An Evening with Lee Roy Reams, presented by Cabaret at the Castle, plays Tues., April 13 at 8 pm. Tickets: $35 for reserved tables, $30 for non-members. The Inner Circle at the Magic Castle, 7001 Franklin Ave., Hollywood; 323.851.3313, x. 434
Lee Roy Reams is a name regularly seen in books on musical theatre history. Columnist Liz Smith called him “Broadway’s Darling” and the New York Times hailed him as “Broadway’s song and dance man nonpareil.” He has won critical acclaim on Broadway and in national tours for his Tony Award nominated performance as Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street (which played LA’s Shubert in 1984) as well as Roger DeBris in Mel Brooks’ musical The Producers, Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Albin/ZaZa in La Cage Aux Folles, Cornelius Hackl in Hello Dolly! and Henry Spofford in Lorelei (both starring Carol Channing), Duane Fox in Applause starring Lauren Bacall, Will Parker in Richard Rodgers’ Oklahoma! revival, Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity starring Gwen Verdon and An Evening With Jerry Herman. His regional theatre roles include Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Toddy in Victor/Victoria, Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Phil Davis in White Christmas. On Broadway, he has directed Hello, Dolly! (Tony Nomination/Best Revival) and An Evening With Jerry Herman.
Lee Roy Reams
He returns to LA to perform for the first time since The Producers at the Pantages. He will do his club act for one night, April 13, in An Evening with Lee Roy Reams at the Magic Castle. Reams says of the act, “It’s actually a compilation of my career. In my spare time I do the Florida condo circuit with it and that seems to translate to the audience. In LA there will be friends who were there for the stories and will be reliving those moments with me. I will reminisce about the many I know and knew. I also do some of Jerry Herman’s work but how could I not? He is a genius. I’m doing the Castle primarily as a benefit for my friend Joan Lawton’s charity. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Sealed With a Wish Foundation (www.sealedwithawish.org).”
Reams has been directing on Broadway and abroad, including several production of Hello, Dolly! Channing picked him to direct her in it in 1994.
Helen Hayes, Reams, Carol Channing and Myrna Loy
“The last thing I did on Broadway was the evening with Jerry Herman,” he says. “I worked on Dolly with Carol Channing. I was a huge fan of Gower Champion’s and wanted to dedicate it to his legacy. Having worked with him on 42nd Street, I felt I knew him well enough to do so. I don’t think Gower got the credit he deserved. I’d love to do another Dolly but I’d actually like to play Dolly myself. In fact, Merrick at one time wanted to have Jack Benny or even Liberace play the role. The entire show would be just men, in and out of drag. The logistics would be crazy but it would be interesting to do in a very Shakespearean way, not a campy way. I haven’t found a producer brave enough; if you have anyone in your readership who is interested…”
He is very close friends with Carole Cook. He has stories.
Ann Miller, Ethel Merman, Lee Roy Reams, Carol Channing and Carole Cook
“We have the same shoe size,” he deadpans. “During 42nd Street she used to hand me her new shoes and tell me to break them in for her. When you let us out together just stand back and look out. When I first met her on 42nd Street, we had heard so much about each other beforehand, she said you must be Lee Roy and I said you must be Carole and she said everyone is talking about you. I hate you already. We must have known each other in a former life because we finish each other’s comments. I laugh hysterically when she is around.
“One night we had a set problem and I was asked to step out and entertain the audience. I thought I would sing ‘I Only Have Eyes for You’ because I told them the story of how I had auditioned with it. However, the pianist didn’t know it. I said Ok, I’ll sing it a Capella. I didn’t even finish before they had the problem fixed and I came off stage where Carole met me and teased me by saying I don’t even want people to know I know you.
“Shortly after that we were about to do ‘Lullaby of Broadway’ and she tripped on the stairs, hit the railing, her wig fell off and she knocked herself out. They stopped the show and revived her. When she got up the conductor said, ‘So you want to start from the entrance?’ She said, ‘You bet your sweet ass.’ I was waiting in the wings when she came off and saw that her knee was bleeding. I made some remark about her ability to continue and she said, ‘I would have done anything to keep you from singing “I Only Have Eyes for You” again.’”
Carol Channing, Jerry Herman and Lee Roy Reams
He just completed a Theatre Guild cruise with the other Carol in his life. “Carol Channing did her act,” he says, “and of course pitched her new foundation focused on the need for arts in education, which is so important.
“Through the years, because of Carol, I have met so many great people. She is responsible for so much of my career. When I was in Holmes High School in Kentucky she performed at a club where we went after the prom. It was the thing to do. Carol sang ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ and she would throw these faux diamonds out to the audience. I caught two of the rings she tossed out. Fast forward, on my first day of rehearsal for Lorelei, I brought them with me and she loved that.
“We hadn’t been together in a long time which made the cruise especially wonderful. She is so happy now with her husband Harry. She deserves to be happy at this point in her life.”
In the future he says, “I would love to direct more. The problem I have is when I direct everyone thinks I don’t want to perform anymore. Tommy Tune has made that leap without that particular stigma. I would love to be like Gene Kelly and do both, without people thinking the other isn’t an option. In college I got to do both at the same time and loved it.”
In the meantime, Lee Roy Reams will be doing what he loves best-singing, dancing and telling theatre stories-at the Magic Castle. And, yes, he directed himself.
