Fred Barton and Scott Thompson don’t think there’s enough musical theatre in Los Angeles. To rectify the situation, last year they founded their All Roads Theatre Company (ARTCO). And now they’re producing their first original musical, the Harold Arlen-inspired song-and dance-filled One For My Baby opening Friday, March 14 at the historic El Portal Theater (see details below).
With a book by Barton and Thompson, One For My Baby is a film-noir musical concoction of deception, lust and betrayal. Starring are Broadway leading ladies Lana Gordon and Luba Mason leading a cast of 28. As the story unfolds audiences are introduced to a colorful crowd of characters in the style of Hollywood all-star movies like Grand Hotel or Dinner at Eight, ranging from struggling actors to the social elite.
With a film noir vibe.
It’s 1947, and at the center of the tale is nightclub singer Panama Jones (Gordon), modeled after Josephine Baker and Hazel Scott. As the diva of Dreamland, she keeps the drinks mixed and the drama brewing as she presides over a collision of high society intrigue, the criminal underworld, and a fatal romantic triangle. At the head of that triangle is Tess Fleming (Mason), a rich sophisticate with a past and a reputation for impulsive, violent behavior. In the meantime, an ambitious young dancer, a tough-headed headliner with secrets to hide, and a nightclub owner with a reputation for mob connections all add to the action.
“The nightclub setting provides a steamy backdrop for spectacular dance numbers, bursting from the sexually-charged patrons of the club,” says Barton. “The eight leads and 20 ensemble members take part in seamlessly integrated floorshow showstoppers that comment ironically on the twists and turns of the plot.”
The show’s mix of desire, ambition and double-crosses is played out through 24 classic Arlen songs including I’ve Got the World on a String, Get Happy, When the Sun Comes Out, Down with Love, Ain’t it the Truth, I Wonder What Became of Me and He Loved Me Till the All Clear Came.
Following are excerpts from my interview with Barton about bringing One For My Baby to the stage.
Why Harold Arlen?
We wanted to do a tribute to Arlen. His catalogue of more than 500 songs, most now considered standards, became runaway hits during the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. Arlen was unique in that he wasn’t part of a team like Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe. He collaborated with the greatest of the Tin Pan Alley lyricists including Dorothy Fields and even Truman Capote.
He was known as an innovator and “the master” by fellow composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. And yet he alone, among all the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, has not had a new show, revival or tribute on Broadway in more than 60 years. (His last Broadway show was 1959’s Saratoga.) Gershwin, for instance, has had five since 1980, and there have been numerous Sondheim reviews. So we felt strongly that we had to fix that.
We met with Harold’s son Sam (saxophonist and music publisher) and had lunch, and he loved the whole idea and gave us his blessing. He liked the idea that we’re giving this music the long overdue representation and attention it deserves.
How did you choose the songs?
The plot dictated the songs. We listened carefully to his entire catalogue of epic songs to tell us what kind of musical this had to be.
We have all these songs under one roof, and they had to be cohesive. Arlen wrote in all different styles. Just look at the nominees for Best Song for the 1944 Academy Awards. Arlen was up for such divergent songs as Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe, the prayer-like My Shining Hour and the jazzy That Old Black Magic. (He lost to Harry Warren’s You’ll Never Know.)
We determined he had a sophisticated urban sensibility that underlies all his work – and a social conscience ahead of its time. That led us to set the show in what I call our “mythological urban nightclub” where characters from all walks of life meet and impact each other.
These are songs that were all written for other projects. We were methodical about choosing songs that fit organically into the story.
Can you share an example?
One that fits is Tess’s Torch Song. It’s sung by Tess Fleming, the show’s wealthy, glamorous socialite, relentlessly promoting her handsome new singing beau, Rick Anderson, to Dreamland owner Duke Sullivan. She doesn’t imagine that her chic best friend Meredith Allen has an eye for Rick herself – not to mention a twisted and unexpected agenda.
Part of Ted Koehler’s lyrics go: I had a man/ He was a good man/ That is, you see, what I mean is/ I thought he was a good man/ I had a friend/ She was a good friend/ I told my friend ’bout my man ‘caus / I thought she was a good friend … That was the end, the end of my friend/ The end of my man and almost the end of me.
What changes have you made over the evolution of the show?
We were originally using It’s Only A Paper Moon (with lyrics by Yip Harburg and Billy Rose). It’s a song saying love is fake, but you can’t live without. It didn’t fit exactly who the character is—a hard-bitten woman who can’t believe in love, but falls for a guy even though she knows it’s a mistake. So we cut it. We had to make sure every song speaks with the same voice.
We found Fun to be Fooled another song with some of the same elements—that love is not real, but, oh my god how you need it. Some of Ira Gershwin and Harburg’s lyrics are: Fools rush in to begin new love affairs/ But tonight, tonight, my dear, who cares?/ Fun to be fooled, fun to pretend/ Fun to believe love is unending.
The leading man responds with Come Rain or Come Shine (lyrics by Johnny Mercer). The two songs make a great pairing.
You have another popular pairing in the show.
There were two songs we had to use: Stormy Weather (Ted Koehler) and The Man That Got Away (Ira Gershwin). They’re so closely identified with two specific singers, Lena Horne and Judy Garland. We thought how can we do them and not have the ghosts of those singers looking at them from the side of the stage.
Scott created a situation where the romantic crises of the two leading and two supporting actresses come to a head in a golden moment in Act 2. The two songs go back and forth and weave together, even in counterpoint, and it’s the highlight of the show. We call it the Stormy/Man quartet and when we unleashed it at the workshop the place came apart.
Audiences hearing these songs in a new way and in different circumstances is one of our goals.
How did you approach creating the orchestrations?
As the music arranger I had to think about what the score should sound like and not have it be just be a collection of old songs. The music of the post-war era was very distinct from the golden age of the big bands and more sophisticated. I needed to create a world for the songs to live in that’s the late ‘40s and on the dotted line of the ‘50s, a totally different sound.
Arlen himself, along with Frank Loesser, started using complex chords like the sharp-11. Beloved by jazz musicians it’s built on C and described as “beautiful” and “modern sounding.” It’s a really rich chord and I made sure to have the orchestrations reflect that harmonic complexity. I think I’ve been able to capture a unique period and make the songs sound new and interesting and still give them an edge of today.
And I love being on stage, so audiences will see me above the action, conducting the 11-piece band.
What was one of the biggest challenges in putting the show together?
Getting the rights for all the songs. We did it all ourselves and it was painstaking and difficult. We dealt with agencies that do nothing but handle song rights, Harold Arlen’s estate and the estates of all the lyricists. Plus, it involved some detective work because we had to determine who actually owned a song, like movie companies such as Warner Bros. for A Star is Born.
The happy ending is that we got every song we wanted and needed to tell our story. We packed in the best, but it was a formidable task. There were no guarantees; someone could have said “no.”
Explain the roots of this new theater company.
Scott and I met in LA 1991 and realized we both had a vast knowledge for what I guess is the Broadway musical’s golden age. It dawned on us that there needs to be more musical theatre in town. So undeterred, we jumped into an Olympic-sized pool with both feet.
We founded our Equity non-profit with business model based on mainstream, audience-friendly titles to establish ourselves and attract a wide, diverse and solid fan base.
Last year we kicked off with a sold-out production of Jerry Herman’s and Michael Stewart’s Mack & Mabel. I saw the show in New York and knew it was one of the first shows we wanted to do. I was friends with Jerry, and we were able to get the rights to restore some of the cut songs. With cooperation from the estate of book writer Stewart, they let us resolve the problematic ending. And it made all the difference. The reaction validated our premise that there’s a hunger for more musical theatre with LA talent.
Plans for the future.
Scott and I both feel educational outreach is an essential component of our mission. We have our academy up and running for students of all ages from all over LA teaching such skills as song interpretation, audition techniques, “acting the song,” tap and more. And because we’re a new company we offer start-up pricing to make the classes accessible. The goal is to provide arts training and appreciation through classes, workshops, performance opportunities, and interactive experiences relating to our professional productions.
In 1996, Scott founded Austin Musical Theatre and was its producing artistic director for eight seasons. Their academy taught kids from below 10 through their teenage years. Graduates include Glen Powell, Nathan Parsons and a lot of students who went on to Broadway.
One of the principals in One For My Baby is Sean McGibbon who played the Artful Dodger in Austin Musical Theatre’s production of Oliver! with Stephanie J. Block and Martin Vidnovic. Now he’s a triple threat.
Next for us will be full-scale production Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle in October. The rarely-performed musical with a cult-like following will feature Carolyn O’Connor. She was a stand out in our Mack & Mabel and is now starring in Hello Dolly! in the Lido de Paris production.
Do you have a favorite Arlen song?
Fun to Be Fooled is typical Arlen yet sounds exceptionally original. It’s my favorite for the moment.
The El Portal Theatre is at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. (at Weddington Avenue), North Hollywood. Performances will be 8 p.m., Friday, March 14 (preview); 3 p.m., Saturday, March 15 (preview); 8 p.m., Saturday, March 15 (opening press night, special $175 gala, which includes a party and champagne with the cast); 3 p.m., Sunday, March 16; 8 p.m., Thursday, March 20; 8 p.m., Friday, March 2; 3 p.m. and 8p.m.; and 3 p.m., Sunday, March 23. Tickets range from $42 – $135. For information, call the box office, 818-508-4200 or visit www.elportaltheatre.com
Box office operators are available by phone from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Box office hours are 3-8 p.m. on weekdays, and from noon until show time on matinee days. For more information, visit https://allroadstheatreco.org
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at The Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
