Rita McKenzie: Hello, Rita!

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Look like you’rehaving fun, but don’t have any-Lawrence Welk
Rita McKenzie,the star of the highly acclaimed and award-winning off-Broadway Musical, EthelMerman’s Broadway, is one of my favorite entertainers. She is also one of Broadway,Hollywood and television’s most versatile actresses. Jerry Herman says: “Ritais absolutely the best. If you want to know what Ethel Merman was really like,it will never get any better than this.”Those of you whofollow my blog know that I’m writing a book celebrating Hello, Dolly! There arevarious productions happening around the country to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary,also the purpose of my book at this time. Rita McKenzie is the only entertainerthat I can think of who could play Dolly Levi as Jerry Herman originallyenvisioned her. I hope that all who read this will suggest to those venues thatthey consider Rita McKenzie!Ethel Merman was the reigning royalty of theBroadway stage for four decades. She first sang the songs of many of the greatsongwriters of her era – Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin,Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman – who all considered Merman amongthe greatest interpreters of their work. It takes a star to play a star of this magnitude andRita has that wrapped up in spades. They forever belong to each other's voiceand persona.I was thrilledwhen she took time out of her busy schedule a few weeks ago to sit down anddiscuss all things Rita! Today, I'm celebrating Rita McKenzie!The above quoteis Rita’s favorite. The reason she likes it is because when we work in ourprofession, or any profession, you have to do the work, but you must look likeit’s a lot of fun to everybody else.Rita startedentertaining when she was three years old. She loved to sing and dance. Now, weare talking about her mother’s kitchen! She always liked it. She had anaffinity for music. Rita’s mother loved to listen to opera. There was alwaysmusic in their house. When she was eleven or twelve years old, she was part ofa singing group called The Gumdrops. They were an a cappella group. There weresix of them and they won several contests. They were singing rock and roll andthose types of songs at the time. Rita thought to herself, “This is the bestthing I’ve ever done. This is so much fun. This is what I desire to do.”Growing up, Rita was in dancing school, she took piano lessons, and she went tocharm school. You would think her parents would say. “Hey, that’s great! Whydon’t you do this for a living?” 

They said NO! “A lady doesn’t do that.” Ritathought, “What lady?” Rita had a choice of high schools. There were four orfive that she could choose from. She had gone to Catholic schools. There was anall girl school and they did plays every year and they got their costumes fromBrooks Van Horne which was a huge costume house in the city. Some of the girlsplayed boys. They did operettas and musicals. Rita thought, “My parents don’twant me to do this so much, BUT, if they see me in one of these shows, they’redefinitely going to want me to do this.” So, of course, she went to thatschool.  She played the lead in severalproductions, including Cyrano deBergerac. 

She played Cyrano AND King Arthur inCamelot. It was that kind of a deal. Just as she hoped and expected, herparents loved her in these productions. They thought she was great. 
When shegot out of high school, she went to Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, for ayear. She then came back and went to a junior college, Immaculate ConceptionJunior College, now called Felician College. All during that time, she didn’tpursue this business at all. She had her first child. She eventually started incommunity theater. She started, believe it or not, washing dishes. She’ll neverforget going to her first meeting. She was new and they asked her if she wouldwash dishes! She thought they were kidding. They weren’t. THAT’S how she gother toes into the water! She did Gypsy when she was twenty-eight. It was highlyacclaimed and her mother saw her in it and told her she was so good. At thatpoint, her parents told her, “We want what you want.” 

She did summer stock, butshe could only do it part time. She would do a musical here or there but shehad a child at home. She went to study in New York. She did four or five yearsof study. She did two years at HB Studios; she did theater workshops, studiedwith Larry Moss. Larry nailed her. He told her she had to gain twenty pounds orlose twenty pounds but that she couldn’t stay the way she was.   
She was the housewife in his class, probablythe only housewife. She lived in Connecticut. She would take the train in earlyin the morning. She would go back at night. She did this every Monday. She paidher dues in ways that other people don’t pay their dues but she wanted to dothis. She eventually got her Equity card at Coachlight Dinner Theater, which nolonger exists. She did Theater by the Sea when it was Tommy Brent’s, where Ihave also worked. She built up her career and continued to grow. Around 1989,Equity card in her possession, she is going to cattle calls and getting onthose long lines just to be seen. She doesn’t have an agent. She would get inand they would love her but she had no major credits.

Chris Powich, a friend ofhers since the seventies, tells her, “This is ridiculous. You don’t need to bedoing that. We’ll put an act together and go to Don’t Tell Mama, a club onForty-Sixth Street in New York.” He brought up the fact that critics weresaying that she reminded them of a young Ethel Merman and suggested they puttogether a show of her songs. Rita said to him that she didn’t even likeMerman! 
She liked Julie Andrews but she didn’t want to be Ethel Merman. Hesaid, “Let’s just see what happens”, and they put twenty minutes together. Theywent to Don’t Tell Mama’s and they loved it. They did a section on IrvingBerlin of all of the song titles he had written for Merman. 
They knew in Maythat they were booked in September. That’s how they did it. They got thebooking and then they booked the show. They wrote the show and the first night,they had about six people in the audience. Rita was sick to her stomach. Shedoesn’t even remember taking a breath from the first moment of the first songto the end of the show. She literally didn’t breath. 
The late Bob Harrington,who wrote a cabaret column called Bistro Bits for Back Stage, wrote a review.He said she could be wonderful, BUT, and then he named a couple of things. Theythen took the show away and took it to Rhode Island, to the Colonial Theater.They went there and said they wanted to use the theater for a night and askedwhat the cost would be. 
It was like five hundred dollars. Chris, with the helpof Tommy Brent, got together huge mailing lists, and they invited EVERYBODY tocome in and see the show. They charged nine dollars a ticket. 
They hadrewritten it, turning it into an actual play with music. Now, it was a musical.Before, it was a cabaret act. 
The audience loved it, passing the litmus test.These were people who were invited but did not know what they were coming tosee. Chris and Rita brought it back down to New York, they got a press agent,and sure enough, Liz Smith heard about it, and The Ballroom, which was a bigplace at the time, got wind of it and they came to see it. One night, somethinghappened that Rita will never forget as long as she lives. The show was overand they came walking up that little aisle at Don’t Tell Mama and took her bythe hand to take her to The Ballroom. They were taken by limo, about twentyblocks, and they went and saw the act that was currently playing there. Theywere then asked to bring their show there for a run. That’s how it started.From there, they went to The Pasadena Playhouse, not the main stage, but in oneof the smaller theaters. The playhouse put production values on the show,resurrecting it once again. They got good reviews and then took it t theAmerican-Jewish Theater, another theater that is no longer there. They got goodreviews there, as well.  Famed New YorkTimes pen and ink artist, Al Hirschfeld, also gave McKenzie’s show a boostduring that time. 
At that point in his life, he narrowed his selection down tothree or four shows. Out of all the shows that were running in New York at thattime, he decided to pick Rita to draw.Hirschfeld cameto see her, drew her and she ended up in the paper. The show lasted there fivemonths. The Times even had atea for her.It was a charming year. That was 1989 and itwas like she could do no wrong. She couldn’t believe what came out of what wassupposed to be six performances at a small cabaret room. The Ballroom, alsogone, booked big names there. 
She was booked for three different engagementsover the years. People came and loved it. All along in her history with thisshow, she has been blessed. Whatever it is, and she says, at the beginning itwasn’t very good, but, it was good enough that people saw something in it. Thatis how it grew and grew and grew. Now, it’s a two act twenty-three songmusical, with seven costume changes. It has really grown, but it took its time.The turningpoint that convinced her to forge ahead was the night her parents sat her down,after seeing her in Gypsy, and saying, “Rita, we believe in you. We’ll pay foryou to go to New York to study.”What would bethe perfect day for Rita? It would be a beautiful California autumn day,temperature between sixty and seventy. She would be resting because she is inthe midst of a long run and she was going to work that night. Working is theperfect day for her. She LOVES to work. It didn’t happen when she was young, itcame later in life. She was twenty-eight. She didn’t expect this to happen toher.Rita tells methat she no longer has a “routine” when she works on her craft and/or careerevery day. She doesn’t do that unless she is preparing to another group ofshows. Because her Ethel Merman show is so musically heavy, there is also muchpreparation when she is doing those shows. She has to rest and sleep is themost important thing for her. She says, “I have to keep my big mouth fromflapping.” She is very social. She can talk to anybody anytime. 

Rita McKenzie singing "I Hate Musicals" from Ruthless

When she isdoing the show, she really has to “tone back.” “Dial it back” because she hasto have a perfect voice every night. World, Take Me Back comes at the end ofthe show and she HAS to be able to sing that song. She has to rest and she doesexercise. She makes that part of her day every day.The advice thatRita would give to anyone desiring a career in this business is to take risks.Put yourself out there in some way that makes you different. Until she didthat, nothing was happening for her. She was the same girl. She was the samevoice. She was the same personality. She needed to find a way to jump from thecrowd out a bit. 

She does talk to students. She does the college circuit. Shealways offers to do a class because the business of the business is what actorsdon’t pay attention to. That is the most important part of your business. Youmust now how to take care of your business correctly. It really matters. Yourreputation is the most important thing you have. Then, of course, when you’remaking money at this, you better know how to manage your money.  All of those things, Rita's father taughther. 
He was a very good business man. For Rita, when she found that this is aprofession that she could do, she also realized that all of the business acumenthat she had learned from her father, she could also apply to her career.
On the day ofthis interview, several weeks ago, five pm our time/three pm Rita’s time, Iasked her what work she had done that day on her craft and/or career. She said,“I’m talking to Richard Skipper!” Pay attention, fellow artists. MichaelOrland, from American Idol, and Rita were also meeting to discuss a projectthey are working on together. I know Michael from many years ago when Iappeared in Atlantic City with the late great Beverly "Pudgy!"Wines.  Rita is learning some new songs.She and Michael are working on a new album together. I can’t wait. I listen toEthel Merman’s Broadway all the time. Rita is developing an act that hasnothing to do with belting Ethel Merman. She didn’t belt “that way” before shestarted doing her Merman shows. She learned to do that. That wasn’t somethingshe had in her back pocket. She had some of it, but she didn’t have what shedidn’t to make this succeed. She had to work very hard to get that voice thatyou hear. It was a part of her, but that was not the voice she started with andthat’s not her only voice. The late Bob Bendorff, who was Rita’s musicaldirector, wrote a lovely song for her called The Melody Inside. 
She and Michaelare also leaning towards that as the name of her CD and the act. It is themelody inside of Rita that people have not heard. Rita is very proudof the work she has done as Ethel Merman. 
Quite frankly, it is Rita McKenzie upthere. There is nothing like that for a person to do. There is no way todescribe how wonderful it is to have an audience out there waiting for whatyou’re going to say, what you’re going to tell them. If you are hearing themlaugh and sometimes you can hear a pin drop during the World, Take Me Backpart, it is a very powerful moment. There is nothing that Rita has done or willdo in her life that matches that. Taking care of her dying mother is Rita’sproudest moment, however. That is on a very personal level. Rita is trying toget Ethel Merman’s Broadway where it belongs, BROADWAY, even off-Broadway! 
Either way, she would be happy to be here in New York. She is very excitedabout the possibility of that. I, for one, want her back. She has a wonderfullife in California, but as she admits, she misses New York. Her life inCalifornia is not the same. It is a very casual laid back lifestyle. It is amuch different. That is why she loves to go off to do the shows. She also didthe national tour of the female Odd Couple playing opposite Barbara Eden. Thatwas a big ball, a three-year tour with a couple of hiatus’ in between. Ritaproduced that tour. So, she’s a producer, too! Linda Purl, whowe both love, gave me this next question: Who does Rita pray to when she’s introuble? God. She’s a Catholic. She is actually a good Catholic in goodstanding. The biggestchange that Rita would like to see in this business is people over thirty beingrespected for their talents. She would like to see them being rewarded forlearning and working. She is not a big fan of “star vehicles”. She has producedthem and she respects them. But, there are many who work in this business whoare not bona fide stars that are amazing. Rita would like to see many of thosepeople work.How is Ritareaching audiences in today’s frenzied world? When Rita was booked at the ElPortel Theater in Hollywood, they really started utilizing Facebook with adsfor the show. That is basically where their ad money went. Nowadays, youpractically have to drag people out of the house to get them into a theater.You practically have to feed them. Rita is even thinking of that for her nextshow! They’ll come out for food. For my singerfriends who read this blog, Rita recommends Throat Coat, that can help. 
If you are dealing with vocal ailments. Ritasays the moment she feels a tickle in her throat, she takes a lozenge or shegets sleep. She found a product in Chicago from a girl that she was doing The Odd Couple with. Rita did a ninetycity tour of Annie Get Your Gun and nevergot sick once.  The product can be gottenat Whole Foods, GNC, and other health related places. 
It is called WellnessFormula. It comes in a white bottle with a turquoise label. Whenever she goesout to do a show, Rita takes this every morning. That pretty much protects her.That is the main thing, to protect you BEFORE illness steps in.Rita is alsojoining forces with Chris Powich once again. They are now collaborating on aplay. He wrote Ethel Merman’s Broadway.Rita wrote it with him, but he’s been attached to the show from the verybeginning. The process is phone calling. They spend hours on the phone. He isin New York and she is in California. They do a lot of writing over the phone. Shealso has a dictation app on her Ipad. She can dictate what she wants to say andsend it to him and he can edit and send it back. That is part of their newprocess. The best way to write, for both of them, however, is to see each otherface to face. 
It doesn’t always happen that way. They cannot always be in eachother’s company. Therefore, this is what the process has to be. When they wrotethe Ethel show, he was working at EntertainmentTonight, and then he moved over to Pfizer. 
All the transcripts andeverything, in the days when a long distance call was very expensive, he usedto call Rita when he finished work, and they would stay on the phone for threehours. She was in Connecticut and he was in New York.What does Ritado to prepare for performances? She is not a heavy woman. However, she tries toeat a little less starting the week before. 

Two of my favorite Dollys: Lainie Kazan and Rita

She has to get into those costumes.“Believe me, they are not forgiving.” Ten to twelve days before, Rita willstart sleeping at least nine hours every night. Then she continuously goesthrough whatever show she is doing act by act, scene by scene. She has neverdone her show in any venue without first having a dress rehearsal. She has amusical rehearsal with her musical director, David Snyder, not necessarily in costumes, andshe is prepared before she sees him. She says it is an iron of steel and it ispreparation, preparation, preparation. You cannot take a chance when you arethe only person on that stage. You’ve got to know where you are. There areseveral productions that Rita wishes she had seen, Ones that jump out at herare the original Camelot on Broadway. 
She wishes she had seen an Ethel Merman vehicle. Rita wishes she had seen herin Gypsy. She has seen Gypsy.Rita’s fondestmemories include her children being born, and her first grandchild recently.She was in the delivery room for that event. It was a wonderful moment in herlife. Those are the kinds of things that people remember in their lives, thosepersonal family moments. She originally didn’t want to be in the delivery room,she did not feel she should be there. They wanted her there and it was the bestthing she ever did, spending time with her mom and father, both have past. Shealso has five dogs and loves spending time with them. People who know her go, “What!?!?!”They know she doesn’t like all that fuss. 
These dogs all came to herindividually. What Ritaremembers the most is the love she has shared with the people around her. Thatis what she takes forward all the time, no matter what hardships or no matterwhat happens, she always has love given to her and she always has hope. That isa very important thing to have, as well. Rita McKenziewould like to be remembered for her reputation and work ethic and that sheliked to have a good time in the process.   

Hey, Mister Producer...Here is your next Dolly! I can't wait to add that chapter to my book!    
    
Thank you Rita McKenzie for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!


With grateful XOXOXs ,

Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly!  If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!

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If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.

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Dear Friends,Are you able to join usOctober 20^th at 7PM at The Metropolitan Room? Please note, I’m notin the show. I’m just trying to get a group of people to join me in celebratingan artist I believes deserves celebrating! Are you available to join us? Pamela Luss with Houston Person atThe Metropolitan Room in NYCJust The Two Of Us and FriendsHope you can makeit. It’s going to be a party! Reserve today ifthat date is available! Call me if any questions!Richard Skipper845-365-0720
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TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAYRichard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com                            
 
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