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WHERE THE TRUTH LIES |
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| SAY GOODNIGHT GRACIE |
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| REMEMBER WENN-THE MUSICAL |
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| THUMBS |
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| MARTY |
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| VISIT RUPERT HOLMES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE | WENN MUSIC |
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WHERE THE TRUTH LIES |
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| SAY GOODNIGHT GRACIE |
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| REMEMBER WENN-THE MUSICAL |
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| THUMBS |
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| MARTY |
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| VISIT RUPERT HOLMES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE | WENN MUSIC |
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| NOTICE: This page is no longer regularly updated since Rupert's official webpage is so complete. There are some interesting links here to his past projects, however. |
• • • STAGE • • •
Rupert Holmes' one-man play, starring impressionist/actor Frank Gorshin (perhaps best known to the "Baby Boomer" crowd as the Riddler on the 1960s Batman series) and chronicling the life and times of comedian George Burns, opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City on September 17, 2002, with the official opening night on October 10. John Tillinger is the director, with the incidental music also by Rupert, and Didi Conn provides the voice of Gracie Allen. The performance is scheduled to end August 24, 2003, after which Gorshin will go on tour with the show. Tour performances include Hartford, Connecticut starting September 2, Washington, D.C. (September 30), Palm Beach, Florida (October 7), Boston, Massachusetts (October 20) and Wilmington, Delaware (November 7). The entire tour will cover 26 cities.
Gracie premiered last fall at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Ticket sales and very positive response for the production convinced the producers they had a hit on their hands. The show played in Cleveland, Ohio, in the early spring of 2000, then played in Miami during April and May. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play in May of 2003.
• Say Goodnight Gracie official site (some links restricted)
• Playbill article about closing and tour
• Playbill announcement of Gracie tour
• Playbill article about Rupert's after-show discussion, with more information about his other recent stage work
• Lenny Traube article, Western Queens Gazette
• Frederick Winship article, United Press International
• Linda Winer article, Newsday
• Martin Denton review, NYTheatre.com
• John Kenrick review, Musicals101.com
• Blake Green review, Newsday
• "First-Degree Burns," Jack Zink's review, Sun-Sentinel, August 25, 2000
"First-Degree Burns," Jack Zink's review, Sun-Sentinel, August 25, 2000—>• "No Riddle at All: Gorshin a Good Fit as George Burns," article by Jack Zink about the production and Frank Gorshin, Sun-Sentinel, August 18, 2000
• "Impressionist Gorshin Exquisite in Loving Portrayal of Burns," Christine Dolen's review, Miami Herald, August 25, 2000
"Impressionist Gorshin Exquisite in Loving Portrayal of Burns,"—>• "Word of Mouth," article by Christine Dolen about Frank Gorshin and Rupert Holmes, Miami Herald, August 18, 2000
"Word of Mouth,"—>• Paul Gallotta review, Sun-Sentinel, September 6, 2000.
• Cleveland.com site about the production, which has video clips.
• Tony Brown's review in the March 23 edition of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
• Linda Dawson's review, Remember WENN newsgroup, April 23, 2001
• Christine Dolan's review in the April 30 edition of the Miami Herald.
• Bill Hirschman's review in the May 1 edition of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
This project was announced in Newsday and mentioned online at Broadway.com after being previously mentioned as being groomed for a 2003 release at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in their newsletter for April. However, due to Rupert's already full plate, the musical version of the television series has been postponed until April 2004-2009.
• Postponement announcement, January 15, 2003 on Playbill.com
• Playbill's August 28 article on Rupert Holmes
• Brief Encounter with Rupert Holmes, Playbill, August 27, 2002
• Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center site
• Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center April 2002 message
Marty opened at Boston's Huntington Theatre on October 30, 2002 and ran through November 24, with John C. Reilly in the title role and Anne Torsiglieri as Clara. 2002's Tony Award winning choreographer Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie) choreographed the production, the director was Mark Brokaw, and sets were by Rob Jones.
According to Andrew Gans' January 15 article for Playbill, Marty is headed to Broadway. That same article also states that Rupert is writing a musical for television.
• John C. Reilly story in the Globe and Mail
• Huntington Theatre Company website
Previous news about Marty:
During the week of July 1, 2000, auditions were held for the first reading of the musical Marty, based on the Academy Award-winning television production/movie by Paddy Chayefsky. Rupert has done the book, while the music is by Charles Strouse (Annie) and lyrics by Lee Adams (Bye Bye Birdie).
In the reading for the production done July 18 and 19, 2001, the company included John C. Reilly in the title role; Anne Torsiglieri as Clara; Camille Saviola as Marty’s mother; and Jim Bracchitta, Joey Sorge, Frank Vlastnik, Jacquelyn Piro, Nick Cokas, and Delphi Harrington. Robert Longbottom (Side Show, The Scarlet Pimpernel) is directing, and James Weissenbach (the first Franklin Shepard in the Broadway Merrily We Roll Along) is producing.
Rupert's Thumbs, a comedy-mystery thriller, reopened at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts (on Cape Cod) on July 1, 2002 and ran until July 13, having had its initial premiere at the Helen Hayes Theatre in Nyack, New York, where it broke all records. Kathie Lee Gifford and Diana Canova reprised their leading roles from Nyack; Brad Bellamy also again appeared as Freddie. Sean McCourt took over the role of Wilton Dekes. Featured was a new, "more sinister" set by Dan Kuchar, who did the set for the Helen Hayes Theatre, and, more interestingly, a "new last twist for this play, not seen anywhere before." Thumbs officially previewed at the Actor's Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2001. It previously appeared at the Bergen County Playhouse in New Jersey.
• Helen Hayes Theatre Company press releases about Thumbs and Rupert Holmes
Linda's Personal Note: Kathie Lee Gifford was excellent in the role of Marta, and Diana Canova complemented her perfectly. Tom Beckett was hilarious as Wilton and we enjoyed meeting him after the show.
• Creative Loafing interview before production in Charlotte.
• A personal review of Thumbs in Charlotte.
• Bergen County Record Thumbs articles.
A reading of excerpts from The Picture of Dorian Gray took place on March 10, 2003 at Manhattan's Citigroup Center with Mary Stout (Eugenia Bremer of Remember WENN) portraying the mother of Sybil Vane, Melissa Dye (Enid Fairchild in WENN) as Sybil Vane, and Margaret Hall (WENN's Gertrude Reece) as Aunt Agatha. The entire first act was performed as well as pieces from the remainder of the play, and Mary Stout sang "My Son," one of the musical numbers.
Earlier Dorian Gray news:
Rupert's next musical stage project, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was announced as being near completion. One of the songs from the production, "My Son," appears on "Matters of the Heart," Patti LuPone's album from Varese Sarabande.
• Act I of Dorian Gray was previewed in Britain in 2001.
Rupert's The Mystery of Edwin Drood was produced at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada in October 2001. Check out Rupert's delightful essay on how the show came to be written.
In June of 1999, Rupert, Jonathan Brielle (the producer and composer for Goosebumps, and Pat McCorkle formed a new theatre company, The Actors, Authors, and Composers Rep, for "the development of dramatic musicals designed to feature fine actors whose emotional palette includes comedy, tragedy and melody." In June they held their first event, "a 'reading and singing' of a new musical called Himself which featured Len Cariou as James Joyce." Most excitingly for Remember WENN fans, Rupert hopes that this repertory company can someday produce the WENN stage musical he has considered creating.
Past Projects:
• The 1998 production of Goosebumps
• Articles on The Mystery of Edwin Drood and other plays
• 1998 interview by Michael Buckley, formerly on Tony Awards website
• • • TELEVISION • • •
Rupert is working on a "period" project for the A&E cable network called Lenny Presto, which at one time was supposed to star Jason Alexander before he became unavailable for the role, with WENN producer Howard Meltzer. The script is still under consideration by A&E. Rupert has said that "for those who liked [the Remember WENN episode] 'Armchair Detectives,'" this should be right up their sleeve. Or alley."
Rupert and WENN producer Howard Meltzer are in conference with various television executives over possible future projects.
• • • PRINT • • •
Rupert's novel, Where the Truth Lies, will be released on June 24, published by Random House.
• Random House link for Where the Truth Lies (which also features a downloadable audiobook and an eBook version), includes a description of the story, an excerpt from the novel, and a list of bookstore appearances.
• Melissa Manchester sings "Where the Truth Lies," written by Rupert and Manchester. (Need Real Player to listen.)
• Amazon.com link for Where the Truth Lies. There will also be an audio-book version on CD and cassette, featuring the voices of Michael McKean and Ana Gasteyer.
• • • MUSIC • • •
• "Widescreen — the Collectors' Edition from Fynsworth Alley was released in 2001. This was an expanded version of Rupert's first album, with as many bonus tracks as there are original songs. The bonus tracks included all three alternate versions of the No Small Affair theme, the theme song to the television series Hi, Honey, I'm Home, and music written for three of his Broadway productions. The CD is also for sale at Amazon.com.
• Fynsworth Alley Stage Door features a portion of the liner notes from "Widescreen — the Collector's Edition" as well as the "10 Questions With Rupert Holmes" also linked below.
• This September 2000 interview is Rupert's most recent. He speaks about his career, his works (including Remember WENN), and also someone very special to him.
Hip-O, a division of Universal/MCA, released the album "Rupert Holmes: Greatest Hits" on July 25, 2000. The eighteen cuts include the 1980 hit "Escape" ("The Piña Colada Song"), "Him," "Answering Machine," "Let's Get Crazy Tonight," "Morning Man," and "The People That You Never Get to Love."
The very best news about this album can be revealed by looking at the track listing: the first piece is the Remember WENN theme song, "Remember When"!
"Where Can I Find Rupert Holmes/Remember WENN Music?"
Records:
Rupert's seven original LP albums were "Widescreen," "Partners in Crime," "Adventure," "Rupert Holmes," "Singles," "Full Circle," and "Pursuit of Happiness." A list of the LPs and their tracks can be found at Debbie Corwin's "Unofficial Rupert Holmes Website."
Polydor released an LP cast album and cassette of the cast album to The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Compact Discs:
Rupert's CDs (except for the newest listed above) are as follows:* Scenario was scheduled to be released in the US sometime in early 2001 by Deko Music (a Sony company) as a multimedia CD with extra goodies on it, including photos and some videos, but there has been no recent news on this project.
Two songs written for The Mystery of Edwin Drood but not used in the production, "An English Music Hall" and "Evensong," appear on the Varese Sarabande CD "Lost in Boston." The first piece is sung by Jonathan Freeman (Rollie Pruitt from Remember WENN) and "Evensong" is done by WENN's "Maple LaMarsh," Carolee Carmello, and her husband Gregg Edelman.
For those of you looking for Rupert singing other music than those selections available on his albums, you can also hear him sing "Two Songs from Twelfth Night" on Varese Sarabande's CD "Shakespeare on Broadway" (the verses are from the play itself with music by Rupert) and a song not written by himself, the melancholy "Hots Michael at the Piano" on Varese Sarabande's "Lost in Boston IV."
Some of these CDs are still in release and can be found at websites selling CDs, including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, CDNow.com, and Boxman.com. Some of the out-of-print albums and CDs can be found on e-Bay under "Rupert Holmes."
Rupert's Songs as Performed by Other Artists:
These are almost too numerous to list! However, just to mention a few:
Several selections from The Mystery of Edwin Drood have appeared on CD. Helen Reddy's CD "Centerstage" includes her rendition of "The Writing on the Wall," and Varese Sarabande's "Duets" CD features "Perfect Strangers" sung by Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner. "Betty Buckley's Broadway" features two selections from Drood, "The Writing on the Wall" and "Perfect Strangers." Also note Patti LuPone reference mentioned above.
The movie (and its soundtrack) How Stella Got Her Groove Back features a reggae version of "Escape." ("Escape," incidentally, shows up in original form in several movies, including the recent animated feature, Shrek.)
Barry Manilow's "Live!" album includes Manilow's rendition of "Studio Musician."
Britney Spears has done a version of "You Got It All," a song originally recorded by the group The Jets.
Rodney Walker adds some additional information about the song "Timothy," sung by the Buoys: "Collectables actually has the album available (which also includes Rupert's 'Give Up Your Guns').
Remember WENN Music:
Alas, except for Rupert's great rendition of the theme song on his newest CD, no Remember WENN music is available on CD*. However, some MP3 and WAV captures of WENN music exist at Rodney Walker's WENN Audio Page (this includes Rodney's terrific Remember WENN Winamp "skin").
| Note: Please remember that the musical excerpts on Rodney's site are under copyright by Rupert Holmes/Wendy Isobel Music (ASCAP) and provided for your personal use only. Thanks to Rodney for the header graphic. |
* A version of "You Make It Christmas" was recorded by The Jets.
