When a unique and much loved talent is cast in a uniquely loveable role we can only expect magic. The production of Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl July 31-Aug 2 has a stellar cast and anyone familiar with Ellen Greene’s creation of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors will be eager to watch as she breathes life into the much adored role of Adelaide. “Richard Jay-Alexander (director) is an old friend of mine from Reno Sweeney days. We had dinner about two years ago and remembered how much we loved each other. So when he called me at 2 AM, all he said was, ‘Do you want to do it?’ and all I said was, ‘Yeah’. Except for doing my own show, I haven’t been on stage in a musical since Little Shop.”
Chatting with Ellen brought back memories of New York’s heyday when singers such as Greene and Bette Midler played all the local clubs and wowed audiences with their passion, unique talent and style, style, style. My first glimpse of Ellen Greene was when she sang at Reno Sweeneys, a very “in” N.Y.C. club. Gay men can always spot talent so I was happy to be my friend’s “date” that night. This was mid-winter and he never missed her opening. Knowing her favorite flowers, he had orchids specially flown in from somewhere. We saw them perched atop the grand piano. He also brought a beautifully framed gift of her fabulous poster.
The next time I saw Greene she was starring in her first Broadway show, Rachel Lilly Rosenbloom (And Don’t You Ever Forget It), the famous bomb from the 70’s. Greene wore a “fat suit” and played opposite the late Anita Morris. Although the show was quickly forgotten Greene landed an audition for Joseph Papp who cast her in the Public Theatre production of In The Boom Boom Room. She continued working with Papp in The New York Shakespeare Festival and landed a Tony nomination as Jenny in their production of Threepenny Opera. “When you work at the Public Theatre you learn to leave your ego at the door. It’s all about the work and that has always been the most important thing to me.”
Asked to comment on her road to success Greene explains, “I was lucky and so fortunate to have Joe Papp as a mentor. When I auditioned for Boom Boom I remember him asking, ‘Why should I give it to you?’ and I said, ‘Because I can do it.’. I wanted it really badly and I wanted to grow. Boom, Boom Room was a very difficult play to do. If your goal is applause or reviews you may be disappointed. Those things come after the creation and the work. So, if in fact that is your goal, you will pretty much be satisfied. I love to rehearse. Also, I have tremendous stage fright. You practically have to throw me on the stage. I was braver when you met me at the Geffen because I’d been doing the show (Little Shop) for a long time in N.Y. But, I’m actually a very reticent actress.”
Greene is referring to the time I was cast as her standby/understudy in the L.A. production at the Geffen. It was exciting to create and perform my own rendition while also watching Greene as Audrey because she obviously loved the character, consistently playing her with passion and authenticity. Green recalls her thoughts when she was building Audrey, “I thought she had to be ripe enough to fall off a tree. So I had her teetering on high heels. The voice just came out of my mouth. I never thought about it.” She later went on to play the role in London and star in the film version.
While there are similarities between Audrey and Adelaide, Greene points out the strong differences. “Both ladies have good hearts but I find Adelaide is more world-wise. I know this makes no sense but I used to have a sheep dog named Dazie. He lived in a kind of daze and had these long white legs. He had a wonderful walk like a pony. I notice there’s something loveable and galumpable, (like a sheep dog), in my performance of Adelaide. I don’t believe what I do will be better or worse than anyone else who has done this coveted role. I just need to make her a credible character and ‘earth’ her.
“It’s fascinating to think she sneezes when she’s upset and told all these lies to her mother because she’s afraid to tell her the reality. This is musical comedy but being with a guy who promises one thing then does another, and yet loves her very much, is a kind of love I’ve known very well. I was reading a scene that made me cry. It’s when she sits alone waiting for Nathan and sings, (she quietly vocalizes the melody) ‘In other words just from sitting alone at a table reserved for two, a person can develop the flu’, it broke my heart. When it makes me cry, I know I’ll make you cry. I become a conduit. That scene was pivotal for me. Nathan promised he would change. Sky asks, ‘Why would you believe him?’ She’s a total optimist.”
Ellen Greene
Optimism and vulnerability are words that can also be used to describe Greene. How has she managed to preserve those qualities and remain unaffected by ageism through the years? Greene laughs, “Immaturity? I believe in curiosity and I love creating. I remember Bryan Fuller (Producer of her hit TV series Pushing Daisies) wanted Beef Wellington for dinner. Well, I eat mostly vegetables. So I explored it and made it three different ways by three different chefs and then I made it two more times and then, I made it,” Her voice still sounds triumphant about the accomplishment. “I’m fascinated with the process of learning something. If your eye is not on the end but on discovery and figuring out how things work then you can be optimistic and you’re not being a certain age.
“As for the idea of optimism, well, what’s your choice? I have had sadness in my life. I can’t even count how many people who were huge in my life that are gone. It’s one of the reasons I moved out of N.Y. It just felt like a ghost town to me. But at the same time there’s this joie de vivre. If you don’t have it, cultivate it because this is a journey that starts at A and ends at Zed or ends at H. So why not enjoy it and one of the things that makes me happy is creation.”
As we take a moment to reminisce, Greene recalls of another aspect of getting older. “Strangely enough when I was younger I played older, harder and more cynical characters. Jenny was like that and I was probably about 25. Audrey came later and I also fell in love late in life. My sweetness came from cooking as I found my youth and my domestic side.
“I believe in order to create you need to live life. That’s all you have. It’s your whole natural resource and you need to rob yourself blind in order to create. You can’t do the same thing over and over. I think to be an artist, the most important thing is to be authentic and stand in your own shoes. I remember reading what Laurette Taylor said to Spencer Tracy when he came backstage after seeing her in The Glass Menagerie, and asked how she did it. She pointed to her feet that were in slippers, propped up on the dressing table and said she gripped the ground with the bottom of her feet. I sometimes do that when I’m really nervous. I just feel the floor through the bottom of my feet and become more grounded.” Greene may be grounded but her performance is sure to uplift the Hollywood Bowl audience for three eagerly awaited evenings.
It’s a do-not-miss opportunity to see a definitive revival of this legendary tale based on Damon Runyon’s characters in a story written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows with a score by the incredible Frank Loesser. Tony-winner Donna McKechnie choregraphs and Richard Jay-Alexander directs. The cast includes Jessica Biel (Sarah), Scott Bakula (Nathan Detroit), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Sky Masterson), Ken Page (Nicely-Nicely) and Beau Bridges (Arvide) with Sandahl Bergman, Valarie Pettiford and Jane Lanier as Hot Box Girls.
Story image of Ellen Greene by Bruce Glikas of broadway.com
