Theater message boards became very busy places on September 10, 2009. The curtain had hardly wrung down when theatergoers reached for their blackberries to post their opinions about the first preview of BYE BYE BIRDIE. In fact, there were a few who posted their comments during intermission. Everyone and their grandparents wanted to express their opinions about the 39 year old musical that was being revived by The Roundabout Theatre. At times the chatter became quite acrimonious and the discussions went on for days. It seems that these people forgot that the show had just given its first preview and the house was filled with an audience that had stood on line during one of the hottest days in the summer to get ten dollar tickets for this one performance. Perhaps that's why they felt they had a right to be so vocal about their opinions.
One aspect of the show that everyone seemed to agree on was the sterling performance that Dee Hoty was giving as Doris McAfee, the mother of the teenager who had been randomly selected to receive "one last kiss" from teen idol Conrad Birdie before he was inducted into the Army. Hoty captures the essence of the quintessential 50's mother, who embodies every attribute of Donna Reed, Barbara Billingsly, Harriett Nelson and even a bit of Gracie Allen. The performance comes gloriously gift wrapped in 50's couture and probably has more crinolines beneath it than any woman ever wore at a single time during the era. Hoty acts, sings and changes costumes on stage to the delight of the audiences who were vociferous with their approval when she took her bows. There was a standing ovation for the whole cast and cheers galore.
After the performance, the BIRDIE-mania continued as hundreds of people rushed to the stage
door to prolong their cheering as stars John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin, Nolan Gerard Funk and Dee Hoty left Henry Miller's Theatre. To someone who has spent more than a few New Year's Eves in Times Square, it seemed as though 2010 had arrived early this year. Hoty agrees, saying, "I've seen my share of crowds at a stage door, too (not for me, but for whomever) and it was pretty overwhelming! I thought, "Really? For Uncle Jesse?!' And I mean no disrespect by that, only in regard to the absolute power of TV, and what I call 'the American Idolization' of Broadway."
Chatting by phone on a recent afternoon, Dee Hoty is a pleasure to converse with. She's perceptive, loquacious, humorous and earthy all at the same time. In other words, she's an absolute dream for a journalist. A mere question about how she became involved in show business opens a vivid account of what inspired her to become a constant presence on the theatre scene: "I didn't know you did this for a living because I didn't have any experience f it. I didn't connect the people on TV or the movies with doing it for a living. I had a cousin Tony, who sadly passed away a year ago in March. He majored in theatre in college.-very much to his family's consternation. Please know that our fathers were of first-generation Greek descent. You know, the Old World people who had real employment. I was always good performing. I was a singer who sang in both the church choir and the school choir. I was the soloist here, the soloist there, blah, blah, you get the idea. I discovered theater in high school. More specifically, I discovered musical theater. I had a friend in my brother's class who Audobon--which is where I wound up going to college-he came home and said, ‘Dee, if you're really interested in theater, I should look into this school.' I ended up going there and the short story is that I did summer theater for my college and got PAID. A big $300 for the whole summer!"
Eventually Dee Hoty discovered what auditioning was and she auditioned for other theaters and began to work during her summers until she was graduated. She thought, "Well, this is fun! I'll do this until no one hires me!" The rest is history. Actually, Hoty's mother wanted her to get a teaching certificate because, as with most parents, she wanted her daughter to have something to fall back on. Hoty felt differently, thinking "Oh, if I have it to fall back on I will!" so she never got it. "In hindsight," she adds with a laugh, "I wouldn't be able to go back to school now and get it updated!"
