and the stage, and he deserved it even if no one remembers his performance in
The House Of Leather
. That is, no one but Annie and me. We remember it well.
Kurt and Don’s Usual Banter
Walter Miller was a good friend of Kurt’s. Walter was a writer and exchanged many communications with Kurt during their lifetime. Actually, Walter wanted to interview Kurt, and they were both so busy that the interview took place in a taxicab ride.
I went with Kurt to Harper Collins for another interview, and Ana Maria Allessi of Harper rode up in the elevator with me and Kurt, and Kurt and I were carrying on our usual banter of joshing each other. Ana Maria was so impressed that instead of Kurt being interviewed by a Harper Collins person, she said she wanted me and Kurt to just talk and do our thing; that is, that I should interview Kurt. It must have been good, because Ana Maria loved it, and I guess Harper Collins did too, because all of a sudden I was on a CD with Kurt. They released Kurt’s Walter Miller interviews on CD too.
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
There were plenty of striking things and people to remember about the Kurt Vonnegut play
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
: the cast, like Bill Hickey, who taught Barbra Streisand at HB Studio; the understudy Dianne Wiest, who later became famous, as did Marsha Mason, who married Neil “Doc” Simon; Kevin McCarthy, star of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
; Keith Charles, who followed Jerry Orbach as El Gallo in
The Fantasticks
; the Lilac Chocolate Shop across from the theatre; and, of course, Duff’s, where we all hung out.
But the most striking memory is of the room-temperature salsa verde always waiting on the table at Duff’s. Wow! Duff’s was an informal Italian restaurant, a hangout sort of place a few doors east of the Theatre de Lys on Christopher Street in the Village. Alfredo (the guy in the kitchen who later became well-known as Alfredo of Bank Street) prepared this green salsa, for which he adamantly refused to disclose the recipe.
Before the play opened at the Theatre de Lys on October 7, 1970, Kurt, Annie, and I were either in Duff’s or upstairs at the theatre in the office that we had taken away from the general manager, Paul Berkowsky. Most nights Paul didn’t mind because he was home, and many nights, wherever we were, Lester Goldsmith, the producer, joined us.
That was when the Village was “The Village.” That was when you could see a play of Strindberg’s, a Chekhov, the
Threepenny
,
The Balcony
with Sylvia Myles,
The Fantasticks
, or loll around in any number of dark, dingy espresso hangouts settling all the worries of the world or completely ignoring the world.
It started in our Madison Avenue apartment one night at dinner when Lester asked Kurt whatever happened to the play
Penelope
that Kurt had written. Lester, when he worked at Paramount Pictures, had read and remembered
Penelope
, and that question ended up with Lester producing the play, which later acquired the title of
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
.
Lester, a resident of Los Angeles, optioned the rights to produce the play, found a place to live in New York City, and went to work. He used my office facilities. Kurt was happy as a clown. Writing books was real work and writing a play was a dream for Mr. Vonnegut, who welcomed the change of pace. Before Kurt had finished rewriting the play, Lester had brought in Michael Kane (a Telly Savalas look-alike) from California to direct the play, licensed the Theatre de Lys on Christopher Street in the Village, and was hiring the cast and crew.
Lester, our producer of the play, was friendly with one of the young ladies who later became a very well-known movie star. The rumor was that the young lady in question lived in the Bowery next to an apartment where another young starlet was murdered. That she would become friendly with a person who could take her out of that environment was a natural. It was also viewed by the cast as “showbiz.”
During
The House Of Leather
. That is, no one but Annie and me. We remember it well.
Kurt and Don’s Usual Banter
Walter Miller was a good friend of Kurt’s. Walter was a writer and exchanged many communications with Kurt during their lifetime. Actually, Walter wanted to interview Kurt, and they were both so busy that the interview took place in a taxicab ride.
I went with Kurt to Harper Collins for another interview, and Ana Maria Allessi of Harper rode up in the elevator with me and Kurt, and Kurt and I were carrying on our usual banter of joshing each other. Ana Maria was so impressed that instead of Kurt being interviewed by a Harper Collins person, she said she wanted me and Kurt to just talk and do our thing; that is, that I should interview Kurt. It must have been good, because Ana Maria loved it, and I guess Harper Collins did too, because all of a sudden I was on a CD with Kurt. They released Kurt’s Walter Miller interviews on CD too.
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
There were plenty of striking things and people to remember about the Kurt Vonnegut play
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
: the cast, like Bill Hickey, who taught Barbra Streisand at HB Studio; the understudy Dianne Wiest, who later became famous, as did Marsha Mason, who married Neil “Doc” Simon; Kevin McCarthy, star of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
; Keith Charles, who followed Jerry Orbach as El Gallo in
The Fantasticks
; the Lilac Chocolate Shop across from the theatre; and, of course, Duff’s, where we all hung out.
But the most striking memory is of the room-temperature salsa verde always waiting on the table at Duff’s. Wow! Duff’s was an informal Italian restaurant, a hangout sort of place a few doors east of the Theatre de Lys on Christopher Street in the Village. Alfredo (the guy in the kitchen who later became well-known as Alfredo of Bank Street) prepared this green salsa, for which he adamantly refused to disclose the recipe.
Before the play opened at the Theatre de Lys on October 7, 1970, Kurt, Annie, and I were either in Duff’s or upstairs at the theatre in the office that we had taken away from the general manager, Paul Berkowsky. Most nights Paul didn’t mind because he was home, and many nights, wherever we were, Lester Goldsmith, the producer, joined us.
That was when the Village was “The Village.” That was when you could see a play of Strindberg’s, a Chekhov, the
Threepenny
,
The Balcony
with Sylvia Myles,
The Fantasticks
, or loll around in any number of dark, dingy espresso hangouts settling all the worries of the world or completely ignoring the world.
It started in our Madison Avenue apartment one night at dinner when Lester asked Kurt whatever happened to the play
Penelope
that Kurt had written. Lester, when he worked at Paramount Pictures, had read and remembered
Penelope
, and that question ended up with Lester producing the play, which later acquired the title of
Happy Birthday, Wanda June
.
Lester, a resident of Los Angeles, optioned the rights to produce the play, found a place to live in New York City, and went to work. He used my office facilities. Kurt was happy as a clown. Writing books was real work and writing a play was a dream for Mr. Vonnegut, who welcomed the change of pace. Before Kurt had finished rewriting the play, Lester had brought in Michael Kane (a Telly Savalas look-alike) from California to direct the play, licensed the Theatre de Lys on Christopher Street in the Village, and was hiring the cast and crew.
Lester, our producer of the play, was friendly with one of the young ladies who later became a very well-known movie star. The rumor was that the young lady in question lived in the Bowery next to an apartment where another young starlet was murdered. That she would become friendly with a person who could take her out of that environment was a natural. It was also viewed by the cast as “showbiz.”
During
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