Mack & Mabel

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Mack and Mabel
Mack 1974.jpg
Original Broadway Recording
Music Jerry Herman
Lyrics Jerry Herman
Book Michael Stewart
Productions 1974 Broadway
1995 West End
2006 West End revival

Mack & Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman.

The plot has as its origin the tumultuous relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand (transformed from an artist's model to a waitress from Flatbush, Brooklyn for the musical), who became one of his biggest stars. In a series of flashbacks, Sennett relates the glory days of Keystone Studios from 1911, when he discovered Normand and cast her in dozens of his early "two-reelers", through his invention of Sennett's Bathing Beauties and the Keystone Cops to Mabel's death from tuberculosis in 1930.

Although the show's original production did not catch on, subsequent productions, especially in Britain and Canada, have had success.

Contents

[edit] Original production

The show had pre-Broadway tryouts in San Diego and then Los Angeles, opening to rave reviews and brisk box office sales in both cities. Buoyed by the critical acclaim and initial public enthusiasm for the show, Herman and company ignored a number of critical warning signs.

Neither Sennett nor Normand were particularly lovable characters, and their story was darker than that usually found in a musical. Robert Preston (as Sennett) was too old for Bernadette Peters (Mabel), and their characters lacked chemistry.[1] Director and choreographer Gower Champion devised a number of eye-catching visual effects and spectacular dance sequences set to Philip J. Lang's orchestrations, but their brightness proved to be too great a contrast with the somber mood of the piece. His concept of setting the action in the corner of a huge studio soundstage created problems with the set and limited the staging to the extent that it was seen as static and boring.[2] Most importantly, audiences didn't want to invest two-and-a-half hours in a musical where the heroine dies tragically at the end.

Efforts were made to resolve the problems at The Muny in St. Louis, but this venue was a "terrible mistake." Because The Muny was so large, the performers overplayed and pulled the show out of shape. By the Washington, D.C. Kennedy Center engagement, "nothing was working", and Champion changed the staging of scenes that had previously worked.[3] By the time the show opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway on October 6, 1974, it was less successful than it had been four months earlier. Reviews ranged from fair to middling,[4] and the show closed after only 66 performances, Herman's first major flop.

Despite the reviews and short run, the show received eight Tony Award nominations - for the book, direction, set and costume design, choreography, lead actor, lead actress, and the production itself as Best Musical. Herman - whose melodic score had received the best notices - was not nominated. Herman was deeply disappointed, since the project had been one of his favorites (and remains so, even now), and he felt producer David Merrick had done little to promote it, saying "He never invested in advertising. He never came to the theatre."[5] Despite its failure, the show has developed a cult following.[6]

[edit] Subsequent productions

1995 London Album Cover

In 1982, when British ice-skating team Torvill and Dean won the gold medal for ice dance in the World Figure Skating Championships, they performed to the overture from the original cast album. The event was broadcast by BBC Television, and the station was inundated with calls from viewers wanting to know where they could find the music. Demand was so great that the album was re-released in the UK, where it shot to #6 on the charts, unprecedented for a show album, especially one ten years old.

Interest was such that in 1988, a one-time concert version - featuring George Hearn, Georgia Brown and Tommy Tune - was staged for charity at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Despite ecstatic reviews, it wasn't until seven years later, on November 7, 1995, that a full-scale production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, and ran for 270 performances. The book had been dramatically revised, and now had a happy ending, with Mabel back in Mack's arms at the final curtain. The cast, directed by Paul Kerryson, choreographed by Michael Smuin and musically directed by Julian Kelly, included Howard McGillin as Mack and Caroline O'Connor as Mabel, Kathryn Evans, and Alan Mosley.[7]

The show was revived once again at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury in England. David Soul starred alongside Anna Jane Casey (replaced by Janie Dee in the West End production) in the small scale production (with only eleven performers), which ran for a limited season between March and June 2005.[8] The show did not end there however, as it toured the UK from January 2006 prior to a West End transfer, where it played the Criterion Theatre from April 10, 2006 until July 1, 2006. It featured the trademark style of director John Doyle, with the cast members, except for Soul, playing musical instruments as well as acting and singing.[9]

More recently, the show was produced at the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Directed by Molly Smith, this production eliminated the use of projected film as called for in the script. Instead, monochromatic costumes and special lighting are used to produce the effect of silent film while using live actors on stage. The result is a seamless blend between silent film scenes, and full color. Shaw's presentation is the first full production in Canada and was in repertory at the Festival Theatre until October 28, 2007.[10]

Broadway Theatre, Catford is preparing a production for November 2008, led by Artistic Director Thom Southerland.[11] Southerland assisted John Doyle on his 2005-2006 production.[12]

[edit] Synopsis

Silent movie director Mack Sennet returns to his old film studio in Brooklyn in 1938. Things have changed considerably since he was last there—he sees a group of actors shooting a scene for a talkie. Mack reminisces about "when he ran the show", the glorious era of silent movies, with references to his Bathing Beauties and Keystone Cops ("Movies Were Movies").

The musical's main story is told in flashback. It begins in 1911, and chronicles the story of Mack's involvement - both professionally and romantically - with one of the biggest stars of his movies, Mabel Normand. When Mabel, a delicatessen worker, delivers a sandwich to Lottie, the actress that Mack is filming, Lottie is unable to pay, and Mabel reacts violently. Mabel's dramatic behaviour catches Mack's eye, and he thinks she has potential as an actress. He offers her a part in his next film. She initially refuses, but when she looks back on the offer, she is dazzled by the career prospects ("Look What Happened To Mabel").

Mabel is very successful, and later, along with Mack's two accountants, Kleiman and Fox, who are helping to finance his projects, the film company moves to a new, larger studio. Lottie and the rest of Mack's film crew, who include the comedian Fatty Arbuckle, eagerly fantasize about moving up in the world, ("Big Time"). Meanwhile, Mabel has become attracted to Mack. He comes up behind her while she is reciting an improvised poem, and Mabel invites him into her train compartment for a meal. Things escalate, and Mabel persuades a very reluctant Mack to take part in a mock wedding ceremony. But Mack has no time for romance ("I Won't Send Roses"). He and Mabel sleep together, but Mack wakes up horrified and leaves in a hurry. Mabel, out of her love for Mack, resolves to do things his way ("I Won't Send Roses" (Reprise)).

Eventually, Mabel wants to move on from comedy and star in serious dramas. But Mack is only interested in comedy ("I Wanna Make The World Laugh") and tries to discourage her. Mabel meets another movie director, the smooth-talking William Desmond Taylor, who is instantly attracted to her, and agrees to feature her in serious films - he invites her to dinner to discuss arrangements. Mack tries in vain to discourage her; after an argument, Mabel dresses in her best clothes and puts on make-up, then goes off not only for her luncheon appointment with Taylor, but for good- she never wants to see Mack again, ("Wherever He Ain't"). Mack is confident that he can manage without Mabel. He made a star out of one ordinary girl, and he can make a star out of another. With this in mind, he immediately comes up with the concept of the Bathing Beauties ("Hundreds of Girls").

Mabel eventually returns to Mack of her own accord and is welcomed with open arms by the entire film company ("When Mabel Comes In The Room"). Mack is so glad to have her back that he agrees to film Mabel's new, serious drama, "Molly", at his studio. But he can't help himself - comedy is his nature. He attempts to jazz it up with a new comic creation, The Keystone Cops ("Hit 'Em On The Head"), and Mabel returns to Taylor. Later, Mack sees Mabel again as she is preparing to embark on a ship with Taylor. Taylor shows up and Mack leaves. Taylor, sensing that Mabel might still have feelings for Mack, persuades Mabel, who is complaining of tiredness, to take heroin, saying it is a pick-me-up, which works with the magic words, "Bye, Mack!". Mabel is heartbroken by everything Mack has done to her, but is confident that she will eventually forget him, ("Time Heals Everything").

Back at the studio, a happy Mack has realized the potential of sound in his movies, with singing and dancing. Lottie Ames, another actress in Mack's company, has become a star, while Mabel has become a full-time drug addict ("Tap Your Troubles Away"), and her reputation is ruined. To add further injury, her lover, William Desmond Taylor, is murdered, and she is the prime suspect. By the time Mack is willing to try to patch things up between him and Mabel, it is too late - she has died. But musicals must end happily, so Mack imagines a happier ending to their story ("I Promise You A Happy Ending").

[edit] Song list

Act I
  • Movies Were Movies - Mack
  • Look What Happened to Mabel - Mabel and Company
  • Big Time - Lottie Ames and Company
  • I Won't Send Roses - Mack and Mabel
  • I Wanna Make the World Laugh - Mack and Company
  • Wherever He Ain't - Mabel
  • Hundreds of Girls - Mack and Bathing Beauties
Act II
  • When Mabel Comes In the Room - Company
  • My Heart Leaps Up/Hit 'em on the Head - Mack
  • Time Heals Everything - Mabel
  • Tap Your Troubles Away - Lottie and Company
  • I Promise You a Happy Ending - Mack

[edit] Characters

David Soul as Mack Sennett in 2006
  • Mack Sennet — A workaholic movie director
  • Mabel Normand — A deli delivery girl who becomes a movie star. Mack reluctantly becomes romantically involved with her.
  • Frank Wyman — An actor/writer, and later a director
  • Lottie Ames — A silent movie star
  • William Desmond Taylor — A "serious" director, and rival for both Mabel's acting talents and her affections
  • Ella — Mack's pianist
  • Kleiman — An accountant
  • Fox — His partner
  • Eddie — The watchman

Subsequent revisions of the show have changed some character names to their real life counterparts from the era.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Tony Award
Drama Desk Award
  • Outstanding Music and Lyrics (nominee)
  • Outstanding Actor in a Musical (Robert Preston) (nominee)
  • Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Bernadette Peters) (nominee)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Broadway, the Golden Years: Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographers (2003), Robert Emmet Long, p. 211, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 0826413471
  2. ^ Citron, p. 198
  3. ^ Citron, p. 200
  4. ^ Before the Parade Passes by: Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical (2005), John Anthony Gilvey, p. 253, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0312337760
  5. ^ Gilvey, p. 253
  6. ^ Jerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune (2004), Stephen Citron, p. 202, Yale University Press, ISBN 0300100825
  7. ^ Variety review of 1995 London production, Nov. 13, 1995
  8. ^ Newbury Theatre reviews, 2005
  9. ^ Curtain Up review, Criterion Theatre, April 11, 2006
  10. ^ Variety review of Shaw Festival production, May 15, 2007
  11. ^ The Broadway Theatre, Catford.
  12. ^ / Thom Southerland, personal website

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Jerry Herman musicals
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