St. Bridget, Deliver Us to Beekman Place

Today, I saw a very enjoyable staged reading of the York Theatre's Mufti of the 1969 musical Coco which starred Katharine Hepburn about Coco Chanel with Chris Caggiano and Kevin Daly.   Andrea Marcovicci starred as Coco.  Even if she wasn't the best voice (come on, neither was Hepburn),  she was perfectly costumed, although "Mufti" translates to street clothes and we were told that the actors used their own wardrobe. I loved her clothes and sparkly accessories - very Coco Chanel!  I enjoyed her witty delivery very much.   Andre Previn's score is lovely as well, even just on piano accompaniment.  It was a bonus that the delightful Lewis Cleale and Charles Kimbrough were members of the company.

After dinner, Kevin and I went in search of Beekman Place, which is off 51st and 1st Avenue.   It's a swanky little street tucked just above the FDR and north of the Union.  Best of all, Beekman Place is where Auntie Mame "lived!"   I could fairly here the strains of a bugle. I've been meaning to pilgrimage there for years and today was finally the right day to do it.   Katharine Cornell lived on Beekman Place too.   The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg's travel office is at 17 Beekman Place, and although we didn't see the sign about it, Irving Berlin once lived there!

After, we stepped across the street and up a block to 49th Street, between 2nd & 3rd Avenue, aka Katharine Hepburn Place. Her town home - 244 East 49th Street - is available for rent for only $27,500 per month.    Kevin and I passed on filling out the lease for at least now.

Fall 2010 Musicals in Mufti at the York Theatre

The York Theatre has announced its Fall 2010 season of Musicals in Mufti.  I'm especially looking forward to the series this season since The York, located at 59th & Lexington under St. Peter's,  is only a blocks from my current office.

Mufti means "in street clothes, without the usual trappings."  It's a staged concert and is great fun in this intimate theatre.  The shows this season will be Coco, I Remember Mama, The Roar of the Greaspaint - The Smell fo the Crowd, and I Love My Wife.

I'm especially looking forward to Coco, the musical about Coco Chanel with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn.   It was the only musical that Katharine Hepburn did.  It ran at the Mark Hellinger Theatre for 40 previews before it finally opened in December 1969 and ran for 329 performances.  Katharine was nominated for a Tony, but was beat by Lauren Bacall in Applause. 

Impressively, Katharine used her clout and status to make a social statement.  From Playbill:

Hepburn gave a speech from the stage of the Hellinger after a performance on May 8, 1970. She was asked by actor Keir Dullea to request a moment of silence in memory of the four students shot by the National Guard earlier that week on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Her speech, as read by Caldwell, said, in part:


". . . A few days ago four kids were shot and killed in Kent State College, Ohio. Now you may call them rebels or rabble-rousers or anything you name. Nevertheless they were our kids and our responsibility. Our generation is responsible and we must take time to pause and reflect and do something. You can pray, but we must think — and together — for if we don't, we are lost. The mayor joins with me and the rest of the cast in asking you to stay for a few minutes silence . . . If any of you wishes to leave you are free to do so. But if you do leave, I know you will still think about it . . ."

Ironically, the previous season Jerry Herman's musical Dear World played at the Mark Hellinger, although it only lasted for 132 performances and closed in May of 1969.  Dear World is based on the Jean Giraudoux play, The Madwoman of Chaillot.   Angela Lansbury played the leading lady, Countess Aurelia and won the Tony.  Katherine Hepburn played the Countess in the film version of the play also released in 1969. 

Perhaps Mufti will bring Dear World to life soon as well.