Author: Jane

Tweets on 2009-05-20

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James Goldofini came to the show and we went out after for a drink(s). And Sandy Duncan and Don, Susan and Diane from our show. Whew!!! # What fun!!!! I was sooo worried he wouldn’t like the show but he did. And I got a chance to tell him how much I like his (“God of Carnage”) # and we got to share stories about what it was like for us–who aren’t used to being on Broadway. #actor #theatre #

NEIL SIMON, TIM ROBBINS, ANNA DEAVERE SMITH

Jane 36 Comments

Nothing like a little pressure!!! These people are all here tonight. And, I stayed out too late after last night’s show–a kind of goodbye party before the real goodbye party–Susan Kellerman, Don Amendolia, Diane Walsh, James Gandolfini, Sandy Duncan—what a good time. Not enough sleep though and today I taped the Letterman Show. At least I didn’t cry on the show when I talked about the play closing Thursday. I said, “usually you do these shows to promote a play at the beginning, not 2 days before it closes. But we hired the Republican National Committee to do our PR, so what can you expect.” James Gandolfini (photo: Michael Rudd) Andrea Martin, Me and Debra Monk (photo: Michael Rudd) Sandy Duncan (photo: Michael Rudd) So here I am, in my dressing room waiting for the audience to come in so I can use my opera glasses to try and see who’s sitting where. Neil Simon. OMG. You must know this, but just in case-he’s the great playwright who wrote “Barefoot in the Park” and “California Suite” both of which I was in. I am a huge fan of Tim Robbins and Anna Deavere Smith. Neil Simon (photo: Michael Rudd) Tim Robbins (photo: Michael Rudd) Anna Deavere Smith (photo: Michael Rudd) I got a beautiful vase of flowers tonight from Patti LuPone. Wow!! I don’t even know her personally. She is a power of a talent and I feel very honored by this generous gesture. Carole Mitchell is here too. Carole and her husband, Tommy, help look after my place in atlanta and my office and my daughter’s house and on and on. We’ve been together almost 10 years. Carole Mitchell (photo: Michael Rudd) Time to go. I’ll write more at intermission to say how it’s going. ########### None of us feel the show is going well and we can’t quite say why. At least I haven’t forgotten any lines–yet–there are five scenes to go. I have to go. No partying tonight. Tomorrow is a two-show day. Our last two-show days. After tomorrow we do our final show. Sam Waterston (photo: Michael Rudd) Bernadette Peters (photo: Michael Rudd) Barry and Carole Hirsch (photo: Michael Rudd) Marisa Berenson (photo: Michael Rudd) See you next time.

Tweets on 2009-05-19

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Thanks @keyinfluencer for letting me know about @UsherRaymondIV and Dupri. Pls let them know about http://www.gpower2009.org and to visit the wall #

LOSING

Jane 41 Comments

I was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and lost last night to Janet McTeer for her powerful performance in “Mary Stuart.” So how does it feel to lose? Not great but not horrible, either, especially if it’s not the first time. Angela Lansbury, who won for Best Featured Actress, said when she accepted her award that she knows it isn’t easy being the one who “didn’t get up.” “I know because there have been many times when I wasn’t the one who got up. But you will get up one day.” It was very nice. I’ve gotten up many times and stayed down many times and, you recover from both (winning requires attaining humility, losing requires attaining perspective…maybe winning does too). I enjoyed running into friends like Jonathan Lithgow and Liza Minnelli. I made a film with Angela Lansbury eons ago. Peter Finch was in it as well. It was so bad, I’m not even sure it was ever released. (So you see, we all win some and lose some). Stephanie Block is playing Judy Bernly in “9 to 5: The Musical.” That was the role I played in the film –that I produced. Liza Minnelli, Jeff Kalpak (Director of The Drama Desk Awards Show) (photo: scottwynn.com) Harvey Fierstein hosted the award show and I found out that he collects folk art. I collect vernacular art of the south (some might say they are the same) and financed two volumes of a coffee table book of these artist’s work.  Several years ago Oprah gave the books out to her audience as among her favorite things that year. Anyway, I told Harvey I wanted to send them to him and he wrote down his address and, not having a pocket, I folded the paper up and stuck it into my bra right before I went on stage to present the nominated Best Featured actors and actresses. In his introduction of me, Harvey had made a funny joke about him doing my exercise videos for years and so when I was on stage and the music for “9 to 5” was playing I joked around and did a quick Jane Fonda Workout arm exercise (that I had done in our Broadway Cares skit) and Harvey’s note fell down my pants leg…something that would never happen to Dolly Parton! Oh well. Although today is Monday, normally our day off, we are doing a special show tonight. It will be fun because a lot of actors who haven’t seen it yet will get to come and I’m told it’s really fun to perform for other actors. I’ll tell you tomorrow who came back stage. For now, it’s pack up time. See you next time

Tweets on 2009-05-18

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I am at the Drama Desk Awards. Just met Stephanie Block who plays my character, Judy Bernly, in “9 to 5: The Musical”. # Weird. I used to always do the movie roles that other actors had already done on Broadway # “Barefoot in the Park”, “Sunday in New York,” “Tall Story.” Hmm # Janet McTeer won the Drama Desk Award for best actress. # This wasn’t hard for me to accept since I’ve seen her show, “Mary Stuart,” and think she is truly fantastic. # Janet McTeer won Drama Desk for best actress. Wasn’t hard for me to accept I’ve seen her show, “Mary Stuart,” & think she is truly fanta … # Had fun at the Drama Desk Awards laughing backstage with Liza Minnelli. She got some special award, presented to her by Rex Reed, # and when I said “break a leg” to her just as she was about to go on… # she laughed and said, “oooh, don’t say that to ME! the last time, I actually did break a leg.” #

SADNESS

Jane 28 Comments

I have been packing up my books and files and then came to the dressroom and packed up what I won’t be needing between now and Thursday. Tulea knows something’s up and is worried. I can tell. People with dogs will know what I’m talking about. Now, half hour was just announced for our 3pm show and I am sitting alone in the room and feeling sad. In fact, if it would not ruin my makeup and put me in the wrong frame of mind to start the show I would let myself go and cry. I can hear Diane practicing–warming up–with various variations and I realize that from now on, when I listen to her CD I will cry. Every variation is so bound up with the emotions of the play. Moises’s new play opens tonight in L.A. I have sent him flowers. He’s coming here Tuesday for the last four shows–or so I’m told. It’s intermission and 2 dozen Montreal bagels were just delivered to me–a gift from Debbie Giser!!!! Some are poppy seeds, some are sesame seeds. Yum!!!! Thank you Debbie. Marlo Thomas is in the audience today. I look forward to seeing her. It will be hectic backstage tonight cause I have to get my hair fixed and change makeup and then walk the red carpet for the Drama Desk Awards evening. I am presenting the award to the best featured actor. Right now it’s during my long break between scenes. I have to say this has been a wierd performance. From the beginning. Can’t explain it. I feel wired, aggressive. I’ve been more hostile with clara, my daughter in the play, than I usually am. Top of the second act I got words all mixed up. Sentences reversed. Pat, one of the stage managers, heard me say I felt strange and she said the whole crew was acting wierd, on edge. “This always happens when you get close to the end of the play. Separation anxiety,” Pat said. ############ Marlo Thomas did not come backstage so, naturally, I assume she didn’t like the play or my performance and didn’t want to be embarassed. There have been time when I have seen a show and not gone back stage unless I’d been specifically asked. Now I know never to do that again because it causes paranoia. But Debi Karolewski came back. Debi was my assistant for many years when I lived in California and had a production company. The job only ended because I married Ted and moved to Atlanta. She has remained in touch and close to the whole family. Debi Karolewski (photo: Michael Rudd) See you next time

THEODORE BIKEL

Jane 13 Comments

This matinee audience is fantastic. We have gotten laughter and applause in places we’ve never had it before. I want to clone them. Though we have only 7 shows left, all of us are still finding new moments and it’s so much fun–so exciting. With Theodore Bikel and his wife Tamara Brooks (photo: Michael Rudd) Theodore Bikel and his wife, Tamara Brooks, are in the audience this afternoon. He was the original Captain Von Trapp in “Sound of Music,” and played Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” more than anyone else–2,094 times! She is a conductor and composer. They adored the show and were very moved. He said how rare it is to be truly taken outside oneself and that this happened to him–to both of them– this afternoon. Tamara told me that in the margins of his composition of The Missa Solemna (his great Mass) part of which we sing in the play, Beethoven wrote, “The result of freedom (in death) is Mirth, is Peace.” Ahhhh, yes. And Moises captures this so well in the scene when Beethoven and I are together–when I have a morphine-induced hallucination and we laugh heartily together. Tonight, Diane Ladd, a longtime friend of mine is coming. Diane Ladd (photo: Michael Rudd) And I will welcolme backstage Dr. Michael Carrera and his wife June. His adolescent pregnancy prevention program, done with the Children’s Aid Society, is one of the most successful and widely replicated nationally. I have considered him my guru in this field for at least 15 years. We will go to dinner together and do some major catching up. Dr. Michael Carerra and his wife June (photo: Michael Rudd) Scarlet Pressley-Brown of Delta Air Lines, her husband Wendell Brown, and their daughter April Partridge Speaking of catching up, I had a very good time after last night’s show, catching up with Tom (Hayden) and Barbara in the dressing room. I was correct in thinking that they would like the play. See you next time.

SOME QUICK ANSWERS TO BLOGGER QUESTIONS

Jane 12 Comments

Michael Rudd works for the production company, Production 101, that handles this play. At night, he petsits Tulea and he played my assistant in the winning Broadway Cares skit. I adore him and have asked him to be my assistant on my next film. There has been hearing assistance on one or two shows when groups of hearing impaired had planned to come in advance but, as a day to day rule, there is no signage or captioning. I am not going to stop blogging when the play ends. As I said in an earlier blog, I made the decision to continue for as long as I feel I have something interesting to say. Right after the play, on May 23rd, a large group of us, that will include my family, leave Atlanta for the Galapagos for 8 days. It is a fundraising trip for my non-profit, G-CAPP, but, as always, it will be combining fundraising with fun-raising. I have found out that I can blog from there and so I will. My daughter, Vanessa, will also be making a video log of the trip. She is a very talented photographer!!!! See you later today