ONE WOULD BE MAD TO NOT HAVE RSVP’D “YES”
TO THIS PRIVATE PARTY CELEBRATING
THE CENTENNIAL OF RODGERS & HART’S “MANHATTAN”

Oh, if these walls could talk!!! Actually, the walls would probably also sing because so much music has been played and planned over the decades at the elegant apartment in question dubbed “54 Above.” Said walls are filled with posters of many of those events, such as the series of revues from decades gone by held at the venue called Rainbow and Stars, where stars sang the classic songs of Broadway’s golden age by the great writers.

Billy Stritch and Ted Rosenthal

The gems created by one of those tunesmithing pairs — composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart — were played on a pair of grand pianos for a swank spring soiree where smiling Scott Perrin, producer and bon vivant, hosted the party. He welcomed the invited folks to his family home, and Stage and Cinema was pleased to be on the guest list to enjoy the music, conversations, and delicious drinks and food, including a spectacular custom-designed cake in the shape of a piano. At the actual keyboards, doing dazzling work for hours on one or both pianos: Ted Rosenthal, Tedd Firth, and Billy Stritch.

 Tedd Firth

Why Rodgers & Hart? Well, the raison d’etre for the gathering was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first hit by those men: their song that celebrates the place in which we (and they) call home: “Manhattan.†A cheery sing-along was held at one point so the assembled could chime in with the lyric that references the attractions of this beloved borough and the other ones that make up NYC, with mentions of Central Park, the zoo, Mott Street’s pushcarts, Brighton Beach, Coney Island and how “the subway charms us so.†2025 also marks the 35th anniversary of the Rodgers & Hart revue which was birthed in this very room, and played at the Rainbow & Stars nightclub starring Elaine Stritch, Margaret Whiting, Jason Graae, and Judy Kuhn.

Chris Stefanski, Tedd Firth, Billy Stritch, Ted Rosenthal, Kim Clarke, Scott Perrin

While the song “Manhattan†got to Broadway in 1925 in a revue called The Garrick Gaieties, Rodgers and Hart’s ode to NYC had actually been included in an earlier, low-profile show before they got their big chance at the big time. The song, score, and show were so well received that what was meant to be a two-night presentation as a fundraiser extended and ran for 211 performances. This notable bit of 411 was shared when music historian and reviewer, the ubiquitous man-about-town Will Friedwald, popped up to address the industry folk present. One anecdote included in his remarks: Recalling that the 1925 production’s proceeds went to buy new draperies for The Theatre Guild, the successful partners with a few shows already under their collective belt looked at the curtains; Rodgers said to Hart, “We made those curtains†– and his partner, ever the wit, retorted: “No, those curtains made us.â€

Guests sing along

That first revue’s score also had a number that directly acknowledged the Guild’s need for money: “Gilding the Guild.†But almost all the other songs in the first and second editions of The Garrick Gaieties (1926) are obscure and/or went unrecorded (except the aforementioned items and “Mountain Greeneryâ€), but curious song collectors can find dozens of lesser-known works collected on record producer Ben Bagley’s Rodgers and Hart Revisited series of five albums.

Michael Marotta

One little-known amusing treat of that ilk, “Queen Elizabeth,†was royally handled during our festivities when it was sung with panache by a talented woman who came across the composer’s sketch of the melody line in the Library of Congress. She, who also produced a series of documentaries about songwriter Jerry Herman and keepers of the vintage musical flames Michael Feinstein and Vince Giordano, is Amber Edwards.

Amber Edwards

No relation to the above-mentioned lady, among those especially enjoying the music was singer-instrumentalist Bryce Edwards, born 100 years after the second Garrick Gaieties came to Broadway, but long immersed in the tunes of those times. His popular and plucky Frivolity Hour sets, and other projects with bandmates at Birdland and elsewhere, are packed with classics and novelty numbers from the 1920s and adjacent decades on both ends. Also in the room as Messrs. Rosenthal, Firth, and Stritch played on and on, was Mark Walter, son of the late pianist Cy Walter, another keyboardist whose career including doing similar duo-piano doings with a man whose first name matched their surname: Walter Gross.

Tedd Firth, Scott Perrin, Ted Rosenthal

Scott Perrin’s own father, Forrest Perrin, who passed away 20 years ago, was nevertheless a very felt presence this night. After all, he’d been there, playing the keys in his home as shows and special events were planned or came to life. The twin-piano parties in this living room can be revisited here as well as YouTube’s Great Scott Music channel. Treasures to be found there include Forrest Perrin and piano-mate Stan Freeman rehearsing one of their overtures for the annual New York Cabaret Convention concerts; siblings Forrest and Margaret Perrin’s appearances on the radio series Piano Playhouse, some of which were releases on vinyl albums; and renditions of some of the same ivory-tickled tunes by Rodgers and Hart — a nice way to celebrate at home the 100th anniversary of their first success.

Scott Perrin

And speaking of 100 years, there’s even a video on the Great Scott Music channel of Margaret Perrin at age 100 (!) doing a gorgeous “Stella by Starlight†on the piano. Even filmed clips from tonight’s private party described in this column were recently uploaded, including a bit from the much-loved veteran cabaret star Marilyn Maye, who favored the music lovers by jumping in joyfully to sing the R&H standard from 1938, “This Can’t Be Love.†(She did more later on, to the delight of those who lingered late.)

Dororthy Wiggins & Marilyn Maye

Steve Ross, arriving after his own cabaret show, took to the piano, as an unplanned bonus for admirers. Also gathered, gabbing, gobbling yummy appetizers, and grinning appreciatively on the seats or in the standing-room-only groupings were longtime cabaret booking manager/nurturer/performer/charmer Sidney Myer, and chroniclers of New York night life Michael Musto, Jacqueline Parker, Alix Cohen, and James Gavin, not to mention the aforementioned, always-worth-mentioning author Mr. Friedwald. When the pianists launched into “I Could Write a Book,†he piped up: “That’s my theme song!â€

Peter Ross

Although this 100-year anniversary of “Manhattan†becoming an overnight hit was held on a great night in May, it wasn’t 100 years to the exact day. That historic evening that launched a remarkable career with a cascade of songs for the stage and screen was actually the day of this writing, June 8. So raise a glass today and all year long to toast all that and dig into the canon to fill your ears with the rich melodies of Richard Rodgers and heartfelt words of Lorenz Hart, whether you’re in Manhattan or anywhere on the map.

photos by John Munson

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