All Entries in the "Martha Plimpton" Category

Martha Plimpton In Newsday

Fast Chat: Martha Plimpton stars in ‘Pal Joey’
January 4, 2009

When last we saw Martha Plimpton on Broadway, she was romancing a Russian revolutionary in “The Coast of Utopia.” Now, she’s making her musical theater debut as sexy chorus girl Gladys Bumps in Rodgers & Hart’s “Pal Joey.” Gladys is a hard-bitten dame with an ax to grind, and hips that follow - she delivers “Zip,” the burlesque send-up of Gypsy Rose Lee made famous a half-century ago by Elaine Stritch. Plimpton, a native New Yorker, sat down recently with Newsday’s Robert Kahn at Studio 54.

After the “Utopia” trilogy, we had you pegged as a dramatic actress. Now, a musical?

It’s newness on a grand scale, so it’s big and dramatic and scary, but that’s what I like. Some friends thought that I could sing, people I work with, like ["Utopia" director] Jack O’Brien. Jack was talking to Joe Mantello [who directs "Joey"] and said “You should think about Martha Plimpton for this.” I don’t know why Jack thought that - he’d never heard me sing.

But it was something that had been percolating?

When I was a kid I started in musical theater, avant-garde downtown stuff with Elizabeth Swados ["Runaways"]. … A few years ago, I met Lucy [Wainwright Roche]. I sang with her at one of her gigs and she asked me to do a song on her EP, so we did a cover of “Hungry Heart.” Then we decided to put together a whole evening based on performing with friends. We did it at the Zipper Factory in August.

So “Pal Joey” is your official coming out.

People will say that, but I’m not a calculator of the things I do. I don’t plan my career. Every time I’ve tried to strategize for success it’s led to nothing. And every time I’ve simply allowed my life to take its natural course, it’s led to a kind of success that is more valuable to me than the kind you get when you “work at it.”

Pal Joey Curtain Call - November 18

I’ve said it before, and find it true again - you can find anything on YouTube! Here is video footage of one of the few curtain calls that included Christian Hoff.

The Annotated ‘Zip’

The song Zip is one of the highlights of Pal Joey. It is a thinly disguised spoof of striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, who had introduced a new “high-class” form of stripping: she recited intellectual patter while taking her clothes off. The song features numerous references to people and things much better known in 1940. We provide here an annotated Zip with the obscure references explained. (There are 18 Notes–you may need to click on the post’s title above to see all of them.)

Zip! Walter Lippmann (1) wasn’t brilliant today.
Zip! Will Saroyan (2) ever write a great play?
Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer (3) last night.
Zip! And I think that Schopenhauer was right.
I don’t want to see Zorina (4),
I don’t want to meet Cobina (5).
Zip! I’m an intellectual.
I don’t like a deep contralto,
Or a man whose voice is alto.
Zip! I’m a heterosexual.
Zip! It took intellect to master my art.
Zip! Who the hell is Margie Hart (6)?
_
Zip! I consider Dali’s (7) painting passé.
Zip! Can they make the Metropolitan (8) pay?
Zip! English people don’t say clerk, they say clark.
Zip! Anybody who says clark is a jark!
I have read the great Cabala (9),
And I simply worship Allah.
Zip! I am just a mystic.
I don’t care for Whistler’s mother (10),
Charley’s Aunt (11), or Shubert’s brother (12).
Zip! I’m misogynistic (13).
Zip! My intelligence is guiding my hand.
Zip! Who the hell is Sally Rand (14)?

Zip! Toscanini (15) leads the greatest of bands.
Zip! Jergens Lotion does the trick for his hands.
Zip! Rip Van Winkle on the screen would be smart.
Zip! Tyrone Power (16) will be cast in the part.
I adore the great Confucius,
And the lines of luscious Lucius (17).
Zip! I am so eclectic.
I don’t care for either Mickey; Mouse or Rooney make me sicky!
Zip! I’m a little hectic.
Zip! My artistic taste is classic and dear.
Zip! Who the hell is Lili St. Cyr (18)?
_
NOTES:
(1) Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), influential American writer, journalist, political commentator and adviser to Presidents.
(2) William Saroyan (1908-1981), Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright and author. Plays include The Human Comedy and The Time of Your Life. Gene Kelly was appearing in the latter play when he was cast in Pal Joey.
(3) Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 -1860), important German philosopher who believed that man’s desires (physical, sexual and emotional) could never be fulfilled.

Martha Plimpton’s New York

Martha Plimpton shares some of her favorite things about her home on the upper west side, and New York in general, in this NY Post article. (Yes, there are some things in the Post worth reading!)

MY NEW YORK
By REED TUCKER
December 14, 2008 –

I live on the Upper West Side, and I’m very happy here. I like the trees. I like that the avenues are wide and the sun can get through.

Martha Plimpton says she feels at home on the Upper West Side, and no wonder: She still lives in the apartment where she grew up. The rent’s no doubt affordable, but Plimpton may not need much help paying the bills. The actress has appeared in classic films, including “The Goonies” and “Parenthood,” and lately she’s been spending a good amount of time on the Broadway boards. Her latest is “Pal Joey,” a musical revival about a scheming nightclub crooner, which opened this week. This is her New York.

1.) Oppenheimer Prime Meats & Seafood, formerly 2606 Broadway, at 98th Street

“It had been there for decades. My mother went there, my nana went there and I went there. It was a real neighborhood butcher, the last one of its kind in the area. I stopped by a few weeks ago, and it was closed. [Owner Robert Pence now works out of Hunt's Point Market.] I’m really heartbroken about it. If I can be so bold, I’d rather not have Bloomberg run for a third term, because this is the kind of thing New York has lost entirely.”

2.) Showman’s, 375 W. 125th St., near Morningside Avenue

“I like going up to jazz bars in Harlem, often on Thursday nights. Showman’s is an old-school, railroad car-shaped bar with a bandstand in the back for a trio or a quartet.”

Pal Joey’s Official Opening Night, December 18th

I’m just back from a fantastic trip to New York for the “official” opening night of Pal Joey at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Studio 54. In case you’re wondering, the difference between the show on December 11th, which was the original opening night, and December 18th, the “official” opening night is that now the press is allowed to write reviews. That’s right, all that stuff you’ve read in the press the last month wasn’t “reviews”, but just “opinions” - officially.

I am not by any means, a Broadway critic. So the thoughts you are about to read are just that - my random thoughts as I watched the show. And as always, I invite, even encourage you to share your thoughts.

This was not my first visit to Studio 54, but it certainly wasn’t the same place I remembered. Well, it was 25 years ago and a very different venue! The theatre is gorgeous, with old ornate woodwork and a very intimate feel to it. The orchestra was located in balconies on either side of the stage and sounded beautiful. I don’t imagine there was a bad seat in the house.

I forced myself to put all thoughts of Christian Hoff out of my mind…no comparisons, no what-could-have-beens…just watch the show and enjoy. I thought it would be hard to do, but when Joey (Matthew Risch) entered (or was thrown onto) the stage, I was captivated by him. He’s good looking, sexy, and he could really dance. I noticed I had a huge smile on my face at the end of “Chicago”. Off to a good start. I even found myself believing he was falling for Linda (Jenny Fellner), and really enjoyed their duet of “I Could Write A Book”. Jenny’s voice is flawless, and I could sense the innocence, as well as the desperation, in her character.

Stockard Channing’s portryal of Vera Simpson was harder for me to categorize. Yes, Vera is supposed to by cynical and hard, but I couldn’t decide if Ms. Channing was playing the part to perfection, or was just a little bored with the whole thing. Either way, the audience loved her, and Joey’s first encounter with Vera in the nightclub was quite entertaining. I didn’t totally buy into her passion for Joey, but her rendition of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” gave the audience a glimpse into her “troubled soul”. The talk-singing I had heard so much about fit beautifully with her voice and her character, and I thouroughly enjoyed it.

The audience favorite, by far, was Gladys Bumps, played superbly by Martha Plimpton. Her sultry, smoky voice and great comedic timing made for a terrific “Zip”. I only wish we could have had more Martha, as the second Act dragged a little bit for me. My husband was very entertained by the “chorus girls”, who I suspect were his favorite part of the show. And we both enjoyed the voice of Daniel Marcus (as Ludlow Lowell). Wish we could have had more Daniel Marcus. Besides “Zip”, my favorite song of the second act was “Take Him”, performed beautifully by Fellner and Channing.

The costumes by William Ivey Long were perfection. Linda English was suitable dowdy, the chorus girls were just tacky enough, Joey was smashingly handsome in his well tailored suits, and Vera’s gowns and pant suits were beautifully rich without going overboard.

The stage was dark and smoky, which I suppose was appropriate for the gritty Chicago setting, but was a bit disctracting to me. And I thought the cast managed the stairways with great agility - not an easy feat. And Chez Joey was just tacky enough!

The show is helped along by a very strong supporting cast. Robert Clohessy and Steven Skybell (Mike and Ernest, respectively) could have handled parts with a little more meat to them, but both actors got the most out of their characters, and gave terrific performances.

I give Matthew Risch a great deal of credit for coming as far as he has in such a short time. He wasn’t quite the “leading man” this show needed, but I can certainly see it in his future. I found myself singing several of the songs in my head the next day, which is a good sign. I suspect that Pal Joey will have a great run, despite (or perhaps because of) all the drama surrounding it.

Jimmy Merrill Interviews Jerry Stiller, Cynthia Nixon & Martha Plimpton

Contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill was at the Opening Night Celebration for Roundabout’s Pal Joey. Here are the first of many interviews.

In this segment, Jimmy talks with Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld, Zoolander), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), and Pal Joey star Martha Plimpton (Gladys Bumps). More interviews to come–stay tuned.

Pal Joey Opening Night Celebration

Although the official Opening Night for Pal Joey isn’t until next week, the “Opening Celebration” was held last night. Pal Joey Blog contributing correspondent Jimmy Merrill covered the event, and we will have video up soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures from last night (December 11th).

Great Pal Joey Show Pictures!!

Thank you “mrmidwest” for posting these great photos on livejournal.com.

Excerpt From Riedel’s Latest NY Post Article

Michael Riedel’s latest NY Post article, “WHEN ‘EX’ MARKS THE PLOT”, which maligns playwright David Mamet citing various “sources” sound familiar?), ends with, almost as an aside, a follow up of his ‘Great Boy But No Pal‘ article. While not exactly a retraction, Riedel must admit that not all his information was accurate: (red type indicates Catherine’s personal comment)

EXECUTIVES at the Rodgers & Hammerstein office called to say that, contrary to the rumors swirling around “Pal Joey,” they weren’t the ones who knifed poor Christian Hoff.

The Tony-winning actor left the Roundabout revival a few weeks ago. He suffered a minor foot injury, but when he asked to return to the show, he was told that he’d been replaced by his understudy, Matthew Risch.

“The Roundabout asked us if we were OK with the change,” says an R&H source. “We certainly did not push for it. We did not have a problem with Christian.”

Whoever did him in, it looks as if Hoff has dodged a bullet. Word of mouth on “Pal Joey” is pretty poisonous. (We’ll let the critics be the judge of that next week.)

Risch gets high marks for energetically jumping into the fray, but “the chorus boy is still a chorus boy,” says a source.

The one bright spot: Martha Plimpton, who, although not exactly known for her singing abilities, is stealing the show with her rendition of “Zip.” Look for her to walk off with the reviews next week as well.

Well, Michael, I can only hope you learned a valuable lesson - check your sources! And Pal Joey and Christian Hoff fans, remember - don’t believe everything you read!

Martha Plimpton Linked to Showtime Pilot

Dark comedy cast includes Martha Plimpton, Kiele Sanchez
By Nellie Andreeva, Hollywood Reporter

Martha Plimpton, Kiele Sanchez, Eddie Shin, Nate Torrence and Dreama Walker have joined Matthew Perry on his dark comedy Showtime pilot “The End of Steve.”

The Sony TV project, penned and executive produced by Peter Tolan and Perry, stars Perry as Steve, an egomaniacal local talk show host who is on a reluctant path to redemption.

Plimpton (Pal Joey Revival)will play he show’s producer. Sanchez will play his pretty co-host, by whom he is completely entranced.

Shin (”That ’80s Show”) will play Bob Hu, Steve’s boss. Torrence, who co-starred with Perry on NBC’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” will play Nathan, Steve’s assistant. Walker (”Gossip Girl”) will play the hot teen daughter of the manager of the apartment complex where Steve lives.

Q&A With “Pal Joey” Pals

Conversation: The Pals of ‘Pal Joey’
By Jesse Oxfeld, Published Nov 30, 2008, nymag.com

The emphasis is on the female leads in this revival of the Rodgers and Hart classic. Never mind that neither has sung onstage in 25 years.

In the past few seasons, Martha Plimpton has played a female pope, a Shakespearean princess, and some Russian revolutionaries; Stockard Channing played First Lady Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing and, oddly, narrates Meerkat Manor. Now they’re both belting Rodgers and Hart classics like “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” in the Roundabout revival of Pal Joey, which, with a new book by Richard Greenberg, makes its debut on December 18. (Opening night has been delayed a week, after the planned Joey, onetime Jersey Boy Christian Hoff, hurt his foot and left the production.) The two women spoke to Jesse Oxfeld.

This production is so much darker than the classic Frank Sinatra–Rita Hayworth–Kim Novak movie, which has a happy ending.
Channing: The movie was very sanitized. The play, the original play, was funky. The play was about, you know, a married woman and a young guy. In the movie, Rita Hayworth was a widow. And, a little bit conveniently, an ex-stripper.
Plimpton: So she could do [the striptease song] “Zip.”

Which Martha’s character, Gladys—who’s barely a presence in the movie—now sings. Had you read the original John O’Hara stories the play is based on?
Channing: I’d read other stuff by John O’Hara, so I knew the tone. And then Joe Mantello, our director, gave me a copy of the original play, and it’s very close in tone to this—but it’s very choppy in the second act.

So Greenberg’s work was fixing the story.
Channing: Yes. But the language is very fair—the rhythms and the bleakness of it are very, very close to the original O’Hara. Neither of you is known as a musical star …
Plimpton: It’s my first singing role as an adult. When I was a child, I did downtown musicals with the Public, and then I didn’t do another musical for 25 years, until now. This is my first [Puts on affected British accent] big Broadway show!
Channing: [To Plimpton] You told me you were doing a cabaret thing.
Plimpton: I don’t call it cabaret.
Channing: I’m outing her act!
Plimpton: I have done, you know, evenings of song. I have some friends…I did a show with Lucy Wainwright Roche and Dan Lipton at the Zipper in August. But I haven’t ever done it, you know, for money.

Share Your Pal Joey Experience

One of our blog readers made a second visit to see Pal Joey, and here are her observations:
** The choreography may have been tweeked a bit…although I cannot say all the dancing was spectacular, it was quite enjoyable - especially dancing on the stairs. (Although I feel Christian Hoff was better on the stairs!)
** Costume glitches were all taken care of.
** The major improvement I was keenly seeking was the chemistry between ‘Vera’ and ‘Joey’…I felt that Stockard Channing did not feel comfortable with Christian…if Vera is supposed to be infatuated with this young song and dance man, I want to see that exhibited throughout the show…now seeing Matthew Risch & Stockard was a completely different FEEL..Stockard seemed to sincerely enjoy touching, embracing and kissing ‘Joey’…my personal thought was that Stockard feels much more in control with a very young protege, sort of a boy-toy!
** Matt’s dancing in the beginning was right on, but he does sweat profusely. The singing was much the same for ‘Vera’ and ‘Joey’.
** Martha Plimpton’s performance throughout the show is still very enticing…and Jenny Fellner still mezmerizing. They are both key characters to the success of this run of Pal Joey.
** Daniel Marcus’s (Ludlow) solo in the second act was a shining star.
** Matthew has clearly captured the “JERK” attitude that ‘Joey” is supposed to exhibit.
** I must say that the whole cast was more than gracious to pose for photos and sign autographs after the show.

The Pal Joey Blog invites you to share your Pal Joey experience! Leave a comment and let us know how you enjoyed the show. If you have pictures you want to share, send them to  admin at paljoeyblog.com, and include captions if you like.

A big thank you to Charly O’Clarit. She combined her pictures with those of Lucy Rochetti and Lori Leone to create this great slide show. Thank you, ladies!

**************************************************************************

Shawna, a self-proclaimed Stockard enthusiast, shared this photo from her fabulous evening at Pal Joey. See comments below to read about Shawna’s experience.

Happy Birthday to Martha Plimpton - November 16th!!!

First Impressions of “Pal Joey”, November 14, 2008 Preview

By Howard Tucker ( howardtucker3 at aol.com)

The Production

This production of Pal Joey, featuring a new book by Richard Greenberg, musical direction by Paul Gemignani, choreography by Graciela Daniele, and direction by Joe Mantello, brought to light new undertones not seen in the original productions, which certainly enhanced this show.

The plot focuses upon depression-era nightclub emcee Joey Evans (Christian Hoff) being torn between his innocent, naive girlfriend Linda English (Jenny Fellner) and wealthy but married socialite Vera Simpson (Stockard Channing). Joey romances Vera, who sets him up in his own club, Chez Joey. Along the way, Joey runs into an old acquaintance, Gladys Bumps (Martha Plimpton), with whom he has a very unpleasant history.

While there is a similarity to the Frank Sinatra movie in Joey’s and Vera’s characters, Jenny Fellner’s Linda English (a haberdashery clerk) is less worldly than the curvy and sensual Kim Novak (who was a showgirl type), and the Gladys Bumps character adds some new intrigue to the entire plot. Gladys and Joey’s history comes to light in the first act, and as Joey tries to show his power in the second act, we see that Gladys isn’t one to roll over and play dead. The ending was not the “and then they lived happily-ever-after” typical Broadway/Hollywood one, and that was a refreshing change.

Pal Joey Blog’s Exclusive Interview With Christian Hoff

These last few days before previews begin, the cast of Pal Joey is working long hard hours to prepare for the 14th (just two days away!!!). Even so, Christian Hoff was gracious enough to take a few minutes to chat about the show:

PJblog: How has the transition been from Jersey Boys to Pal Joey? Has your experience portraying Tommy DeVito been helpful in making that transition?

CH: The transition has been seamless. My overlapping of these two productions has allowed me to transfer my artistic adrenaline into another character. Yes, my portrayal of a real life “bad boy” has helped me with a more human perspective with regard to the bad boy icon Joey Evans.

PJblog: You worked closely with three men in Jersey Boys, and now your character is involved with three women. Are you the luckiest guy alive, or ????

CH: Let’s just say that it’s a bit more complicated juggling three love interests versus brothers.

PJblog: And what a wonderful cast in Pal Joey. Can you tell us a little bit about the people you’re working with?

CH: Stockard Channing is both a seasoned veteran of film and stage and a humble working actor who embraces the process. Martha Plimpton has brought a real sense of fun and professionalism. She has raised the stakes for me as both an actor and my character. Jenny Fellner has brought a great combination of innocence and strength to Linda and has given me a whole different emotional palette to work from.

PJblog: So many of the people who are familiar with Pal Joey have the movie in mind, and some even compare you to Frank Sinatra. But the original Broadway show was much different. Can you share any details about what we might expect from this revival? Does it basically stay true to the original show?