This is Part 6 of a multi-part series of posts.  I suggest that you start with Part 1 if you have the time and really want to appreciate the full effulgence.

London:

The plane ride to London was a blast.  An excited cast of twenty some gorgeous theatricals hangin’ over the seats, yellin’ and laughin’ back and forth and so excited about flyin’ to London.

I always kept my guitar in the overhead when I traveled and at one point I took it out and we serenaded the passengers for about a half hour with songs from the show.  At one point half the ladies were struttin’ up and down the aisle singin’ and doin’ their makeshift choreography to a bewildered, but totally entertained and enthralled audience of passengers.

A number of those people on that flight even came to see the show and came backstage afterwards to reminisce about that memorable flight.  Two months later on the flight back to NYC everyone slept the whole way home.

Theater in London is a whole different world than in the U.S.  There, there is history – a rich deep culture to draw from that the people – especially London’s theater lovers – are proud of and most knowledgeable.  After all we were now doing our classic show in the home city of one Will Shakespeare and this was a fact that meant so much to all the members of our cast.

Also at the time, Vanessa Redgrave was largely considered to be the leading actress in the Western world and everyone knew she lived in London, and on top of that her pictures adorned the walls of the Old Vic where she had starred in many of their productions.  So the girls were always a-buzz about Vanessa this and Vanessa that.

There was also some nervous speculation by all of us Americans as to how our show would be accepted in London, this great city of culture and theatrical history.  Would they put us down for being American and trivial?  Would they castigate us for turning Euripides masterpiece into a rock opera?  Would they turn up their British noses to us?

British shows were always well received on Broadway and greatly respected.  The British company of Marat Sade was one of the most powerful theatrical productions I had ever seen and I experienced it ten to twelve times.  The “British Invasion” as it was called, on Broadway, was in full force at that time and so we were well aware that we represented the backlash of that by coming to London with our musical.

We were all aware that we had to hold up our end of the American musical tradition and, coupled with the girls fascination with Vanessa Redgrave and her famous family, that created a saying that we would all repeat after each group prayer before each show.  “Let’s do this one for Vanessa!” became the mantra.

After two weeks of previews we opened to glowing reviews.  It seems that London was both open and enthralled by our musical experiment as much as our own countrymen.  And so we sold out all our shows for the rest of our run almost immediately.  We were a hit in London.  A great start for any theatrical production.

I will never forget the nature of the reviews that we got.  In America, when a review appears, they usually follow the same form – opening paragraph to let the reader know if the show is a hit, a mix or a flop, followed by a lengthy telling of the plot of the show, followed by the obligatory quotes regarding the actors and the writers and ending with a summary.

Basically with an American review you learn if the reviewer liked or did not like the show and that’s about all.  The writing is often banal and unfortunately all too often, mean-spirited.  Rarely do you learn much about your show from the critics who are often not especially good writers themselves.

But in London the reviews were more like essays on your work.  Instead of wasting print by the telling of the plot, the reviews would write about the play structure, the rise and fall of the drama, the relations to similar plays and the development of character.  When I read the London reviews I learned about my play.  I learned how to fix it.  I learned what to throw out and what to keep, and I learned from the masters where to focus my changes so as to make it a better experience.

They knew the relationships between lighting and sets and they wrote in-depth directions for me that helped me improve the work dramatically.  I never really learned anything from an American review except ‘yea or nay’, but in London I learned how to fix what needed fixing and to keep what needed keeping.

So Iphigenia improved dramatically during those two months in London.

And then the unexpected, but oh so appreciated, happened.  In the last week of our run, one evening performance at half hour, word came back to the dressing room that Vanessa Redgrave was in the audience that night.  The girls were ablaze with excitement.  They would get to perform this hit show to the most famous and respected actress in the world.  I made sure I got back stage for the pre-show prayer so that I could feel the excitement in the air when it came time to say our mantra, “Let’s do this one for Vanessa!” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room and the cast was higher than a kite.

I called them back into the green room at 5 minutes and warned them about taking it too high.  “Just do your regular show tonight.  That’s good enough.  Don’t push, don’t give it that extra all just because Vanessa’s out there because the you’ll lose the delicate balances that we’ve developed so well during our stay here in London.  In short, be professionals.”

I’m grateful to say that it was the best performance we ever did in London.  We got a standing ovation led by Vanessa herself as she jumped to her feet in the 6^th row center.  Standing ovations were much harder to come by in London from such a theatrically astute audience, but that night we were boffo!  We deserved it.

After the show Ms Redgrave came backstage and graciously stayed and talked to a gathered cast audience of young women at her feet for over an hour.  I think she enjoyed the visit as much as our cast.  She was fascinating and fulfilled all our fantasies with her wisdom and professionalism, but our girls were something else too.  The great American spirit of rock n’ roll met the best of British Classicism that night back in the dressing room and the union was fascinating to watch.

It was the same union that made Euripides’ Iphigenia work so positively as a Rock Opera.