You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman (49 page)

Coda

Coleman’s sense of not being finished echoed well after his death, first with a revival of
Sweet Charity
starring Christina Applegate (best known for her work on television’s
Married . . . with Children
) in the title role. Before he died, Coleman and director Walter Bobbie had begun examining songs originally intended for the show to see if they might be appropriate for the new staging. And although Coleman would not live to hear it performed on Broadway, “A Good Impression,” one of his earliest collaborations with Dorothy Fields, was included in the production.

Beyond this,
Like Jazz
was rumored for the 2005–6 season for a while, but as of this writing it has not returned to the stage in any incarnation. However, another of Coleman’s projects,
Pamela’s First Musical
, has continued to evolve and receive stagings. In the spring of 2008 it was presented in a starry benefit concert at New York’s Town Hall with two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy playing Aunt Louise. Later that year it was presented in an abbreviated form at an industry event in the hopes of attracting a producing team, and for a while it looked as if
Pamela
might make it to the stage. But as Coleman always knew, delays could and did happen. It wasn’t until five years later that the musical resurfaced—with a new book writer attached, Tony Award–winning playwright Christopher Durang—and talk began that the show would be included on the schedule for Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2016.

But even as these musicals struggled to come to the stage, some of the mainstays of Coleman’s work continued to enjoy popularity among theater creators and audiences. In the United States,
On the Twentieth Century
received a one-night-only concert production in 2005 as a benefit for the Actors’ Fund, and in 2014 an often-discussed full-scale revival starring Tony and Emmy winner Kristin Chenoweth was officially slated for production in early 2015 by Roundabout Theater Company. The news of this production came just after another of Coleman’s musicals,
Little Me
, had enjoyed an acclaimed presentation in New York as part of City Center’s
Encores!
series.

In Great Britain a production of
Sweet Charity
that started at the Menier Chocolate Factory reached the West End for a run in 2010, and in 2013 a new production of
Barnum
starring American actor Christopher Fitzgerald and coproduced by hitmaker Cameron Mackintosh played at the Chichester Festival. A third British offering, a major revival of
City of Angels
at the Donmar Warehouse that opened in December 2014, was sold out for the entirety of its run months before its first performance.

Coleman’s songbook has similarly lived on in a variety of ways. In 2009 New West Records released
The Best Is Yet to Come
. The album featured covers of songs like “Why Try to Change Me Now?” and “Too Many Tomorrows” by popular stars such as Fiona Apple and Patty Griffin. That year also saw a revue of Coleman’s songs, also titled
The Best Is Yet to Come
and assembled by David Zippel, premiere in Los Angeles. The show provided audiences with a chance to look back on Coleman’s well-known tunes while also premiering several numbers from one other show that he had been working on at the time of his death: a musical about Napoleon Bonaparte, with lyrics by Zippel and a book by Larry Gelbart.

As Zippel recalled, “It was Larry who had the idea of doing
Napoleon
. It was something that both Cy and I both thought, ‘Really?’ But when he talked about his point of view and the way to tell the story, it was really intriguing. And because it was Larry Gelbart and he was such a great wordsmith and had such great dramaturgical skills, we realized this could be something really special. . . . It was about these two people who were in love with one another but never at the same time.”
1

The conceit for the show was that it opened at Malmaison, one of the grandiose homes shared by Napoleon and Josephine, after it had fallen into disrepair. Audiences were to have been taken into their world and back into their heyday courtesy of the Marquis de Sade as he looked back on their love affair.

When the revue had its New York premiere two years later, the song list had been slightly revised but still included numbers from the Napoleon project. Erik Haagensen described one of them in a review for
Back Stage
, “Only the Rest of My Life,” as being “a tantalizing mixture of passion and humor.” He went on to write that the four selections in the revue “suggest [the Napoleon musical] has a score of rare quality.”
2

Sadly, Coleman’s death, which was followed by Gelbart’s passing in 2009, means that the show will remain unfinished. As Zippel said, “It was theatrical and really interesting. Only Larry could write it in this way, and that’s one of the reasons why there was no point in moving forward after we lost Larry, but first we lost Cy.”
3

The revue’s New York premiere coincided with what would have been Coleman’s eightieth birthday—nearly sixty years after his debut as a songwriter. Though styles and tastes had changed in the intervening decades, critics were still praising the composer’s facility with a melody. In his May 26 review in the
New York Times
, Charles Isherwood saluted the “coolly swinging, jazz-inflected compositions” and said the music had “style and flash of its own.” In many respects, Isherwood’s final description of Coleman’s music could have been applied to the composer himself.

Selected Bibliography

Listed below are the books consulted in the preparation of
You Fascinate Me So
. All newspaper and magazine articles and reviews referenced are indicated in the body of the text or in footnotes. For a discography of Coleman’s recordings, cast albums, and other 45s, LPs, and CDs featuring his work, visit
www.YouFascinateMeSo.com
.

Libretti

Bennett, Michael, and Dorothy Fields.
Seesaw
. New York: Samuel French, 1975.

Bramble, Mark, and Michael Stewart.
Barnum
. Garden City, New York: Nelson Doubleday, 1980.

Comden, Betty, and Adolph Green.
On The Twentieth Century
. New York: Samuel French, 1980.

Gelbart, Larry, and David Zippel.
City of Angels
. New York: Applause Theatre, 1990.

Simon, Neil, and Carolyn Leigh.
Little Me.
In
The Collected Plays of Neil Simon, Volume 2
. New York: Plume, 1977.

Simon, Neil, and Dorothy Fields.
Sweet Charity
. New York: Random House, 1966.

Stewart, Michael.
I Love My Wife
. New York: Samuel French, 1980.

Source Material/Inspiration

Baker, Russell.
Growing Up
. New York: New American Library, 1982.

Dennis, Patrick.
Little Me
. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1961.

Gibson, William.
Two for the Seesaw
. New York: Samuel French, 1960.

Rice, Elmer.
Dream Girl
. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1973.

Sneider, Vern.
The King from Ashtabula
. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1960.

History, Biography, and Reference

Aerosmith, with Stephen Davis.
Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith
. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2003.

Ball, Lucille.
Love, Lucy
. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 1996.

Balliett, Whitney.
American Musicians II: Seventy-one Portraits in Jazz
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

———.
American Singers: 27 Portraits in Song
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

———.
Collected Works: A Journal of Jazz, 1954–2000
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

Beddow, Margery.
Bob Fosse’s Broadway
. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.

Belafonte, Harry, with Michael Shnayerson.
My Song: A Memoir
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.

Bell, Marty.
Broadway Stories: A Backstage Journey Through Musical Theatre
. New York: Limelight Editions, 1993.

Bennett, Tony, with Will Friedwald.
The Good Life
. New York: Pocket Books, 1998.

Blakemore, Michael.
Arguments with England: A Memoir
. London: Faber & Faber, 2004.

Bloom, Ken.
American Song: The Complete Companion to Tin Pan Alley Song
. New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.

Brady, Kathleen.
Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball
. New York: Hyperion, 1994.

Bricktop, with James Haskins.
Bricktop
. New York: Atheneum, 1983.

Bryer, Jackson R., and Richard A. Davison, eds.
The Art of the American Musical: Conversations with the Creators
. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005.

Caesar, Sid, with Bill Davidson.
Where Have I Been? An Autobiography
. New York: Crown, 1982.

Caesar, Sid, with Eddy Friedfeld.
Caesar’s Hours: My Life in Comedy, with Love and Laughter
. New York: PublicAffairs, 2001.

Cossette, Pierre.
Another Day in Showbiz: One Producer’s Journey
. Toronto: ECW Press, 2003.

Crow, Bill.
From Birdland to Broadway: Scenes from a Jazz Life
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

De Barros, Paul.
Shall We Play That One Together: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012.

Drell, Adrienne, ed.
20th Century Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Voices
. Chicago: Sun-Times, 1999.

Evanier, David.
All the Things You Are: The Life of Tony Bennett
. New York: John Wiley, 2011.

Feuer, Cy, with Ken Gross.
I Got the Show Right Here: The Amazing, True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman
. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2003.

Filichia, Peter.
Broadway Musical MVPs, 1960–2010: The Most Valuable Players of the Past 50 Seasons
. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2011.

———.
Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit & the Biggest Flop of the Season, 1959–2009
. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2010.

Flinn, Caryl.
Brass Diva: The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman
. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007.

Friedwald, Will.
A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers
. New York: Pantheon Books, 2010.

———.
Sinatra! The Song Is You: A Singer’s Art
. New York: Scribner, 1995.

Frommer, Myrna Katz, and Harvey Frommer.
It Happened on Broadway: An Oral History of the Great White Way
. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1998.

Gavin, James.
Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret
. New York: Grove Weidenfield, 1991.

Gelbart, Larry.
Laughing Matters: On Writing “M*A*S*H,” “Tootsie,” “Oh, God!” and a Few Other Funny Things
. New York: Random House, 1998.

Gottfried, Martin.
All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse
. New York: Bantam Books, 1990.

Green, Stanley.
The World of Musical Comedy
. 4th ed., revised and enlarged. New York: Da Capo Press, 1984.

Greenspan, Charlotte.
Pick Yourself Up: Dorothy Fields and the American Musical
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Grubb, Kevin Boyd.
Razzle Dazzle: The Life and Work of Bob Fosse
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989.

Guernsey, Otis L. Jr., ed.
Broadway Song & Story: Playwrights/Lyricists/Composers Discuss Their Hits
. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1985.

Hadleigh, Boze.
Broadway Babylon: Glamour, Glitz, and Gossip on the Great White Way
. New York: Back Stage Books, 2007.

Hamill, Pete.
Why Sinatra Matters
. New York: Back Bay Books, 2003.

Harper, Valerie.
I, Rhoda: A Memoir
. New York: Gallery Books, 2013.

Haskins, James.
Mabel Mercer: A Life
. New York: Atheneum, 1987.

Haygood, Wil.
In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
New York: Billboard Books, 2003.

Hirsch, Foster.
Harold Prince and the American Musical Theatre
. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Hischak, Thomas S.
Word Crazy: Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim
. New York: Praeger, 1991.

Hotchner, A. E.
Everyone Comes to Elaine’s: 40 Years of Movie Stars, All-Stars, Literary Lions, Financial Scions, Top Cops, Politicians, and Power Brokers at the Legendary Hot Spot
. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2004.

Ilson, Carol.
Harold Prince: The Director’s Journey
. New York: Limelight Editions, 2000.

Kanfer, Stefan.
Ball of Fire: The Tumultuous Life and Comic Art of Lucille Ball
. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

Kasha, Al, and Joel Hirschhorn.
Notes on Broadway: Conversations with the Great Songwriters
. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1985.

Kelly, Kevin.
One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story
. New York: Kensington, 1990.

Kissel, Howard.
David Merrick: The Abominable Showman, an Unauthorized Biography
. New York: Applause Books, 1993.

Lahr, John.
Show and Tell: “New Yorker” Profiles
. New York: Overlook Hardcover, 2000.

Lee, Peggy.
Miss Peggy Lee: An Autobiography
. New York: Donald J. Fine, 1989.

Leonard, William Torbert.
Broadway Bound: A Guide to Shows That Died Aborning
. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1983.

Levinson, Peter.
September in the Rain: The Life of Nelson Riddle
. New York: Billboard Books, 2001.

Lipton, James.
Inside Inside
. New York: Dutton, 2007.

Lobenthal, Joel.
Tallulah! The Life and Times of a Leading Lady
. New York: Harper Entertainment, 2008.

Long, Robert Emmet.
Broadway, the Golden Years: Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographer-Directors, 1940 to the Present
. New York: Continuum, 2001.

Mandelbaum, Ken.
“A Chorus Line” and the Musicals of Michael Bennett
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989.

———.
Not Since “Carrie”: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991.

McPartland, Marion.
Marian McPartland’s Jazz World: All in Good Time
. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1987.

Mordden, Ethan.
Broadway Babies: The People Who Made the American Musical
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.

———.
Coming Up Roses: The Broadway Musical in the 1950s
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

———.
The Happiest Corpse I’ve Ever Seen: The Last 25 Years of the Broadway Musical
. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

———.
One More Kiss: The Broadway Musical in the 1970s
. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

———.
Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s
. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001.

Ostrow, Stuart.
A Producer’s Broadway Journey
. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.

Peterson, Bernard L. Jr.
A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans
. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1993.

Rich, Frank.
Hot Seat: Theater Criticism for “The New York Times.” 1980–1993
. New York: Random House, 1998.

Richmond, Peter.
Fever: The Life and Music of Miss Peggy Lee
. New York: Henry Holt, 2006.

Sanders, Coyne Steven, and Tom Gilbert.
Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2011.

Sheed, Wilfrid.
The House That George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty
. New York: Random House, 2008.

Simon, Neil.
Rewrites: A Memoir
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Simonson, Robert.
The Gentleman Press Agent: Fifty Years in the Theatrical Trenches with Merle Debuskey
. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2010.

Steyn, Mark.
Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then & Now
. New York: Routledge, 1999.

Suskin, Steven.
More Opening Nights on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Musical Theatre, 1965–1981
. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997

———.
Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre, “Oklahoma!” (1943) to “Fiddler on the Roof” (1964)
. New York: Schirmer Books, 1990.

———.
Second Act Trouble: Behind the Scenes at Broadway’s Big Musical Bombs
. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2006.

———.
The Sound of Broadway Musicals: A Book of Orchestrators & Orchestrations
. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Tune, Tommy.
Footnotes: A Memoir
. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Viagas, Robert, ed.
The Alchemy of Theatre—The Divine Science: Essays on Theatre & the Art of Collaboration
. New York: Playbill Books, 2006.

Wasson, Sam.
Fosse
. New York: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

Whorf, Michael.
American Popular Song Lyricists: Oral Histories, 1920s–1960s
. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012.

Wilson, Earl.
Sinatra: An Unauthorized Biography
. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1976.

Winer, Deborah Grace.
On the Sunny Side of the Street: The Life and Lyrics of Dorothy Fields
. New York: Schirmer Books, 1997.