Responding to both DavidUk and RobrtR about Judy’s concert.
It was not the 1967 concert on the Common. I was at that one too; she sang only a 45-minute selection, including “Old Man River” and wore the gold diamante pant-suit she stole from her never completed role in “Valley of the Dolls"
The concert at the then named ‘Back Bay’ was supposed to be two nights, but she refused to go on the second (Saturday) night. I was relectently, but lukily in retrospect only able to get tickets for the Friday night one. She was preceded by a stand-up comic, probably a local guy. People were nervous she wouldn’t appear. The comic told us she was back-stage, but wanted us to have the intermission before she went on. So we fretted some more, and they played her overture again. She did appear, wearing what appeared to be street closthes, a flowered pink and green dress with a huge bow right at the belly button. There was some audible comment, and she said "You don’t like my dress? Well, I bought it in Boston”. She started out kind of shaky, I think with “I feel a song coming on” rather than “when your Smiling”. The Orchestra was a lot of students and locals who really got into the arrangements. She sang Most of the Carnegie Hall stuff,
plus “How insensitive”, “Old man River” “What now my love” “Call me irresponsible”; her voice came through very well as she warmed to the orchestra and audience. It was a long concert, at least as long as Carnegie. The house manager stopped her, and wanted her to stop (so they wouldn’t have to pay overtime), and she got into a shouting match with him from the stage, and apparently decided to sing everyting they had, to the delight of the audience.
Lorna and Joe had a routine in the middle, did “Bob White”, a remnent of her more recent “Home at the Palace: performances. Near the end people were asking for SanFrancisco and Chicago; I think she did one of them, but said the arrangements for the other had been stolen. She wanted to do "Swanee” but said she had to change clothes.
She left Lorna on stage, bantering with the audience. People asked Lorna to sing “rainbow', but Lorna replied "She’d kill me” Lorna sang “Jingle bells”. Judy reappeared in black tights with a white sequined top, asked if the audience liked her ‘new’ outfit. Brought a young man onstage and asked for a round of applause for him for helping her get into her outfit. She sang Swanee, Rock-a-bye, Rainbow. (This was a rare return to the long concert format, most concerts in the last years were much shorter, such as the one on the Common.) During the Back Bay theater concert, the lighting cues were appantly messed up, and she would say from the Stage “no, not that hepatitus green!” For “How insensitive” she sat on a mini-runway (actually the ramp they use to access the stage in rehearsals). She had to cue them to turn on her Xmas tree lights, which were indeed what was laid out along the side of the ramp.
I think it’s in Lorna’s book that she relates Judy’s refusal to perform the second night, on the basis that she had done such a long concert the night before. I knew people who were supposed to go the second night, and they had trouble getting their money refunded because they were going to start demolition of the theater the following week.
In general it was a great experience, great singiing, and a very priviledged view of the ‘legendary Judy’ being herself in a way she wouldn’t have at Carnegie Hall.
I had been taken to this theater to see Disney’s Cinderella when I was 5 or 6. Even at that age, I was in awe of the staircase, all the fancy ‘stuff’, and the size. The little boys room was like an English pub. Years later, when Ben Sack opened it, I went to see ‘Jumbo’ w/ Doris day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, etc.
At that time in 1962 Sack was bringing nostalgia back to the theater, had installed huge bright red velvet curtains, and the movies were preceded by ‘Louie Wier at the Mighty Wurlitzer’-the huge pipe organ rose on an elevator from the pit, an ancient Louie played things like the ‘Skaters Waltz’ with a spotlight on him, then sank back into the pit. All that heaven camp in 1962. He used to have Italian tenors occasionally perform between films also.
When I went on a tour of the renovated Wang Center a few years ago, the guide didn’t know what happen to the organ, but knew and showed me the 1926 air-conditioning system still being used.
This theater is still hidden inside the Office Bldg known as 600 Washington St, occupied primarily by the State Welfare Dept. I worked in this building at one time. It was known as the jewelers' bldg. since many wholesale and retail jewelers had spaces there.
I remember going to the various Cinerama pictures there, including a revival of the 1953 ‘This is Cinerama’ the famous roller coaster scene. The earlier Cineramas had 3 projectors (tho' you could always see a line in the screen). The curtains, carpets and seats were all covered in very hot pink, the walls, etc. mostly ivory. We always got cheap seats in the balcony and sneaked down and sat in the front row, so as to be totally surrounded. I remember being disappointed when they ‘downgraded’ to a single projector in releases like ‘Windjammer’. ‘Mad, Mad, World’ and ‘How the West Was Won’ were other Cinerama features I saw there. But I don’t remember 2001 being at that theater, I thought it opened at the Pilgim, same block of the street.
Originally it had 3 entrances, the one mentioned on Wash. St., the current one from the alley called (I think) Hamilton Place, and one off Winter Street via the alley called ‘Music Hall Place’. The theater was first a music hall, then had a mezzanine and balconies added by architect Clarence Blakhall, around WW I; he also had his offices somewhere in the building. (He designed the Colonial, the Tremont Temple, the Wang Ctr, etc). The area at the Music Hall Place entrance is now part of the food court for a conglomeration of retail stores called ‘the Corner’, which replaced Gilchrist’s dept. store in the 80s. A friend told me they used to have ballroom dancing on the lower level of the current food court, so people could make a night of it when they went to the Orpheum. I went to many first run movies there as a teenager in the late 50s and early 60s. One reason we kids liked it was it was easy to sneak in! There were stage and fire exit doors unguarded at the alley off Bromfield St., and they were often left open from one group of kids to another.
I remember this theater very well from the 50s and 60s.
In the 60s in became the ‘Donnelly Memorial’, and was, I think somehow connected to the Boston Archdioces. I saw a production of the Opera ‘Carmen’ there in 62-63.
It then became the ‘Back Bay’; it housed the productions of Sarah Caldwell’s Boston Opera. I remember seeing ‘Moses and AAron’ there, probably around ‘67, a production so large in scope, that Moses’ mountain was built coming down from the boxes onto the stage, thus losing many seats, and the huge cast of Egyptian slaves were lined up freezing on the sidewalk beside the theater waiting for their
cues.
I remember the decor as somewhat ‘Hollywood spanish’, and that there was an ornate tringular staircase connecting the balconies with the main floor at the rear of the auditorium.
The theater hosted gigs later in the 60s; I attended a concert performed by Judy Garland on the Friday before the domolition started in 1968. One of her last concerts, and the second to last use of the theater.
Responding to both DavidUk and RobrtR about Judy’s concert.
It was not the 1967 concert on the Common. I was at that one too; she sang only a 45-minute selection, including “Old Man River” and wore the gold diamante pant-suit she stole from her never completed role in “Valley of the Dolls"
The concert at the then named ‘Back Bay’ was supposed to be two nights, but she refused to go on the second (Saturday) night. I was relectently, but lukily in retrospect only able to get tickets for the Friday night one. She was preceded by a stand-up comic, probably a local guy. People were nervous she wouldn’t appear. The comic told us she was back-stage, but wanted us to have the intermission before she went on. So we fretted some more, and they played her overture again. She did appear, wearing what appeared to be street closthes, a flowered pink and green dress with a huge bow right at the belly button. There was some audible comment, and she said "You don’t like my dress? Well, I bought it in Boston”. She started out kind of shaky, I think with “I feel a song coming on” rather than “when your Smiling”. The Orchestra was a lot of students and locals who really got into the arrangements. She sang Most of the Carnegie Hall stuff,
plus “How insensitive”, “Old man River” “What now my love” “Call me irresponsible”; her voice came through very well as she warmed to the orchestra and audience. It was a long concert, at least as long as Carnegie. The house manager stopped her, and wanted her to stop (so they wouldn’t have to pay overtime), and she got into a shouting match with him from the stage, and apparently decided to sing everyting they had, to the delight of the audience.
Lorna and Joe had a routine in the middle, did “Bob White”, a remnent of her more recent “Home at the Palace: performances. Near the end people were asking for SanFrancisco and Chicago; I think she did one of them, but said the arrangements for the other had been stolen. She wanted to do "Swanee” but said she had to change clothes.
She left Lorna on stage, bantering with the audience. People asked Lorna to sing “rainbow', but Lorna replied "She’d kill me” Lorna sang “Jingle bells”. Judy reappeared in black tights with a white sequined top, asked if the audience liked her ‘new’ outfit. Brought a young man onstage and asked for a round of applause for him for helping her get into her outfit. She sang Swanee, Rock-a-bye, Rainbow. (This was a rare return to the long concert format, most concerts in the last years were much shorter, such as the one on the Common.) During the Back Bay theater concert, the lighting cues were appantly messed up, and she would say from the Stage “no, not that hepatitus green!” For “How insensitive” she sat on a mini-runway (actually the ramp they use to access the stage in rehearsals). She had to cue them to turn on her Xmas tree lights, which were indeed what was laid out along the side of the ramp.
I think it’s in Lorna’s book that she relates Judy’s refusal to perform the second night, on the basis that she had done such a long concert the night before. I knew people who were supposed to go the second night, and they had trouble getting their money refunded because they were going to start demolition of the theater the following week.
In general it was a great experience, great singiing, and a very priviledged view of the ‘legendary Judy’ being herself in a way she wouldn’t have at Carnegie Hall.
I had been taken to this theater to see Disney’s Cinderella when I was 5 or 6. Even at that age, I was in awe of the staircase, all the fancy ‘stuff’, and the size. The little boys room was like an English pub. Years later, when Ben Sack opened it, I went to see ‘Jumbo’ w/ Doris day, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, etc.
At that time in 1962 Sack was bringing nostalgia back to the theater, had installed huge bright red velvet curtains, and the movies were preceded by ‘Louie Wier at the Mighty Wurlitzer’-the huge pipe organ rose on an elevator from the pit, an ancient Louie played things like the ‘Skaters Waltz’ with a spotlight on him, then sank back into the pit. All that heaven camp in 1962. He used to have Italian tenors occasionally perform between films also.
When I went on a tour of the renovated Wang Center a few years ago, the guide didn’t know what happen to the organ, but knew and showed me the 1926 air-conditioning system still being used.
This theater is still hidden inside the Office Bldg known as 600 Washington St, occupied primarily by the State Welfare Dept. I worked in this building at one time. It was known as the jewelers' bldg. since many wholesale and retail jewelers had spaces there.
I remember going to the various Cinerama pictures there, including a revival of the 1953 ‘This is Cinerama’ the famous roller coaster scene. The earlier Cineramas had 3 projectors (tho' you could always see a line in the screen). The curtains, carpets and seats were all covered in very hot pink, the walls, etc. mostly ivory. We always got cheap seats in the balcony and sneaked down and sat in the front row, so as to be totally surrounded. I remember being disappointed when they ‘downgraded’ to a single projector in releases like ‘Windjammer’. ‘Mad, Mad, World’ and ‘How the West Was Won’ were other Cinerama features I saw there. But I don’t remember 2001 being at that theater, I thought it opened at the Pilgim, same block of the street.
Originally it had 3 entrances, the one mentioned on Wash. St., the current one from the alley called (I think) Hamilton Place, and one off Winter Street via the alley called ‘Music Hall Place’. The theater was first a music hall, then had a mezzanine and balconies added by architect Clarence Blakhall, around WW I; he also had his offices somewhere in the building. (He designed the Colonial, the Tremont Temple, the Wang Ctr, etc). The area at the Music Hall Place entrance is now part of the food court for a conglomeration of retail stores called ‘the Corner’, which replaced Gilchrist’s dept. store in the 80s. A friend told me they used to have ballroom dancing on the lower level of the current food court, so people could make a night of it when they went to the Orpheum. I went to many first run movies there as a teenager in the late 50s and early 60s. One reason we kids liked it was it was easy to sneak in! There were stage and fire exit doors unguarded at the alley off Bromfield St., and they were often left open from one group of kids to another.
I remember this theater very well from the 50s and 60s.
In the 60s in became the ‘Donnelly Memorial’, and was, I think somehow connected to the Boston Archdioces. I saw a production of the Opera ‘Carmen’ there in 62-63.
It then became the ‘Back Bay’; it housed the productions of Sarah Caldwell’s Boston Opera. I remember seeing ‘Moses and AAron’ there, probably around ‘67, a production so large in scope, that Moses’ mountain was built coming down from the boxes onto the stage, thus losing many seats, and the huge cast of Egyptian slaves were lined up freezing on the sidewalk beside the theater waiting for their
cues.
I remember the decor as somewhat ‘Hollywood spanish’, and that there was an ornate tringular staircase connecting the balconies with the main floor at the rear of the auditorium.
The theater hosted gigs later in the 60s; I attended a concert performed by Judy Garland on the Friday before the domolition started in 1968. One of her last concerts, and the second to last use of the theater.