May 25–June 1, 2000

20 questions

Jerry Herman

Jerry Herman, 68, has written the lyrics and music for some of America’s most popular stage musicals, including Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), Dear World (1969), Mack and Mabel (1974), The Grand Tour (1978), and La Cage aux Folles (1983).

A revival of La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy about a gay couple who tries to act straight for their son’s new fiancée, opened at the Walnut Street Theatre last night. Herman spoke on the phone from his home in Bel Air.

Does La Cage aux Folles have special significance for you?

Yes. It’s hard to talk about it without getting emotional. I didn’t write it as a propaganda piece. It was just a delightful, funny story, but, as it turned out, it taught a lot of people tolerance. A lot of people come to it unsure, but they fall in love with the two characters. Because it’s an entertainment, it did more to affect people than serious, preachy plays.

But it’s not performed nearly as often as Hello, Dolly!

No, but let me tell you, I just saw an amazing production of La Cage in Maui, Hawaii. I was there on vacation and opened the paper to see what movies were playing, and there was an ad for an amateur production of La Cage. So, naturally, I went. It was thrilling. There was only a four-piece band and bad costumes and almost no set, but it worked. Every line and every song worked, on all levels. I was so proud. Now I know that my work will live on, long after I’m gone.

How are you doing in your battle against AIDS?

I have to say thank you to the people who created the protease inhibitors. Those pills are my life preservers. My doctors say there’s no immediate problem with AIDS.

What experiences have you had in Philadelphia?

My first show, Milk and Honey, tried out in Philly at the Shubert Theater. I remember staying at the Bellevue Stratford hotel. So it was in Philadelphia that I heard a pit orchestra playing my music for the first time. It was heady stuff. I wanted to try all my shows there because audience reactions are similar to New York audiences, yet you get more privacy to work on the material. When we were working on Mame in Philly, we decided to cut one of Angela’s [Lansbury] ballads and go right from "I Need a Little Christmas" into the title song, "Mame." The change made the show take off like a train. Boy, did it play!

But Hello, Dolly! didn’t tryout here.

That was against my wishes. It was because David Merrick, the producer, had a deal with the Nederlanders, who owned the theater we were going into in New York and also theaters in Detroit and D.C., so that’s where we tried out, for his financial reasons.

You’ve written strong female characters like Dolly and Mame. Why not equally strong male figures?

I disagree with you. Mack Sennett [Mack and Mabel] is a very strong male part, and one of the favorite parts I’ve written. Robert Preston had nine songs in it, to only four for the Mabel, Bernadette Peters. And Robert Weede was the strong leading character in Milk and Honey. But I know people say that. My being gay has nothing to do with me loving women. I’ve just always preferred to see a woman in a sparkly outfit to seeing any guy in a brown suit.

What’s next?

We’re reviving Mack and Mabel in Los Angeles in November, starring Douglas Sills. And in October I’m coming east to work on a new, more intimate version of Dear World at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut.

Any new shows in the works?

Not at the moment. But the most interesting thing about being in the theater is that your work goes on without you. Once you’ve written good shows, you know your work will be done for the next hundred years, whether you’re around to see it or not.

La Cage aux Folles runs through July 2 at the Walnut Street Theatre, Ninth and Walnut Sts., $8-$45, 215-574-3550.