August 6 2007
There's
Always An Encore
The late Nancy LaMott always said, "It's cabaret - there's
always an encore!"
A few centuries earlier, in his evergreen work, "Ode to
Intimations On Immortality," the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth
said, " ... Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the
grass, of glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength
in what lies behind."
Some might remember those musings from "Splendor In the
Grass," the 1961 coming of age movie with a beauteous Natalie Wood and
a hunky Warren Beatty, from which the title is borrowed. But centuries
later, those words ring true. What can we do when something is lost?
We move forward - and, with luck, learn a little from the past.
With the announced closing of The Actor's Playhouse on
Seventh Avenue in Greenwich Village as Manhattan rapidly turns into
a maze of high-priced boutiques and over priced gin mills, one has to
wonder what's next as the downtown wrecking ball seems to run rampant
on a weekly basis. This 62-year old Off-Broadway staple has been home
to the likes of productions as diverse as "Gutenberg! The Musical,"
"Howard Crabtree's Whoop-Dee-Doo!," "Torch Song Trilogy," "An Evening
With Quentin Crisp," "Naked Boys Singing" and "Marry Me A Little" as
well as a plethora of others. It has also presented the likes of Robert
Di Niro and Lily Tomlin who played there along with so many others over
the years. Theater operator Peter Breger said, "The rent is too high
... basically, we just couldn't make it." News.
On that same day, writer Philip Boroff noted in Bloomberg
News that "Grey Gardens" was a $5 million flop. The hit show closed
on Sunday, July 27, after a run of 33 previews and 307 performances
on Broadway. He quoted money manager Edwin Schloss as saying, "If a
serious musical like 'Grey Gardens' can't make it, I feel producing
quality is an exercise in masochism." Not exactly profound - but there
is truth in them there words. The show, based on a 1976 documentary
("The Beale's of Grey Gardens,") about two eccentric cousins of Jacqueline
Kennedy living in a rancid mansion with 57 cats, received an extraordinary
amount of publicity, excellent reviews and won Tony awards for the two
stars: Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson for their tour de force
performances. Soon it will be made into a movie starring Drew Barrymore
and Jessica Lange.
Question: If a multi-million dollar production that receives
enormous publicity, plays to sell-out audiences after receiving almost
every accolade in the theater world can suffer such a financial loss,
how can little old cabaret, which is literally invisible to the mainstream
press, be expected to survive in these schizo times?
And: Does Cabaret have a fighting chance? Well, there
is consolation that the cost of your average cabaret act is less than
that of a titanic Broadway bound vehicle. Duh! Everyone has an opinion
or a complaint and most are valid if not on target. For instance, cabaret
performers, if they want to survive, are going to have to work harder
for recognition and to top themselves. Most need to think out of the
box. Some say bookers also need to do a better job in presenting higher
level acts that will raise the profile of their respective rooms with
the press. Seemingly, cabaret, along with the recording industry, is
a victim of the times. In my opinion, it's time for the clubs to go
back to the future when cabaret was at its zenith and take more responsibility
if this delicate art form known as cabaret is to have a future.
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entire article copyright 2007 by John Hoglund
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