Let's talk about Legs Diamond (archive)

[JH4HJ]

Not every post, but the highlights from one of my fave threads on the Old TBFO Forum...

[buckaroo - Posted October 03, 2005 04:30 PM]

I made a few comments on Legs Diamond on the Photos of Peter thread and a few of you took the bait. YEAH!!!

I unfortunately never saw Peter Live. One of my great regrets is that I only discovered him throught TBFO. But I am so glad that I have discoved him. I fly to NYC two times to see TBFO. Then this summer I hafd one other show I wanted to see: LEGS. There is an archival recording of all musicals that opened on Broadway at the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts Libary. But you need a reason to get into to see one of these rechival editions.

I was fortunate enough to get in with an Editor and Peter Allen Fan who saw Legs. We stated that we were writing a book and needed to do research. (Why Not? - How could they prove it? H@ll, maybe I will write a book - feels like I am sometimes on this forum!!)

So I saw a video of the last show and LOVED IT!!! Yes - the speakeasy scene really go to me. The way it was staged with the sexy woman workers of the speakeasy doming out of the piano one at a time while moving in a sensous manner over the piano - WOOHOO did Peter LOVE the piano or what!!

There were so many things I love about LEgs. Not the least was that Peter was clearly at the top of his game. His vioce was great, his dancing fantastic, his acting good and he looked marvelous (said in a Billy Crystal SNL vioce....!)

I could write on and on about Legs - but who else saw it. What did you like aobut it? What would you have changed? When did you see it? If it was to be revived (in my dreams or on stage) would would you cast? Do you still listen to the soundtrack? Favorite song?

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted October 03, 2005 04:31 PM]

oh yes - I loved the stunt of Peter dying while sitting on a disco ball and then going into an amazing hanging posture on that hanging ball - he was a fearless gymnast too~!!!!

That show was visually beautiful.

[JH4HJ]

[mona - Posted October 04, 2005 08:56]

When I Get My Name In Lights

I saw "Legs" a few times - okay - more than a few times, but who’s counting. I saw it a few times during previews (although not the very first night of previews). My guess would be that the first time I saw the show was probably about the 5th night of previews. There had already been some major changes made by then. One or two of the characters were never to be seen again, along with the songs they sang. The BIGGEST change I saw during previews was when the huge, lighted sign was added to the beginning of the show. It appeared during the first scene - while Peter sang "When I Get My Name In Lights." Seeing that huge sign for the first time made a big impression on me. When I saw Peter after that show, he asked me how I liked the lights. They were quite an attention getter.

I Was Made for Champagne

During the scene where Kiki did her nightclub act (that became more and more elaborate as the scene progressed), if I remember correctly, early in the scene Kiki and the chorus were dressed like natives (as in jungle) while she sang "I Was Made for Champagne." The scenery included two tall palm trees, one at the front of either side of the stage. Later in the scene everyone was dressed very elegantly and extravagantly. At that point in the scene, the trees had rotated and turned into two LARGE champagne glasses, and each glass held a woman who appeared to be bathing in the champagne bubbles.

A number of months after "Legs" closed, I saw Peter perform at one of the Atlantic City casinos. Typically, at the casino shows the curtain was open from before the start of the show, right up until the end of the show. The only time the curtain closed was when the show was definitely over. On this particular night, the curtain was closed before the show started. When it opened, there stood one of the champagne glasses that had been salvaged from "Legs," and Peter was sitting in it. He started the first song as he sat there. It was "When I Get My Name in Lights" sung at a much slower tempo than usual.

Only Steal from Thieves

During the scene in which Kiki and Jack (Peter) sang "Only Steal from Thieves," Peter partially undressed (down to boxer shorts and a dress shirt with long tails) in the process of changing clothes. There’s something I remember from the final performance of "Legs" that was pretty amusing. Throughout the run of the show, the boxers had always been plain white. During that final show, when he leaned over to pull off his slacks, I noticed that the boxers he had on were white with black eight balls all over them. I didn’t think to ask him where they came from, but I enjoyed the joke.

Honestly, the show needed work when I saw it the first time, but by opening night it was very enjoyable. At the same time "Legs" was on Broadway, there was another show (set in about the same time period) by the name of "City of Angels." That show got great reviews. I saw that show and I couldn’t see how the critics liked that show so much but panned "Legs."

P.S. buckaroo, I hate to disappoint you, but … that wasn’t Peter on the mirrored ball at the end of Act I. It was a stand in.

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted October 05, 2005 09:09 PM]

WOW Mona - thaks for your show reports from Legs! I had heard that Peter had used the champange glasses from Legs again - and good for him! I was absolutely amazed when I saw the stunt on the mirrored ball - but to be honest I am not disappointed that it was a stand in. It seemed a pretty ballsy (ouch!) stunt for Peter to do night after night.

How lovely to have been able to go backstage and gush about "his name in lights" - well - it took alot of electricity! (He coudln't have said that line before the big name in lights was there!!)

thanks again Mona!

[JH4HJ]

[karppool - Posted October 25, 2006 12:10 PM]

I also saw the archived tape of Legs Diamond and really liked it. My theory? The critics and the broadway community did not think Peter was 'worthy' of broadway - and I believe that influenced the TBFO reviews, too.

The show could have been a bit shorter(as could Wicked, IMHO), but I thought it had some of the cleverest scenes/lyrics and was a lot of fun. I thought kiki's champagne number was way too long, and altho I know Peter wanted to feature Julie Wilson, the mood of her solo put a drag on things (as beautiful as the song was).
Some of my favorites:
Blame it on JR
Now you see it, now you don't
sure thing baby
all i wanted was the dream
ony steal from thieves.

[JH4HJ]

[peterwoolnough - Posted October 25, 2006 10:05 PM]

I was planning to go to see 'Legs' but it was short lived and cancelled in a very short time.

I own the original soundtrack recording and love the songs written by Peter.

I guess they were attacked by theater critics for not taking the play to another city to iron out the kinks.It went straight to Broadway,very unusual,and the critics attacked it.

Coincidentally,Peter was on top of the entertainment world at the time.Similar to Elton John's 'Lestat'which resceived a wooden stake through the heart with garlic from the critics.

Peter and Elton
were both songwriters/musicians 'crashing' the Broadway scene.Was it a vendetta by vicious critics or were these musicals that bad.

Both soundtracks are fine,in my opinion:
'Legs' was recorded and released.'Lestat' was recorded prior to closing but never saw the light of day.

peter woolnough
P.S.Lestat previewed in San Francisco prior to its short Broadway run.Like 'Legs' i was going to attend a show but it was gone but not forgotten.

[JH4HJ]

[jo - Posted November 07, 2006 08:50 PM]

I was reorganizing my mountain of CDs( with a lot of them from musical theatre) today and I came across an RCA compilation of excellent songs from musicals.

Guess what -- included in this is SURE THING BABY sung by Peter Allen as a haunting ballad. I am not sure when this was recorded though. I couldn't get over it -- as Hugh's version on Broadway was completely the opposite. The song did not find itself in the cast album of TBFO because SURE THING BABY was used for one of Hugh/Peter's showstopping dance numbers!

I think I will be listening to Peter's version quite often.

Jo

[JH4HJ]

[mamaleh - Posted February 14, 2007 07:33 AM]

I wonder what STB sounds like in a slower tempo as sung by Peter. It's a testament to his songwriting and performing abilities that he can take material in new directions and make it all sound wonderful.

Ellen

[JH4HJ]

[karppool - Posted February 14, 2007 07:59 AM]

The Legs Diamond cast recording has Peter singing STB - it is sad and beautiful.

I saw a video of Legs at the Lincoln Center Library (very poor quality) and thought the show was very cute. Had they opened out of town, and cut a few numbers, I think it could have had 'legs'.

[JH4HJ]

[tenterfieldfan - Posted February 14, 2007 07:51 PM]

I love Peter's version of STB on the Legs soundtrack. It always felt like a song that should have lived beyond the show. It is also on the anthology set. If you haven't heard Peter's version, you need to. I believe on his obit piece on CNN, they showed him recording the Legs album in the studio... they used the lines "Life on a platter, when you're gone, what does it matter anyhow, cause the only time you really have is now"
It is a beautiful heartfelt song. One of his finest in my opinion.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted February 14, 2007 11:55 PM]

quote:
It always felt like a song that should have lived beyond the show.


Sigh. I feel like that about a lot of Peter's songs, not just the ones from Legs. Lyrics that meant one thing to me thirty years ago (my god, has it been that long? gasp) mean some thing very different when I hear them today. I'd love to hear what he's thinking about now, and I love some more of those enchanting melodies.

I frequently fill the CD player with some of the newer compilation discs and hit "shuffle" while I'm cooking, cleaning, reading, whatever, but once in a while I put on the headphones, close my eyes and listen to one of the *original* albums from start to finish -- and I almost always find something "new" about it. I think that's proof of some damn fine songwriting. Thanks, Peter.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted November 29, 2007 11:49 PM]

I was recently in NYC and looking for "other" things to do, due to the lack of Broadway shows while the stagehands were on strike. I spent an afternoon at the Film and Tape Library at Lincoln Center watching -- you guessed it -- Legs Diamond! I mentioned it over on the Broadway thread, and thought I'd make note of it here, too.

The Barbara Cook concert was sublime, Broadway Unplugged was fabulous, Young Frankenstein was very funny... but best of all this trip --

The Crowning Jewel -- LEGS DIAMOND at the Lincoln Center Library!
Not a good quality video (not even the *whole* show -- there are some nasty cuts and chunks of it are missing), but "better than nothing" since the show opened and closed on Broadway before I got there. It was wonderful to see Peter again. He was in his glory! His singing and dancing were better than ever... OK, so he was never a terrific actor, but, as usual, he was having such a good time it was contagious. Whenever they did a close-up I wanted to reach through the screen and hug him. Sure Thing Baby was a high point, and I sobbed through All I Wanted Was The Dream, for reasons that go far beyond the play itself.

[JH4HJ]

[peterwoolnough - Posted December 01, 2007 07:49 AM]

Yes, i want to see this the next time i'm in New York.Unfortunately, i was planning to see it but the critics closed the show with their reviews.

Do you need to make an advance reservation at the Film and Tape Library at Lincoln Center?

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 01, 2007 10:35 AM]

Peter -- we'll talk more later, I've gotta run, but someone asked a similar question over on the Broadway thread. Here's the answer --

quote:
Did you have to show any credentials or other paperwork supporting a claim of doing research when you asked to see LEGS at the library?

No. You have to come up with a realistic reason for why you "need" to view *whatever* but they took me at my word and didn't ask for any "proof" of what I said. I did flash my college ring with the BFA and comedy/tragedy masks -- LOL -- but they were very accommodating and didn't challenge me at all.

You *must* make an appointment in advance. I called on a Friday and the first opening they had was the following Tuesday at noon. (PM me if you want all the phone numbers, etc.)

You fill out some forms, apply for a library card (even if you're from Wyoming), then go to a computer and fill out some more forms... it takes about 15-20 minutes.

Then they show you to another computer, with headphones, to view the video. You never actually have access to the recording -- you IM back and forth with someone in "the control booth" or wherever. One audio channel had a very bad hiss, so I had them switch to mono with the other channel in both ears. It took a few minutes to get sorted out, but they went back and started it over for me. The color was off, too, and adjusting the monitor only helped a bit.

Granted, it's not the best Broadway show I've ever seen, but it wasn't *that* awful. I don't know why they closed it down so quickly. I really enjoyed it, and not *just* because of Peter... although he was wonderful. I had to control the impulse to applaud at the end of the big numbers, and I cried at the end... actually, I cried a couple of times, but it didn't necessarily have anything to do with the play.

Do go see it, Ellen, if you have a chance. I think you'll enjoy it too. It was so nice to meet you and the other OZalots at Broadway Unplugged. Another thing to thank Peter for -- I've made some wonderful friends over the years because of him -- his warmth and love will always be contagious. I still miss him.

Enjoy the show! Hugs, Valerie

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted December 03, 2007 01:01 AM]

so nice to hear from those of you who saw Legs both live and at Lincoln Center. As I said, I truly enjoyed the video and felt as Val stated that Peter was at the top of his game. I thought he was more handsome than ever, his dancing was better then ever, and his vioce was tremendous.

I agree that the music was in general very good but that Julie Wilson's I Used to Dance brought the tone too far down and that I Was Made for Champange could have been much shorter and that the book needs to be rewritten (if I was Harvey I wouldn't touch it - he failed with it once - why would he want to touch it again.)

If it was ever redone I beleive that the stage would not be the place - for the screen it would be once old and now new again. No-one in Hollywood would have seen it and fewer would remember it - so if the really great songs and parts were keep and the leading man was an actor that could be believable as a tough gangster who also liked to sing and dance and have a ton of ladies up and down broadway but really loved the older lady who taught him the ropes - well - that might work - esp in today's market for "new" musicals.

I wouldn't even market it as a musical by Peter Allen but in the credits place a large credit to Peter for all his efforts in production and creation of the orginal concept and staging and for writing all the music. Putting Peter up front and center would (unfortunately) not help sell this.

BTW - I could also see this role as one for Harry Connick Jr or other kinda tough singing actor.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 05, 2007 01:09 PM]

quote:
Peter was at the top of his game. I thought he was more handsome than ever, his dancing was better then ever, and his voice was tremendous.

Ditto that, in spades, Buckaroo! The show is thoroughly enjoyable -- and not just for The Peter Factor. I think it could make a wonderful movie, in the fashion of Damon Runyon's Guys and Dolls.

The sets were incredible (especially for 20 years ago), the costumes were great (some of them -- I'm thinking Now You See Me, Now You Don't -- were a riot), the choreography was wonderful (not Peter's usual "flying by the seat of his pants" approach -- he really learned some *good* dance numbers!), the music is fabulous and Peter's voice was better than ever. OK, so he was never going to be an Oscar caliber actor, but the cheeky-ness of the part suited him and he did a great job.

Evidently, some people, basically ignorant of the production and with rather pedantic attitudes, automatically take the critics at their word -- which would make Hugh's Broadway TBFO a piece of crap, too (since each play only got *one* positive review). I believe Legs was SOLD OUT (or pretty close to it) from the first preview through closing night. The *people* wanted to see Peter, and the show, but The Critics just "had it in" for him.

IMHO it's purely a case of Revenge of The Turds... There was quite an uproar a few years earlier about Peter dancing *with* the Rockettes at RCMH. The Rockettes never appeared with other performers -- not even The Biggies, like Sinatra, not even as an additional act. Peter's audacity in performing WITH them was appalling to some of The Old Guard, and I think they were gunning for him, especially since the shows sold out so quickly and were so very well received by The Public.

For a High School drop-out with NO professional training from a little one horse town somewhere along The Road To Nowhere halfway around the world to star in a musical on Broadway is an amazing accomplishment indeed. That darling man, with a lot of talent (and a bit of chutzpah!) did it. I couldn't be more proud of him. I loved the show and hope to see it again the next time I'm in The Big Apple.

Damn the critics, and all the nay-sayers! You're fabulous, Peter. Good on ya!

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted December 05, 2007 03:53 PM]

JK4KJ - we could do this for awhile - couldn't we? Where the heck is Ret - she feels the same - I know that for sure!!

I get it that some of the critics were overly ready to put the Legs production down becuase it was 1)opening on Broadway - rare or unheard of in those days 2) sets and customes were outrageouly extravagent for those days 3) they for sure did not admit this but Peter was likely one of the first to have an almost entirely gay group of creators for this show 4) it was too amazing for the critics that this guy without formal training would try to do Broadway 5)they were not pleased that Julie Wilson - a great singer but not actress of any standing - was in a central role

all of these made Legs prime target for the critics. Unlike TBFO however, none of the critics ever recanted and Peter didn't get to ride the camel onto the stage of RCMH for the Tony's or accept a best actor award.

Barbara - songirl - has a wonderful idea - how about the film industry and the theater industury ban critics from saying anything about the show for 2-4 weeks - then the reviews can come in. until then the ticket sales have to be by work of mouth. If the word of mouth is really good - then the critics will have to think twice before getting on their high horse.

Just a thought.

so has Legs had enough time on the shelf to be revisited but for the screen. I don't know - I do know the HJ would be great but that he has already played PA as PA and that he has some very good projects already lined up so that it would be a very long time before he could get to this (IMHO)

On the other hand - HJ could play this role at 50 with the "older woman" being 60...so if he was even considering it he could in a long time from now.

BTW - I hear Peter wrote some songs that didn't make it into Legs - do we know where those are and if they might be floating around out there unrealsed?

just more thoughts.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 06, 2007 06:20 PM]

quote:
some of the critics were overly ready to put the Legs production down because it was 1)opening on Broadway - rare or unheard of in those days 2) sets and costumes were outrageously extravagant for those days 3) they for sure did not admit this but Peter was likely one of the first to have an almost entirely gay group of creators for this show 4) it was too amazing for the critics that this guy without formal training would try to do Broadway 5)they were not pleased that Julie Wilson - a great singer but not actress of any standing - was in a central role

All valid points. Thanks. I hadn't even thought about "the gay thing" -- Jeeze -- it's Broadway for Heaven's Sake -- what did you expect???

Peter Allen was most definitely "a stranger in a strange land" (Buckaroo's gonna love *that* comment) when he arrived in NYC. The critics all had (and still have) their favorites, so I'm afraid they considered Peter an interloper trying to muscle into "their" Broadway, and would not be swayed despite his obvious talent. The fact that the public took to him so readily didn't help either. It only reinforced their superior attitudes and hardened the criticism. (Think Diana, dealing with The Royals.) Maybe, just maybe, if he'd started out "small" with bit parts in various shows it could have been different -- they would have had an opportunity to "discover" him and that would have assuaged some of their overblown egos.

Now Peter definitely had an ego, too (he never would have gotten as far as he did if he didn't), but I never found him to be egotistical. That said, by the time he got around to doing Legs he had to be The Star. He would never have been content to merely write the music, hand it over to someone else, and walk away from the show, although *that* might have worked better.

He was a fabulous songwriter, singer, dancer and a fairly good actor. (I've seen worse in bigger shows that "made it" on Broadway.) IMHO the critics were not willing to let him "get away with" succeeding without "paying his dues" and kowtowing to their power. I'm just sorry they won that round, especially since he had so little time left and didn't get a second chance to really show them what he could do.

As for Lestat -- my biggest complaint is that they ended it where it should have begun. All that boring "backstory" could have been brought out as exposition in the dialog. If they'd started the play at the moment when he becomes a Rock Star (instead of using it as the Curtain Call) I think it would have been far more interesting to a younger crowd, accessible to the general public, and therefore enormously more commercially viable. Having seen Hugh Panaro as The Phantom of The Opera I was really looking forward to Lestat, but once again the critics stomped on a passable show and it closed before it had a chance.

BTW: The Critics don't *always* get their way. Westside Story got lousy reviews, and more recently Wicked was almost universally panned. I'm sure one of the Broadway Buffs could give a long list of successful (and now beloved) shows that did *not* go over well when they first opened.

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted December 07, 2007 12:16 AM]

I didn't think of the problem with the critics not liking it that Peter didn't put in his dues. Some on Broadway are from film and are appaulled - but clearly not universally, (Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts) and others (usually those classically trained) make it on the stage (Hugh, ?claire danes? Ethan Hawke?).

I guess it is less often that a singer songwriter attempts to write and star in a musical. That was ambitious. Other than Elton John (who wasn't trying to star in his production) and Peter - can we think of another? Maybe Marvin Hamlish ...but again - not starring in it. (They're Playing Our Song or something like that.)

Can anyone think of any singer, songwriter, performer who attempted what Peter attempted with Legs? All the sudden I am more blown away then ever.

Here is another question - if Legs was sucessfully made into a movie that became a commercial and critical sucess - does anyone think that would have pleased Peter if he was still with us to let us know? Would it be a good tribute to Peter if a movie of Legs was made. I think so but again - I didn't know him - only heard the music, read what I could, watched documentaries, talked to those who know him and watched TBFO.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 07, 2007 12:57 AM]

quote:
Some on Broadway are from film and are appaulled

Sometimes your typos are too funny. Is that one appalled or applauded??? (just teasing, but it does make a difference in this instance)

I can't answer your first question. Let me think on it a bit. Was Barry Manilow the star of that Copacabana thing, or did he just write the music?

I don't ever remember Peter being interested in getting into the movies, but of course we were all in NYC so *Broadway* was The Big Thing for everyone in The Biz. No idea if his attitude changed when he moved to CA. I always assumed that, coming from Australia, the climate suited him better.

I don't think he'd mind a movie being made of Legs Diamond. His music would reach a much wider audience, that's for sure. As far as Peter was concerned, I think he was aware of the fact that his strength was in his stage performance and not in his acting ability. If he were given the choice at that moment in time to make a movie or star on Broadway, (and I'm really going out on a limb trying to speak *for* him here) I'm gonna say he'd have chosen to perform LIVE on the stage. He loved a live audience, and the feeling was very mutual -- but you knew that already, didn't you?

I've gotta go back and look at the interviews on the Penzance DVD -- he says something about the experience of acting and/or film making, but I don't remember exactly. *That* might answer your question better than my guessing at what his attitude might be.

...OK, so he played The Pirate King in 1982, at what was probably the height of his concert career, or close to it. He says he's never tried anything like acting before, and later on he says he'd like to do some more, but it's not really clear to me if he means acting, television, film making or singing an operetta.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 07, 2007 08:01 PM]

Something rang a bell with me here, so I looked up The Tony Awards for 1989 --

1989
Actor (Featured Role--Musical) Winner - Scott Wise (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Nominees: Bunny Briggs (Black and Blue)

Savion Glover (Black and Blue)

Scott Wentworth (Welcome to the Club)

Actor (Featured Role--Play) Winner - Boyd Gaines (The Heidi Chronicles)

Nominees: Peter Frechette (Eastern Standard)

Eric Stoltz (Our Town)

Gordon Joseph Weiss (Ghetto)

Actor (Musical) Winner - Jason Alexander (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Nominees: Gabriel Barre (Starmites)

Brian Lane Green (Starmites)

Robert La Fosse (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Actor (Play) Winner - Philip Bosco (Lend Me a Tenor)

Nominees: Mikhail Baryshnikov (Metamorphosis)

Victor Garber (Lend Me a Tenor)

Bill Irwin (Largely New York)

Actress (Featured Role--Musical) Winner - Debbie Shapiro (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Nominees: Jane Lanier (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Faith Prince (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Julie Wilson (Legs Diamond)

Actress (Featured Role--Play) Winner - Christine Baranski (Rumors)

Nominees: Joanne Camp (The Heidi Chronicles)

Tovah Feldshuh (Lend Me a Tenor)

Penelope Ann Miller (Our Town)

Actress (Musical) Winner - Ruth Brown (Black and Blue)

Nominees: Charlotte d'Amboise (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Linda Hopkins (Black and Blue)

Sharon McNight (Starmites)

Actress (Play) Winner - Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine)

Nominees: Joan Allen (The Heidi Chronicles)

Madeline Kahn (Born Yesterday)

Kate Nelligan (Spoils of War)

Book (Musical) Winner - Category Eliminated

Choreographer Winner - Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning, and Fayard Nicholas (Black and Blue)

Nominees: Michele Assaf (Starmites)

Bill Irwin, Kimi Okada (Largely New York)

Alan Johnson (Legs Diamond)

Costume Designer Winner - Claudio Segovio and Hector Orezzoli (Black and Blue)

Nominees: Jane Greenwood (Our Town)

Willa Kim (Legs Diamond)

William Ivey Long (Lend Me a Tenor)

Director (Musical) Winner - Jerome Robbins (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Nominees: Larry Carpenter (Starmites)

Peter Mark Schifter (Welcome to the Club)

Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli (Black and Blue)

Director (Play) Winner - Jerry Zaks (Lend Me a Tenor)

Nominees: Bill Irwin (Largely New York)

Gregory Mosher (Our Town)

Daniel Sullivan (The Heidi Chronicles)

Lighting Designer Winner - Jennifer Tipton (Jerome Robbins' Broadway)

Nominees: Neil Peter Jampolis and Jane Reisman (Black and Blue)

Brian Nason (Metamorphosis)

Nancy Schertler (Largely New York)

Musical Winner - Jerome Robbins' Broadway. Produced by The Shubert Organization, Roger Berlind, Suntory International Corp., Byron Goldman, and Emanuel Azenberg

Nominees: Black and Blue. Produced by Mel Howard and Donald K. Donald

Starmites. Produced by Hinks Shimberg, Mary Keil, and Steven Warnick

Play Winner - The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein. Produced by The Shubert Organization, Suntory International Corp., James Walsh, and Playwrights Horizons

Nominees: Largely New York by Bill Irwin. Produced by James Freydberg, Kenneth Feld, Jerry L. Cohen, Max Weitzenhoffer, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Walt Disney Studios.

Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig. Produced by Martin Stargar and The Really Useful Theatre Co., Inc.

Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell. Produced by The Really Useful Theater Co., Inc., and Bob Swash

Regional Theatre Award Winner - Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, Connecticut

Revival Winner - Our Town. Produced by Lincoln Center Theatre, Gregory Mosher, and Bernard Gersten

Nominees: Ah, Wilderness! Produced by Ken Marsolis, Alexander H. Cohen, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Yale Repertory Theater, Richard Norton, Irma Oestreicher, and Elizabeth D. White

Ain't Misbehavin'. Produced by The Shubert Organization, Emanuel Azenberg, Dasha Epstein, and Roger Berlind

Cafe Crown. Produced by LeFrak Entertainment, James M. Nederlander, Francine LeFrak, James L. Nederlander, and Arthur Rubin

Scenic Designer Winner - Santo Loquasto (Cafe Crown)

Nominees: Thomas Lynch (The Heidi Chronicles)

Claudio Segovio and Hector Orezzoli (Black and Blue)

Tony Walton (Lend Me a Tenor )

Score (Musical) Winner - Category Eliminated


Ding Dong: I went to college with Greg Mosher. Small world.

[JH4HJ]

[buckaroo - Posted December 08, 2007 01:34 AM]

ok JH4HJ I admit it - not only am I a terrible speller that rarely uses the spell check, but I have to get onto the forum when the kids are asleep and after work is done. This is not a real excuse however - the real excuse is none at all - my friends just call it "happy fingers" cause I type (and do many other things) so quickly that I can stumble. I stumble over my fingers, my words, my feet, heck, I will stumble over my poor dog. (I try not to stumble over my children - I don't want to have them taken away!!!

Thanks for putting up your rather complete list of the Tony nominations from Leg's year. It is good to see that Leg's got a few nominations - but a bit sad that they did not give Peter even one nomination. (Please - I don't want to hear that he got no nominations becuase the production was bad - that just will not cut it becuase no matter how bad TBFO was thought to be HJ got a nomination and a win. Peter was so great on that stage as a singer, dancer that he could have been nominated even if he wasn't a great actor.)

It is a bit sad how many of the member of this list are not with us - I beleive we recently lost Heidi Wasserstein...

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 08, 2007 04:53 PM]

I've got to be honest and say I don't think Peter deserved to win in the Acting category, but wouldn't it have been marvelous for him to at least have beeen nominated, for his songwriting?

And just to add a little perspective... (Remember the line in TBFO? "You know what New York was like in the 80s... you'd turn around and someone else was missing...")

The Theatre Community was really hurting by 1988, and very protective of its own. People were dropping like flies. Young, handsome, talented, beautiful, (seemingly) healthy men would come down with "The Flu" and be dead a few months later. It was a terrible time in New York.

It's possible that if things had been "normal" and AIDS wasn't devastating the creative community, and everything was business as usual, Peter might not even have gotten the chance to do Legs for the few short months it ran.

I'm still gonna say, "Good on ya, Peter!" You reached for the moon, and maybe you didn't really get to hold onto it, but at least you got a handful of stardust and that's really saying something... IMHO

[JH4HJ]

[monicah - Posted December 14, 2007 08:36 PM]

I'm fascinated by the whole story of LEGS, since I was unaware of any of it happening at the time. However, I bought the soundtrack a couple of weeks ago after nonstop playing during my daily commute (2 hours a say), I like quite a bit of it. I love the unadulterated corny showbiz cliches Peter allows himself and that he makes so endearing. This is a guy who spent a lot of time alone, pondering the world when he was a kid. That comes out in all of his work.
Yes, some of LEGS and the Hotsy Totsy Girls and Knockers are a bit silly, but I love SURE THING BABY more each time I play it, Peter's ALL I WANTED WAS THE DREAM finale had me bawling so hard I had to pull off the freeway and compose myself. Listening to this with virgin ears, out of context so many years after LEGS was beaten to death by critics, my perspective is completely different. I will definitely make a point of going to the film and tape library at Lincoln Center the next time I'm in NY.
PS - Frank Rich did all of us a big favor when he stopped being a theater critic. Some of his reviews were downright satanic, including the LEGS review, which you can still find at the NY Times site.

[JH4HJ]

[JH4HJ - Posted December 15, 2007 12:00 AM]

quote:
Frank Rich did all of us a big favor when he stopped being a theater critic


Superlative, Monicha! It's nice to hear the reaction of your "virgin ears" to Peter's songs from Legs Diamond. I honestly can't remember my initial reaction, at least not so precisely (I liked it, of course)... the old vinyl LP is around here somewhere (yes, it was *that* long ago -- LOL). I have the CD now, and I'm going to have to listen again after reading your post.

Knockers always makes me smile when I listen to his Carnegie Hall concert. I'm not sure if all of his dialog made it onto the CD of that one (they edited the double album set when they turned it into one CD -- criminal!). He tells a cute story about the origins of that tune, when he was performing at The Concord Resort up in the Catskills.

Sure Thing Baby and All I Wanted Was The Dream are two of my faves from the show, too. After viewing the video when I was in NYC I phoned one of the other OZalots so we could talk about it. That tears were streaming down my cheeks during AIWWTD was one of the first things I said. I think that was his best moment in the show.

I'm glad you appreciate Peter's sense of humor. Yes, some of it was corny -- but that was purposeful.

Just after Jack's first "resurrection" he has a line, "I'm in Show Biz. Only a critic could kill me." (or something like that) At the last performance he changed it -- "I'm in Show Biz. Not even the critics could kill me!" and there was a huge ovation from an obviously adoring audience.

I think Mona might have been there on closing night, maybe she'll add some more. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations.

If anyone is craving a bit of vitriol... here's the Frank Rich review.
www.nytimes.com/1988/12/27/theater/review-theater-legs-opens-after-9-week-preview.html

Mona -- if you're out there -- was that a "live" piano on stage for AIWWTD? It was impossible to tell if he was really playing on the video.