Who says actors don't say nice things about producers?
A case in point would be Sally Mayes, a 2003 Drama Desk Award nominee as Featured Actress in a Musical, singing the praises of lead producer Chase Mishkin and associate producers Barbara and Peter Fodor [they are not the travel writers] for their efforts to keep the much-lambasted musical, Urban Cowboy, open against any odds of ever turning a profit.
"Chase has the biggest heart on Broadway," said Mayes on a Monday morning, when she had an intuition that the final closing notice for the show would be up when the cast appeared for work on Tuesday. She didn't have to wait that long. It was announced on Monday, not long after the show received only two Tony nominations [Melinda Roy for choreography and Tony winner Jason Robert Brown, Clint Black, Jeff Blumenkrantz and others for Original Score].
"What Chase did in rescinding our first closing notice [following the show's March 27, 2003 opening night] and keeping us employed," states Mayes, "was so heroic and wonderful. I just can't say enough good things about her and our producing team."
The experience has been "like riding that mechanical bull at top speed. We knew it had to end. How much money can you throw into a bottomless pit? But we did have hope. The size of our audiences were getting better, and they have been incredibly supportive. What kept our spirits high was the faith of the producers and our fabulous cast. They are amazing and full of life, spirit and heart."
Mayes was among the impressive things in Cowboy and many thought that, in addition to her Drama Desk nomination, she might receive a Tony nomination in the Featured Actress category for her hilarious turn as hip Aunt Corene, with her show-stopping number "All Because of You." However, the trio of Nine nominees (Jane Krakowski, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chita Rivera) and the nods given Gypsy's Tammy Blanchard and Movin' Out's Ashley Tuttle made that a moot point.
She had great fun developing Corene. "There's nothing better than hearing an audience laugh, but if you go too far, it's parody. I really tried to strike a balance, and since they respond to her the way they have, I guess Corene is just right: a little bit frustrated, a little bit hip, a little bit sassy."
Phillip Oesterman, who began developing the project with Aaron Latham [writer of the Esquire magazine article and subsequent Paramount movie], died last year at the end of July. Oesterman was responsible for bringing Tommy Tune to New York from Texas and often collaborated with him [associate director, The Will Rogers Follies; co-librettist, Easter Parade; My One and Only, Grand Hotel].
Oesterman saw Mayes in staged readings of Patsy...Honky Tonk Angel, a developing musical about the legendary country and pop singer Patsy Cline. (Full disclosure: the writer of this article is the author of that musical.)
"Phil came up afterward and said, 'You're the real deal, aren't you?' I knew what he meant and replied, 'Yeah, I guess I am.'"
No guessing required. She is. Mayes grew up "in a Texas hell hole," but instead of being weaned on country and western, her father, a jazz guitarist, "weaned me on Tony, Frank, Ella and Eydie. Grandma made me fluffy dresses, and Daddy put me on a box in front of a mike. I started performing early and have been doing it my whole life" -- some four decades -- "playing joints, fronting a rock band, appearing in high-school and college musicals and clubs."
Oesterman's death had a devastating affect on Cowboy, but Mishkin was determined to continue. Mayes didn't participate in the December 2001 workshop, with Sandy Duncan as Corene. She joined the show following her tour in Dirty Blonde. When the musical opened in Miami last November, "We were really well-received. There was cheering and screaming."
From audiences. The critics sang a different song. A new director [Lonny Price] was brought in, and everything completely changed."
Things sailed along, not always smoothly. The show got to New York and, says Mayes, "after the first preview, they realized it would have to be gutted. We worked from 11:30 to 6 P.M. everyday, and then did the show. We'd have notes until 11:30, so we were putting in 12-hour-plus days. I thought I was going to die! It was rough."
Mayes feels one reason Cowboy didn't get a good reception on Broadway was because it was never frozen. "There were massive changes every day, and then we had to go out and try to do a show. If you came back to see it now, it's infinitely better than it was when we opened because everyone has settled into their roles. The problems with the show are still problems, but the actors are solid. The show is a crowd-pleaser, like Saturday Night Fever and Grease. It's not going to please anyone with an intellectual bent, but it's fun. It's a sweet, simple love story. The producers really tried to give us a run. They're heroes in my book. It's certainly been an interesting ride."
