Applause (musical)
| Applause | |
|---|---|
 Original Cast Recording |
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| Music | Charles Strouse |
| Lyrics | Lee Adams |
| Book | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Basis | All About Eve |
| Productions | 1970 Broadway 1973 US television |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical |
Applause is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Lauren Bacall won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical.
The musical is based on the screenplay for the classic Bette Davis film All About Eve and the original story by Mary Orr upon which the movie was based. At its center is veteran actress Margo Channing, who innocently takes a fledgling actress under her wings, unaware that the ruthless Eve is plotting to steal her career and her man. The show, however, makes a major change to the screenplay by eliminating the character of Addison de Witt, the snide and articulate drama critic played in the film by George Sanders. Instead, the musical substitutes the character of Howard Benedict, producer of the play that Margo Channing is appearing in. The show also eliminates the film's final sequence, in which an aspiring actress shows up in Eve's apartment and becomes Eve's Girl Friday, ready to do to her what Eve did to Margo.
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[edit] Production history
The Broadway production opened on March 30, 1970 at the Palace Theatre, and closed on July 27, 1972, after 896 performances and 4 previews. Directed and choreographed by Ron Field with the orchestrations of Philip J. Lang, the original cast included Lauren Bacall, Len Cariou, Penny Fuller, Bonnie Franklin, Lee Roy Reams, Robert Mandan, Brandon Maggart, Ann Williams, and Nicholas Dante.
When Bacall's contract was up in 1971, the producers initially decided to cast film legend Rita Hayworth as Margo. Hayworth was very interested and flew to New York to audition for the role. However, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Hayworth was suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease and could not retain lyrics or dialogue. Ironically, Anne Baxter, who had portrayed Eve in the original film, replaced Bacall as Margo Channing. When Baxter departed the show in 1972, actress Arlene Dahl replaced her for one month before the show closed.
The musical was later adapted for television, starring Bacall, with Larry Hagman replacing Len Cariou in the role of Bill Sampson. It aired in the United States on CBS on March 19, 1973. It has not been released commercially, but it is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) in New York City and Beverly Hills, California.
New York City Center's Encores! presented a new production of Applause February 7 to 10, 2008. It was directed by Kathleen Marshall and starred Christine Ebersole, Michael Park, Erin Davie, Megan Sikora, Mario Cantone, Tom Hewitt, Chip Zien, and Kate Burton.[1]
[edit] Plot
As the "Overture" ends, Margo Channing (Lauren Bacall) presents the Tony Award to Eve (Penny Fuller), who graciously thanks "my producer, my director, my writer and above all, Margo Channing." We hear Margo's thoughts as she remembers her opening night a year-and a-half before, when Eve entered her life, and, as the scene changes and we flash back to that night, Margo's admirers crowd her dressing room and fill the air with "Backstage Babble." As soon as Margo can be alone with Bill Sampson, her director and fiancé, she tries to convince him to stay with her and not go to Rome to direct a movie. Bill firmly but lovingly tells her goodbye in "Think How It's Gonna Be." Margo dreads facing the opening night party alone, yet she feels stimulated – "But Alive" – and persuades, Duane (Lee Roy Reams), her gay hairdresser, to take her and Eve to a gay discothèque in Greenwich Village.[2] The lively evening ends back at Margo's apartment. Eve sums up her feelings in "The Best Night of My Life." Margo, seeing her 19-year-old self on the late show, satirically asks "Who's That Girl?"
Four months later Eve has become Margo's indispensable Girl Friday, impressing Margo's close friends, including her producer, Howard Benedict (Robert Mandan). Howard takes Eve to a "gypsy" hangout. "Gypsy," Howard explains,"is the name dancers affectionately give themselves as they go camping from show to show." Led by Bonnie (Bonnie Franklin), the "gypsies" celebrate "the sound that says love" – "Applause." At three a.m. that night after a phone call from Bill in Rome, Margo longingly wishes he would "Hurry Back." Bill arranges to hurry back two weeks later, and at Margo's welcome home party for him a misunderstanding leads to a disastrous evening: "Fasten Your Seat Belts." By this time Eve has contrived to get herself hired as Margo's understudy. Margo, feeling betrayed and threatened, faces Eve with the ironic "Welcome to the Theatre." Bill accuses her of being paranoiac about Eve, and after a bitter fight, he says a final goodbye. Margo is left alone on an empty stage as the curtain comes down on Act I.
Act II opens in the Connecticut home of Margo's playwright friend, Buzz Richards (Brandon Maggart), and his wife, Karen (Ann Williams). Karen, thinking Margo behaved terribly to them and unfairly to Eve, arranges for Margo to miss a performance by draining the car's gas tank. Stuck in the country for the night, they express their warm feelings as "Good Friends." Back in New York, Eve gives a triumphant performance in Margo's role. Howard again takes Eve to the "gypsy" hangout where she snubs Bonnie and her friends, who do a scathing parody of a girl who becomes an overnight star – "She's No Longer a Gypsy."
Margo is devastated by reading a nasty interview that Eve has given, referring to "aging stars." Bill now realizes what Eve's true intentions are and rushes back full of love for Margo, telling her she's "One of a Kind." But the reconciliation doesn't take. Margo is still married to her career. Eve, who has made an unsuccessful pass at Bill, has ensnared the playwright, Buzz. Alone, she triumphantly recalls "One Hallowe'en." But her plans with Buzz are crushed by Howard who claims her for himself, telling her "We both know what you want and you know I'm the one who can get it for you."
Margo seems to have lost everything because of Eve, but suddenly she realizes she could be the winner and she now has a chance at "Something Greater." This means a life with Bill. In the finale, she and Bill join with everybody answering the question "why do we live this crazy life?" – "Applause."
[edit] Cast
Cast of the original 1970 Broadway production:
- Lauren Bacall as Margo Channing
- Len Cariou as Bill Sampson
- Penny Fuller as Eve Harrington
- Bonnie Franklin as a "gypsy"
- Lee Roy Reams as Duane, Margo's hairdresser
- Robert Mandan as Howard Benedict, Margo's producer
- Brandon Maggart as Buzz Richards
- Ann Williams as Karen Richards
- Nicholas Dante
[edit] Song list
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[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Original Broadway production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Len Cariou | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Lauren Bacall | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Brandon Maggart | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Bonnie Franklin | Nominated | ||
| Penny Fuller | Nominated | |||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Ron Field | Won | ||
| Best Choreography | Won | |||
| Best Scenic Design | Robert Randolph | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Ray Aghayan | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Tharon Musser | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Performance | Lauren Bacall | Won | |
| Outstanding Director | Ron Field | Won | ||
| Outstanding Choreography | Won | |||
| Theatre World Award | Len Cariou | Won | ||
| Bonnie Franklin | Won | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Sommer, Elyse.Encores review, February 9, 2008
- ^ Musicals 101: Our Love Is Here To Stay VII, Stonewall & After by John Kenrick Retrieved 8 February 2010.
[edit] External links
- Applause at the Internet Broadway Database
- Internet Movie database listing, "Applause", 1973
- Tams-Witmark production and summary
- Applause – 1973 telecast with Lauren Bacall
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