I am informed that the run at the York Theater in New York is not three performances. It's five performances in three days.
And many folks have reminded me that Stephen Sondheim did not, as I stated, exactly write a song for The Mad Show. He wrote the lyrics to a tune supplied by his friend, Mary Rodgers. In fact, Douglas McEwan mentions this in an e-mail he sent me. Here — I'll let you read it so you can see for yourself…
I saw The Mad Show when it came to L.A. I was, I believe, 17 at the time, seated in the front row. The first time I ever saw Jo Anne Worley was when the curtain came up and the cast, singing the opening number, came out into the house, and Jo Anne plopped herself down on my lap and began singing as loud as she could, which was Ethel Merman loud (may still be). Six months later, Jo Anne came and saw me perform in Little Mary Sunshine. It was a nice turnaround. Though I made my entrance from the audience in that show, I managed to refrain from sitting in Jo Anne's lap.
Loved the show. Still have the cast CD (Replacing my long-lost cast vinyl record). Along with Sondheim, some of the sings are by Mary Rodgers, daughter of Richard Rodgers, and co-writer of the songs for Once Upon a Mattress. Nice to see I'm not the only person left who remembers it.
Jo Anne Worley, who I seem to see at every theater-related event I attend in Los Angeles, has had an amazing career. She was at one point — some people may not know this — Carol Channing's understudy for Hello, Dolly. The story goes that when she was hired, Ms. Channing took her aside and said, "I'm sure you're very talented but you're never going on." And she never did. Channing never missed a performance.