Tony Tuesday: GRAND HOTEL
This week Besties, we’re going back to 1990 for some rip-roaring toe tapping theatre. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:
“Take a Glass Together” from Grand Hotel at the 1990 TONY Awards ceremony.
Grand Hotel is a musical based on the Austrian novel Menschen im Hotel and in turn its 1932 feature film. The story plays out over a weekend in a busy Berlin hotel. The guests of this elegant establishment all have their own stories which intersect over the course of those few days; a prima ballerina whose glory days are behind her, a Jewish bookkeeper who’s spending the final days of his terminal illness living in luxury, a destitute baron and a writer dreaming of one day making it in Hollywood.
In 1958, the rights were acquired by Luther Davis, Robert Wright and George Forrest who had all found success with their previous work, Kismet. Adapting the novel slightly and transporting the setting to Rome, the team found they would have another success on their hands with the newly titled “At the Grand”. The team managed to secure one of Warner Bros. biggest names at the time, Paul Muni, to star in the show and the production opened to mixed reviews and a strong box office return at both of its out-of-town engagements in Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, it soon became apparent with Muni’s deteriorating health that he wouldn’t be able to maintain a Broadway run, and the decision was made to cancel the Broadway bow, which had already been scheduled for later that year, and shelve the show.
Thirty years passed before the original writing team decided to revisit the material and give it another go, this time reverting back to the production’s original setting of Berlin. Prolific theatre icon Tommy Tune came onboard to direct and choreograph what would be a huge theatrical show shopping event and having previously just worked on “NINE” with composer Maury Yeston, brought Yeston on board to help clean up the music and lyrics. The new production of “Grand hotel” involved seven of the original songs from the tryouts of “At the Grand” and six new songs penned by Yeston, who also provided additional clean ups on the others.
The Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre (now Al Hirschfeld) on 12 November 1989 after 31 previews. The opening night cast included David Carroll as the Baron, Michael Jeter as Otto Kringelein, Liliane Montevecchi as Elizaveta Grushinskaya and Jane Krakowski as Flaemmchen. The musical was a critical and commercial success garnering a mammoth twelve 1990 TONY Award nominations, ultimately winning five including best direction and choreography for Tune. The production transferred to the Gershwin Theatre partway through its run, where it played until closure. When the cast recording was eventually released, it included Brent Barrett in the role of the Baron. Barrett had appeared in this role both on Broadway and in the original US tour and was used due to the untimely death of David Carroll during the recording. In his honour, the cast album features a bonus track from Caroll.
The production toured the US in 1990 and in 1992, the West End production opened at the Dominion Theatre. This production ran just shy of four months and starred Barrett again as The Baron, Barry James as Otto Kringelein, and Liliane Montevecchi as Elizaveta Grushinskaya. The show was revived in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 2004 directed by Michael Grandage and starring Julian Ovenden as the Baron, Daniel Evans as Otto and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Elizaveta. The production won the 2005 Olivier for Best Musical Revival. The show was also revived for a 5-week run at The Southwark Playhouse in 2015 starring Scott Garnham as The Baron, George Rae as Otto, and Christine Grimandi as Elizaveta. The show was revived for an “Encores” performance in 2018, starring James Snyder as The Baron, Brandon Uranowitz as Otto and Irina Dvorovenko as Elizaveta.
Besties, if you haven’t listened to this absolute gem of a show, please get on it, you won’t regret it.
Cast recording available on streaming services.
FACTS:
Music: Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston.
Lyrics: Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston.
Book: Luther Davis
Theatre: The Martin Beck Theatre and The Gershwin Theatre
Run: October 16th 1989 – April 21st 1992 (31 previews, 1,017 performances)
TONYS:
(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – Luther Davis, Best Original Score, Robert Wright, George Forrest and Maury Yeston, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – David Carroll, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Liliane Montevecchi, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Jane Krakowski, Best Scenic Design – Tony Walton
(WON) Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Michael Jeter, Best Direction of a Musical – Tommy Tune, Best Choreography – Tommy Tune, Best Costume Design – Santo Loquasto, Best Lighting Design – Jules Fisher.
OLIVIERS:
(NOMINATED) Best New Musical (1993), Best Theatre Choreographer – Tommy Tune (1993)
(WON) Best Musical Revival (2005)
