Fynsworth Alley 302 062 122 2
Original Release Date: December 4, 2001
Produced by Bruce Kimmel
Engineer: Vinnie Cirilli
Original Off-Broadway Cast
Opened: December 14, 2000 Closed: March 11,
2001 Performances: 96
Book by
James Hindman
Music and Lyrics by various
Musical Supervision & Arrangements
Patrick
Brady
Cast
George
Dvorsky
Sally
Mayes
Sally and George as Keely & Pete
James Hindman, Sally Mayes, George Dvorsky, Mark Waldrop at the recording studio
SONGS
1. It's Us Again
2. Lover
3. Kid Stuff/Daddy
4. Besame Mucho
5. This Could Be the Start of Something Big
6. Battle Hymn of the Republic
7. Have You Got a Lot to Learn
8. But Beautiful
9. Cross Country Tour
10. Tony 'N' Cleo
11. Fever
12. Black Coffee
13. Too Fat to Fit
14. Love
15. Wasn't It Fine?
16. It's Us Again (Reprise)
17. That's All
Beth Blatt Interviews Sally Mayes about Pete n Keely
BB: Hi Sally, it's so great to finally speak to you in person. I have always been a big fan of yours and so when the opportunity came up to talk to you I was thrilled.
SM: Thank you so much!
BB: Let's start off by talking about your latest Fynsworth Alley release "Pete n Keely".
SM: Well P/K was a project of my heart. We worked on it for four years developing it. It was basically a homage to all those great television shows in the '70s. It's interesting Carol Burnett had a retrospective show recently and the ratings went through the roof. I Wonder what would have happened if we had opened our show after 9-11. I think that people want that real basic fun entertainment again. I think that Variety shows will probably resurface on television again. I think drama is a little too much for people to deal with right now.
BB: That's true, they definitely want entertainment. Now when you mention '70's shows do you mean…
SM: Carol Burnett, Sony and Cher and our costume and set designers were guys who did those shows. Ray Clausen and Bob Mackie did all those shows. And so it really looked and sounded like one of those shows
BB: Now, you would call the show a book show…
SM: It really is a book show, musical and mostly music from that time period. From the '60s and the '50 in that era. It is set as a television reunion special of a couple that had been very well known and famous, unlike Steve and Eddie in the '50s. They had a very vocal, very public split up at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Now it's set in 1968, years later and a Shampoo company has brought them back for a reunion special. And the minute they hit the stage you get the feeling they haven't rehearsed together or spoken through out the entire week. And in the beginning it's very scripted and very funny and then as the evening progresses everything goes off the rails. And then of course it gets tied up in a very nice bow in the end. And we worked on it for 4 years and we would do it with allot of book and then we'd cut the book and then too much music and then we'd cut the music. And we worked and worked until we got what we thought was the perfect balance. With this show the music was really key; they were a singing couple. The arrangements are so clever, which is why the album is so great. And it was kind of unusual because we used them to further the story. Because it became also a retrospective of their careers, we were able to use the music really well.
BB: So, it really was a mix of many different styles.
SM: Actually they were based pretty much from the 50-70s. We have a USA medley which was every song about the United States that was ever written. It had everything in it, it was really funny.
BB: Now who did the arrangements?
SM: Patrick Brady, our wonderful musical director, he has been my musical director for the last 10 years. He is currently conducting the "Producers" on Broadway. He and Mark Waldrop wrote the special material which was really funny and was really perfect for the spot that we needed it. There is a musical number in the second act that is kind of a nod to, Steve and Eddie did a big musical on Broadway called "Golden Rainbow", which was not a big success. There are allot of great songs from that show. So as a take off of that we did our version called "Tony and Cleo" based on Anthony and Cleopatra. And our creative team wrote a very funny score and it's maybe a 10 minute thing.
BB: A mini musical.
SM: It was just highlights from the musical but it was very funny. Bob Mackie was such a genius at costuming. He knows how to make you look incredibly glamorous but he also knows how to make you look incredibility ridiculous at the same time. You can be funny and look good.
BB: Does he do theater usually?
SM: He has done several things. He did the "Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" and "Ain't Misbehavin" with the Pointer sisters among others. He was just amazing.
BB: And Mark Waldrop has quite a good record of projects.
SM: He maybe the best director I have ever worked with, he would never stopped until he solved the problem. And he is very sensitive to the actor's process but he has a wonderful way of chipping away and getting great results. He is so smart and so well done. I don't know how else to describe what he does.
BB: He is also a very funny writer too.
SM: He is very funny and it is such a joy to watch, it's kind of like that old story about the Friar's club. It's where they all sit around and tell jokes and look at each other and scowl and say "that's funny!". That's what the process was a little like. They would sit in the audience and grunt "that's funny" and "that's not funny". The one thing I knew is that if I could make Mark Waldrop really laugh that I was doing the right thing. It was always something that I looked forward to. And I haven't even mentioned Jim Hindman our writer. He is such a great writer and a great sensibility for what is funny. He is just starting so I can't wait to see what he is going to do in the future. And he is a fine, fine actor. He kind of molded this around what I am able to bring to the part. It was very rare, I mean how many times in your career do you get that.
BB: What was the initial inspiration behind the show?
SM: I think it was Jim's idea actually and then it went to Patrick and Mark and they started working on it. Then George Dvorsky and I were brought in after I had my baby. They had done a reading of it to see what they had I think the intention was always to use us. They brought us into Patrick's apartment one day, gave us bagels and juice and sat us down in front of the piano and just performed the whole show for us. George and I just sat there with our mouth hanging open. And they said "Well we made this for you! Do you want to do it?" And like yeah! That was so lovely. There is nothing I can say about George without understating it. He is tremendous. This role that we sang and performed, my father was a Jazz musician, I sung in clubs as well as in theaters my entire life. I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Eddie Gorme, Tony Bennett. I know that world I really sing that kind of music. Whereas George had to really learn, he had to learn how to scat, swing. He had to learn all of this stuff, I thought I was good in the show but he was brilliant.
BB: Now have you heard about any plans to tour the show?
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