Read Online Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz by Greg Lawrence, John Kander, Fred Ebb - Free Book Online
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the word “streptococcus,” it wouldn’t be funny. It’s the “i” that makes it funny. And if you try to explain why the “i” makes it funny, you can’t.
EBB: Getting back to Flora , at the time that we were writing the score, there was a girl in New York named Marge Cameron, who is now Carmen Zapata, and I had written some special material for her. Marge was performing with Liza Minnelli in Carnival out on Long Island. Marge said, “Oh, you’ve just got to see Liza; she’s wonderful!” Liza apparently had a record deal, so Marge, trying to be helpful, said, “I’d like to bring her over to hear some of the songs you and John have written, and maybe she’ll put one on her record.” I had no interest in her, but Marge was relentless. Liza eventually came to my apartment to meet us. She was only seventeen. Her hair was long and stringy, and she wore funny-looking clothes, like this red hat with earflaps.
KANDER: She was messy in those days and didn’t know how to make herself as attractive as she is. She didn’t have what she developed later, that Liza style.
EBB: She sat on the couch, took off her shoes and tucked her legs under her. We played her some songs but didn’t get much of a reaction. Then Liza said, “What are you writing now?” We told her we were writing a musical called Flora, the Red Menace , and she said, “Can I hear some of those songs?” We played two or three numbers, and Liza suddenly became animated, jumped up, and said, “Can I try singing that?” I remember she stood behind you and read the lyrics over your shoulder. When she began to sing, I was wild for her. I thought, This girl is terrific !
KANDER: It was easy to see how talented she was.
EBB: And we had been having trouble finding a Flora. It seemed like the perfect thing for Liza to do. At the time, she had another show that Richard Adler had written, based on the movie Roman Holiday . She was going to do that, but then she heard Flora and obviously wanted to do it. She was all over the place, saying, “Oh, can I be in it? Who do I have to speak to? Who does my agent have to call?” So we set up an audition. But George Abbott had seen Liza’s first show, Best Foot Forward , and when we suggested her for the part, he said, “I don’t like the girl, but bring her in.”
We taught her the song “A Quiet Thing” so it would be clear she was our choice. But when she came on during the audition, as she walked across the stage, Mr. Abbott said loudly, “Well, this is a waste of time!” His voice carried in the theater, and Liza heard him. There was a little hitch in her step, and she had that frightened-little-girl look that she gets. She sat down and sang, and after she finished, he said, “Thank you.” But there was no way he was going to give her the part. And who was going to tell her? Mr. Abbott said, “You have to tell her, Fred. You made the biggest pitch for her.” So I had to call and say, “Liza, you didn’t get it.” That was an awful phone call.
Liza Minnelli on auditioning for Flora :
George Abbott didn’t want me, and Freddy was the one who had to call and tell me that I didn’t have the part in Flora . Poor Freddy. I said, “Oh, that’s okay,” but I was dying inside.
EBB: But then a couple of weeks went by and—
KANDER: The actress who Abbott wanted was suddenly unavailable.
EBB: Eydie Gorme. He was going to have dinner with her
one night. At rehearsal the next morning—he was not an emotional guy—we asked him, “How did dinner go?” He said, “She never came,” and that was it. He was really offended, and you knew she was out. Abbott went off to Florida, and we talked to Hal. Liza’s name kept coming up, and Hal said, “Let me call Mr. Abbott.”
KANDER: Mr. Abbott finally said, “Well, get me that Minnelli girl.” Simple as that. His attitude was “We’re professionals—”
EBB: “And we don’t have to talk about it. Just get her.” Now we were thrilled. I
EBB: Getting back to Flora , at the time that we were writing the score, there was a girl in New York named Marge Cameron, who is now Carmen Zapata, and I had written some special material for her. Marge was performing with Liza Minnelli in Carnival out on Long Island. Marge said, “Oh, you’ve just got to see Liza; she’s wonderful!” Liza apparently had a record deal, so Marge, trying to be helpful, said, “I’d like to bring her over to hear some of the songs you and John have written, and maybe she’ll put one on her record.” I had no interest in her, but Marge was relentless. Liza eventually came to my apartment to meet us. She was only seventeen. Her hair was long and stringy, and she wore funny-looking clothes, like this red hat with earflaps.
KANDER: She was messy in those days and didn’t know how to make herself as attractive as she is. She didn’t have what she developed later, that Liza style.
EBB: She sat on the couch, took off her shoes and tucked her legs under her. We played her some songs but didn’t get much of a reaction. Then Liza said, “What are you writing now?” We told her we were writing a musical called Flora, the Red Menace , and she said, “Can I hear some of those songs?” We played two or three numbers, and Liza suddenly became animated, jumped up, and said, “Can I try singing that?” I remember she stood behind you and read the lyrics over your shoulder. When she began to sing, I was wild for her. I thought, This girl is terrific !
KANDER: It was easy to see how talented she was.
EBB: And we had been having trouble finding a Flora. It seemed like the perfect thing for Liza to do. At the time, she had another show that Richard Adler had written, based on the movie Roman Holiday . She was going to do that, but then she heard Flora and obviously wanted to do it. She was all over the place, saying, “Oh, can I be in it? Who do I have to speak to? Who does my agent have to call?” So we set up an audition. But George Abbott had seen Liza’s first show, Best Foot Forward , and when we suggested her for the part, he said, “I don’t like the girl, but bring her in.”
We taught her the song “A Quiet Thing” so it would be clear she was our choice. But when she came on during the audition, as she walked across the stage, Mr. Abbott said loudly, “Well, this is a waste of time!” His voice carried in the theater, and Liza heard him. There was a little hitch in her step, and she had that frightened-little-girl look that she gets. She sat down and sang, and after she finished, he said, “Thank you.” But there was no way he was going to give her the part. And who was going to tell her? Mr. Abbott said, “You have to tell her, Fred. You made the biggest pitch for her.” So I had to call and say, “Liza, you didn’t get it.” That was an awful phone call.
Liza Minnelli on auditioning for Flora :
George Abbott didn’t want me, and Freddy was the one who had to call and tell me that I didn’t have the part in Flora . Poor Freddy. I said, “Oh, that’s okay,” but I was dying inside.
EBB: But then a couple of weeks went by and—
KANDER: The actress who Abbott wanted was suddenly unavailable.
EBB: Eydie Gorme. He was going to have dinner with her
one night. At rehearsal the next morning—he was not an emotional guy—we asked him, “How did dinner go?” He said, “She never came,” and that was it. He was really offended, and you knew she was out. Abbott went off to Florida, and we talked to Hal. Liza’s name kept coming up, and Hal said, “Let me call Mr. Abbott.”
KANDER: Mr. Abbott finally said, “Well, get me that Minnelli girl.” Simple as that. His attitude was “We’re professionals—”
EBB: “And we don’t have to talk about it. Just get her.” Now we were thrilled. I
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