This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "My Favorite Things" — performed by Unknown performer ♪

[0:17] Kevin David Thomas: Hi, everyone. It's Kevin David Thomas here.

[0:21] Robert W Schneider: And this is Robert W. Schneider here.

[0:23] Kevin David Thomas: Robert Dubert. What is the W again?

[0:25] Robert W Schneider: William.

[0:28] Kevin David Thomas: You're lying.

[0:29] Robert W Schneider: No, it's Wilma.

[0:30] Kevin David Thomas: God, I wanted it to be Wilhelm so bad, though. Wilhelm!

[0:32] Robert W Schneider: Robert W Schneider.

[0:34] Kevin David Thomas: It's William. Oh nice. Robert W Schneider. Welcome everybody to another my favorite things, throwback Thursday. Hashtag TBT.

[0:40] Robert W Schneider: That's right. Thank you so much, by the way. We've gotten some great responses from hashtag ask Rob and Kevin.

[0:47] Kevin David Thomas: Oh yeah?

[0:48] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, people have had questions for us, Kevin. Can you imagine?

[0:51] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, no.

[0:52] Robert W Schneider: One of the questions that came in, which was great, which was which cast recording would you like to see reissued that's currently out of print?

[0:59] Kevin David Thomas: Oh wow. Yeah, isn't that a hard one?

[1:02] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, I feel like I responded to that, but I don't remember what I said. But going back to my favorite things from a couple weeks ago, Annie Warbucks. I think it's one of the things you yeah, you had noticed was Annie Walker.

[1:13] Kevin David Thomas: And I probably said Kwamina, too.

[1:15] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, Kwamina. Which is very clear.

[1:16] Kevin David Thomas: Of course, I said Kwamina.

[1:18] Robert W Schneider: Yeah, because you know that's what everybody says when you ask people on the street. What do you what do you like to see issue? To a cast recording collector, it is it's like duh Kwamina, of course.

[1:26] Kevin David Thomas: I think mine is more original. Mr. Wonderful, the Sammy Davis Jr. musical.

[1:30] Robert W Schneider: Oh, I forgot.

[1:31] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah. And Cry for Us All.

[1:33] Robert W Schneider: You have that record.

[1:34] Kevin David Thomas: Which I have the album right here, but it's not on CD, or it hasn't been reissued on CD in quite some time, I think. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's that's one that I would really like to see.

[1:43] Robert W Schneider: It's a good one. And the score to O'Calcutta, which I think would be Which ran forever.

[1:49] Kevin David Thomas: Ran forever at the Edison.

[1:51] Robert W Schneider: Right, when the Edison was a theater where the Edison ballroom is now.

[1:54] Kevin David Thomas: Exactly. And for those of you that don't know, O'Calcutta was an all-naked musical.

[1:58] Robert W Schneider: That's right, friends. And it ran for years and years and years. Anyone see it? I'm sure there's a listener out there that saw it. And I would love to know what you thought.

[2:05] Kevin David Thomas: Yes. What did you think? And did it run just because is it like Naked Boy singing? Did it run just because they were naked?

[2:10] Robert W Schneider: I think so. Like because Naked Boys is still running every like Saturday at New World Stage.

[2:15] Kevin David Thomas: Not that I I'm like every, I don't know, Saturday at six o'clock. Kevin was in. You were in Naked Boys 6.

[2:21] Robert W Schneider: That's right. I made my professional debut as the third one from the right.

[2:25] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, yes, I remember your performance. It was quite stunning.

[2:29] Robert W Schneider: Quite stunning. I'm sure there's a pun in there somewhere.

[2:32] Kevin David Thomas: You know what? I'm too tired to think of one. So listeners, if you can throw a pun our way.

[2:37] Robert W Schneider: That's a big quote they said about O'Calcutta. I forget. It was someone famous who was like, the problem with doing an all it was Clive Barnes, I think, who said the problem.

[2:43] Kevin David Thomas: No, John Simon. The problem with doing an all-naked musical.

[2:46] Robert W Schneider: Here you go again. You're like, I don't know. Who said it? I can't. It's this is exactly what they said. He goes, the problem with doing an all naked musical is not everything stops when the music does. You really gotta have some special buttons.

[2:56] Kevin David Thomas: I was gonna say. So anyway, where were we? Oh, now we got onto that tangent. Oh, and then another great question that came in was what would you like to see Encores do? And what is your dream cast?

[3:13] Robert W Schneider: Oh god, this is like the first my favorite things I feel like we ever did.

[3:18] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[3:20] Robert W Schneider: Goldilocks. With I think at the time I said Beth Level, which I I I I stand by Bethlehem. I think she could.

[3:28] Kevin David Thomas: Although you probably could get someone like oh god. I'd see Kelly O'Hara do it.

[3:35] Robert W Schneider: Oh, she'd be great. I would I would see her do it. I'm can I would like to see Nathan Lane in All American.

[3:43] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[3:44] Robert W Schneider: Or Nathan Lane.

[3:46] Kevin David Thomas: Yes.

[3:46] Robert W Schneider: Or Nathan Lane doing high button shoes.

[3:49] Kevin David Thomas: Yes. Which I think would be great.

[3:51] Robert W Schneider: High button shoes, yeah. I want to see that ballet. Or maybe I'd also like to see if we could get this to happen, but it would be fun to see Brian Stokes Mitchell and Norbert Leo Butts do Sugar.

[4:02] Kevin David Thomas: That's a really good cast. See, wouldn't that be fun?

[4:04] Robert W Schneider: Oh, that's rookie. Little sugar. I think that'd be great. So which is a musical version of Some Like It Hot?

[4:11] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, some like we've talked about that on the show. We haven't talked about All American yet.

[4:15] Robert W Schneider: No, all I love All American. All Americans is scored by the guy, you know, who wrote Annie, Charles Strauss, of course. And Lee Adams. Um book by Melbourne Brooks, yeah.

[4:25] Kevin David Thomas: Book by Brooks. Um Charles Strauss wrote from Broadway. Um I'm trying to think of another did they ever do no strings?

[4:34] Robert W Schneider: They did.

[4:34] Kevin David Thomas: Okay, good.

[4:35] Robert W Schneider: They did. Thank goodness. Um yeah, there's some that I'm like, oh boy, I wish they would do blank, and then you realize it. Wait, they did do that, I just wasn't paying attention that here.

[4:44] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, no, I'm happy. Goldilocks would be a dream come true. That I would like that.

[4:48] Robert W Schneider: And uh uh what's the one that yeah, that's Leroy Anderson? Which I've which we've said too, yeah, which I've said to both Jack Verdell and Ted Chapin. So I'm still fingers are crossed.

[4:56] Kevin David Thomas: And they're they're both always like, yeah, I know, I know, Goldilocks. Watch them do Nowhere to Go But Up, but you know, whatever, it's fine.

[5:03] Robert W Schneider: Ted, Jack, please. I know listen. Christmas is coming up. Give us a Christmas. Listen to Kevin and Goldilocks and put him in it.

[5:10] Kevin David Thomas: You know what I wish they actually would start doing? Um, I wish they would start doing more shows from the 80s.

[5:16] Robert W Schneider: Yeah.

[5:16] Kevin David Thomas: I know that I think Jack is you know, more interested in doing things that are.

[5:23] Robert W Schneider: Like Cabot in the sky.

[5:24] Kevin David Thomas: Which I totally get. Which they reorchestrated. Which I totally get some. Uh, but my feeling was you know what's funny is like when they did Chicago, they were 20 years away from Chicago because they did Chicago in ninety-five.

[5:33] Robert W Schneider: You're right. Why not do Maryland?

[5:35] Kevin David Thomas: I'm like, that's I think there are reasons why. I'm sure there are. We'll talk about those off the air.

[5:40] Robert W Schneider: Is Marilyn your favorite thing this week?

[5:41] Kevin David Thomas: No, God no. What's your favorite thing this week?

[5:43] Robert W Schneider: Oh, okay. I have a person. But I and I actually think I I need I I would like to do my favorite thing is this person, and really I'm just saying I want to learn more about this person. I don't know everything about this person. This is not someone I've ever met because they're not with us anymore. But this person comes up with almost every interview we ever talked to of a legend because they've all worked with this person.

[6:05] Kevin David Thomas: Oh my god. I can't.

[6:06] Robert W Schneider: You're gonna and I feel like you're gonna know more about this guy than I do.

[6:08] Kevin David Thomas: Oh no.

[6:09] Robert W Schneider: Because you just know more than I do. But he he lived to be 103. Can you imagine being born in 1906 and seeing musical theater not only become developed, but become the art form in when you die in like nineteen oh six, like twenty yeah, two thousand nine, he died.

[6:32] Kevin David Thomas: I have no idea who this is.

[6:33] Robert W Schneider: He lived in Ohio. Is it is this John Kenley?

[6:38] Kevin David Thomas: Johnny is this John Kenley.

[6:39] Robert W Schneider: Now, some of you may be like, oh, John Kenley, of course. Some of you may be like, John Kenley, who's that? But we his name comes up with well, Carol Lawrence talked about him. Um every I every single older legend either had worked with him or who is John Kenley. I'm sure that's a sentence that actually has been said many, many times.

[6:58] Kevin David Thomas: This man not only loved to live in Cleveland or in Ohio and had I mean, he did something like I wanna say f I mean hundreds and hundreds, if not th he did oh over five hundred plays and musicals over his lifetime producing them and touring them throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, the Midwest.

[7:19] Robert W Schneider: And he really is the reason why we have straw hat, you know, that idea of like summer stock. But he was he pioneered bringing television and movie stars to small town Middle America to do role big roles in big musicals.

[7:34] Kevin David Thomas: And a lot of times he would get the actual stars who starred in the Broadway musical to come to his town and do no no nets starring Lonnie Ackerman, you know.

[7:42] Robert W Schneider: Tiny, tiny town. We're talking tight, but these shows would be sold out. And he was notorious for being so giving and loving and entertaining. And he, you know, he wouldn't want the ticket booth, you know, the box office. He'd want to have a stand inside the lobby so he could sit there taking tickets for people. He wanted to be he was a true theater impresario, you might say, if I can use that word with him.

[8:04] Kevin David Thomas: Absolutely.

[8:05] Robert W Schneider: Um and he lived quite an interesting life because he was, you know, he he he and the Wikipedia page I read, you know, because there's not a lot about him. There's a lot about his theater and all of that. But uh, you know, and um, you know, I know that some people we've talked to have talked about doing a biography of this guy because he his influence on other artists and and his audiences was immense.

[8:26] Kevin David Thomas: Um, but he he w he called himself intra-sexual. So he was he he was intra intra. Like I M T R A.

[8:33] Robert W Schneider: Yeah.

[8:34] Kevin David Thomas: Oh wow.

[8:34] Robert W Schneider: So he would live, he said was just a he was born as a man, but he could have been a woman. And he lived when he lived in Palm Springs or on the summertime or the winter time when the theater was not running, he lived as Joan. He was a woman. And then when he was known as the when he was running the theater, he was John Kenley.

[8:51] Kevin David Thomas: How fascinating.

[8:53] Robert W Schneider: Right. And we've heard this from people firsthand.

[8:55] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, yes.

[8:55] Robert W Schneider: That knew him that were like, Oh yeah, well, Joan or John, you know, depending on who you, you know, which time of the year it was. Um, but he he was also one of the first to produce desegregated theater in America in Washington, DC in 1950, he insisted that everybody um go through the same door and that everyone one ticket, anybody could sit in wherever they wanted to sit. That the you know, it wasn't just the balcony was for African Americans and stuff like that.

[9:17] Kevin David Thomas: Fascinating guy.

[9:22] Robert W Schneider: He was also so he totally fascinating guy. And he he did perform in the 1920s. He did vaudeville, which was very popular, talk about touring, and he would do different little acts. But then 1928, he started to be Lee Schubert's assistant, and he was his assistant from 1928 to 1940.

[9:40] Kevin David Thomas: And what he did basically was read all the scripts, and he would decide help him decide which shows to produce.

[9:45] Robert W Schneider: And of which he had many, many hits that he would read and say, "Hey, you know," he read thousands and thousands of scripts for Mr. Schubert to help him decide which shows should go into their theaters.

[9:55] Kevin David Thomas: Oh wow.

[9:56] Robert W Schneider: Um, and then after the war, he decided to start this sort of straw hat circuit theater in the Midwest.

[10:03] Robert W Schneider: He moved to Cleveland and then also moved down to Dayton, outside Dayton, which is where they, I think he lived the rest of his life.

[10:09] Kevin David Thomas: Um, and so from 1940 to 1995, over 500 musicals produced.

[10:14] Robert W Schneider: And we're talking like Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, Tommy Tune in Pippin, Ann Miller in Hello Dolly. But then sometimes they would like, he was also known for letting them do a specialty number at the end of the first act. Like Ann Miller was gonna do one of her famous numbers because that's what Ann Miller does. So why not? You know, why not as well as, you know, let's just have some fun, you know.

[10:33] Kevin David Thomas: I've heard some people say that there are audio recordings of some of these productions. I feel like it was Carol Lawrence or someone that we interviewed was like, "Oh yeah, they exist somewhere." And I know Ed Dixon wanted to do a sort of look at, I think it was Ed Dixon. Yeah, I think it might have been Ed. Regardless, he, you know, we talk about stunt casting now on Broadway. We talk about movie stars coming to Broadway. We talk about using names to sell a show. The names still back then were all talented musical comedy people because a lot of them started out in musical comedy before they became stars.

[11:07] Robert W Schneider: Well, he was the one who started that. He was the one who really that you could go to see. I mean, I saw a picture of the Kenley Players, is what they were called, and there was like Richard Chamberlain in, you know, My Fair Lady. And he would do plays and musicals. I don't know if you're gonna mention this, but there's a website that lists every show he ever did in Ohio. Yeah, plus who starred in the show. And when you go through the list, it's quite impressive. It's unbelievable that people in the Midwest, and if you have any listeners that went to see a Kenley Players production, please, or knew John, let me know.

[11:38] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, and anyone knew because he's with pictures of him. I mean, he had like kind of red hair. He looked like that little dummy of that, uh, that almost like he, because he almost Charlie McCarthy. Yeah, I mean, he looked so like, he looked like a little blush on and he just always looked very, howdy doody, that's what I'm thinking of. Sorry, that's exactly how, how dare I not know that. But he almost looked like a character in himself, you know. I can imagine that he, and he would ride his bike backstage and he would entertain people and he just seemed like a really neat guy, and not a single bad thing have we heard anybody say about him. Only good things, and that it seems like these stars would have fun, you know, slumming it for a summer, you know, just like hanging out in Akron, Ohio for a summer, you know, and just living the life.

[12:25] Robert W Schneider: Summer in Ohio. Hello.

[12:27] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, that's funny. Um, and I just wonder how many performers out there started their career at the Kenley Players working. We've talked to a couple. I mean, talked to a couple. I feel like Leroy Reams did a lot of things. I know Peter Marshall did one. Peter Marshall was one of the stars. Or I just think, uh, how cool. How cool would it be to be doing a musical with your favorite, you know, star? We don't get, they don't do that anymore. People don't, people don't, you know, Tom Hanks isn't exactly running out to, uh, you know, no, and I think Ohio, uh, you know, outdoor summer theater production of, you know, um, Lord of the Rings musical. Boy, I was gonna say he'd be a great Harold Hill.

[13:03] Robert W Schneider: Uh, yes, please. That's what we, I know, look, look on, of course. I know it's non-forgotten. Just get Tom Hanks to do the Music Man for us, please. Please. That's all I care about. Do it at one of your concerts like Jake Dylan Hall. Fine, fine. Fundraiser. Take Jake to tell a break. Tell Jake to take a break.

[13:18] Kevin David Thomas: Um, wow, how wonderful. So yeah, I thought, I think the world needs to know John Kenley still. And he lived, I mean, 2009. I mean, that's not so long ago.

[13:26] Robert W Schneider: No.

[13:27] Kevin David Thomas: God, I, 103 though. Can you imagine? What a life.

[13:31] Robert W Schneider: Right. Do what you love, it keeps you alive.

[13:33] Kevin David Thomas: Amen. So John Kenley, I think we need to not forget him. Thank you.

[13:36] Robert W Schneider: Thank you, Kevin, for the John Kenley.

[13:38] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah. That's so cool.

[13:39] Robert W Schneider: Okay, awesome. Which I didn't know about until we interviewed these people.

[13:42] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah, the name of, so often his name came up so often that I figured, who is this guy? He must have been special that so many people talk about him still.

[13:51] Robert W Schneider: There might be a documentary there.

[13:53] Kevin David Thomas: I hope so.

[13:54] Robert W Schneider: Yeah. Jeez, that'd be great. Get on to people.

[13:56] Kevin David Thomas: I know. Please.

[13:58] Robert W Schneider: Mine?

[13:59] Kevin David Thomas: Yes, Rob, what's yours?

[14:00] Robert W Schneider: This week. Oh my gosh. Um, I'm gonna read you a quote from the New York Times.

[14:06] Kevin David Thomas: Okay.

[14:07] Robert W Schneider: About this musical.

[14:09] Kevin David Thomas: Okay.

[14:12] Robert W Schneider: No careening chandeliers, no raving madmen scurrying across a false proscenium, no roller skates, no barricade, no neon dragons descending from the heights, just two couples in two small musical plays about grown-up love in Romance/Romance.

[14:30] Kevin David Thomas: Romance/Romance. Oh my gosh, really?

[14:32] Robert W Schneider: Yes. Our, my favorite thing this week is from 1988, and it is called Romance/Romance, book and lyrics by Barry Harman, music by Keith Herman. That is my favorite thing.

[14:45] Kevin David Thomas: Good one.

[14:46] Robert W Schneider: In the middle of all of this late 1980s spectacle, like the New York Times just said, in the middle of Phantom and Cats and Les Mis, where everything is supposed to be exploding and blowing up and moving around and pirates, comes this little jewel box of a musical that is pretty much, even though there are four characters in it or four actors in it, it's pretty much a two-hander, really. It really is Scott Bakula and Alison Fraser.

[15:13] Kevin David Thomas: Romance/Romance is a musical that's been forgotten over time.

[15:16] Robert W Schneider: Totally. Which I think is a shame because it's a really beautiful, fun musical. Great songs, great. Great songs.

[15:22] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, look for audition songs by God.

[15:25] Robert W Schneider: Oh my gosh. I mean, you could just look at things like I'll Always Remember the Song for Guys, a great song called Uh Words He Doesn't Say. There's just so much good stuff here. In fact, the show comes out the same year as Phantom and Into the Woods, so it kind of gets neglected a little bit. But it received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, and Best Actor and Best Actress for Alison Fraser, who you probably have heard on The Secret Garden singing Hold On, and Scott Bakula, who's now a big famous film and television actor, uh, who's got a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful singing style.

[16:03] Kevin David Thomas: So for those of you who don't know, Romance/Romance, uh, Act One takes place at the turn of the century, and it's about, uh, two characters, one is named Josephine, one is named Alfred, and they are very rich and they're very wealthy, and they decide to pretend to be poor, and they meet each other while slumming, and they try to keep up the pretense because they're afraid if they reveal their true selves.

[16:24] Robert W Schneider: Right.

[16:24] Kevin David Thomas: But ironically, it's fairly thoroughly modern Millie, right? Oh, how ooh, forget about the boy, Josefina. Uh, then Act Two is totally different.

[16:35] Robert W Schneider: Act Two takes place a hundred years later or so in an act called Summer Share, and it's two married couples that are sharing a summer home, and, uh, Barb and Sam are not married, but they eventually, they're very good friends, and they start talking about what would happen if we had an affair.

[16:52] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, I was gonna say, did those shenanigans go down?

[16:55] Robert W Schneider: And the question is, can you actually do those shenanigans? Can it is that old when Harry met Sally question, which is can a man and woman just be friends with each other? So the show is very charming. The show is very wonderful, it's got an incredible score, and this is so cool. I don't know if you remember this. In the early 90s, A&E decided they were gonna record certain musicals.

[17:21] Kevin David Thomas: And they were always choices that you were like, oh, really? You're gonna record that?

[17:24] Robert W Schneider: But like Tin Types. I have a DVD of this.

[17:27] Kevin David Thomas: I was gonna say, I think I have Romance/Romance.

[17:31] Robert W Schneider: Stop the World I Want to Get Off with Peter Scolari. And they actually filmed all of Romance/Romance with John Harara and Susan Monas. And there's an A&E movie of it, and it's on YouTube, or parts of it are on YouTube.

[17:45] Kevin David Thomas: Cool.

[17:45] Robert W Schneider: So mine this week is Romance/Romance, which I think, like you said, if you're looking for great audition songs. Oh my God. If you're looking for an intimate musical that you can produce on a very small budget and you don't need a lot of people for, this is the show to go to. And, um, I believe Keith reached out to us.

[18:00] Kevin David Thomas: He did when we first started.

[18:01] Robert W Schneider: Yeah. We got a chat with him. And his work is great. He also did Onward Victoria.

[18:05] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[18:05] Robert W Schneider: Uh, with Jill Eikenberry back in the 80s about the first woman who ever ran for the presidency. So there's a whole legacy of work here. But this week, please listen to Romance/Romance or watch it on YouTube because it's a charming show and very 80s, which I like.

[18:19] Kevin David Thomas: Totally. Very 80s.

[18:20] Robert W Schneider: Guys are wearing pastels with a pop collars. And she's wearing her, you know, her, uh, what do you call them? The leg warmers and everything like that.

[18:25] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, it's radical, it's tubular.

[18:29] Robert W Schneider: Totally. And it's not too late. That's the big song.

[18:34] Kevin David Thomas: Thank you.

[18:35] Robert W Schneider: Thank you, Rob. Watch the Tony Award clip with Scott Bakula and Alison Fraser, and there's some trivia there. Notice how he keeps looking off stage for some odd reason. They came out in their Act One costume, and then they had 20 seconds to change, and they came back in their Act Two costume, and she wasn't making her change. So he keeps looking off to be like, is she coming? Is she coming? Is she coming?

[18:54] Kevin David Thomas: Oh, weird.

[18:54] Robert W Schneider: It's because she wasn't, she couldn't make the change. But it's so charming and it's so wonderful. So please, Romance/Romance. And John Kenley, look him up. Check out the man who gave theater to so many people in the Midwest. How cool is that.

[19:05] Kevin David Thomas: Right.

[19:05] Robert W Schneider: All right. So till next time. Take care.

[19:06] Kevin David Thomas: It's not too late.

[19:10] Robert W Schneider: No.

[19:11] Kevin David Thomas: You don't like it.

[19:12] Robert W Schneider: I did have to end.

[19:15] Kevin David Thomas: You know, you know all of them.

[19:16] Robert W Schneider: I know some of them.

[19:17] Kevin David Thomas: Yeah.

[19:17] Robert W Schneider: So good.

[19:19] Kevin David Thomas: Never, never, never be a pr, be a friend and remind me.

[19:25] Robert W Schneider: I actually like Be a pal to remind me.

[19:27] Kevin David Thomas: Dude, I like when you talk them though.

[19:29] Robert W Schneider: Be a pal to remind me.

[19:31] Kevin David Thomas: There you go, that's it.