GIVE 'EM THE OLD RAZZLE DAZZLE MARCH 1999 (Volume 4) National Library of Canada ISSN 1481-7934 (C) 1998,Clair Sedore, Editor Peter Poullos, Assistant Editor A New Monthly Theatre E-zine No reprints without written permission from the publisher, although permission is granted to forward a copy to your friends and business associates. Now available Online: http://www.mysp.com/p/clairsedore/razzledazzle.htm Give 'Em The Old Razzle Dazzle Monthly Ezine IN THIS ISSUE:A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-CLAIR SEDORE; MY RARE PLAYBILLS; TOMMY TUNE; MACBETH;TOM JONES AND HARVEY SCHMIDT; SEAN KENNY ; JESSICA TANDY; MOSS HART AND GEORGE S. KAUFMAN; JOSE QUINTERO; STRATFORD NEWS It is hard to believe that this is the fourth issue of "Give 'Em The Old Razzle Dazzle." I want to thank all the subscribers. We could not have an E-zine without you. I would also like to thank a lot of people for words of encouragement and wisdom. There are so many great theatre people, we will never run out of substance. I am trying to contain the theatre to the fifty years that I know the most about, so at least that limits me somewhat .The theatre world was saddened this week to hear of the passing of George Luscombe (1926-1999). Mr. Luscombe was a pioneer in Canadian theatre and was the artistic director and manager of Toronto Workshop Productions (1959-1986), the site now taken over by Buddies in Bad Times. Mr. Luscombe had worked with the celebrated Joan Littlewood in England and received the prestige Order of Canada for his efforts in Canadian Theatre. Many stars worked under George Luscombe's direction, including Ray Whelan, and Jackie Burroughs. Among his productions were The Alchemist, The Tempest, and their largest and most successful productions, Hey Rube, which was repeated many times, and the astounding Ten Lost Years which toured Canada. Ever since Toronto Workshop Productions closed in 1986, Toronto has missed a venue for original plays, usually based on European plays like The Good Soldier Schweik. Toronto remains a very vibrant theatre town, but it is not the touring shows like Chicago, or Phantom of the Opera, but the smaller theatres that have gone before, like Toronto Workshop Productions, The Crest Theatre with the incredible Davis family, The Bayview Playhouse, Hart House at the University of Toronto, the fantastic Tarragon Theatre whose Bill Glassco made the Tarragon a theatre to be reckoned with, Toronto Free Theatre, Young People's Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, the Phoenix Theatre, the Central Library Theatre, University Alumnae, and the Poor Alex. When one thinks of theatre in Toronto, these are the theatres that come to mind, not the O'Keefe, the St. Lawrence Centre, the Royal Alexander, the Pantages, the Elgin or the Winter Garden, or the new Princess of Wales. It is the George Luscombe's, Bill Glassco's, Ken Gass' that make Toronto the 3rd largest theatre kingdom in the world, next only to New York and London. SOME REVIEWS OF OUR THIRD ISSUE COMING IN THE APRIL ISSUE JERRY HERMAN; MOTLEY; MARTHA GRAHAM; JOSHUA LOGAN; EUGENE O'NEILL; CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE; JULIE HARRIS; MADAMA BUTTERFLY Email addresses are held in complete privacy. Per Section 301, Paragraph (a)(2)(C) of S. 1618, further transmissions to you by the sender of this email may be stopped at no cost to you by sending a reply to this email address with the word "remove" in the subject line. Do check out the Encyclopedia of Canadian theatre. It is a fantastic site and well worth your time: http://www.canadiantheatre.com/ I have had the privilege of helping with additions to the site, which is a great thrill for me. The editor of the site is Gaetan Charlebois and he deserves a great deal of credit for this wonderful addition to our culture STRATFORD NEWS It is great to see some of the established actors back at Stratford this season. William Hutt - The Tempest Brian Bedford - Midsummer Night's Dream, School for Scandal Lally Cadeau - Pride and Prejudice, School for Scandal Patricia Collins - Pride and Prejudice, Richard II James Blendick - The Alchemist, School for Scandal Martha Henry - Macbeth Joyce Campion - Richard II William Needles - Richard II Joseph Shaw - Richard II So far, no familiar names in Dracula, Glenn or West Side Story **************************************************************************** *************** 1X-DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TURN YOUR WEBSITE INTO A 24HR. NON-STOP CASH GENERATOR!..Private "Members Only" site SHOCKS the Internet Marketing "In Crowd!".. Get The "Insider" SHOCKING!..TAKE NO PRISONERS INFO.!.. To Make Your Website a SMASHING Moneymaker!!!!! http://www.secretsinside.com/cgi-bin/warriors.cgi?EG2944 **************************************************************************** ************** RARE PLAYBILLS - Among the rarest of the Playbills that I collected over my many years of theatregoing are such programmes as: Peter Allen(75); Arsenic and Old Lace (41); Anna Lucasta (44); Beatrice Lillie; Balcony (60); Boys in the Band(68); Pearl Bailey; Shirley Bassey at the Plaza; Bells Are Ringing (56); Jack Benny; Born Yesterday(46); Brigadoon (47); Carpenters (75) and (76); Call Me Madam(50); Call Me Mister(46); Carmen Jones (43); Charlie's Aunt(40); Come Back Little Sheba(50); Creditors/Stronger (Geraldine Page(77); Duel of Angels (Mary Ure and Vivian Leigh(60); Damn Yankees(55); Dream Girl (45); Evening with Beatrice Lillie(52); Elsa Lanchester Herself(61); Evening with Joyce Grenfell(64); Fantasticks -original programme(60); Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand(64); Wayland Flowers and Madam (77); Ella Fitzgerald(79); Greenwillow with Anthony Perkins in his only singing role(60); Glass Menagerie (45); Gone With the Wind (U.K. musical (72); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(49); Hot Spot-Judy Holliday's final performance (63); Holly Golightly(66); Hair(68); Home Sweet Homer with Yul Brynner(75); Harvey(49);I Can Get It For You Wholesale with Barbra Streisand(62); Illya Darling with Melina Mercouri(67); I Do I Do with Rock Hudson in his only singing role(76); In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel - one of Tennessee Williams' last plays(69); I Am a Camera(52); Love Death Plays of William Inge(75); Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor(81); Married Alive-Vincent Price in his only musical(67); More Stately Mansions with Ingrid Bergman(68); Member of the Wedding(50); Murder Among Friends with Janet Leigh and Jack Cassidy in his final performance (75); Matter of Gravity with Katharine Hepburn (76); Neon Woman with Divine (78); Nine with Raul Julia (82); Once Upon a Mattress with Carol Burnett(59); Odyssey with Yul Brynner(75); Private Lives with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton(75); Johnnie Rae(68); Restless Underwear with Divine(77); Craig Russell(78); Sugar and Spice with Sal Mineo (74); Sonny and Cher(77); Sunset City with Alexis Smith(77); Solid Gold Cadillac(53); Threepenny Opera with Raul Julia (76); Up in One-Peter Allen(79); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf-Opening Night October 13,l962; Wait Until Dark with Lee Remick(66); Women Behind Bars with Divine(76) ************************************************************************** -3-I Can Read It For You Wholesale! Love mysteries & thrillers, but don't have time to choose? Every month I pick the best for Amazon.com, Chicago Trib and you! See my web site: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/MysteriesFromDick *************************************************************************** We do not make our mailing list publicly accessible. We respect your privacy as our subscribers. "7-Step Blueprint For Internet Success" Request your free report by e-mailing mailto:webmaster@information4success.com with "FREE REPORT- 7 Step Blueprint" in the subject. PLAYWRIGHTS - MOSS HART (1904-1961) AND GEORGE S. KAUFMAN (1889-1961) - Born in New York and destined to be a great writer, his first plays were disasters. Success came with a collaboration with George S. Kaufman on Once In a Lifetime (30), followed by Face the Music(32) for which he was the lyricist. He next wrote with Kaufman Merrily We Roll Along (34) and more plays including the Pulitzer Prize winning You Can't Take It With You (36), which is probably their best work, and it continues to be presented often today. This was followed by I'd Rather Be Right (37), Sing Out The News (38), The Fabulous Invalid (38), The American Way (39), and The Man Who Came To Dinner (39). George Washington Slept Here was written in (40), Lady in the Dark (41); Winged Victory (43); Christopher Blake (46), and Light Up the Sky (48). His last work was The Climate of Eden in (52). Later he staged such shows as Junior Miss(41); Dear Ruth (44); My Fair Lady (56) and was in Toronto where he worked on the staging of Camelot for the opening of The O'Keefe Centre in 1960. He died the next year. He also wrote a wonderful book called "Act One." **************************************************************************** *************** 3X-Ask Me How You Can Start Your Online Business With A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS IN FREE ADVERTISING!!! Free 7-page report! mailto:webmaster@wealthnexus.com w/ "$250,000 ad report/razzledazzle" in subject **************************************************************************** *************** DIRECTORS - JOSE QUINTERO (1924- ) Born in Panama and studied at the University of Southern California, and after working in summer stock started with Circle in the Square where he became a household word especially for directed Eugene O'Neill's works. His best direction was of productions of Summer and Smoke (52); Children of Darkness (58); The Iceman Cometh (56); Long Day's Journey Into Night (56); Hughie (64); More Stately Mansions(67), an unfinished work by O'Neill and Moon For the Misbegotten (73). COMPOSERS/LYRICISTS - TOM JONES (1928- ) AND HARVEY SCHMIDT(1929- ) - Both born in Texas and both attended the University of Texas. The composer and lyricist of the longest running musical of all time, The Fantasticks, which opened May 3, l960 and is still running at the same small theatre, the Sullivan Street Playhouse, in Greenwich Village. Probably the simplest musical ever written, the show has such charm that it has captivated every audience. The original cast included newcomers like Jerry Orbach and Kenneth Nelson who became big stars later on. The show was not liked by the critics but word of mouth spread like wildfire and filling the 150 seat theatre was no problem on a nightly basis. Since the Fantasticks they have written shows like 110 in the Shade(63), I Do I Do (66), and Celebration(69) , but nothing has come close to their early success. DESIGNERS - SEAN KENNY (1932-1973) - English set designer and director. He was the first to gain recognition in both Britain and the U.S. Before that English set designers were relatively undiscovered, and the sets were very common and never gained any attention unlike the American set designers. Sean Kenny broke this mold and his production of Oliver, and the wonderful turntable settings of the rooftop chase in London changed English theatre forever. Other productions he designed were Juno and the Paycock, Maggie May and Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. DANCERS - TOMMY TUNE (1939- ) - American dancer and choreographer from Witchita Falls, Texas, who changed the face of Broadway musicals. Not since Busby Berkeley has there been such a tremendous talent. Mr. Tune has breathed life into a great many musicals. Among his shows are Baker Street(65), where he appeared in the chorus, but not for long; Seesaw (73) where he won a Tony and was on his way; The Club (76) where a group of women played all the cigar-smoking men's roles to great delight of the critics; Sunset; Best Little Whorehouse in Texas(78); Canterbury Tales; A Day in Hollywood A Night in the Ukraine(80); for which he won another Tony; Cloud 9 (81); Nine (82); My One and Only with Twiggy (83); Stepping Out (87); and Grand Hotel (89). ACTORS/ACTRESSES - JESSICA TANDY (1909-1994) - wife of actor Hume Cronyn and born in England. She first appeared on Broadway in The Matriarch(30); and in 1947 won world wide acclaim as Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire. This was followed by Hilda Crane(50); The Fourposter(51); Madam, Will You Walk(53); A Delicate Balance (66); The Gin Game (77); Foxfire(82) which gave her a Tony Awared; The Petition (86). Much of Ms. Tandy's time was taken with films, where she won our hearts again in Driving Miss Daisy and Fried Green Tomatoes. OPERA - MACBETH - A Verdi opera in 4 acts based on Shakespeare's play. Written in 1847, this opera is seldom done. It is a great opera with Macbeth (baritone); Lady Macbeth (soprano); MacDuff (tenor) and Banco (bass). KERMIT BLOOMGARDEN (1904-1976) - Producers rarely get any credits or mention, but they are the backbone of the theatre. Where would theatre be without the Bloomgardens, Shuberts, and Ziegfelds? Mr. Bloomgarden was born in Brooklyn. He has produced shows since 1940 when Heavenly Express opened, followed by Deep Are the Roots (45), which was a great success for him. These were followed by Another Part of the Forest (46); Command Decision (47); Death of a Salesman (49); The Autumn Garden (51); The Crucible (53); The Diary of Anne Frank (55); The Most Happy Fella (56); Look Homeward Angel (57); The Music Man (57); Toys in the Attic (60); Hot l Baltimore (73); and Equus (74). PALACE THEATRE - because of Judy Garland's "A Star Is Born," the Palace Theatre on Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets will always be remembered as "until you've played the Palace." Built by Martin Beck (whom has another theatre named after him) in 1913. It was America's leading Vaudeville House. With the advent of film the theatre became a film house in the 1930s. Vaudeville was reinstated for a very short period in the 1950s, and in 1965 the theatre underwent extensive renovations to being back some of its former glory. It is now, once again, a major theatre for Broadway musicals. MY BOOK - with a very extensive bibliography and autographs of many greats like Katherine Hepburn, Yul Brynner, Raul Julia, Angela Lansbury, Lee Remick, Julie Harris, etc., (258 pages total) is available for 49.95 plus 8.00 shipping and handling. Cheques or money orders made payable to: Clair Sedore, 810-85 The Esplanade, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1Y8. Newsletter advertising is very low budget. I already have a waiting list to advertise in my newsletter which shows you that E-zine advertising works! The advertisers get results because of a target audience which makes the advertising very cost effective. Many larger companies are just starting to realize this and are entering into this exciting new advertising medium. Compared with the high costs of web site banner advertising, E-zine advertising is a real bargain. 100 words or less $10.00 per issue or 3 issues for only $25.00. Cheques or money orders payable to: Clair Sedore, 810-85 The Esplanade, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1Y8 Email - 927121@ican.net Send suggestions and comments to 927121@ican.net To subscribe send a blank e-mail with SUBSCRIBE to 927121@ican.net To unsubscribe send a blank e-mail with UNSUBSCRIBE to: 927121@ican.net Subscribe to CURTAIN UP-Job Listings for Theatre,TV,Films-20.00 year-cheque or m.o.payable to:Clair Sedore,810-85 The Esplanade,Toronto,Ontario M5E 1Y8,Canada "Give 'Em The Old Razzle Dazzle" free monthly theatre ezine on 50 years of theatre-subscriberazzle<927121@ican.net> Make Money 4 Life-top commissions-http://www.bigfoot.com/~clairsedore