BWW EXCLUSIVE: Swoosie Kurtz Talks Memoir PART SWAN, PART GOOSE, Including Michael Bennett Memories, Broadway, Hollywood & More

By: Pat Cerasaro May. 05, 2015

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Today we are talking to a two-time Tony Award-winning star of stage and screen who is recognized around the world for her many notable film and television appearances in addition to a lifetime in the theatre, as well - the elegant and charming Swoosie Kurtz. As part of discussing some of the most compelling theatre-related stories in her fascinating and extensive new memoir PART SWAN, PART GOOSE, Kurtz sheds new light on her legendary collaboration with iconic director and choreographer Michael Bennett on his final and heretofore unseen musical project, SCANDAL, as well as looks back at her onstage collaboration with Marvin Hamlisch and Nora Ephron on the play with music IMAGINARY FRIENDS, co-starring Cherry Jones, in 2002 - plus much, much more!

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More information about Swoosie Kurtz's PART SWAN, PART GOOSE is available at the official site here.
Recalling her first memory of Michael Bennett, Kurtz shares, "When we first met, he reminded me that he had seen me in some play that he had done downtown about Eleanor Duse or something - that was all that he had seen me done up until that point. He had never seen any of my 'greatest hits' or anything. I don't even know how he thought of me for this project he was beginning work on at the time called SCANDAL. But, anyway, we used to have these registries in New York and people would call and leave you a message and then you would call in when you got home and check for messages. So, one day, I checked and they said, 'Mike Bennett left a message for you to call him.' I thought, 'Mike Bennett? I don't know a Mike'. Eventually, I would call him Mikey, but he left the message as Mike. So, he invited me to come and do a reading for something - he said, 'It's going to be my next musical. James Webb is doing the music and Treva Silverman is doing the book.' At that point, it was actually a play with music - the music was more incidental than it ended up being. So, he had Treat Williams, me and this vision - Claudia, my character, would have these elaborate sexual fantasies that would each become a big, fabulously staged production number. He described the whole show to me on the phone - the whole story about this woman leaving her husband and going to Europe and having these various sexual liaisons; and, every single one became a production number. So, we ended up having many more conversations like that over the phone - usually after midnight. That's how I first became involved in SCANDAL. Also, people at the time felt that it would be the best thing that he had ever done - people who really knew him and knew everything that he had done. I remember Barbara Eden, who worked with him on many things, said to me, 'This is the best thing he has ever done.' I remember at the end of the first day of rehearsals not long after that first phone conversation he called me and said to me, 'Honey, the reviews are in and you are a hit!' It was absolutely amazing to be a part of it."

Recounting how her extensive dance background helped her in the intensive rehearsal process of working with Bennett on SCANDAL, Kurtz opines with a laugh, "I always wanted to be a ballerina, ever since I was very little, and I was actually very good at it growing up, so I remember starting to work with him on the show and him saying to me almost immediately, 'Honey, we're going to be just fine - you've got line!'"
Reflecting on the way SCANDAL came to an unceremonious end before it ever reached Broadway, Kurtz shares, "It was all such a shame how it all ended - we took a break and I went on a brief vacation to St. Barth's with Jerry Mitchell and some other people from the show and I remember one day him coming back from getting a call and being totally shell-shocked. He was ashen and I said 'What's wrong, Jerry?' and he said, 'The show has been postponed indefinitely.' Then, we were told to accept other jobs if we got offers for them, too, which is never a good sign. I mean, here we are in, in the middle of this paradise, and we thought our lives were about to light up with this huge hit on Broadway - the next Michael Bennett musical - and the rug was pulled out from under us. We were devastated. I mean, I had already had a fitting with Theoni V. Aldredge and everything - Michael was going to buy the Imperial Theater and we were going to do it there. Then, right before the St. Barth's vacation, I remember I got a call - it ended up being the last call I ever got from him about it - and he said, 'We're going to do it Off-Broadway first, with no intermission - like A CHORUS LINE.' Unfortunately, as we all know, that never happened. It was so, so heartbreaking, but I would never trade it for anything - to work with this genius for a year was such an honor and such a gift. There was nothing like him - he would walk into the room and all the energy and the molecules would change; it was palpable. There was nobody ever like Michael Bennett before and there never has been anyone like him since. I treasure the time I got to spend with him on something so special as SCANDAL was."

As for the final time Kurtz and Bennett saw each other before his death, "The last time I saw him was after a Sunday matinee of HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES. Somebody said to me, 'Oh, somebody is here to see you,' and it was Michael. He said to me, 'How's your heart?' and I said, 'Fine. How's yours?' Of course, at that time, we thought it was a heart condition, not AIDS, that was giving him health trouble. Also, I remember that was a preview performance and he called me right after we opened and said, 'Honey, have you read the reviews?' and I said, 'Oh, no, I never read the reviews,' and he said about the Times review, which was a rave, 'Lock yourself in the bathroom and read this one!' Then, I remember a year or two after that was the last time I ever spoke to him - he was in Arizona and he was so weak, but still acting like everything was fine; that was Michael. He was so strong and I was so sad when we lost him, especially the way that we did. He was one of our greatest artists and we'll never be able to replace him."

Commenting on her participation in the groundbreaking HBO AIDS-centric film AND THE BAND PLAYED ON, which dramatically depicts a Michael Bennett-esque character portrayed by Richard Gere, Kurtz offers, "Oh, I thought that was fascinating - just fascinating. I thought the film was great - it turned out really great. I remember when I was offered the part that I jumped on it - I had read the book already and it just took my breath away, so I remember when I heard that they were doing a movie of it, I said, 'Oh, my God!' because I just knew it would be something very special, especially since a film about that period of time and everything that was going on had not really been done yet. That piece was so amazing and I am so happy that I did it. I remember we went to the screening and nobody knew they were going to do the ending that way, either, with Elton John's 'Last Song' and showing the pictures of all the people like they did. We were all a mess watching it - it was so emotional. Wow."

Touching upon her memories of Marvin Hamlisch and Nora Ephron, with whom she collaborated on the play with music IMAGINARY FRIENDS, Kurtz says, "Marvin was just the funniest man on earth, which is not something you would neccessarily expect from seeing him from afar - but he was a hoot; an absolute hoot. He had such a bright light. I adored him - I absolutely adored him. And, Nora - oh, did I adore her, too! We were very close and we became friends during that and continued to be friends until the last part of her life when she became very private and didn't stay in as close contact. She would always invite me to Shakespeare In The Park and we would have lunch and go to the theater - it was wonderful; absolutely wonderful. I am so glad I got to know her for the time that I did."

Photo Credits: Lawrence K. Ho, etc.

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