Alan Jay Lerner: A Lyricist's Letters (32 page)

Lerner had toyed with the idea of creating a Broadway musical about extra-sensory perception as far back as the late 1940s, and the mystical flavor of
Brigadoon
was an indication of what was to come with
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
. A draft for an article in the small collection of Lerner papers at the Library of Congress, excerpted below, explains the writer’s rationale for the musical:

    
What unknown forces are responsible for such phenomena as that of the inanimate flower pot that one day, for no natural or accountable reason, suddenly tumbled from its perch on a table and broke into piece on the floor? It happened in West Virginia in the home of an elderly widow. It happened at the exact instant her little grandson, who had given her the flower pot, was tragically struck down by a car on the streets of Chicago. And during each war, how many times have you read or heard of cases where a dog suddenly and seemingly without cause begins howling uncontrollably, and then you learn later that his master was killed at that precise moment on some distant battlefield?

The article goes on to list other examples of “clairvoyance, precognition, mental telepathy, psychokinesis” as well as reincarnation. Whatever the problems and critical reception of
On a Clear Day
, it is obvious that these subjects were of great personal interest to Lerner, and that he invested a lot of effort in his first post-Loewe musical.
¹

    
The Boston opening was set for August 1965, thereby putting the much-delayed
Coco
on the back burner once again.
²
Robert Lewis (of Lerner’s
Brigadoon
) was now to replace Bob Fosse
³
and Gower Champion, who had both previously been named as
Clear Day
’s director, and Herbert Ross was hired as choreographer. The show attracted widespread press attention for its record high ticket prices of up to $11.90.
⁴
Rehearsals began on July 26 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, where
Fair Lady
had found its home for most of its Broadway run, with the press in attendance. “Before the players began to read their parts, Mr. Lane sang the title song, which will be the overture, to his own accompaniment,” recounted Sam Zolotow in the
New York Times
. “The cast applauded. During a five-minute break, Mr. Jourdan observed that ‘On a Clear Day’ was more a play with music than the customary musical. When the script called for songs, Mr. Lane played them. Mr. Lerner sang ‘Hurry! It’s Lovely Up Here!,’ ‘Normal,’ ‘Domestic Champagne Waltz,’ ‘Marriage Contract,’ and ‘Tosy and Cosh.’”

    
Some of these numbers did not make it into the version of the show that ultimately opened on Broadway three months later, an early hint of how difficult the rehearsal and tryout period would turn out to be. As with
Camelot
, coverage of the trouble was widespread: “During the Boston tryout, Mr. Lerner made drastic book revisions. Boris Tumarin, Lois Holmes, Lucille Smith, Margaret Hall, Neil Fitzgerald and Joan White left the cast and Gerry Matthews was added. John Cullum succeeded Louis Jourdan. Robert Downing, production stage manager, resigned and was replaced by Ross Bowman.”
⁵
A later report noted that “In settling Mr. Jourdan’s contract, the producers agreed to pay him $2,700 a week for 18 months. If he is not employed during this time, he will get $4,000 a week, which would have been his normal salary. Mr. Cullum is getting $1,200 weekly.”
⁶
In addition to the cast changes, the book was substantially rewritten and various songs were replaced or rewritten, including “Mom,” “The Normal Thing to Do,” “Marriage á la Mode,” and “Don’t Tamper with My Sister.” Rather like
Camelot
, but to a greater degree, the show had gone into rehearsal with too many weaknesses in the book, so in spite of some effective scenes, it was given a mixed critical reception on its October 17 opening. John McClain in the
Journal-American
called it “a melodious muddle” and Howard Taubman in the
New York Times
said, “Although there are several outstandingly genial elements,
they do not survive to turn the new musical into the soaring, satisfying unity it ought to be.” On the other hand, Norman Nadel in the
World-Telegram & Sun
called it “The first musical hit of the season…a happy wonder and a bewitching, beguiling musical play.”

    
Still, Lerner had much to celebrate that week, with the
Fair Lady
film marking its first anniversary. During the first twelve months after release, it had grossed more than $46 million.
⁷
Undeterred by the
Clear Day
problems, he cashed in on the publicity and immediately announced
Coco
as his next musical.
⁸
But although he hoped to have the book finished by “May or June” 1966, there would be a number of setbacks, just as there had been with
Clear Day
, and several more years would pass before the world premiere.
⁹
At this point, André Previn’s
¹⁰
involvement as composer of the new show was kept secret, but it is clear from the following letter from Lerner to Arthur Schwartz—apparently a response to the suggestion they might write a musical together, as they almost had in 1953—that Previn was firmly in place in this role:

    
To Arthur Schwartz

    
December 1, 1965

    
Dear Arthur:

    
I am so sorry I have not gotten back to you sooner but I was in the country, then I had to go to California and I just returned this morning.

        
I really felt like letting out a whoop when I read your letter! I would genuinely love to work with you again—my only problem being that I have an immediate commitment to do a score with André Previn that goes back a long, long time. He saved time for us to work last winter and because of the delay in the show I really hung him up. I saw him briefly in California and he is coming to New York in January so that we can sit down and discuss plans.

        
However, neither of us envisages any lasting partnership primarily because of his multifarious activities and also because of Dory,
¹¹
his
wife. When it comes to collaborating with André, there is no doubt that she’s got a decided edge.

        
As soon as I get things sorted out I will call you. I’d love to see you both again soon.

        
I will never forget the kindness and friendship you have both shown.

Faithfully,

Alan

Perhaps Lerner was trying tactfully to avoid the problems that had beset his relationship with Schwartz during their time working together, though he was certainly busy enough with existing projects at this period. The official announcement of Previn’s involvement in
Coco
was made on January 23, 1966, and in a ploy that replicated the
Ed Sullivan Show
’s promotion of
Camelot
, NBC arranged a salute to Lerner on
The Bell Telephone Hour
on February 27, to include excerpts from
Clear Day
with Barbara Harris and John Cullum.
¹²

    
February also saw the start of pre-production for another major Lerner project: the film adaptation of
Camelot
. To direct the film he approached Joshua Logan,
¹³
the veteran director of numerous projects including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
South Pacific
and Harold Rome’s
Fanny
, and received an ecstatic response. “I am tremendously moved by this script,” he admitted. “It’s literate, dramatic, lyric and always wittily told. It gives me a feeling of hope somehow for our theatre world and even—if enough people see it—for the world itself.” Logan went on to say that “it must have a faultless production and a brilliant cast” and he assured Lerner that he would be “honored and thrilled to direct it.” This was fulsome praise indeed from such a distinguished figure, and Lerner must have been heartened by the promise that they would “work closely together,” though in time their relationship was strained. Logan was hired by Warner Bros. in early March, and the long-held plan to put
Camelot
on the screen was finally under way.
¹⁴

    
In his hunger for plenty (or too much) to do, Lerner also forged ahead with
Coco
, writing to Brisson about his hope to open the new musical at his favorite, “lucky”
Fair Lady
theater:

    
Telegram to Frederick Brisson

    
22 February, 1966

    
DEAR FREDDIE

    
I’M OFF TO CALIFORNIA AND WON’T BE HERE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. WILL BE AT THE BEVERLY WILSHIRE. PLEASE, PLEASE CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY OF THE HELLINGER THEATRE UNLESS YOU HAVE DEFINITE REASONS AGAINST IT. STANLEY STAHL IS FAR AND AWAY THE MOST DECENT THEATRE OWNER I HAVE EVER KNOWN AND SOMEHOW IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE DECENCY REWARDED. HE IS NOW BEING PRESSED FOR NEXT SEASON. HE’LL BE IN TOWN UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT AND I WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD AT LEAST HAVE A CHAT WITH HIM ABOUT IT.

LOVE,

ALAN

Of course, the Mark Hellinger was currently host to
Clear Day
, and the fact that Lerner suggested bringing
Coco
there reveals his (correct) suspicion that the theater would be vacant before the year’s end.

    
He was still convinced of the quality of the material though, and a screen adaptation of
Clear Day
was mooted. Though troubled, the show had made its mark on Broadway, and there was interest from several quarters in the screen version, including Leland Hayward, who had wanted to produce the stage version several years earlier. “I continue to be frustrated about
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
,” Hayward commented.
¹⁵
“For, I know I could have made a contribution as producer that would have meant the difference between a moderate run and a huge success. As I once told you, I liked the songs that I heard and the book that I read enough to tell you that I would produce or coproduce it for you without an interest or any other compensation. Now, I feel the same way about it as a movie.” But Hayward was to be frustrated again. The screen rights were bought by Paramount as a star vehicle for the young Barbra Streisand,
¹⁶
and the production was headed by the studio’s chief, Howard W. Koch.
¹⁷

    
By June 1966, five long years after first thinking of writing a musical about Chanel, Lerner had at last drafted the book of
Coco
. Six songs were
completed, with another eight in half-finished form;
Clear Day
closed in the same month.
¹⁸
He visited Chanel in Paris during August and worked further on the score at Previn’s Hollywood home in November (during which month he also married Karen Gundersen, assistant editor at
Newsweek
), in the hopes of getting
Coco
on the stage sometime in 1967.
¹⁹
Camelot
went before the cameras in December 1966, with Logan’s cast including Richard Harris
²⁰
as King Arthur and Vanessa Redgrave
²¹
as Queen Guenevere.
²²
Though he was on hand to observe some of the filming, Lerner continued to work on
Coco
while still in Hollywood. In March he completed a three-picture deal with Paramount, to include
Paint Your Wagon, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
, and a completely new project, a screen adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s
The Little Prince
(the latter to include music by Previn at this point).
²³
Joshua Logan was signed as the director of the
Wagon
film in April, and filming was due to begin at the end of 1967.
²⁴
Initially, the intention was for Lerner to adapt his stage script for the screenplay, but in June he hired Paddy Chayefsky
²⁵
to make the adaptation.
²⁶

    
Most of 1967 was spent working on
Coco
, which had become Lerner’s pet project of the moment; this helps explain the decision not to adapt
Wagon
himself. In April, he sent a full script of
Coco
, including a number of song lyrics, to Cecil Beaton for comments. Beaton, a favorite from Lerner’s blockbusters
My Fair Lady
and
Gigi
, was to design the show and got involved from an early stage. In this letter, Lerner asks him for input, comments on the ongoing
Camelot
film, and reveals his hatred of California weather:

    
To Cecil Beaton

    
April 21, 1967