Jerry Berger on Taylor Swift, The Muny, and the Little People of America

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TAYLOR SWIFT’S DIGS

With earnings reportedly at about $45 million per year, country singer Taylor Swift can afford to create a must-see condo in Nashville. “After she and Jake Gyllenhaal (Swift’s beau at the time) flew into St. Louis earlier this year to pick me up in her private jet, I got to see what she had done to her condo,” said her cousin and hometowner Lynn Humphrey (at left), who’s starring as Mrs. Perkins in the upcoming production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She recalled how Swift and Gyllenhaal met through emails—the first of which was his commending her for her talent. “Taylor’s condo is decorated like a playland with white wedding gown fabric covering her two-story windows,” Humphrey added. 

MUNY MUSINGS

Our chat was during Friday’s rehearsals of both Bye Bye Birdie and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, of which our town’s Cara Salerno is cast. Her “Star is Born” saga began when she was in the recent Muny musical, Singin’ In The Rain. She began, “While in (the recent production) Singin’ In The Rain, one of the ‘brides’ was injured and I came in on a Saturday to learn her role within 45 minutes.” A true trouper! Triple-threat (singer, dancer and actor) Grady Long sidled up to Andrea Burns (at right), who did a turn in the Broadway production of In The Heights. Having appeared in the Great White Way’s Full Monty and The Ritz, Burns also toils as a teacher of theater with the Stella Adler Studio of Acting as part of New York University’s BFA program. She opined, “Students are far more skilled, talented, and enthusiastic as ever before. As far as the current fare in musicals, they are becoming far more traditional like old Broadway with music that we heard on radio many years ago.” While gnawing on a hot dog (for which performers are gouged $2.50 each) at the backstage commissary, there was much conversation about performing at the outdoor theater among young performers among whom were Erik Heitz, Richard Riaz Yoder, and Matthew Meigs. Their comments: “The toughest show I did was Crazy for You, which tired me out.” “Couldn’t believe how they put up a show so quickly.” “I love working here where I can look up at the sky.” “I’m a Muny virgin!”

In a survey on what patrons might like to see in future seasons, Wednesday night’s crowd chose from 45 productions of which the highest marks were garnered for: Oklahoma!, Flashdance, The Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Aladdin, Dream Girls, and the show that got the highest votes, Chicago, a show the columnist will never forget. The first time it was presented in 1977, a boondoggle erupted while as marketing chief at the outdoor theater.  Due to some profanity in the dialogue, it was arranged to have someone offstage bleep the words. The hue and cry from the newspaper critics were loud and clear. Productions chief, the late Ed Greenberg, became defensive and shot back, “Interesting, since their newspapers won’t allow those words in print.”

Incidentally, the recent Muny production of The Little Mermaid, fetched a surprise visitor. Tom Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Group, was in attendance for a look-see at the St. Louis take.

LITTLE PEOPLE, BODY WORLDS

Turning to other matters, the Little People of America, more than 6,000-strong, has booked a convention here for July 2015, the Council of Exceptional Children’s conclave will be here April 2016, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development will be on board in July 2012, according to the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.

Look for Missourian Tim Taylor to bop into the Body Worlds exhibit this week at the Science Center. Who’s he? He’s a body donor to the Institute for Plastination for a future Body Worlds showing. (There willl always be a press agent!)

AD AGENCY ALLEY

Clayton-based ad shop Brighton will get a chunk of Procter & Gamble’s $1 billion advertising budget by having just landed the accounts for the pet foods Innova, EVO, and California Natural. Meanwhile, bosslady Tina VonderHaar‘s creative team, headed by David Molho, is developing campaigns for Heartgard and Deltapine for Monsanto.