TONYS 2009: Celebrating a Lifetime of Achievement with Jerry Herman

It was a balmy afternoon in 1983 when a group of Long Island women headed into New York City to celebrate the birthday of one in their midst. They had lunch in one of the city's swankier restaurants and followed it with a matinee performance of Jerry Herman's Tony Award-winning musical, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES. The ladies knew very little about the show but were swept up in the story, the humor and the ebullience of Herman's infectious score. Their enjoyment of the show was so strong that they left the Palace Theatre and walked to Penn Station singing "The Best of Times" aloud and clapping their hands in rhythm to the melody. None of these ladies would be considered avid theater-goers, but the experience remains a stand-out to them. It also attests to Jerry Herman's ability to write tunes that stay with people and prompts them to sing or tap their toes while the melodies linger in their heads.

It seems that Jerry Herman is more popular now than he was when he had three musicals playing simultaneously on Broadway. The York Theater in New York is preparing a concert version of THE GRAND TOUR for the weekend of May 29-31, the Reagle Players in Boston will be presenting a veritable Jerry Herman Festival with their upcoming versions of HELLO, DOLLY!, MAME and LA CAGE, London's West End is hosting the transfer of the acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory mounting of LA CAGE, Sony Masterworks recently re-released nine titles of Herman's canon on iTunes and Arkiv Music available at www.masterworksbroadway.com/jerryherman, and the 2009 Tony Awards will present the composer/lyricist with its prestigious "Lifetime Achievement Award" at its ceremonies at the Radio City Music Hall on June 7th. All of these are honors well-deserved by the very personable Herman.

"Isn't it lovely?" Herman asks in a telephone conversation. "Everybody I've ever known in this world has called or written or e-mailed to congratulate me. It's been a very exciting time because of it. It takes something like this to make you realize how many people out there care about you and it really has been a wonderful experience."

When asked what's keeping him busy these days, Herman chuckles and says, "Keeping the kids alive!" By the word "kids" Herman means Dolly, Mame, Mack, Mabel, Georges, Albin and the other characters who have breathed and sung his music. "It's really a full-time job. I get called every three days with questions from the production team of the London LA CAGE, checking to see if certain adjustments would be alright." He hastens to add that "everything they've done has been just wonderful; they don't really need any help but they've been very respectful. Additionally, people call about other productions asking if they can add a song or do this or that. It's like having a large, extended family. I've just been keeping tabs on everyone." 

When the topic of Boston's Herman Marathon is broached, the composer seemed extremely pleased with the project. "That lovely man called me a year ago telling me that he wanted to do this and we've been on the phone back and forth. I've given him a lot of suggestions which he seems to be using. He's got a wonderful Albin. David Engel does that role superbly. Rachel York will make a very interesting Dolly because she's really a talent." When questioned about whether he felt Ms York might be too young for the role, Herman paused and said, "I don't know how old she is now but I think she's a good actress and I think she's funny. You know, Dolly doesn't have to be an old lady. She just has to be older than Streisand."

The Boston Mame will be essayed by Lee Merriweather and Herman is enthusiastic about having her play the eccentric aunt. "I've never seen her do it but I hear she's wonderful. She's an elegant lady and that's what Mame needs.

The prospect of his shows being done in Boston makes Herman recall the exceptional tribute given to him by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops several years ago. "I just love Keith," he comments. " The evening still stands out in my memory. He really did it beautifully. What's wonderful about Keith is that he really appreciates the ‘Golden Age' stuff. There are a lot of people today who say, ‘Well, that's old fashioned' and dismiss it. Not Keith. He gets the value of it. "

Regarding the Masterworks release of nine Jerry Herman titles has the composer overjoyed. "Isn't that wonderful?" he asks rhetorically. "It is so rewarding to know that that stuff is forever. Now they have the finest fidelity and finest versions of these shows and they'll never be lost.

It's a great feeling. The Sony recordings mean the world to me because that's longevity. That's forever. Unfortunately the only show they don't have the rights to is MACK AND MABEL because it was just a different company at the time."

These recording are special to lovers of show music because they were recorded at time when a different approach was given to the genre. "They were done with full-out exuberance," explains Herman. "They had enthusiasm and excitement. They weren't done studio-style. They were done as if they were on the stage. I remember standing at Webster Hall and singing with the company of DOLLY! I'm on that record! You'd never know because I didn't want to overdo it, but it was that kind of excitement where everybody was singing. Those recordings truly captured live theater. Some of the wonderful shows that were recorded later were technically better but never had the absolute, unmistakable joy of a live performance. The people at SONY don't realize how important this project is to someone like me. I take great satisfaction in knowing that this stuff will live on."

The truth of the matter is that Jerry Herman's music and lyrics do go on and will continue to do so for many generations. It was recounted to him on this conversation the true anecdote about a grandfather who was babysitting for his four year old granddaughter. The little girl came across the portable CD player that the old man kept in his dining room. Possessed of a curious nature, little Elizabeth fiddled with the switches on the player, which just happened to contain one of the HELLO, DOLLY! cast albums on its deck. She was slightly startled when the music began playing because she didn't realize what she'd done. However, after a mere moment, she heard the show's overture and began marching in place to the parade music. As the orchestra segued into the ‘Dancing' sequence, Elizabeth found herself swirling around the dinner table and saying, "This [is] good! I like this music!" Now she frequently asks her grandfather to play the CD when she comes to visit him.

Herman admits that he grew misty-eyed when the story was told to him. Rightly so. It should be touching for any artist to know his work is reaching new and younger audiences. The vignette also proves that Jerry Herman's music reaches across the generation gaps and delights even the youngest family members. That is certainly a lifetime achievement. That is also one of the many reasons why this remarkable man is being honored by his peers in so many different ways this season.

For information about the York Theatre and their production of THE GRAND TOUR, call (212) 935-5820 or go towww.yorktheatre.org

For information about the productions of the Reagle Players in Boston, call 781 891 5600 or go towww.reagleplayers.com

For more information about the Sony MasterWorks recordings, go to www.masterworksbroadway.com/jerryherman

There is never an evening when, somewhere in the world, the music and lyrics of Jerry Herman are not being sung by a lady in a red headdress, or a lady with a bugle, or a middle-aged man in a wig and a boa. Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles are home to some of the most popular, most-often performed and most successful musical heroines of all time, and have given Jerry the distinction of being the only composer-lyricist in history to have had three musicals that ran more than 1,500 consecutive performances on Broadway. When Dear World opened in 1969, Jerry became the only composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running on Broadway simultaneously. His first Broadway show was Milk and Honey (1961), followed by Hello, Dolly! (1964) Mame (1966) Dear World (1969), Mack & Mabel (1974) The Grand Tour (1979), La Cage aux Folles (1983), Jerry's Girls (1985) and "Mrs. Santa Claus" (1966), a CBS TV special starring Angela Lansbury. Showtune, a revue of his life's work, is performing in regional theatres around the country and around the world. His string of awards and honors includes multiple Tonys, Grammys, Drama Desk Awards, the Johnny Mercer Award, the Richard Rodgers Award, the Oscar Hammerstein Award, the Frederick Lowe Award, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Theatre Hall of Fame. Two of his classic songs are the emotional highlights of the hit Disney-Pixar film Wall-E. A revival of La Cage aux Folles is currently playing in London's West End, and recently won the Olivier Award for Best Revival, as well as the London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Musical. Jerry Herman was the subject of the 2008 PBS documentary "Words and Music by Jerry Herman."

The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards are bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television.

The American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony"® Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2009 (8-11pm, live EST, PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network. For more information visit tonyawards.com.