I doubt anyone thinks that Applause, the 1970's musical version of All About Eve, is a seminal work, certainly not one of those "ground-breakers" like Show Boat, Company or A Chorus Line. And yet to me, it was every bit as important as the complete canon of Rodgers and Hammerstein simply because of one member of the original cast: Lee Roy Reams.
Mr. Reams played Duane, Margo Channing's hairdresser (Channing was the indomitable Lauren Bacall), and to a theatrically leaning pre-teen, Reams's performance was a revelation, not because of his dancing abilities, which defied gravity, not because of his singing, his big Broadway belt bouncing off the last row of the Palace theater, but because he was playing an openly gay character on stage. His was the first portrayal of an open homosexual I had ever seen. I realized at that moment: if he can be proudly gay in front of 2,500 people at the Palace -- I didn't differentiate between him and the character; I was 11 -- I can be fine with being gay myself. Quite a self-realization.
Remember, this was long before any gay characters were portrayed on TV (at least as far as I can remember) so his performance literally changed my life.
Over the years, as a personal and private tribute to this man, I have made it my business to see him perform in every show he was in: on, Off, and way Off-Broadway. I watched him mature from a young dancer to a dashing juvenile, a Broadway leading man, then a director and now a Cabaret Sensation.
I booked my tickets to his new show, "Lee Roy Reams Salutes His Leading Ladies" at 54Below the minute they went on sale, and it was unbridled pleasure seeing him recreate roles he's played, looking and sounding exactly how I remembered him. But this was more than a cabaret act; this was a master class in musical comedy performance. This act should be required viewing for any young theatrically inclined performer who wants to tread the boards. No one can do it better. Maybe Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire, but they won't be booked at the club anytime soon.
Reams burst onto the little stage singing "Star," one of my favorite songs, and as all good opening numbers should, that song set the tone for the evening: he was going to take us on a musical journey introducing the striking list of leading ladies he's had the pleasure of working with: Bacall, Ann Miller (the funniest), Gwen Verdon (my personal favorite), Tammy Grimes, Ethel Merman, Juliette Prowse, Celeste Holm and more.
Speaking of Celeste, it was clear that she was a bit prudish, for whenever Reams told her even a mildly risqué joke, she'd scrunch up her face like she was sucking a giant sour ball. Over the course of the evening, he asked the audience to "make a face for Celeste," whenever he told an off-color anecdote. And there were plenty.
After a few seasons as a teenager in Summer Stock, Reams came to New York and booked his first audition out: Juliette Prowse's Nightclub Act. One night he was a bit tired at the second show in Vegas, and just when he was supposed to lift Ms. Prowse high above his head, he lost control and her legendary derriere ending up smack on his face, his two thumbs going right you-know-where. He made us all "make a face for Celeste." Another story ended with Reams and Prowse naked in the same bed in a Las Vegas hotel suite, after which Reams belted out a medley from Sweet Charity. He sang "Big Spender" and all of Charity's songs and blew the roof of the club. It was clear that Reams is a songwriter's dream. Every lyric is delivered with the passion of a great artist, every melody soars to the rafters and melts hearts.
Reams spent a great deal of his career with Hello, Dolly, first playing Cornelius, then moving on to directing many productions including a famous revival with Carol Channing and now, he announced, he will be playing Dolly herself... er, himself... er, whatever..., in Florida. This gave him a chance to do the Dolly monologue (God bless Thorton Wilder) "Ephraim, let me go." I've seen many Dollys, and his was right up there with the best. And when he launched into "Before the Parade Passes By," the sold-out crowd jumped to their feet: a standing ovation mid-way through the show.
It was clear from all the stories that he loved his leading ladies and they loved him. He didn't even have to tell the stories; all he had to do was mention a woman he had worked with, a Gwen or an Ethel, and you could see it in his eyes: how much he loved them, how much he respected them and what magic they'd created together. When Bacall was too petrified to go out on stage for the first invited run-through of Applause, (and no one in the cast had the guts to go up to her) it was Lee Roy who took her hand and said, "What's to worry, Betty? The whole show is completely on your shoulders!") She laughed and laughed and happily went on stage. The routine turned into her good luck charm and she never went on stage at the Palace without Lee Roy by her side.
Lee Roy also got a chance to perform some luscious ballads; he obviously has great taste in music. "It Had to Be You," "Here's That Rainy Day," and a song cut from Dolly, "Love, Look in my Window," where he sounded like, I kid you not, a young Barbra Streisand.
The show ended with a tribute to 42nd Street, another show with which he is intimately connected. Anyone who saw him dancing on that dime could never forget his performance, and thirty years later he re-created the entire show, singing "I Only Have Eyes For You," "Young & Healthy," "Dames," "You're Getting To Be A Habit," "We're In The Money," "Lullaby Of Broadway," and of course, the title song "42nd Street." He sounded as strong vocally or -- is it possible? -- stronger. There must be a picture of an aging Billy Lawler backstage at the Majestic, because Lee Roy certainly isn't getting a day older. Another standing ovation from the star-studded crowd who came to celebrate.
I had a wonderful time at the show. I've had a wonderful time at each show I was fortunate enough to see him in. And of course I'll never forget that line from Applause when Margo Channing asks her hairdresser to accompany her on an evening out. Duane says he can't, as he has a date. Margot retorts "That's okay. Bring him along!" And I was changed forever.