The term “show biz trooper” was meant to define entertainer Mitzi Gaynor.
Gaynor with her saucer-size eyes, topped with lush lashes and forever known as the female Nellie the Nurse lead in the 1958 film version of “South Pacific,” died at age 93 on Oct. 17 at her home in Los Angeles.
She continued a legacy of ovations and stage bows throughout her career, which only slowed down in recent years, though she maintained an active presence on social media keeping her fans updated via frequent Facebook posts of memories and her current musings about subjects of today.
I’ve been thinking about Mitzi quite a bit since her passing.
I helped Maestro Kirk Muspratt of our Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra by loaning some copies of Playbill covers from my archive from the many stage musicals I’ve written about in my 30 years as a newspaper journalist.
Maestro Muspratt has been busy in recent months doing his homework about what Mitzi liked to refer to as “the razzle and dazzle” of Broadway shows in preparation for this week’s two nights of Broadway-themed concerts.
You can bet Mitzi is beaming from the marquee heavens above about the kick-off for the 83rd season of our Northwest Indiana Symphony with “Iconic Broadway,” 7:30 p.m. concerts both Thursday, Oct. 24 and Friday, Oct. 25 at the Auditorium at Living Hope Church off Taft Street in Merrillville.
The concerts will feature guest singers Alisa Jordheim, soprano; Kimberly E. Jones, mezzo-soprano; Lorenzo Parnell, tenor; Jonathan Wilson, baritone and the Symphony Chorus.
“A lot of audiences ask for different musical pieces,” Muspratt said.
“So we have a whole new repertoire of Broadway hits for us to enjoy together.”
The concerts will feature timeless melodies and captivating stories from contemporary musicals like “Phantom of the Opera,” “Mamma Mia,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Chicago,” and “Les Miserables” plus classic musicals like “Oklahoma!” “Sound of Music,” “The Music Man,” and “South Pacific.” Alas, the latter will not include Mitzi’s signature tune “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair.” Tickets for the concerts range from $45 -$79 each and students are $10 by calling (219) 836-0525 or visit www.NISOrchestra.org.
A shared lament between myself, Mitzi and Maestro was always our mutual show business sorrow about the loss of the 3,400-seat Star Plaza Theatre, which was closed and was demolished in 2017. My many times interviewing Mitzi began in 2000 when she was headlining a return performance at Star Plaza.
In 2010, we crossed paths repeatedly when Star Plaza Theatre talent buyers and booking producers Charlie Blum and Mark Bishop let Mitzi use the Star Plaza Theatre in the late spring to design, fine-tune and test out her latest one-woman show before a packed schedule of tour dates, while at the same time, I was using the theater to prepare for my big From the Farm Spring Cooking Show.
Add to all of this, the overlap of Maestro Muspratt and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra prepping for their spring concert as well, and sandwiched in before the massive annual load-in of Big Bird, Elmo and Bert and Ernie for a full week of “Sesame Street Live!”
Mitzi, always with her late manager husband Jack Bean never an arm’s length away from her, was among the first headliners to play the new Holiday Star Theatre when it opened in December 1979.
The 4 Girls 4 booking of Rosemary Clooney, Helen O’Connell, Rose Marie and Margaret Whiting Dec. 6-9 1979 was marketed as “the soft opening” followed by the Oak Ridge Boys paired with opening act comic George “Goober” Lindsey of “Andy Griffth Show” fame playing concerts Dec. 11-16, all before Donna Summer in a concert billed as the grand opening Dec. 19-23, followed by Mitzi Gaynor Dec. 28 through her hosted New Year’s Eve show Dec. 31.
The ticket prices for all of the above performances in December 1979 spanned $9.75 to $15.75.
“There’s no denying that there’s a certain amount of excitement that comes with performing in Las Vegas and places like that,” Mitzi told me in an earlier interview.
“But the Star Plaza is extra special to me. If you remember, I was one of the owners of the Flamingo Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, the first woman to ever own her own casino. But I’ve found the audiences can be even more enthusiastic when you’re performing some place like the Star Plaza. I love to get to know my audiences and I think they love hearing those behind-the-scenes stories of show business.”
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.
