favorite shows over the years: 1) A Dolls House with Janet McTeer 2) Threepenny Opera with Raul Julia and Ellen Greene 3) Il Teatro Roma's production of Orlando Furioso 4) Alan Cumming in Cabaret 5) Next To Normal 6) Buyer And Cellar with Michael Urie 7) Our Town directed by David Cromer 8) Ivo Van Hove's production of A View From The Bridge 9) Altar Boyz and, of course 10) Hamilton.

[+ Gar1eth]

A few of my favorite shows over the years: 1) A Dolls House with Janet McTeer 2) Threepenny Opera with Raul Julia and Ellen Greene 3) Il Teatro Roma's production of Orlando Furioso 4) Alan Cumming in Cabaret 5) Next To Normal 6) Buyer And Cellar with Michael Urie 7) Our Town directed by David Cromer 8) Ivo Van Hove's production of A View From The Bridge 9) Altar Boyz and, of course 10) Hamilton.

 

 

Gman

[+ WilliamM]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LikzyndVj-g/SSmpPcDgTrI/AAAAAAAAopU/j9PNkDTDFhE/s400/s.jpg

 

http://66.media.tumblr.com/d6d83ecb6dcff188fad18d6f518b8e81/tumblr_no5rg1CoNo1remlq3o4_540.jpg

 

I decided to focus just on Maxwell Caulfield who was naked almost throughout "Salonica" at the Public Theater in 1984. Here's Maxwell with his co-star Jessica Tandy.

 

He did one Broadway show with all his clothes on, "An Inspector Calls" (1994). Maxwell was naked, or almost naked in his other off-Broadway shows: "Class Enemy" (1978); "Entertaining Mr. Sloan"(1981). He is not a great actor, but perfect for "Entertaining Mr. Sloan."

 

Musicals from around that period: "A Chorus Line," "Chicago," "Dreamgirls," "Nine" with the original casts and revival of "My Fair Lady" with Rex Harrison.

 

Plays from that time: "Bent," "Torch Song Trilogy," and "Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein" off Broadway with Pat Carroll

 

Special Events: "Our Heart Belong to Mary" (1985) with Mary Martin, Helen Hayes, Robert Preston, Nancy Reagan and many others; Celebration of Noel Coward's 100th Birthday,if he had lived (1999) with Elaine Stritch; "South Pacific concert" with Reba McEntire' "Anyone Can Whistle" concert with Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters; "Dreamgirls" concert with Audra McDonald; "Chess" concert with Josh Groban.

Edited October 8, 2016 by WilliamM

[N13]

This thread got me thinking and being anal compulsive (this covers a lot of area!) I put together a list of all of the Broadway shows (on, off and road shows) that I have seen. Starting with Julie Harris in "The Lark" (1954 in Los Angeles) and ending in two weeks with "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in New York, I have clocked 285 productions. I'm impressed!

 

My all time favorites are:

Play - "The Lion in Winter" with Rosemary Harris and Robert Preston

Musical - The current Ann Reinking directed "Chicago"

Female Performance in a musical has to be Merman in "Gypsy" with Streisand in "Funny Girl" nipping at her heels.

Male Performance in a musical is Neil Patrick Harris in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Rosmary Harris and Robert Preston get my vote for the forementioned "Lion in Winter" for a non-musical

 

If anyone is interested (Not that I can imagine why they would be) message me and I'll send the full list. Many obscure and iconic titles!

[+ WilliamM]

This thread got me thinking and being anal compulsive (this covers a lot of area!) I put together a list of all of the Broadway shows (on, off and road shows) that I have seen. Starting with Julie Harris in "The Lark" (1954 in Los Angeles) and ending in two weeks with "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in New York, I have clocked 285 productions. I'm impressed!

 

My all time favorites are:

Musical - The current Ann Reinking directed "Chicago"

Female Performance in a musical has to be Merman in "Gypsy" with Streisand in "Funny Girl" nipping at her heels.

Male Performance in a musical is Neil Patrick Harris in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

 

 

I saw all the musicals you mentioned with the same performers with the exception of Darren Criss for NPH in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."

 

Very good list. My only change would be "South Pacific" over "Chicago."

[s1conrad]

Hello Gents,

I'd like to add my theatre recollections to this great thread. Since 1973, I've seen the following (at least the ones I can remember):

 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - Palace Theatre, London

THE SEAGULL w/Nina Foch at Seattle Repertory

THE MOUSETRAP - London

EQUUS - Broadway w/Leonard Nimoy

EVITA w/Marti Webb (Elaine Page's successor)

TWELFTH NIGHT - RSC

MY FAIR LADY revival w/ Liz Robertson and Anna Neagle (as Mrs. Higgins)

BEFORE THE PARTY w/Michael Gough

DOCTOR FAUSTUS w/ Patrick Magee

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE - Broadway w/ Kevin Kline, Rex Smith, Linda Ronstadt

COLETTE w/ Diana Rigg (which premiered in Seattle, but died a quick death thereafter)

ALW's SONG & DANCE w/ Lulu - Palace Theatre

AREN'T WE ALL? w/Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert - Curran Theater, San Francisco

BRONTE w/Julie Harris -- a terrific performance directed by Charles Nelson Reilly (!)

NOISES OFF w/Dorothy Loudon - Curran, San Francisco

DRIVING MISS DAISY w/Brock Peters and another memorable performance by Julie Harris

I'M NOT RAPPAPORT w/ Judd Hirsch - SF

STEEL MAGNOLIAS w/Rosemary Harris - West End

METROPOLIS - Piccadilly Theater

ASPECTS OF LOVE - Prince of Wales, London

THREE TALL WOMEN w/Maggie Smith, London

DESIGN FOR LIVING w/a very young Rachel Weiss & uber-hot Rupert Graves - Gielgud Theater

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE w/Glenn Close and Ian Glen - National Theater

BREATH OF LIFE w/Dame Maggie and Dame Judi, West End

SHOW BOAT w/Tom Bosley (as Capt'n Andy)

HELLO, DOLLY w/ Carol what's-her-name

ANGELS IN AMERICA - San Francisco

THE BLACK RIDER w/Marianne Faithfull - SF

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE - w/Nancy Opel - Touring production, SF

WICKED w/Kristin and Idina during its premiere at the Orpheum, SF

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER - Orpheum, SF

KING CHARLES III - American Conservatory, SF

MATILDA - Cambridge Theater

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Drury Lane -- Sam Mendes directed this knock-out show with incredible sets; a highlight of my recent visit to London!

 

Also, the standard touring productions of PHANTOM, LES MIZ, CATS, STARLIGHT, 42nd STREET, SPAMALOT.

 

One of my favorite plays of all: SHOCKHEADED PETER -- droll, macabre tales of Heinrich Hoffmann set to music by the Tiger Lillies. Hideously funny!

[actor61]

Hello Gents,

I'd like to add my theatre recollections to this great thread. Since 1973, I've seen the following (at least the ones I can remember):

 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - Palace Theatre, London

THE SEAGULL w/Nina Foch at Seattle Repertory

THE MOUSETRAP - London

EQUUS - Broadway w/Leonard Nimoy

EVITA w/Marti Webb (Elaine Page's successor)

TWELFTH NIGHT - RSC

MY FAIR LADY revival w/ Liz Robertson and Anna Neagle (as Mrs. Higgins)

BEFORE THE PARTY w/Michael Gough

DOCTOR FAUSTUS w/ Patrick Magee

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE - Broadway w/ Kevin Kline, Rex Smith, Linda Ronstadt

COLETTE w/ Diana Rigg (which premiered in Seattle, but died a quick death thereafter)

ALW's SONG & DANCE w/ Lulu - Palace Theatre

AREN'T WE ALL? w/Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert - Curran Theater, San Francisco

BRONTE w/Julie Harris -- a terrific performance directed by Charles Nelson Reilly (!)

NOISES OFF w/Dorothy Loudon - Curran, San Francisco

DRIVING MISS DAISY w/Brock Peters and another memorable performance by Julie Harris

I'M NOT RAPPAPORT w/ Judd Hirsch - SF

STEEL MAGNOLIAS w/Rosemary Harris - West End

METROPOLIS - Piccadilly Theater

ASPECTS OF LOVE - Prince of Wales, London

THREE TALL WOMEN w/Maggie Smith, London

DESIGN FOR LIVING w/a very young Rachel Weiss & uber-hot Rupert Graves - Gielgud Theater

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE w/Glenn Close and Ian Glen - National Theater

BREATH OF LIFE w/Dame Maggie and Dame Judi, West End

SHOW BOAT w/Tom Bosley (as Capt'n Andy)

HELLO, DOLLY w/ Carol what's-her-name

ANGELS IN AMERICA - San Francisco

THE BLACK RIDER w/Marianne Faithfull - SF

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE - w/Nancy Opel - Touring production, SF

WICKED w/Kristin and Idina during its premiere at the Orpheum, SF

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER - Orpheum, SF

KING CHARLES III - American Conservatory, SF

MATILDA - Cambridge Theater

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Drury Lane -- Sam Mendes directed this knock-out show with incredible sets; a highlight of my recent visit to London!

 

Also, the standard touring productions of PHANTOM, LES MIZ, CATS, STARLIGHT, 42nd STREET, SPAMALOT.

 

One of my favorite plays of all: SHOCKHEADED PETER -- droll, macabre tales of Heinrich Hoffmann set to music by the Tiger Lillies. Hideously funny!

Iwas in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Palace in London. So glad it's on your list! Magical professional experience.

[s1conrad]

Iwas in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Palace in London. So glad it's on your list! Magical professional experience.

Wow! That was the first "big theatre" production I experienced--at the age of 13. It was truly unforgettable & the highlight of our family's visit to merry old London. Hey, was Elaine Paige in the cast??? We still have the programme in my parent's travel albums---years ago, I remember looking through the cast names and Elaine Paige was listed as one of the angels.

[N13]

Since people are listing shows they have seen I thought I would add my list also.

 

1956 The Lark Los Angeles - Julie Harris

1957 My Fair Lady Los Angeles - Anne Rogers

1959 Redhead Gwen Verdon

1959 The Miracle Worker Susanne Pleshette, Patty Duke

1959 Sweet Bird of Youth Paul Newman

1960 Camelot

1960 Destry Rides Again Delores Grey

1960 Gypsy Merman

1960 Leave it to Jane

1960 Little Mary Sunshine

1960 Music Man Robert Preston

1960 Once Upon a Mattress Carol Burnett

1960 West Side Story Revival

1960 A Raisin in the Sun

1960 Jamaica Lena Horne

1960 Showgirl

1960 The Balcony

1961 How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying Bobby Morse

1961 Kean

1961 My Fair Lady Margaret Moser

1961 Subways are for Sleeping

1961 Fantasticks

1961 Black Nativity

1961 Wonderful Town Revival

1962 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1962 I Can Get it for You Wholesale Streisand

1962 Little Me

1962 Stop the World I Want to Get Off

1962 Night of the Iguana Madelein Sherwood

1963 Boys From Syracuse

1963 110 in the Shade

1963 Pal Joey Bob Fosse

1963

1963 Luthor

1963 Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling so Sad

1963 Spoon River Anthology

1963 The Girl Who Came to Supper

1964 Fade Out Fade In Carol Burnett

1964 Fiddler on the Roof Zero Mostel

1964 Funny Girl Streisand

1964 Funny Girl Mimi Hines

1964 Golden Boy Sammy Davis Jr

1964 Hello Dolly Channing

1964 High Spirits Beatrice Lilly Tammy Grimes

1964 I Had a Ball Buddy Hackett

1964 A Kurt Weill Caberet

1964 Anya Constance Towers

1964 The Mikado Revival

1965 Baker Street

1965 Flora the Red Menace Minelli

1965 Half a Sixpence Tommy Steele

1965 Man of La Mancha Richard Kiley, Joan Diener

1965 Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd

1965 Skyscraper Julie Harris

1965 Drat! The Cat

1965 The Owl and the Pussycat Diana Sands

1965 Apple Tree Barbara Harris

1965 And Things That Go Bump in the Night

1965 Cactus Flower

1965 The Royal Hunt of the Sun

1966 Cabaret Joel Grey

1966 The Boyfriend Revival

1966 Hello Dolly Ginger Rogers

1966 Of Thee I Sing Revival

1966 At the Drop of Another Hat

1966 Threepenny Opera Revival

1966 I Do I Do Mary Martin, Robert Preston

1966 It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman

1966 Mame Angela Lansbury

1966 Where's Charlie? Revival

1966 Sweet Charity Gwen Verdon

1966 Wait a Minim

1966 Walking Happy

1966 Lion in Winter Rosemary Harris, Robert Preston

1966 By Jupiter

1966 Dinner at Eight

1966 Don't Drink the Water

1966 The Killing of Sister George

1966 UTBU

1966 Wait Until Dark

1967 Hair

1967 Hallelijah Baby Leslie Uggums

1967 Hello Dolly Betty Grable

1967 Hello Dolly Martha Raye

1967 Hello Dolly Pearl Bailey

1967 Henry Seet Henry

1967 How Now Dow Jones

1967 Ilya Darling Melina Macurie

1967 Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead

1967 You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

1967 Dames at Sea Burnadette Peters

1967 Tenderloin

1967 Halfway Up the Tree

1967 Mother Courage and Her Children

1967 The Little Foxes

1967 The Unknown Soldier and His Wife

1967 Fortune and Men's Eyes

1968 Darling of the Day Vincent Price, Patricia Routledge

1968 George M Joel Grey

1968 Golden Rainbow Edy Gorme, Steve Lawrence

1968 The Happy Time Robert Goulet

1968 Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris

1968 Here's Where I Belong 1 performance (East of Eden)

1968 Zorba

1968 Boys in the Band

1968 House of Flowers Revival

1968 Mame Ann Miller

1968 Forty Carats Julie Harris

1968 Plaza Suite

1968 Staircase

1968 The Seven Descents of Myrtle

1968 Joe Egg

1969 Promises, Promises

1969 Celebration

1969 Rondelay

1969 Oh! Calcutta

1969 Applause Bacall

1969 Butterflies Are Free

1969 Canterbury Tales

1969 La Strada Anthony Quinn Burnadette Peters

1969 Private Lives

1970 Two by Two

1970 Rothchilds

1970 Colette Zoe Caldwell

1970 Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Barbara Harris

1970 Company Larry Kurt

1970 Hello Dolly Merman

1970 Purlie

1970 Curly McDimple

1970 Follies Alexis Smith

1970 Les Blancs James Earl Jones

1970 Sleuth

1971 Godspell

1971 No No Nanette

1971 Stag Movie

1971 70 Girls 70

1971 Grass Harp Brabara Cook

1971 Berlin to Broadway

1971 A Doll's House

1971 An Enemy of the People

1972 Grease oc

1972 Pippen Ben Vareen

1972 Sugar

1972 El Grande de Cocoa Cola

1972 Dude

1972 The Crucible

1972 The Sunshine Boys

1973 Candide

1973 A Little Night Music Glynis Johns

1973 Seesaw

1973 A Moon for the Misbegotten

1973 Irene Debbie Reynolds

1973 No Sex Please, We're British

1973 The Women

1974 Bajour

1974 The Magic Show

1974 Over Here Andrew Sisters, Travolta, Reinking

1974 Something's Afoot

1974 Boy Meets Boy

1974 Equus

1974 Dhort Eyes

1975 Goodtime Charlie Ann Reinking

1975 Chicago Verdon

1975 Pacific Overtures

1975 A Chorus Line oc

1975 Boccaccio

1975 P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!

1976 Pal Joey Revival

1976 Shirley McLaine Live at the Palace

1976 My Fair Lady Christine Andreas

1976 The Ritz Rita Moreno

1976 The Act Minelli

1976 George Abbott...A Celebration

1977 Annie oc

1977 1776 Revival

1977 Ain't Misbehavin' oc

1977 Mummenschanz

1977 Dracula

1978 Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

1978 On the 20th Century

1978 Ballroom

1978 Runaways

1978 Working

1978 Timbuktu Eartha Kitt

1978 Sweeny Todd

1978 Deathtrap

1978 Gorey Stories

1978 Platinum

1978 Runaways

1979 Carmelina

1979 Sugar Babies

1979 A Day in Hollywood a Night in the Ukraine

1979 The 1940's Radio Hour

1980 42nd Street

1980 Musical Chairs

1980 King of Hearts

1980 Lena Horne The Lady and her Music

1980 Charlie and Algernon

1981 Tintypes

1981 Cats Betty Buckley

1982 Little Shop of Horrors

1982 Cats London - Elaine Page

1982 Dancin'

1982 Showboat Revival

1982 Agnes of God

1983 Nine

1983 Baby

1983 Noises Off

1983 Private Lives Taylor and Burton

1984 Sunday in the Park with George

1984 My One and Only

1984 Whoopi Goldberg

1985 Nunsense

1985 The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1985 Sherry Delores Grey

1986 Rags

1987 Starlight Express

1987 Ballroom

1988 Phantom of the Opera

1988 M. Butterfly

1989 Miss Saigon

1989 The Most Happy Fella Revival

1990 Street Scene Revival

1990 Falsettoland

1990 Assassins

1990 Forever Plaid

1992 Grand Hotel

1992 The Real Inspector Hound

1992 She Loves Me Revival

1993 Will Rogers Follies

1993 Carousel Audra MacDonald

1994 Guys and Dolls Peter Gallagher

1994 The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

1995 Chicago Reinking, Neuworth

1995 Sunset Boulevard Betty Buckley

1996 Side By Side By Sondheim

1997 Forever Tango

1997 Grease Rosie O'Donnell

1997 Sunset Boulevard Elaine Paige

1998 Annie Get Your Gun Revival

1999 Dame Edna: The Royal Tour

1999 The Producers

2001 Hairspray

2002 La Cage aux Folles

2002 La Boheme Boz Lehrman

2002 Elaine Stritch: At Liberty

2002 Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune

2003 I Am My Own Wife

2004 Chicago Brooke Sheilds

2005 Chicago Rita Wilson

2006 A Chorus Line Charlotte d'Amboise

2006 Evita London

2006 Les Miserables

2008 Pal Joey London

2008 Little Me London

2008 The Mousetrap London

2008 Strange Interlude London - Anne Jackson

2008 The Aspen Papers London - Vanessa Redgraves

2008 A Little Night Music Burnadette Peters

2009 Burn the Floor

2009 Dietrich & Chevalier the Musical

2010 Piece of My Heart

2011 Pippen Revival

2011 Wicked London

2011 Billy Elliott London

2011 Priscilla Queen of the Desert London

2011 Driving Miss Daisy

2013 Hands on a Hardbody

2014 The Most Happy Fella Cheyanne Jackson

2014 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Neil Patrick Harris

2014 The Book of Mormon

2014 Chicago Rumer Willis

2015 On The Town Revival

2015 An American In Paris

2015 Gigi

2015 It Shoulda Been You

2015 Penn and Teller on Broadway

2015 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

2015 Fun Home

2015 39 Steps

2015 Jersey Boys Las Vegas

2016 Kinky Boots

2016 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime

2016 American Psycho the Musical

2016 Les Liaisons Dangereuses

[actor61]

Wow! That was the first "big theatre" production I experienced--at the age of 13. It was truly unforgettable & the highlight of our family's visit to merry old London. Hey, was Elaine Paige in the cast??? We still have the programme in my parent's travel albums---years ago, I remember looking through the cast names and Elaine Paige was listed as one of the angels.

Yes. She was. There were quite a few up and comers in that company who later became stalwarts of British musical theatre, Paul Nicholas being one of them. Jeremy Irons and David Essex were doing Godspell around that time too, both of them unknown but not for long.