Einhorn has long been a fan of Herman’s work. So it’s no surprise that early last year, shortly after the composer’s death, he presented You I Like at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

The Pasadena Playhouse, putting together plans for PlayhouseLive (their original programming platform during the pandemic), reached out to Einhorn to see about filming a revised version of that show.

You I Like – A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman reflects the absolutely enthusiasm that Herman put into such shows as Mame, La Cage aux Folles and, of course, Hello, Dolly! Einhorn brings his own passion for this material as both music director, accompanist, writer and on-camera host for the show.

As the Capitol in Washington, D.C. was being overrun on January 6th, I spoke by phone with Einhorn about You I Like, Herman’s many musicals and why his songs resonate today with him personally and audiences around the world. What follows has been edited for length and clarity.

In May of 2017 you posted on your Facebook page part of an interview Bette Midler gave CBS This Morning in which she said, “Never look back…if you’re looking back you can’t look forward, you can’t go forward.” You commented, “She’s the wisest.” How does that advice apply to your approach to You I Like?

As we began this phone call we are in a moment where we have to look forward. What’s happening in the world is the perfect reason why Jerry Herman’s music needs to be heard. There are messages of optimism, joy and life. People in this world are hurting and are looking for a salve to emerge from this moment and find a way forward. Jerry was the master of commanding us to listen.

When I think of my whole journey on Hello, Dolly! – which was interesting and exciting and all things in between – a lot of what I learned about life came from working with Jerry Zaks and Bette and their messages of pushing forward to not relying on what we know; using it as a foundation to be ourselves to build upon to go forward.

There have been multiple revues of Herman’s work before and you did a previous version of this show last year. What was your goal in making this version of You I Like different from others that came before it?

What I’ve tried to do is pinpoint why Jerry Herman is special. I think it’s all there in the music and lyrics. The lemonade moment in the pandemic was getting a second chance to re-evaluate this piece and adapt a two-act musical revue into a 90-minute program that takes you on the same journey. I’m hoping through this people will know and love Jerry Herman where his shows were bigger than he was. This is celebrating the man.

What are your thoughts on Mack and Mabel and Mame? The former has been revised multiple times to make the book work without ever truly succeeding. The latter expresses reverence for Southern traditions that would not be considered acceptable today. Can Mack and Mabel ever work and can Mame ever be revived?

My answer is yes. Part of our job as artists it to present material. I’m not always sure re-writing pieces is in our favor. We don’t have the authors with us now. We only have their perspective. Part of our job in presenting Showboat or Mame, we cannot deny how it was written or set. We have to be careful and we have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis that feels informed and educated. There was no part of Jerry that was racist. He was adapting a piece and it was a strong piece to adapt.

You’ve had a lengthy professional relationship with Audra McDonald as her music director/accompanist. She’s recently added Before the Parade Passes By from Hello, Dolly! to her repertoire. Did you have something to do with that?

Of course! (He laughs). I was the one who brought it up to her. Audra is an artist who can make you hear a song and make you really listen to it. I said, “this is a landmine song for you.” Audra is 50 and she’s had an amazing career up to this point. As we always do, you look at what’s on the horizon and where do we want to go. That song spoke to her about having a second chance and she found a lot she can relate to. I’m excited we’re doing the song now and I think it’s tremendous. At the end of the day she’s the magic that makes it work. I just have the spark of the idea.

One of Jerry’s lesser known musicals was The Grand Tour. In the song I’ll Be Here Tomorrow he wrote, “If before the dawn this fragile world might crack, someone’s got to try to put the pieces back.” As we speak the world is cracking. How do Jerry Herman’s songs give you personally the confidence that we’ll all be here tomorrow?

I don’t need to say it, you said his words. I get very emotional about it. For some reason this material really speaks to me. My partner said it best, “society always find a way out and is better.” We have to endure all of this, but we are going to get out of this.

The reason we speak in music and words is because everybody can understand them. They don’t always agree, but they hear it. I know his work exemplifies that. That lyric made me cry. It’s an enormous catharsis. Maybe it’s my own therapy session, but I’m going to own it. I think it’s important to hear it. There’s a healing quality that people need right now. It speaks to exactly what we need to hear.

You I Like is available to rent through PlayhouseLive through February 7th.

Photo: Lesli Margherita, Andrea Ross, Ryan Vona, Nicholas Christopher, Ashley Blanchet, and Andy Einhorn in You I Like: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman (Photo by Jeff Lorch/Courtesy Playhouse Live)

The post It’s Jerry Herman that Andy Einhorn Likes appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Jerry Herman was the Tony Award-winning composer of such musicals as Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Mack and Mabel and La Cage aux Folles. He passed away in late 2019. This revue of his music was created by Andy Einhorn and had its first performance at New York’s 92nd Street Y early last year. Einhorn has reworked the show and it was filmed by Pasadena Playhouse for their PlayhouseLive programming.

Starring in You I Like are Ashley Blanchet (Frozen), Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton), Olivier Award-winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda The Musical), Andrea Ross (The Sound of Music) and Ryan Vona (Once). Einhorn serves as music director and our guide through the show.

Songs from all those musicals listed above are in the show as are some rarer songs from his early work like Parade and Milk and Honey. There are also songs from his lesser-known musicals such as The Grand Tour.

Einhorn has created a true love letter to Herman. His passion and knowledge of Herman and his work is presented lovingly. This show is filled with the unfettered joy that was the hallmark of Herman’s own view of life.

The performers are all terrific and seem to be enjoying their roles.

A few moments definitely stand out: Christopher singing “If He Walked Into My Life” from Mame and “A Little More Mascara” from La Cage Aux Folles; “Time Heals Everything” from Mack and Mabel sung by Blanchet and pretty much everything Margherita does. Someone should seriously consider putting her in a revival of Funny Girl. (I know what purists will say, “she’s a bit too old for that.” Forget it…she’s got the talent to make it work.)

My initial response after seeing the show on Sunday (as I Tweeted) was “The best of times may not be right now, but You I Like is just what the doctor ordered.”

Tickets to watch You I Like are $24.99. If you think the show was only available on Sunday, January 10th, that was just a special opening night event featuring pre-show interviews with Bernadette Peters and David Hyde Pierce. Don’t delay. Any serious musical theatre fan will want to catch this show!

Photo: Jerry Herman (Courtesy PlayhouseLive)

The post You I Like – A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Hair – 1969 Tony Awards

Nominated for Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical, Hair opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre and ran for 1,750 performances. The show, directed by Tom O’Horgan, did not win any Tonys. Amongst the original cast members were two of its creators Gerome Ragni and James Rado, Diane Keaton and Paul Jabara. The 2009 revival of the musical won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

Purlie – 1970 Tony Awards

Purlie was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical. Cleavon Little and Melba Moore won Tony Awards for their performances. The show, directed by Philip Rose who co-wrote the book, first opened at the Broadway Theater and later moved to the Winter Garden and the ANTA Playhouse.

Chicago – 1976 Tony Awards

The original production of Kander and Ebb’s musical Chicago was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. It won none of them. Directed by Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, the show ran for 936 performances at the 42nd Street Theatre.

A Chorus Line – 1976 Tony Awards

This is the reason Chicago didn’t win any Tony Awards. Michael Bennett’s show, with music and lyrics by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban, was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won nine of them. Its run of 6,137 performances made it the longest running Broadway musical. It is now number six on that list. Ironically, the revival of Chicago, still running in New York, is currently number two on that list with 9,692 performances so far.

The Act – 1978 Tony Awards

This is also a Kander and Ebb musical with the unique distinction of being the only Broadway show directed by Martin Scorsese. The show received six Tony nominations with the only win being for Liza Minnelli. The Act played at the Majestic Theatre and played for 233 performances.

Sweeney Todd – 1979 Tony Awards (though I have no idea who is sitting in as Sweeney)

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical was nominated for nine Tony Awards. The show won eight of them including Best Musical, Best Actress for Angela Lansbury and Best Actor for Len Cariou. Directed by Harold Prince, Sweeney Todd played at the Uris Theatre (later renamed The Gershwin Theatre) for 557 performances.

Evita – 1980 Tony Awards

Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, was nominated for 11 Tony Awards. The show won seven including Best Musical, Best Actress for Patti LuPone and Best Featured Actor for Mandy Patinkin. Directed by Harold Prince, Evita played at the Broadway Theatre and ran for 1,567 performances.

Dreamgirls – 1982 Tony Awards

Dreamgirls was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won six of them. The show, directed by Michael Bennett, played the Imperial Theatre and ran for 1,521 performances. The Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen musical featured the staggering Tony-winning performance by Jennifer Holliday as “Effie White.”

Cats – 1983 Tony Awards

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical inspired by T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won seven including Best Musical. Trevor Nunn directed Cats which played the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical broke A Chorus Line‘s record for longest-running Broadway show with 7,485 performances. Betty Buckley won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella who sings the show’s best-known song.

Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur – 1988 Tony Awards

Jerry Herman’s musical Mame opened in 1966 and was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Amongst the three winners were co-stars Angela Lansbury (as Mame Dennis) and Bea Arthur (as Vera Charles). 22 years later they reunited on the 1988 Tony Awards and performed their classic duet from the show. (This was the year The Phantom of the Opera won Best Musical.)

Grand Hotel – 1990 Tony Awards

Grand Hotel was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won five including two for director and choreographer Tommy Tune and one for Michael Jeter as Otto Kringelein. The show opened at the Martin Beck Theatre and later transferred to the Gershwin Theatre. Grand Hotel ran for a total of 1,017 performances

Kiss of the Spider Woman – 1993 Tony Awards

Kander and Ebb won yet another Tony Award for this musical based on Manuel Puig’s novel (which also inspired the Academy Award-winning film.) Kiss of the Spider Woman received 11 Tony nominations winning seven of them including Terrence McNally for Best Book of a Musical and for the performances by Chita Rivera as “Spider Woman/Aurora,” Brent Carver as “Molina” and Anthony Crivello as “Valentin.” The musical, directed by Harold Prince, opened at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for a total of 904 performances.

Passion – 1994 Tony Awards

The film Passione d’Amore by Ettore Scola was the inspiration for this Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical. The musical opened at the Plymouth Theatre near the end of Tony season and ran for only 280 performances. Donna Murphy, Jere Shea and Marin Mazzie starred in Passion. All three were amongst the 10 Tony nominations the show received with Murphy taking the Tony for Best Performance by an Actress. The musical won Best Score, Best Book and also Best Musical.

The Wild Party – 2000 Tony Awards

Composers Michael John LaChiusa and Andrew Lippa wrote musicals called The Wild Party. Both were based on Joseph Moncure March’s poem of the same name and both were produced the same year. LaChiusa’s show, directed by George C. Wolfe, made it to Broadway’s Virginia Theatre where it was nominated for seven Tony Awards. It did not win any and closed after a run of only 68 performances. The cast featured Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin and Eartha Kitt.

Caroline, Or Change – 2004 Tony Awards

Playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and composer Jeanine Tesori teamed up for this 2004 musical (also directed by George C. Wolfe) that received six Tony Award nominations. Anika Noni Rose was the sole winner for her performance as “Emmie Thibodeaux.” Caroline, or Change was scheduled to have a revival this season, but those plans have been postponed until next season. For anyone who saw the show at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre during its brief 136 performance run, Tonya Pinkins‘ performance of “Lot’s Wife” will stand as one of the greatest performances in modern Broadway history.

Fela! – 2010 Tony Awards

Fela! electrified audiences when it opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in 2009. The musical was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won three (including Best Choreography by Bill T. Jones). Jim Lewis collaborated with Jones (who also directed) on the book of this musical about legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. The show ran for 463 performances.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch – 2014 Tony Awards

It took 16 years for this Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell musical to finally make it to Broadway. The show began its life off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre in 1998. Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Hall, the show was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Harris and Hall both won and Hedwig and the Angry Inch was awarded the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. The show ran for 507 performances at the Belasco Theatre.

The Color Purple – 2016 Tony Awards

Alice Walker’s novel inspired this musical by playwright Marsha Norman and composers/lyricists Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. This revival, directed by John Doyle, opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and was nominated for four Tony Awards. It won for Best Revival of a Musical and for Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Celie. The Color Purple ran for 450 performances.

Hamilton – 2016 Tony Awards

Much like A Chorus Line (which also began its life at The Public Theater), Hamilton was the juggernaut at the Tony Awards that couldn’t be beaten. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical was nominated for 16 Tony Awards and won 11 of them. The show, directed by Thomas Kail, is still running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre with 1,919 performances so far.

What makes this performance particular emotional is that the Tony Awards took place just after the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Given the recent events the cast opted not to use the prop guns that are usually seen in the show.

Those are 18 of my favorite Tony Awards performances. Let me know what your favorites are by posting your thoughts in our comments.

The post My Favorite Tony Award Performances appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope – The Soraya Facebook Page – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4PM PDT

Violins of Hope is a program celebrating the recovery and restoration of over 60 stringed instruments from the Holocaust. They were restored by Amnon Weinstein, and his son, Avshalom, in Tel Aviv.

The Soraya had scheduled several events around the Violins of Hope, but those have been postponed due to the pandemic. While they have been rescheduled for early 2021, Niv Ashkenazi will give a concert on one of those violins on Friday.

Ashkenazi is the only musician in North America who has been loaned one of these precious instruments. He recently released an album entitled, appropriately enough, Niv Ashkenazi: The Violins of Hope.

For this live streaming event, Ashkenazi will perform the “Theme from Schindler’s List” by John Williams, “The Chassid” by Julius Chajes, an improvisation on Ernest Bloch’s “Baal Shem, II. Nigun” and George Perlman’s “Dance of the Rebbitzen.”

Prior to the performance, The Soraya’s Executive Director Thor Steingraber will conduct a conversation with Ashkenazi about Violins of Hope and his recording.

Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway – BroadwayWorld – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

Last November, Disney celebrated a quarter century of musicals on Broadway with a concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. The event was a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

That concert, which featured veteran cast members from Disney’s many shows, is being streamed as an additional fundraiser for BC/EFA, but this time for their Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. There is no charge to watch the show, but they are asking for donations.

As you probably know, Disney has had many a blockbuster musical on Broadway. Their shows include Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, AIDA and Frozen.

Amongst the performers at this concert are Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis and Sherie Renee Scott from The Little Mermaid, Christian Borle and Ashley Brown from Mary Poppins, Kerry Butler and Susan Egan from Beauty and the Beast, Merle Dandrige, Mandy Gonzalez and Adam Pascal from AIDA, James Monroe Iglehart, Adam Jacobs and Michael James Scott from Aladdin plus a reunion of cast members from Newsies.

Additional participants include Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Whoopi Goldberg (the original film version of The Lion King), Ashley Park (Mean Girls) and more.

Soft Power Listening Party – Public Theater NY YouTube Channel – April 17th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

When Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical-within-a-play Soft Power played the Ahmanson Theatre in 2018 it proved to be a wholly unique way of telling a story through both a play and a musical. I loved it.

The show was reworked and opened at The Public Theater in New York and that cast recored the show. Soft Power was just made available on Ghostlight Records in the digital and streaming formats.

To celebrate the release, some of the cast and the creators of the show are holding a listening party on The Public Theater’s YouTube channel. They are also raising funds for both The Public Theater and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Phantom of the Opera – The Show Must Go On YouTube Page – April 17th – beginning at 2 PM EDT/11 AM PDT for 48 hours

Andrew Lloyd Webber continues to make performances of his musicals available for 48 hours with this version of his blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera.

This production stars Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Cristine Daaé and Hadley Fraser Raoul. Nick Morris and Laurence Connor directed this 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Attaca Quartet performs Caroline Shaw’s Orange – The Greene Space YouTube Page

If you aren’t familiar with composer Caroline Shaw, this is a great opportunity to get introduced to her work. Orange, performed here by the Attaca Quartet, is one of Shaw’s highly-acclaimed works. Their recording of Orange won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Musical/Small Ensemble Performance.

Shaw is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Partita for 8 Voices.

This performance comes from a 2019 performance at WNYC/WQXR’s The Greene Space.

TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition – Turner Classic Movies – Now – April 20th

The annual TCM Classic Film Festival had to be canceled due to the ongoing crisis. However, they have moved the festival from Hollywood to your living room. For fans of theatre and jazz there are a few options worth checking out (whether you have never seen them or want a chance to revisit them!) Note that some are not showing at convenient times (unless you are an insomniac) so set your DVR.

Grey Gardens – April 18th 1:30 AM EDT/April 17th 10:30 PM PDT

This is the documentary that inspired the Tony Award-winning musical. The Maysles Brothers (Albert and David) made an utterly compelling film about Jackie Kennedy’s aunt, Edith Bouvier Beale (79) and cousin, Edith ‘Little Edie’ Bouvier Beale (56). They live in a completely rundown mansion on Long Island with no running water that is filled with multiple animals including numbers cats and raccoons in the attic.

The Man with the Golden Arm – April 18th 6:00 AM EDT/3:00 AM PDT

This 1955 film by Otto Preminger makes our list because Elmer Bernstein’s score is so driven by jazz. Not the first film to use jazz as the style of a film score, but certainly one of the best.

Frank Sinatra stars as an ex-junkie who returns home after half-a-year in prison. While in prison he not only got clean, but learned to play drums. Upon his return he has to face the real world and whether or not he has fully recovered from his heroin addiction.

Both Sinatra and Bernstein were Oscar-nominated for their work on this film. Another reason to check out the film is Saul Bass’s amazing title sequence.

Mame – April 19th 3:30 PM EDT/12:30 PM PDT

This is the classic Rosalind Russell film from 1958 that is truly essential viewing. Mame tells the same story as Jerry Herman’s musical (and the subsequent disaster of a film of that musical with Lucille Ball), but Russell’s performance here is superb. Fans of the musical will want to check out this film. In our troubled times perhaps we can all take some sage advice from our dear Auntie Mame.

Singin’ in the Rain – April 19th 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

One of Hollywood’s best musicals ever and recently on the list of best films to watch during the pandemic. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds star. Watch this film and you’ll be singing “Good Morning” on Monday.

Victor, Victoria – April 20th 3:30 AM EDT/12:30 AM PDT

Blake Edwards’s 1982 film musical was, of course, the basis for the Broadway musical. Julie Andrews stars as a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, who becomes a singing sensation in Paris. But she has to maintain the disguise just as she falls in love with a gangster played by James Garner.

The film also stars a phenomenal Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras.

The songs were written by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.

The Verdi Chorus: The Force of Destiny – The Verdi Chorus Website and Facebook Page – April 18th – 10:30 PM EDT/ 7:30 PM PDT

Forced to cancel their planned April 18th concert, The Verdi Chorus is going to stream their first online concert: The Force of Destiny. This was their 2018 concert that featured selections from Verdi’s La forza del destino, Nabucco and La Traviata. It also included music from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Joining the Verdi Chorus are Shana Blake Hill, soprano, Karin Mushegain, mezzo-soprano, Alex Boyer, tenor and baritone Ben Lowe.

Treasure Island – National Theatre Live’s YouTube Page – Now – April 23rd

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel has been given a couple twists for this 2014 stage version. First of all, Jim, is played by actress Patsy Ferran. There is music and songs by Dan Jones with additional songs by John Tams.

But the reviews were extraordinary. Arthur Darvill (of Dr. Who) plays Long John Silver. Polly Findlay directed the play. Tim van Someren directed the film. Treasure Island runs 1 hour 50 minutes.

Buyer and Cellar – Broadway.Com – April 19th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

Actor Michael Urie has performed Jonathan Tolin’s Buyer and Cellar countless times. It’s a perfect role for him as the man who attends to Barbra Streisand’s personal shopping mall in her Malibu home. Of course, this isn’t a true story, but what if it was?

On Sunday Urie will perform the show from his own home as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Covid-19 Emergency Assitance Fund. The performance will stream on Broadway.Com.

This is a thoroughly entertaining show and well worth your time.

***Don’t forget there is also Madama Butterfly on April 17th, Adriana Lecouvreur on April 18th and Der Rosenkavalier on April 19th – each available for 23 hours beginning at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT at the Metropolitan Opera’s website.

Another reminder that WNET is making five different Great Performances available. For details you can go here.

Photo: The company of Treasure Island (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)

The post Culture Best Bets at Home: April 17th – 19th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

In Blithe Spirit, currently running at the Ahmanson Theatre, Lansbury plays a medium named Madame Arcati, a role she won her fifth Tony Award for when the play appeared on Broadway five years ago. Arcati is called to the home of writer Charles Condomine (Charles Edwards), who is researching a new novel. During a trance, which no one believes could possibly be real, Arcati summons the ghost of Condomine’s dead wife (Jemima Rooper.) Only he can see and hear her and that complicates his relationship with his new wife (Charlotte Parry.) First performed in 1941, the play was written by Noël Coward.

Lansbury met the playwright years ago. “I met him at the Plaza Hotel in New York with Marlene Dietrich,” she reveals. “It was the only time I ever met him. I had never done his plays, although I had done them at drama school and knew [them] intimately. He was about to leave to go to Las Vegas where he had a huge success. He was the epitome of the English stage man, the English writer. He was marvelous and we all just bowed at his feet.”

Though she first played Arcati in 2009 and again last year in England for five months, the actress still works to make each moment unique. “Every time I go out of the box onto the stage,” she says, “I am going to bring, hopefully, a fresh approach. Also earnestness because I think Arcati is totally serious in her abilities as a medium, even though she’s a funny character. I’m always going for something that’s better. Not to upset the other actors, this is the thing that I believe one has to do every single time you play the part.”

After being dissatisfied with the roles she was offered while under contract with MGM, Lansbury made the decision that changed her life. “I had no reputation except as an also-ran. It was very discouraging. I had to pack up and go back to Broadway. That was a great decision I made. Thank God. I never looked back and I never came back to Hollywood to make a film.”

Upon her return to Broadway, the actress played the title character in Mame (1966 and 1983), Mama Rose in Gypsy (1974), Madame Arnfeldt in A Little Night Music (2009) and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (1979.) In fact, the last performance she gave as Lovett was at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 1981.

After the Blithe Spirit tour (which goes on to San Francisco, Toronto and Washington, D.C.) Lansbury hopes to appear in a production of the Enid Bagnold play The Chalk Garden. “Enid wrote the book of National Velvetwhich is a film I did at the beginning of my career with Elizabeth Taylor. She was the most interesting authoress of her day. She wrote this play back in the 1930s or maybe a little later. It’s a small play but has to be carefully cast.”

And if she had to give up acting, what would she do? “That’s a hell of a question, isn’t it? I’d take up causes and become more involved on a personal level with the things I care about: children and also educating children in schools to have more access to dance and music and singing and acting. I think it’s a wonderful developer to have that access and they don’t have that in the schools today.”

Until that day comes, Lansbury will continue to tread the boards as she is currently doing. With her entrance and most exits in Blithe Spirit she is overwhelmed with applause from the audience. “It simply means here’s an old friend. Here’s somebody we know and we’re very happy to welcome her back to Los Angeles, back to the theatre. That’s a lovely feeling. Familiarity can breed contempt, but it can also breed friendship and I sense that friendship.”

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

The post Angela Lansbury’s Triumphant Return to L.A. appeared first on Cultural Attaché.