Michael Park was perfect enough as Bill Sampson, the romantic lead, to make one look forward to seeing more of him on Broadway. had enough to contend with without someone trying to undermine her natural good looks and perfectly nice figure.Įrin Davie, who was last on stage with Ebersole in Grey Gardens, belted out a fine "One Hallowe'en" but she fell a bit short in terms of being either persuasively mousy or ruthlessly scheming. However Martin Pakledinaz, who's credited as costume consultant, should have consulted more with whoever was responsible for two of Ebersole's truly unflattering gowns.
The mostly black and white costumes were fine, and so was the red gown in which Ebersole first appeared. While no song can match Davis' forever quotable "Fasten Your Seatbelts," Kathleen Mashall brought a nice seatbelt-fastening edge to the as usual semi-staged revival and her choreography is eyecatchingly lively. Her own unanticipated back stage story lent a special poignancy and smokiness to her standout solos, "But Alive," "Hurry Back" and "Welcome to the Theatre." However, even though still showing occasional signs of her illness at the penultimate performance I attended, Ebersole was yet another memorable Margo- less of a theatrical virago than Davis and more vocally suited to the role than Bacall, but nevertheless at once tough and charming. Yet, the musical adaptation of the Oscar-winning All About Eve was as much a major star turn for Lauren Bacall on stage as it had been for Bette Davis on screen. And more applause for being terrific even when singing with a voice less than fully operational.Īpplause may not be quite as golden an oldie as some of the musicals incorporated into the satirical title song and major production number, despite its stellar creative collaborators: song writer Charles Strouse, lyricist Lee Adams (the first inevitably linked to Annie and the latter to Bye-Bye Birdie) and prolific book writers Betty Comden and Adolph Greene. Thus, despite a de habilitating flu, Ebersole once more proved the validity of that oldest of show biz myths: the show must go on! And so, applause! applause, Christine (the double applause was actually originally considered as the show's title) for being a trooper to beat all troopers. Limited to just five performances, these popular concert revivals of Broadway's golden oldies, are mounted without the safety net of understudies for anyone. Not so Christine Ebersole the Margot Channing of the Encore! revival of Applause. However, if she had a bad cold, the flu or a toothache, she had someone standing by to take over (Gretchen Wyler is the only understudy I could track down). There's no record of how many times that production's star, Lauren Bacall, was too under the weather to go on. Yet the show lives on in a rarely seen televised adaptation that aired on CBS in 1973.The original Broadway production of Applause played for 896 performances. There have been few major revivals of the musical, the most notable being a brief run as part of New York City Center’s Encore! Series, starring Christine Ebersole as Margo Channing. Interestingly, Becall left the Broadway company to go on tour with the show and was replaced by Baxter, one of the original film’s stars. It’s been 50 years since the show snagged four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Lauren Becall), and two statues for Ron Field for Best Director and Best Choreographer.
No show encapsulated the cutthroat rise to success like the 1970 award-winning musical Applause. Based on the 1950 film All About Eve, starring Bette Davis as the aging headliner Margo Channing and Anne Baxter as the conniving rising star Eve Baxter, the musical version featured a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams. Oh, how we wish for the drama - both onstage and off - of the theater.
#APPLAUSE MUSICAL TV#
Lauren Becall in the 1973 TV production of ‘Applause.’ (Photo: CBS Television/Wikimedia Commons)
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