Gwen Verdon: A Life on Stage and Screen (37 page)

Verdon was one of the speakers at a memorial on June 5, 1995, at the Majestic Theatre for George Abbott, who died on January 31, 1995. Her greatest memory of him was how he would tell performers to stop acting and simply to speak the lines.

The star next played the supporting role of Ruth Wakefield in the film drama
Marvin’s Room
(1996) directed by Jerry Zaks. This was an adaptation of the stage play by Scott McPherson which had been originally produced by Chicago’s Goodman Theatre on February 19, 1990, and then played off–Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, opening on November 15, 1991. The film was shot at the Disney/MGM studios in Orlando, Florida, and at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York from August 14 to October 28, 1995. The narrative centered on the Lacker family: Marvin (Hume Cronyn), his sister Ruth, Marvin’s daughters, Bessie (Diane Keaton) and Lee (Meryl Streep), and Lee’s sons, Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Charlie (Hal Scardino). Lee, Hank and Charlie come from Ohio to Florida to visit when they learn that Bessie has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The story emphasizes the supposed importance of family, particularly in a crisis.

Ruth lives with Marvin and Bessie, and dresses in Florida bright colors and pastels. Verdon’s customary red hair is blonde here and she looks physically heavier, presumably to represent Ruth’s sedentary existence. She has an electronic anesthetizer as a cure for back pain; it’s wired to give her a jolt that provides for a running gag when Ruth is hugged and screams in pain before the jolt of electricity. The jolt also makes the automatic garage door open. Verdon uses teary eyes to make Ruth vulnerable, and she scores a laugh with her shocked reaction to watching a rape on her television soap opera,
SunRise City
. We also see her crying when watching a wedding on the show. Ruth’s childlike nature is paralleled with Charlie, whom she befriends and who does her makeup for the wedding. Although it is proposed at one point to put Ruth in a retirement home, her mental and physical competency is contrasted with Marvin, who is bed-bound and non-verbal. However, it is noted that Ruth’s TV show is heard playing at the home when Bessie and Lee visit to check it out. Verdon’s best sustained scene is perhaps the one in the hospital when she visits Bessie, explaining Bessie’s absence to Marvin and noting how he has a nurse looking after him, in lieu of his daughter. The actress brings a funny and innocent charm to her deception and the conceit that the nurse is imaginary. This is particularly in regards to how when the nurse carries Marvin to the bathroom and Ruth tells him that he must be flying. It’s just a pity that we have to be told about this behavior rather than have it shown to us, since we do wonder whether the nurse would try to correct Ruth’s fantasy for Marvin’s sake.

Verdon said that she had gotten used to playing mother roles after her appearances in
Alice
,
The Cotton Club
and the
Magnum, P.I.
television show. But Ruth was different because she was not a mother but was old and crippled. Verdon approached the part as one she would have played on stage. An important thing that she had learned from Fosse was economy, whether in movement or acting. To this Verdon added the need for research and preparation to know who the character is and then to become the character. She found working on the film a joy because she felt that Streep, Keaton and Cronyn were all brilliant in it, and they were all so smart that it made her feel dumb. Verdon used this feeling. She deduced that Ruth, like herself, had been a crippled child and that as a result she never really had a youth. It was when Ruth finally got out of pain that she started living and playing games. She started being a teenager, which made her seem slightly cuckoo though in reality it was that she had her innocence for the first time. Now she could enjoy things in a way that she never had before and she expressed this like a child. Verdon felt that Ruth had earned her innocence.

The film was released on December 18, 1996, with the taglines “A story about the years that keep us apart…. And the moments that bring us together,” “Open your heart. There’s room,” and “Sometimes the people you know the least … are the ones you need the most!” It was praised by Emmanuel Levy in
Variety
who said Verdon had a “superlative supporting turn.” The film was not a box office success. Keaton was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award.

On October 15, 1995, Verdon was given the Life Achievement Award at the 2nd Annual Los Angeles Dance Awards ceremony held at the Century City Club. She was presented the award by Mitzi Gaynor and Alan Johnson. Gaynor described her as a very special Jack Cole dancer, “Jack’s muse…. She was an extension of Jack…. She did it even better than he did and in heels.” Accepting the award, Verdon stated that it was not for her, but for Cole. She also said that Fosse had left a posthumous fund for the training of dancers (over a hundred thousand dollars) which she gave to LA Dance to provide dancers with scholarships.

In the summer of 1996, Verdon appeared in a minor supporting role in the three-hour CBS miniseries
In Cold Blood
(1996). Shot in Alberta, Canada, it was broadcast on November 24, 1996. Based on the Truman Capote book which had been made into a film by Richard Brooks in 1967, the teleplay centered on Dick Hickock (Anthony Edwards) and Perry Smith (Eric Roberts) who rob and kill the family of farmer Herbert W. Clutter (Kevin Tighe) in Holcomb, Kansas, on November 14, 1959. They were executed for the crime on April 14, 1965. Verdon played the part of Sadie Truitt, who collected the mail from passing trains at the Holcomb station. She appears wearing an arm in a sling because it is claimed that she was hit by the mail bag thrown from the train. Verdon is seen in five scenes, some silently. She gets a close-up when she says that she is scared after the killings. Her best moment is her half-smile in reaction to the nervous condition of Connie Clutter (Gillian Barber), making her withdraw from a room.

The film’s tagline was, “The horrifying true story that shocked the nation!” It was praised by Jeremy Gerard in
Variety
and Howard Rosenberg in the
Los Angeles Times
, and was nominated for the Outstanding Miniseries and Best Editing Emmy Awards.

Margery Beddow’s book
Bob Fosse’s Broadway
was published by Heinemann on August 5, 1996. In her prologue she thanks Verdon for her help and encouragement. Verdon attended the opening night performance of the Broadway revival of
Chicago
at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on November 14, 1996. She said about Ann Reinking, who played the role of Roxie Hart, that it was perfect that she was doing it. “‘She’s been through the mill and that’s what that character is about.’’ This was a reference to the fact that Reinking, now 46, was only 26 when she originally replaced Verdon in the part in the first production in 1977.

On January 7, 1997, Verdon was at the Marquis Theatre in New York City when Liza Minnelli opened in the stage musical
Victor/Victoria
. Minnelli filled in for Julie Andrews who had starred in the show since it opened on October 25, 1995, and who had gone on vacation. Verdon wore a black outfit with red-striped scarf. In January she attended the 63rd Annual Drama League Awards at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. She wore a black dress with gray patterned jacket and gray blouse. She was photographed at the event with Ann Reinking.

Verdon made a guest appearance on the CBS family fantasy television series
Touched By An Angel
in the episode “Missing in Action,” broadcast on April 13, 1997. The show, filmed in Salt Lake City, centered on three angels that God has sent to Earth to help troubled people. The episode was written by Rosanne Welch and Christine Pettit and directed by Tim Van Patten. The troubled soul here is 80-year-old George “The Colonel” Zarko (Darren McGavin); Monica (Roma Downey) is assigned to help him find the joy in living and to follow God’s plan for him to make a difference in the world. Her fellow angel Tess (Della Reese) changes her into an old woman and she moves into his latest home, Spring Valley, run by Stephanie Hancock (Christina Pickles). Verdon played Monica’s new roomie, widow Lorraine McCully, though she retains her trademark red hair as opposed to Monica’s gray. Lorraine is revealed to be a pianist. She appears in seven scenes and gets two outfits to wear—both sweatsuits. One has a blue fish-patterned jacket with colored scarf, and the other a fruit-patterned jacket with scarf.

Lorraine has the joy in life that George lacks. Monica asks her to share it with George, and this helps him fulfill God’s apparent plan, which seems to be that he become the home’s new cook. Lorraine’s memory loss is demonstrated when she can’t remember the word “platonic,” but she is astute enough to see that George has a romantic interest in Monica, winking at her after George holds Monica’s hand at the bingo game. Her playing the piano leads to the resolution of the second plot point of the episode, concerning Mrs. Hancock, and Lorraine’s learned connection with George also suggests that romance between them is possible. Verdon has three good scenes, with the second allowing her to present teary eyes when George is able to tell the fate of her missing-in-action husband, James. The last has her listening to Mrs. Hancock’s confession of why she has locked the piano away, and then has her touch Mrs. Hancock’s hands to forgive her.

On April 26, 1997, Verdon attended the opening night of the Broadway musical
The Life
at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and the opening night party at the Supper Club. She was photographed sitting with Chita Rivera, wearing black slacks and a sparkly brown jacket. On May 20 Verdon attended the New Dramatists’ 48th Annual Spring Luncheon Salute to John Kander and Fred Ebb at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. She wore a white outfit with red jacket and red tie. Verdon was photographed at the event with Chita Rivera, Jerry Orbach, and Liza Minnelli.

Roy Harris’ book
Eight Women of the American Stage
, published by Heinemann on September 15, 1997, featured a chapter on Verdon with a photograph of her in
New Girl in Town
and a Hirschfeld drawing of her in
Redhead
. The 17-page chapter was comprised of his memory of seeing her in
Sweet Charity
and a brief biography. It also had an interview that had her discussing her early life,
Can-Can, Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, Redhead, Sweet Charity, Chicago
, and her later acting career.

Verdon made two guest appearances on CBS’
Walker, Texas Ranger
an action crime drama series filmed in Texas. It centered on a martial artist who battled crime all around the state of Texas. Her first episode was entitled “Forgotten People” and it was broadcast on October 25, 1997. It was written and directed by Tony Mordente. Verdon played Maisie Whitman, a woman who has checked into the Quiet Rest nursing home to investigate the death of her female best friend, who died after being there for three weeks. The Texas Rangers also send C.D. (Noble Willingham) into the home to investigate. He learns that the head of the home, Dr Janet Monroe (Gail Strickland), is using patients as guinea pigs to test a banned experimental Alzheimer’s drug, PSL-130, so that they can sell it to pharmaceutical companies.

Maisie appears in ten scenes and her character’s love of dancing is suited to Verdon’s past. She gets to wear a collection of multi-colored outfits with floral patterns and a hat with a flower in it. Verdon’s look is a little different here as Maisie’s hair is brushed off her forehead, and she seems physically heavier. We see Verdon dance although it is nothing too challenging for her (Maisie is supposed to be an amateur dancer). The character also allows Verdon to play on two levels. Maisie uses her dancing to pretend to be senile to the home’s staff, but she is normal with C.D. whom she realizes is also not who he pretends to be. In Verdon’s best scene, Maisie tells C.D. how she ended up in the home, with the suggestion that perhaps her relationship with her best friend had a lesbian element. She uses a pause for emotion when telling her story, and also humor when Maisie tells Janet “I think not” after she is told to get out of the doctor’s office. This scene also has Maisie punch Janet unconscious to stop her from shredding incriminating documents. While it is unique to have Verdon punch another actor in her film canon, it regrettably fits the cartoonish quality of the treatment by director Mordente. Maisie gets a comical scene with religious overtones when she challenges God as to why He does not answer her prayers. When moonlight moves over the photograph of her and her friends, she tells God that she interprets that as a sign of being heard. Maisie is also shown to have courage when she dances with the orderlies to act as a decoy for C.D. once we have seen how they are liable to pick anyone who has challenged them as the next drug guinea pig. In the climax she acts as the lookout for C.D. when he searches for evidence, and we hear Verdon scream when Maisie is caught and held by the neck. The shaky voice of Verdon gets an unintentional parallel with that of Gail Strickland, whose voice is apparently the result of suffering from dysphonia.

Verdon appeared on the cover of
In Theatre
magazine (February 6, 1998) with Chita Rivera with the heading “Gwen & Chita and the Broadway Bears.” Both women were dressed in black and holding teddy bears, with Verdon’s yellow bear dressed like Charity Hope Valentine of
Sweet Charity
in the signature black dress and with a heart tattoo on the left arm. The bear also had red hair and a black hat. She made an appearance on the CBS family drama
Promised Land
in the episode “Undercover Granny” (March 26, 1998). Filmed in various cities in Utah, the show centered on the members of the Greene family, who travel across the country in a trailer in search of adventure and to help people along the way. The episode was directed by Timothy Van Patten and written by Arnold Margolin. In it, Hattie Greene (Celeste Holm) goes undercover in a home for seniors to investigate possible elder abuse.

Verdon was credited for the musical staging of a concert of
Sweet Charity
performed at Avery Hall in Lincoln Center on June 15, 1998. The one-night-only show directed by John Bowab was a benefit for the American Foundation for AIDS Research and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. It was put together in three weeks. There was a week of pre-production with Verdon, Kathryn Doby, who had appeared in the original stage production in the ensemble and the film as a dancer, and Mimi Quillin, who had appeared in the 1986–1987 revival as Mimi. There followed two weeks of rehearsal with the performers. Bowab said that he rehearsed Robert Goulet alone in his Las Vegas home, and then Marla Maples in her Los Angeles home, and rehearsed with individual ladies in New York. Bowab then pieced his work together with Verdon’s. He said that she did her own adaptation of the show’s book to make the one-night event the most accessible, though Verdon retained some of the original dialogue. She was photographed in the first week of rehearsals wearing black and a blue denim jacket. Verdon was also filmed rehearsing “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” performing the number side by side with Debbie Allen. Verdon is seen in front of Allen doing the steps so that Allen can watch her; she wears glasses and is in black clothes without the jacket. Another filmed moment has Verdon singing the song with Allen and Bebe Neuwirth. Cy Coleman said that Verdon worked hard putting the evening together. Everyone wanted her to participate as a performer in at least one of the segments. She finally consented to do the closet scene because, “No one does this scene better than I do!”