|
It’s 1940!
The great music team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
is holding open auditions for a benefit for our
war-weary friends
in Great Britain, and some
unlikely would-be participants decide to perform.
Gene Kelly is in rehearsal for
Pal Joey, so
it’s not unexpected when he shows
up to sing and
dance “I Could Write a Book” with his partner, but then
Hopalong
Cassidy sings he’d prefer the city of
“Manhattan,” Mae West croons that “The Lady
Is A
Tramp,” evangelist Amy Semple McPherson confesses she’s
“Bewitched Bothered
and Bewildered,” Irving Berlin—a
brunt of jokes by Rodgers and Hart—shows
up to
taunt with one of their own songs, “Everything
I’ve Got,” finally an unpredictable
Eleanor
Roosevelt tries her best to imitate a stripper singing
“Zip,” and Hart
himself fills in with “Johnny One
Note” and “Spring Is Here” while other
famous
dignitaries of the 30s and 40s provide sterling versions
of
“Where or When,” “Isn’t it Romantic,” “Mountain
Greenery,”
“Blue Moon,” “My Romance,” and more!
David Houston
accompanies as composer
Richard Rodgers,
Rick Heuthe is
frantic lyricist Lorenz Hart, and
Melanie Lipton, Steve Corbellini,
and
Diana Heinlein take turns in costume as
aspiring celebrity performers.
|
Diana Heinlein David
Houston
Steve Corbellini and
Melanie Lipton
Rick Heuthe |
|
Contact: David Houston at
DH@davidhouston.net
or (516) 293-2638
$395.00
Package includes the five
performers, a small setting,
costumes and props, a
CD player for pre-show music, and travel
in Long
Island and Queens (other areas: call for travel charge).
Facility is asked to provide a piano, an acting area
at least
8 x 12, and amplification if
the audience space is large.
The show is about 65 minutes
long.
Scroll down or skip
with
these links:
_
Schedule of Performances
_
Photo of Rodgers & Hart
_
Biography of Rodgers & Hart
_
Photo of
the Performers
_
Bios of the Performers
_
List of Hit Shows and Hit Songs
_
Comments and Reviews
_
Sources
Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 2:00 pm—Oceanside
Library
Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 2:00 pm—Jericho
Public Library
Friday, June 29, 2012, 7:00 pm—North
Shore Public Library, Shoreham
Wednesday, July 18,
2012, 2:00 pm—Elmont Library
Sunday, September 9, 2012, 2:00 pm—Longwood
Library, Middle Island
Friday, October 12, 2012, 7:30 pm—East Meadow Public
Library
Sunday, November 4, 2012,
2:00
pm—Bethpage Public Library
Sunday, December 2, 2012,
2:00 pm—Hicksville Public Library
Friday, December 14, 2012,
12:15 pm—Port Washington Public Library
Saturday,
January 5, 2013, 7:00 pm—South
Huntington Public Library
Wednesday, May
1, 2013, 1:30 pm—Garden City and Hempstead Community Club
Sunday, May 19, 2013, 2:00 pm—North
Merrick Public Library
Thursday, September 26, 2013,
Garden City Public Library
RICHARD RODGERS
(1902-1979) and LORENZ HART (1895-1943)
 Richard
Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote their first shows together
when both were still students attending Columbia
University. They made their professional debut with the
song "Any Old Place With You," featured in the 1919
Broadway musical comedy A LONELY ROMEO.
Their breakthrough came with the
score for a 1925 charity show, THE GARRICK GAITIES,
which introduced the classic valentine to their
hometown, "Manhattan." From 1920 to 1930 Rodgers & Hart
wrote an astonishing array of musical comedies for
Broadway and London's West End. At their pinnacle the
team was writing an average of four new shows a year,
and among these were: DEAREST ENEMY, THE GIRL FRIEND,
CHEE-CHEE and A CONNECTICUT YANKEE.
In 1930 the team relocated to Hollywood, where they
contributed songs and scores for several movie musicals,
including LOVE ME TONIGHT starring Maurice Chevalier;
THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT starring George M. Cohan;
HALLELUJAH, I'M A BUM starring Al Jolson; and
MISSISSIPPI starring Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields.
They were lured back to New York by legendary Broadway
producer Billy Rose in 1935 to write the songs for his
circus musical spectacular, JUMBO. Their score
introduced "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World," "My
Romance" and "Little Girl Blue," and Rodgers & Hart were
back on Broadway.
From 1936 to 1943 Rodgers & Hart wrote a series of
Broadway musical comedies, each of which seemed to top
the one before in terms of innovation and box office
success. ON YOUR TOES (1936), BABES IN ARMS (1937), I'D
RATHER BE RIGHT (1937),I MARRIED AN ANGEL (1938), THE
BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (1938), TOO MANY GIRLS (1939), HIGHER
AND HIGHER (1940), PAL JOEY (1940), and BY JUPITER
(1942) dazzled Broadway in spectacular succession, and
collectively offered such classic songs as "There's A
Small Hotel," "I Wish I Were In Love Again," "My Funny
Valentine," "Where Or When," "The Lady Is A Tramp,"
"Spring Is Here," "Falling In Love With Love," "Sing For
Your Supper," "This Can't Be Love," "I Didn't Know What
Time It Was," "It Never Entered My Mind," "Bewitched,"
"I Could Write A Book," "Nobody's Heart," and "Wait Till
You See Her."
The partnership disbanded temporarily early in 1943 when
Rodgers collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II on
OKLAHOMA! The Rodgers & Hart partnership resumed with a
revision of their 1927 musical comedy A CONNECTICUT
YANKEE, and the new production (which featured six new
songs including "To Keep My Love Alive") opened on
Broadway November 17, 1943. Already ill at the time,
Lorenz Hart died less than a week later.
Richard Rodgers then pursued a career with Oscar
Hammerstein II, and their collaboration over the next
two decades resulted in the following musical plays:
CAROUSEL (1945), ALLEGRO (1947), SOUTH PACIFIC (1949),
THE KING AND I (1951),ME AND JULIET (1953), PIPE DREAM
(1955), FLOWER DRUM SONG (1958) and THE SOUND OF MUSIC
(1959). The team wrote one movie musical, STATE FAIR
(1945), and one for television, CINDERELLA. (1957).
Oscar Hammerstein II died in 1960.
Richard Rodgers continued to write for the musical stage
for the rest of his life; his fortieth, and final,
Broadway musical, I REMEMBER MAMA, opened on Broadway
less than eight months before his death on December 30,
1979. In March of 1990, Richard Rodgers was honored
posthumously with Broadway's highest honor when the 46th
Street Theatre was renamed in his honor. In 1999,
Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States
postage stamps.
RICK HEUTHE, DAVID HOUSTON,
MELANIE LIPTON, STEVE CORBELLINI, DIANA HEINLEIN
MELANIE LIPTON
—is
equally at home in drama, comedies and musicals. Her
starring roles include Lilli in Kiss Me Kate,
Tracy in High Society, Maggie in The Man
Who Came to Dinner, Luisa Contini in Nine,
Mrs. Lovett in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd,
Elizabeth Proctor in
The Crucible, Meredith in
Bat
Boy, Eve in
Applause,
and Lois Lane in a rare revival of
It’s a Bird,
It’s a Plane, It’s Superman.
She has performed
in other Houston shows:
her acclaimed Emily Dickinson in William Luce’s play
The Belle of
Amherst, Joan Crawford in Houston’s
Jazz Baby Joan,
Zelda Fitzgerald in
Great Scott
and Zelda
and Adele Astaire in
Fred and Adele Astaire: The Last Dance. Melanie spent two seasons as teacher
and choreographer at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts
Center and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from
Syracuse University.
GAIL MERZER-BEHRENS (alternate)
—has appeared in network TV
shows One Life
to Live, As
The World Turns, and Sex
and the City and in several films including Shadayim,
Hot Chocolate, Divine Intervention, and the recent
remake of The
Manchurian Candidate. Her many Long Island stage
appearances include the roles of Blanche in Brighton
Beach Memoirs, Mollie in The
Mousetrap (David Houston was Major Metcalf in that
production), Honey
in Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Claire in Proof,
Chris in Neil Simon’s Rumors,
Laura in Laura (a rare staging of the play version of the movie),
Sarah in Beau Jest, Cecily Pigeon
in The Odd
Couple, Claudia in Nuts,
and Wilma in Lovers and Other Strangers. She has a B.A. in Musical Theatre from
the University
of
New Hampshire.
DIANA HEINLEIN
—reviewing a recent
production of The Tale of the Allergist's Wife,
NEWSDAY said, "Diana Heinlein is solid and hilarious at
the center of the angst-ridden comedy; watching her
wallow in comic pathos in the Long Island premiere of
Charles Busch's lively surprisingly complex comedy is a
delight." About her performance as Bella in Lost in Yonkers, THE
SUFFOLK COUNTY NEWS said, "Diana Heinlein offers a
performance so moving that the swing of emotions will
leave you dizzy." Diana has acted myriad leading and featured
roles in other Simon classics including
Mrs. Banks in Barefoot in the Park, Kate in
Broadway Bound and
Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cookie in one production of
Rumors and Claire in another, and Florence in
The Odd Couple. She stars in Houston's The Ghost of Dorothy
Parker. Other memorable portrayals include Annie Sullivan in
The Miracle
Worker, and Maggie in Dancing at Lughnasa.
STEVE CORBELLINI
—is
a leading man much in demand on Long Island.
Among his many and varied appearances, he has
been Don
in Singin' in the Rain, Paul in Barefoot
in the Park, Hamlet and Juliet in The
Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr Abridged, Mitch
Albom in
Tuesdays With Morrie, Finch in
How To Succeed,
F.
Scott Fitzgerald in Houston's
Great Scott
and Zelda
and
Fred Astaire in
Houston's Fred and Adele Astaire: The Last Dance. He also appeared in the Long
Island
premieres of Curtains, Over the River and Through the Woods,
Triumph of Love and I Love You You're Perfect Now Change. Steve
collaborated on the creation and direction of
They Can't Take That Away: The Music of George and Ira,
in which he co-starred. Steve has a BFA in Musical
Theater and a Master of
Science in elementary education.
RICK HEUTHE,
Larry Hart
—is an accomplished character actor with more than 20 years' theatrical experience. His
diverse leading roles include Norman in The Dresser, William
Detweiler in How the Other Half Loves, Sancho in Man
of La Mancha, Amos in Chicago, Sir Joseph in H.M.S. Pinafore, Dr. Einstein
in Arsenic and Old Lace, Ernie Cusack in Neil Simon's
Rumors, and Paravaccini in The Mousetrap. He toured with an ensemble of six in
Gilbert and Sullivan a
la Carte,
featuring Rick performing the patter songs.
He also had major roles in the world-premiere productions of The Mummy Musical
(published by Dramatist's Play Service)
and the popular cabaret revue Hollywood Exposed. In
Houston's plays, Rick plays Poe in Murder and
Madness and Poe, Hercule Poirot in Christie Mysteries, and
he's Cole Porter in Let's Do It!.
DAVID HOUSTON,
Writer/Director, Dick Rodgers
—is a
published and produced writer of fiction and non-fiction. His Joan Crawford
biography Jazz Baby (St. Martin's Press), was optioned for movie production, as
was his mystery novel Shadows on the Moon (Tower Books). As an actor, David has appeared in
leading roles in scores of plays and musicals, including Friar
Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, Senex in A
Funny Thing / Forum, Major Bouvier in Grey Gardens, Ben in
Death of a
Salesman, Herr Shultz in Cabaret and Horace Giddens in
The Little Foxes. In addition to
directing productions of his own plays—Let's Do It!, The Ghost of Dorothy Parker, The Dickens, Great
Scott and Zelda, Mark Twain Telling Tales, and others—he
directed The Belle of Amherst, The Odd Couple Female
Version, Sylvia, and Social Security for NYC area theaters and schools.
|
|
|
| 1925 |
|
The Garrick Gaieties |
| |
|
"Manhattan" |
| |
|
"Mountain Greenery" |
| |
|
|
| 1925 |
|
Dearest Enemy |
| |
|
"Here
In My Arms" |
| |
|
|
| 1926 |
|
The Girl Friend |
| |
|
"Blue
Room" |
| |
|
|
| 1926 |
|
Peggy Ann |
| |
|
"Where's That Rainbow" |
| |
|
|
| 1927 |
|
A Connecticut Yankee |
| |
|
"My
Heart Stood Still" |
| |
|
"Thou
Swell" |
| |
|
|
| 1928 |
|
Present Arms |
| |
|
"You
Took Advantage Of Me" |
| |
|
|
| 1929 |
|
Heads Up |
| |
|
"A
Ship Without A Sail" |
| |
|
|
| 1929 |
|
Spring Is Here |
| |
|
"With
A Song In My Heart" |
| |
|
|
|
1930 |
|
Ever Green |
| |
|
"Dancing On The Ceiling" |
| |
|
|
| 1930 |
|
Simple Simon |
| |
|
"Ten
Cents A Dance" |
| |
|
|
| 1931 |
|
America's Sweetheart |
| |
|
"I've
Got Five Dollars" |
| |
|
|
| 1932 |
|
Love Me Tonight
(movie) |
| |
|
"Isn't
It Romantic?" |
| |
|
"Lover" |
| |
|
"Mimi" |
| |
|
|
| 1933 |
|
Hollywood Party (movie) |
|
|
"Blue
Moon" (first version)
|
| 1935 |
|
Mississippi (movie) |
| |
|
"It's
Easy To Remember" |
| |
|
|
| 1935 |
|
Jumbo |
| |
|
"Little Girl Blue" |
| |
|
"The
Most Beautiful Girl In The World" |
| |
|
"My
Romance" |
| |
|
|
| 1936 |
|
On Your Toes |
| |
|
"Glad
To Be Unhappy" |
| |
|
"It's
Got To Be Love" |
| |
|
"There's A Small Hotel" |
| |
|
|
| 1937 |
|
Babes In Arms |
| |
|
"I
Wish I Were In Love Again" |
| |
|
"Johnny One Note" |
| |
|
"The
Lady Is A Tramp" |
| |
|
"My
Funny Valentine"
"Where Or When" |
| |
|
|
| 1937 |
|
I'd Rather Be Right |
| |
|
"Have
You Met Miss Jones?" |
| |
|
"I'd
Rather Be Right" |
| |
|
|
| 1938 |
|
The Boys From Syracuse
|
| |
|
"Falling In Love With Love" |
| |
|
"Sing
For Your Supper" |
| |
|
"This
Can't Be Love" |
| |
|
|
| 1938 |
|
I Married An Angel |
| |
|
"Spring Is Here" |
| |
|
"I
Married An Angel" |
| |
|
|
| 1939 |
|
Too Many Girls |
| |
|
"Give
It Back To The Indians" |
| |
|
"I
Didn't Know What Time It Was" |
| |
|
"You're Nearer" |
| |
|
|
| 1940 |
|
Higher And Higher |
| |
|
"It
Never Entered My Mind" |
| |
|
|
| 1940 |
|
Pal Joey |
| |
|
"Bewitched"
"Zip |
| |
|
"I
Could Write A Book"
"You Mustn't Kick It
Around"
"In Our Little Den Of Iniquity" |
| |
|
|
| 1942 |
|
By Jupiter |
| |
|
"Everything I've Got" |
| |
|
"Wait
Till You See Her" |
| |
|
|
| 1943 |
|
A Connecticut Yankee
(revival) |
| |
|
"To
Keep My Love Alive" |
| |
|
|
David Houston, Rick Heuthe,
Melanie Lipton, Steve Corbellini, and Diana Heinlein in
A RODGERS AND HART AUDITION
Ruth McCormick, Co-Chairman, Programs, Community Club of
Garden City and Hampstead: "All
of the performers were excellent. The program exceeded
our expectations, and we received extremely positive
feedback from the audience. We try to plan a very
special program for the end-of-season event, and we
certainly succeeded when we chose this particular
group."
Jessica Ley, Program Coordinator, Port Washington Public
Library:
"Excellent. Charming and witty; extremely well
imagined." Jude Schanzer, Programs and Publicity, East Meadow
Public Library:
"Reservations were sold out 10 minutes after the show
was announced! And the audience loved it. They raved!
Even the next day, they were seeking me out to ask to
have the performers back again."
Debbie Starker in Deb's Web Long Island theater weekly
news and reviews:
David Houston's Literary Entertainments
brings clever, hour-long glimpses of history,
literature, theater, et. al. A Rodgers and Hart
Audition combines all three. David (at the piano)
and Rick Heuthe portray Dick Rodgers and Larry Hart at
an imaginary audition where auditioners include theater
luminaries as well as historical figures who had little
or nothing to do with the performing arts. They've all
come to audition for a benefit performance. Melanie
Lipton, Diana Heinlein and Steve Corbellini portray the
likes of Mae West, Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein,
Jean Harlow's Mother, The Lunts, Carmen Miranda, Fanny
Brice, Hopalong Cassidy and many, many more all cleverly
dramatized by Houston and brought to life by the
talented cast. I was amazed at the lightning quick
costume and character changes. I always look forward to
David's latest creation - I was not disappointed. Very
enjoyable!
Linda White, Program Coordinator, Elmont
Memorial Library: "The audience response has
been tremendous. They are still talking about the
performances. They're telling their
friends, and their friends are telling me how sorry they
are for not being there. Looking forward to booking more
shows with you!" Salvatore J. Filosa, Adult Program Coordinator,
North Shore Public Library, Shoreham: "On
behalf of the community, I would like to thank you for a
wonderful performance of A Rodgers and Hart Audition
at North Shore Library. The audience was fully engaged
with this smart, lighthearted and at times comical
musical. It truly seemed that this informative and
enjoyable performance could have lasted longer. It would
be my pleasure to recommend this program to any other
interested library." Joy Tepedino, Music Professional, at the
Oceanside Library premiere performance:
“Excellent! I wish every audition could be as
entertaining as
A Rodgers and Hart Audition! The
premise, a benefit that stars of the 30s and 40s want to
participate in, allows for many surprises. The 19
Rodgers and Hart songs are amusingly appropriate – as
when Mae West sings ‘The Lady is a Tramp’; or
hysterically inappropriate as when evangelist Aimee
Semple McPherson sings ‘Bewitched, Bothered and
Bewildered’ – both portrayed by Melanie Lipton. Steve
Corbellini’s Albert Einstein singing ‘I Didn’t Know What
Time It Was’ is both funny and poignant; and Diana
Heinlein’s Eleanor Roosevelt singing ‘Zip’ is a riotous
closing number. The accompaniment provided by Richard
Rodgers (David Houston), is just supportive enough, and
the lovely singing voice of Lorenz Hart, (Rick Heuthe)
adds liveliness and sadness to the unexpected story
line. The hour-long musical is pure entertainment, pure
nostalgia. The capacity crowd at Oceanside chuckled and
applauded frequently. Every library with a piano should
book this show!
Melanie Lipton and Steve
Corbellini in
GREAT SCOTT, AND ZELDA [as
the Fitzgeralds]
Gina Tulin, Education Director,
Planting Fields Arboretum Coe Hall, Oyster Bay:"The
whole production from start to finish was amazing. The set-up
beforehand was extremely easy, as was the breakdown at the end. Steve
and Melanie were fabulous, and the audience left the auditorium asking
for and wanting more. The promotional materials were very helpful and
led us to sell out the show. The show flowed delightfully, proving
David Houston, the writer, to be a truly talented individual. Thanks
to all!"
Diana Heinlein in
THE GHOST OF
DOROTHY PARKER
Penelope
Wright, Director of Adult Programs, Rogers Memorial Library,
Southampton: "Bravo! Another coup! You could have heard a pin
drop during the entire hour of David Houston's portrait of this
brilliant complicated woman. Ms. Heinlein's portrayal was
delivered lovingly and with great intelligence; it was warm, witty
(OK, some thanks to Dorothy), and always completely engaging. I would
recommend this production to anyone anywhere!"
David Houston and Rick Heuthe in
LET'S DO IT! [as
Noel Coward and Cole Porter]
Patti Paris,
Adult Services Librarian, Bellmore Public Library:
"Not only was the performance very enjoyable (I loved the
singing and piano accompaniment) but I also learned a lot about
these two very interesting songwriters and their place in
history."
Melanie Lipton and Steve
Corbellini in
FRED AND ADELE ASTAIRE: THE LAST DANCE
[as the famed brother-sister dance team]
Jessica
Ley, Program Coordinator, Port Washington Public Library:
"David Houston has crafted an original highly-entertaining scenario
that takes his audience to an imagined place and time, with verve and élan. Lipton and Corbellini earn gold stars for their singing,
dancing and acting. What a talented duo! The whole
production was fabulous."
- Bondi, Victor, ed: American
Decades 1930-1939, A Manly Book,
Gale Research, Inc., Detroit, MI, 1995
- Ben Brantley, ed
and introduction:
New York Times Book of
Broadway,
St. Martin's Press, New York City, 2001
- Horsham, Michael: '20s & '30s
Style, Chartwell Books, Secaucus,
NJ,1989
- Lorenz
Hart Organization: www.lorenzhart.org,
2011
- Marx,
Samuel, and Jan Clayton: Rodgers and
Hart: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bedeviled,
G.P.Putnam's Sons, New York, 1976
- Rodgers, Richard:
Musical Stages, An Autobiography,
Da Capo Press, New York, 1975, new
introductions 2002
- The
Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, web
site: Biography of Rodgers and Hart,
New York, 2011
- Rodgers and Hart,
introduction by Dorothy Rodgers:
Rodgers and
Hart A Musical Anthology,
Hal Leonard Corp., Milwaukee, 1995
- Warner Brothers:
Rodgers
and Hart Rediscovered,
Warner Brothers
Publications, Miami, 2002
-
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (various
celebrity bios and histories)
|
|
|