The Act (musical)

Last updated

The Act
The Act Original Recording CD Cover.png
Original Cast Recording
Music John Kander
Lyrics Fred Ebb
Book George Furth
Productions1977 Chicago
1977 San Francisco
1977 Los Angeles
1977 Broadway

The Act is a musical with a book by George Furth, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.

Contents

It was written to showcase the talents of Kander and Ebb favorite Liza Minnelli, who portrayed Michelle Craig, a fading film star attempting a comeback as a Las Vegas singer. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1977.

Production

Originally titled, Shine It On, The Act played out-of-town tryouts for 15 weeks in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. [1] The musical opened on Broadway on October 29, 1977, at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 233 performances and six previews. [2]

Directed by Martin Scorsese, choreographed by Ron Lewis, with costumes by Halston, the cast included Barry Nelson, Mark Goddard and Wayne Cilento. [3] The New York Times reported that "director Gower Champion quietly came in to doctor the show during its final month in Los Angeles." [1]

The New York Times reviewer wrote that "The Act is precisely what its name implies: It is an act, and a splendid one. On the other hand, it is a little less than its pretensions imply. Theatrical though it is as a performance, it is indifferent musical theater." [4] Another New York Times writer noted that "If there's a point 'The Act' underscores most, it's that Miss Minnelli on Broadway has incomparable star power." [1]

With an all-time ticket-price high of $25 for Saturday night orchestra seats, The Act had $2 million in advance sales, [1] then the highest in Broadway history. But the production was doomed from the start, with its star, Liza Minnelli, behaving erratically and frequently missing performances (more than 10% of the entire run). During out-of-town tryouts, Gower Champion was called to help with the staging (but took no directorial credit). [1] Additionally, the original costumes were replaced. [1] With the additional costs and with refund demands running high, it was impossible for the show to recoup its costs. [5]

For her role, Liza Minnelli won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Cast and characters

Song list

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
1978 Tony Award Best Original Score Kander and Ebb Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Barry Nelson Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Liza Minnelli Won
Best Choreography Ron LewisNominated
Best Costume Design Halston Nominated
Best Lighting Design Tharon Musser Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liza Minnelli</span> American actress, singer, dancer (born 1946)

Liza May Minnelli is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is one of the very few performers awarded a non-competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.

Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include Cabaret and Chicago, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies, including Martin Scorsese's New York, New York. Their most famous song is the theme song of that movie. Recorded by many artists, "New York, New York" became a signature song for Frank Sinatra. The team also became associated with two actresses, Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, for whom they wrote a considerable amount of material for the stage, concerts and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kander</span> American musical theatre composer

John Harold Kander is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb, Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), both of which were later adapted into acclaimed films. He and Ebb also wrote the standard "New York, New York".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Ebb</span> Musical artist

Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.

<i>Chicago</i> (musical) 1975 musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb

Chicago is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the jazz age, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same title by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".

<i>Cabaret</i> (1972 film) 1972 American musical film by Bob Fosse

Cabaret is a 1972 American musical period drama film directed by Bob Fosse from a screenplay by Jay Presson Allen, based on the stage musical of the same name by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff, which in turn was based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten and the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. It stars Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Marisa Berenson, Fritz Wepper, and Joel Grey. Multiple numbers from the stage score were used for the film, which also featured three other songs by Kander and Ebb, including two written for the adaptation.

<i>Flora the Red Menace</i>

Flora the Red Menace is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Robert Russell, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The original 1965 production starred Liza Minnelli in the title role in her Broadway debut, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. This was the first collaboration between Kander and Ebb, who later wrote Broadway and Hollywood hits such as Cabaret and Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Stroman</span> American theatre director

Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.

<i>New York, New York</i> (1977 film) 1977 American musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese

New York, New York is a 1977 American romantic musical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Earl Mac Rauch and Mardik Martin, based on a story by Rauch. It is a musical tribute, featuring songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as jazz standards, to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as a pair of musicians and lovers. The story is "about a jazz saxophonist and a pop singer (Minnelli) who fall madly in love and marry;" however, the "saxophonist's outrageously volatile personality places a continual strain on their relationship, and after they have a baby, their marriage crumbles," even as their careers develop on separate paths. The film marked the final screen appearance of actor Jack Haley.

<i>I Am a Camera</i> 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten

I Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play by John Van Druten adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, which is part of The Berlin Stories. The title is a quotation taken from the novel's first page: "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking." The original production was staged by John Van Druten, with scenic and lighting design by Boris Aronson and costumes by Ellen Goldsborough. It opened at the Empire Theatre in New York City on November 28, 1951 and ran for 214 performances before closing on July 12, 1952.

<i>The Rink</i> (musical)

The Rink is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, the tenth Kander and Ebb collaboration.

Wayne Louis Cilento is an American director, choreographer, actor and dancer. He is best known for originating the role of Mike in the Broadway show A Chorus Line, and later becoming one of Broadway's most prolific choreographers.

<i>And the World Goes Round</i>

And the World Goes 'Round is a musical revue showcasing the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The revue takes its title from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the film New York, New York.

"Cabaret" is the title song of the 1966 musical of the same name, sung by the character Sally Bowles. It was composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb.

<i>Lizas at The Palace....</i>

Liza's at the Palace.... was a concert presented by Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre on Broadway from December 3, 2008 through January 4, 2009. It was produced by John Scher and Metropolitan Talent Presents.

<i>Liza with a Z</i> 1972 television concert film starring Liza Minnelli

Liza with a "Z" is a 1972 concert film made for television, starring Liza Minnelli, produced by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Fosse also directed and choreographed the concert, and Ebb wrote and arranged the music with his song-writing partner John Kander. All four had recently completed the successful film adaptation of Cabaret. According to Minnelli, Liza with a "Z" was "the first filmed concert on television". Singer sponsored the production, even though producers did their best to prevent the sponsors from seeing rehearsals, fearing they would back out due to Minnelli's short skirts.

<i>Liza! Liza!</i> 1964 studio album by Liza Minnelli

Liza! Liza! is the debut studio album by American singer Liza Minnelli. It was released on October 12, 1964, by Capitol Records. The album contains her interpretations of twelve pop standards. It was recorded in June 1964 at Capitol Records' New York studio at 151 West 46th Street.

<i>Live at Carnegie Hall</i> (Liza Minnelli album) 1981 live album by Liza Minnelli

Live at Carnegie Hall is the fourth live album by American singer Liza Minnelli. Released by the Altel Sound Systems record company in 1981, it was her first and only release under that label.

<i>Live from Radio City Music Hall</i> (Liza Minnelli album) 1992 live album by Liza Minnelli

Live from Radio City Music Hall is a live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli, released in 1992. The release was under the Columbia Records label, both in audio and as a video album.

<i>At Carnegie Hall</i> (Liza Minnelli album) 1987 live album by Liza Minnelli

At Carnegie Hall is the fifth live album by American singer and actress Liza Minnelli. Released in 1987, it marks the singer's first work released under the independent label Telarc Distribution.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jahr, Cliff. "In 'The Act,' The Drama Backstage Is Not An Act: Behind the Scenes Of 'The Act'", The New York Times, October 23, 1977, p.D1. Retrieved July 4, 2016
  2. The Act Playbill. Retrieved July 4, 2016
  3. Furth, George, Kander, John, and Ebb, Fred."Script, 'The Act'" The act: a musical play (1987), Samuel French, Inc., ISBN   0-573-68155-4, pp.3-4
  4. Eder, Richard. "Liza Minnelli's 'Act' Is Fine as Cabaret" The New York Times (abstract), October 31, 1977, p.39
  5. Suskin, Steven. Second Act Trouble: Behind the Scenes at Broadway's Big Musical Bombs (2006), pp. 19-27, Hal Leonard Publishing, ISBN   1-55783-631-0