Moments both Tender and Not So.
Tenderly,by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman, is not only the name of one of Rosemary Clooney’s hit song,s but of a musical, in which she recounts her life from her psychiatrist’s office, after suffering an onstage nervous breakdown in 1968. It chronicles her abandonment by her mother and then her alcoholic father in suburban Cincinnati, her highs and lows as a big star in Hollywood to her resurgence as a performer and recovered addict.
Rosemary Clooney, who may be unknown to the younger generation, came to prominence as a teen-age singer just after World War II, through radio and then TV, and is most famous as one of the stars of the film White Christmas along with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
What is not as well-known is that she had a tumultuous marriage to fellow actor José Ferrer, was addicted to various pills, spent several months in psychiatric care but managed a professional come-back.
Told in chronological order, Rosemary, played by Meg McLynn, recounts her difficulties to her psychiatrist played by Bruce Haasl, interspersed with some song and dance numbers, in which the doctor assumes the roles of various people in her life: her priest, her philandering husband, her pals Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby etc. Although McLynn sang beautifully, the script was fairly weak, its dialogue was mediocre, and only just adequate to recount the events of her life; nothing was truly memorable. Unfortunately Haasl, playing many different roles, just did not have the acting chops to distinguish one role from the other.
Discussions of her addiction, depression and recovery from growing up in an alcoholic family were fairly superficial and did not take into account historical influences of the 1950’s i.e. psychiatry’s dependence on Freud’s misguided theories of women and mental health, the ignorance of the addictive nature of pills and alcoholism. It did not even touch on the medical malpractice that caused Ms. Clooney and others to become addicted to pill popping.
The musicians, Jeff Bell on Piano, Rick Jarvela on Bass and Andy Garness on Drums were superb in this excellent production directed by Corey McDaniel; for those who adore the early 1950’s style of music and Rosemary Clooney’s songs, the music alone makes it an enjoyable show.
Tenderly. Harlequin Productions. 202-4th Ave E. Olympia, WA 98501 til Nov. 20. Wed Nov10-7:30, Sat.& Sun. Nov. 13 & 14 -2pm, Wed. Nov 17-2pm. Thurs. Nov 18-7:30, Sat. Nov 20-7:30. Info: www.HarlequinProductions.org. Rush tickets 30 min before the performance, and PWYC performances.
Tickets: https://ticketsales.washingtoncenter.org/online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=068C62FD-ECEE-450B-BEA3-8EB498553F42
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