More Gold To Mine For Theater Queens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      What an embarrassment of riches, darlings!!!!  Just days after I note the anniversary of another Musical Theater Classic--"Gypsy"--along comes that of "Mame," which opened 46 years ago, on May 24, 1966, at the Winter Garden Theatre!!!!

                                         I have to wonder, what was it about May???????????

                                         "Mame" became the first of my favorite musicals. (The other two being "Follies" and "A Chorus Line").  It incorporated into one show everything a burgeoning gay child could want--a jazzy score (the overture to which, along with that of "Gypsy", sets the Gold Standard for Broadway Overtures!!!!), a wealthy aunt in a wealthy part of New York City (Beekman Place, over on the even then very exclusive Upper East Side), with free-wheeling friends...even lesbians (gasp!!!!),  and an unconventional approach to life.  What more could a child ask???? The only thing is, times being what they were, the writers exercised some kind of Middle Class morality, by having the adult Patrick (Mame's nephew) turn out a conventional suburbanite, rather than more like herself.  But, at the end, there is also Patrick's son, Peter, and, with a generation removed, hope remains Mame will change him!!!!!!

                                      Darlings, I memorized this album, until I could sing every word.  Not only that, I just about taught it to my entire neighborhood, when I was growing up!!!!  There are still those out there, who, thanks to me, can sing every line of the opening number, "St. Bridget."

                                      I can even still recite the opening of the liner notes for "St. Bridget:"
"December 1, 1928.  Into the brilliantly, blinking Manhattan  night, wander two lost lambs, straight from Des Moines,
newly orphaned Patrick Dennis (Frankie Michaels) , age 10, and Agnes Gooch (Jane Connell), faithful nanny, delivering her charge to his only living relative, a certain Mame Dennis, of No. 3 Beekman Place."

                                       And yes, girls, many times, on the evening of December 1, I would stand,  in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral (once I moved to New York, in adulthood) and sing "St. Bridget."  It was kind of my Uptown Gig, the way "Frank Mills" was Downtown, at the Waverly.

                                        I remember "Mame's " opening very well, because even, as a child, I had heard about it, and about Frankie Michaels.  Who, by the way, still holds the record for the youngest performer to win a TONY Award; in June of 1966, he won Best Featured Actor In A Musical.  Listen to him on the album; he was just too good NOT to!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Of course, I wanted so much for that to be ME, but while "Mame" was getting on its feet, I was getting ready for a performance of my own--open heart surgery, at New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, where I was the evening "Mame" opened, the reason I recall it so well, and, it cannot be denied, the reason I am here today, writing about it.

                                        The show iconicized two things associated with it--actress Angela Lansbury (still going strong after all these years--amazing!!!!) who became a Genuine Star, once this opened, and netted her the first of her four TONY Awards.  And, as far as I am concerned, it did the same for the Winter Garden Theatre, which went on to play "Follies" and "Liza Minnelli" among others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, of course, the Winter Garden became, for me, the Broadway theater I most wanted to play.

                                        Hard to believe it has been 46 years!!!!!   And hard to believe how far Musical Theater and the Winter Garden have come down, since!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          "CATS" and Mamma Mia," indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!