AGELESS NORTH SHORE » Profiles

An Ageless interview: Andrea McArdle on the road since 1977

Don — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:07 +0000

Novelist Amy Shearn authored today’s post.

(UPDATE: This show has been postponed until Sunday, May 16th at 2:30 PM)
At the Wilmette Theatre, North Shore residents and beyond will have an opportunity that would make seven-year-old me shriek with joy. No, it’s not a pet unicorn or a canopy bed: it’s a performance by the talented show business veteran Andrea McArdle, who created the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie in 1977.

Andrea McArdle

Andrea was kind enough to chat with me recently about her upcoming performance, her illustrious career in show business, and a certain spunky orphan named Annie.

AS: Okay, I’m sorry, you’re probably tired of talking about “Annie”…

AM: (laughing) I’ve made my peace with it. During the whole thing I was not that fun to deal with. It’s just so different when you’re in it.

AS: I was obsessed with “Annie” as a kid.

AM: I always meet gay guys who are like, “The red album! The red album!” [The original Broadway cast recording]

"The Red Album"

AS: Exactly. I read that you were pulled from the chorus of orphans to play Annie on Broadway.

AM: I was the toughest orphan. The only reason they never considered me for Annie was that I wasn’t a redhead. I was on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” and I was contracted with long brown hair. Then they realized not to look for what’s outside — you could dye hair or wear a wig, not that my mother would have let me dye my hair — but to look for the soul of the character, and I got the role.

AS: What was it like to be cast as Annie?

Reid Shelton, Andrea McArdle and Sandy

AM: The show wasn’t a hit then. To me, I treated it the same way I treated the school play — I didn’t really see the difference between that and Broadway. I had no idea what a Tony award was. When I was nominated for one I was like, “Oh, cool.” It was just another gig.

I have great parents. I was always the daughter before a commodity. I was a gymnast before theatre and it was just like that — being part of a team. Afterwards, it became a hit. When it hit we knew we were the toast of the town. It could have been terrible, but like I said, I had great parents.

AS: What was it like being a child star?

AM: I’m lucky that it wasn’t television, which uses you up and spits you out. You know, sometimes I’m still waiting for my “Norma Rae” role and think it just hasn’t happened yet. (laughs.) After “Annie,” I had offers to go on sitcoms but they were all terrible and luckily we knew better. It would have had a horrible outcome, just trashed my reputation. They didn’t know what do with kids when I was hot.

Today they have the Disney channel, I would have had my own show, a whole franchise. But then, American Broadway was dying — it was the beginning of the British Invasion and all major producers were on their last legs. There were really no projects around, so we just didn’t get to ride the momentum. That’s why it’s nice to also be a singer. It was hard to cast me — I looked like an eight-year-old boy until I was eighteen and then suddenly grew up one summer — so no one knew what to do with me.

AS: You appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and performed with Liberace. What was that like?

Liberace (photo from liberace.org)

AM: It was amazing. I wasn’t phased. I did the Carson show three times. I played Judy Garland in the movie Rainbow on NBC and Liberace saw it. I was in school writing a paper on JFK and got a call to go to Las Vegas. Liberace gave me my sweet 16 party, which was wrong on so many levels, but great.

AS: What do you think of contemporary child stars?

AM: Ugh, so many of them are puppets for sick parents. It’s so different from getting into business because a child has talent. I feel horrible for them; I would never want to grouped into the child star group.

AS: Do you ever get tired of being Annie?

AM: Well, sometimes I think the Annie thing has held me back. If I had arrived on scene at 18 or 19 it would been better — you can’t be an adolescent girl in mary janes and a red dress forever. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

AS: What were some of your favorite roles?

AM:I got to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.” I was 37, and I was surprised they were calling me. I thought they were calling me for Mrs. Potts and I was like, Mmm, I don’t know if I’m ready to play a teapot. But I loved playing Belle. My daughter was 12, and it was great to be in something she was so in to. I think that’s the best Disney story, too. It’s not just for kids. It has universal appeal.

I loved played Sally Bowles — it’s really fun to play a bad girl.

AS: Many Ageless North Shore readers are redefining or reevaluating their lives and careers at midlife. How have you managed to maintain such an active career in a field notoriously interested in youth?

Andrea at New York's Metropolitan Room. (photo by Richard Termine )

AM: Well, you know, I’m in a period of crossroads. I’ve been mature enough to play mothers for almost a quarter of a century. This business owes us nothing. Who wants to wait two years to sing two great songs in a show? That’s why cabaret is so incredibly appealing. No one wants to see, you know, a “seasoned” 17-year-old sing cabaret. It took me years to feel comfortable with cabaret; it’s easier to sing for 6000 people than for 60. You have to deal with the people and their energy…but once you face it, it’s liberating.

Now I have so many great stories and I can chat with the audience. It’s a live version of what a book would be, but it’s all off the top my head. I’ve had a lot of funny experiences! Who else performs for the queen at 13? I mean, Catherine Zeta Jones was my Molly in London. No one could pronounce her name — we called her Zeetie. It’s just interesting to see where everybody ends up.

My story is a success story — theater is what I love. I was lucky. Now you have to go and do tv just to get the roles you want. Since Broadway went corporate it’s just such a machine. It changed everything. It’s all marketing. I mean, when you see reality tv show stars getting roles…it’s tough. But in theater,you do it for the love of it. And I love what I do.

For tickets to an “Evening of Song, ANDREA MCARDLE with Doug Peck on the piano”, Monday March 15 at 7:30 click here.

__________________
Amy Shearn is the author of How Far Is the Ocean from Here. Her work has appeared in Jane, West Branch, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, a baby and a dog. Visit her online at amyshearn.com.

Guide for the Newly Perplexed: Banker to Psychotherapist: The real stress test

Don — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00:30 +0000

My friend is a psychotherapist. I asked him for advice when we began to develop Ageless-NorthShore.com. Particularly, I wanted his expertise regarding those of us over 50 who have to change jobs, change careers, or even un-retire.

He was very generous with his time and with his insights. He helped shape our going forward.

What I didn’t know about him was that he too had made a significant career change later in life. He began his professional life as a banker. When I asked to interview him, he agreed but asked that his real name not be used.

I never would have pegged him as a banker.

Roger’s family owned a Savings and Loan. In 1976, the family sold to Chicago’s First Federal Savings and Loan. As part of the agreement, he stayed on as a regional manager.

Although the “banks in crisis” story is very much in the news today, Roger went through some difficult times. Through the 80s and 90s, some 745 S & Ls closed, causing losses of $160 billion…most of which was paid for by tax payers. It was a turbulent time.

Roger worked as a regional manager for 7 years until Citibank bought First Federal. He worked for Citibank until 1988. Eventually, Citibank replaced many of the staff with bankers from New York.

And then…

He moved on to what became Comerica Bank of Detroit. While his professional life at Comerica was satisfying, there were questions in his personal life that he could not answer.

He had spent most of his life resolving the financial problems of his clients; he needed to understand his own issues.

Roger had divorced. Three of his five children suffered from depression. He wanted to make sense of his own unhappiness and that of his family. He went back to school in 1995. It took him five years to earn his Doctor of Psychology degree. This is a professional doctorate for those interested in pursuing clinical psychology.

What was it like being an “older student”?

There were some issues with young faculty but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. After nearly 30 years in the banking industry, he had faced more stressful situations than any doctorate program could offer.

After graduation he worked at a clinic. However, the bureaucracy and budget issues made it difficult for him to make an impact. He is now in private practice.

As we get older, we begin to question (or continue to question) our significance in the world. What have we accomplished while we are here? How do we characterize the journey?

Roger suggested I read some of the books by Irving Yalom , including Staring at the Sun, When Nietzche Wept, and Love’s Executioner.

Roger referenced Dr. Yalom’s concept of the ripples that we create as we live in the world.

I found this except in an interview Dr. Yalom gave on “Death Anxiety.”

So I think, we ripple on into others, just like a stone puts its ripples into a brook. That, for me, too, is a source of comfort. It kind of, in a sense, negates the sense of total oblivion. Some piece of ourselves, not necessarily our consciousness, but some piece of ourselves gets passed on and on and on.
(Copyright © CenterSite, LLC, 1995-2009)

How do you feel about practicing on the North Shore? We have the reputation for being superficial and spoiled. Is your work meaningful?

Secret by Peggy Shearn

Roger told me about courageous patients with whom he works who struggle to put one step in front of the other. He feels tremendous satisfaction in being able to witness their struggles

Ultimately, Roger feels that his whole life has been a path to where he is now. Psychology delves into how we relate to the world, to our jobs, our families and ourselves. Roger’s career in banking and the challenges in his personal life brought him to a profession where he can help others cope with the stumbling blocks in their paths.

When a patient sees that “light bulb,” when they understand and integrate a personal insight, Roger can sense that their lives will change forever.

And he leaves the office “walking on air.”

Dylan, Seeger and Woody Guthrie: A Tribute by Bucky Halker

Don — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:59 +0000

On Saturday October 31 at 8:00 PM The Skokie Theatre presents AN AMERICAN TRILOGY,
THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF BOB DYLAN, PETE SEEGER AND WOODY GUTHRIE presented by an American original, the great BUCKY HALKER.

Ask for the Ageless discount at the door and get 2 tickets for the price of 1. You’ll save $25.00!

Bucky Halker (photo by Jim Newberry)

We asked Bucky Halker about this show and his music. To see his complete discography and listen to his albums (or buy them) click here.

Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. What do you see as the connection between them?

Woody and Pete became very close friends after Woody moved the Greenwhich Village in 1939. They lived in the same area, along with Leadbelly, and they all hung out together and played music. Pete and Woody became musical, political, and personal comrades, a relationship that continued after Woody went into the hospital with Huntington’s Disease in the early 1950s. Pete recorded many of Woody’s songs and played them in concert helping to keep Woody’s music alive.

Dylan (left) and Woody (right)

While Woody was in the hospital, the young Bob Dylan left Minnesota and headed to NYC to seek his fortune. Dylan made treks to visit Woody in the hospital and wrote “Song to Woody” in 1962. He clearly modeled himself after Woody, including his photo pose for his first record and his speaking patterns.

Did you relate to Dylan’s music?
As a young kid growing up on Lake Superior (Ashland, Wisconsin) in a town like the one Dylan grew up in on the Iron Range, not far from me, I could relate to Dylan in terms of his alienation and also not wanting to just be like Woody or Pete.

When did you first go out on the road playing music? What was it like then compared to what it is like today?

When I was 13, I did my first road gig with a little rock band that played Kinks, Animals, Ventures, Stones, and Beatles songs. It’s much harder now. The songs are over-produced and harder for kids to play live. Plus Americans are jaded and cynical about their music. They take it for granted and shouldn’t.

Plus, there’s so much competition for entertainment dollars. Many people would prefer to go see a huge concert once a year or see a heavily hyped movie than go to a club and hear a live band.

We’ve devalued art in the USA and we’ll pay in the long run, but for thirty years it’s been all about big, big, and bigger. Look at Wall Street and the banking industry. They set the cultural tone, along with political leaders, for the larger society.

Memorable moments on tour?

My first tour of Germany after the Berlin Wall came down and getting five encores at a club. Everyone was happy that year.

I played a private concert this year for the new U.S. Consulate General in Munich and that was a great and beautiful night. Again, everyone was happy as we had a new president and hope was in the air with all the foreign guests from Germany, Indian, Turkey, etc. Former president Bush did not wear well around the world, though that seems obvious.

You are student of music history. Tell us about your work on Illinois, Wisconsin, and Labor songs.

I’ve been collecting songs of all sorts for 30 years now and writing for 40 years as well. I’ve been mostly interested in collecting labor and working class protest music, but also folk music in general. Illinois is perhaps the richest state in the USA for folk music because it’s so ethnically diverse and has been from the beginning. Illinois is a great spot for everything from hillbilly music to polka to Swedish fiddling and African-American blues.

Where did you find the music? The musicians?

I find music in archives, home recordings, LPs, CDs, museums, private collections, government-funded collections, and old 78s. This is not high art in the sense of classical music, but there’s so much of it that’s superb, and has been overlooked by intellectuals more enthralled with the American South, a bias I’m working to correct.

What surprised you about your research?

I’m constantly surprised at how many great musicians are out there; many of whom we’ve never heard of and who’ve spent their lives playing and are still working day jobs or playing small venues without recognition.

Great things don’t just come from the Kennedy or the Bush family, they come from little men and women we know little about. These people have created the great American music—blues, country, folk, bluegrass, jazz, etc.

You have performed and taught in Europe. Do you think the Europeans have a greater appreciation of the heritage of U.S. Labor songs? Or is that a misconception?

I think Europeans appreciate the labor songs more because issues of “class” don’t freak them out. Americans get all worked up when you even mention a word like working class. Some of that I understand, but some of it is just because we’re educated to interpret the world through a lens where class in not important. That’s a big mistake.

Musicians also get paid better in Europe and treated much better. There’s no way around that. However, there are language problems at times and Europeans have their own biases and prejudices. You don’t see any Muslims in the French or German Parliament and you don’t see any Black people in public office either. They often take the high moral ground and don’t deserve to do so any more than we do.

We always try to avoid history in the USA, which can be liberating, and in Europe you just can’t escape it anywhere and it can weigh heavily on their views and their life choices. You won’t find many people “freelancing” or reinventing themselves in Western Europe.

Check out Bucky and friends singing a Woody Guthrie classic.

_____________________________________________________________
Join Ageless North Shore, and be a part of Sharon Rosenzweig and Aaron Freeman’s publishing project:

Al Curtis, The Skokie Theatre and the Church of What’s Happening Now

Don — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:33:50 +0000

While working on a booking for Doyle Dykes, the finger picking guitarist, Al Curtis discovered that both Doyle and his manager were pastors. Curtis said, “You’ve come to the right place. We don’t serve booze, we don’t serve food. We’re the ‘church of what’s happening now.’”

Al Curtis, the manager of the Skokie Theatre is a man on a mission.

His mission to provide a world-class theatrical experience for performers and audience alike; to continue the revitalization of Downtown Skokie.

On the Road

In 2002, Curtis went on the road with Bob Acri, the executive director of the Skokie Theatre Foundation. Curtis had known for Acri and his father, the pianist Bob Acri Sr, for years Together Curtis and Acri planned presentations for students who wanted careers in the music business. All forms of the music business.

Al Curtis

This was a hands-on, frank seminar with Q & A. Acri, as an entertainment lawyer and advisor (as well as a musician), had seen many talented artists fail to understand how to navigate the business side of the music business. As for Al Curtis; well, in his career he had seen it all. And what he hadn’t seen, he’d heard about.

These schools were diverse. At Eastern University, a Christian college in St. Davids, PA, the students prayed before and after the program. At Roberts Wesleyan of Rochester NY, everyone in the audience planned to be a Choir Director or a Hand Bell Choir Director. (Click here for a Japanese hand bell choir).

At Clarion State College, they met the young woman who sang the national anthem for Ground Hog Day in Punxsutawney, PA. And at Chico State, Curtis had a chance to compare notes with James Whitehead who not only ran an outstanding music program, he also booked President Reagan’s inauguration.

This program continues and there have been presentations at local colleges like, Triton, Truman, Washington and Wright.

An Encore for Al Curtis

In 2004, Acri asked Curtis to manage the Skokie Theatre and “make it happen.” The board of directors had created a marvelous performance space. Now, they needed a strategy to get the audience in the building. Here is the unofficial Al Curtis mission statement.

“My goal is to have The Skokie Theatre open all time.”

“Everyone (performer) who comes here is a partner. Nobody is guaranteed anything. So they all have to draw people.”

“We provide the stage, the sound, and the lights. It’s a unique opportunity. It’s really a listening room.”

When you consider that the theatre is open 4 to 5 days a week, the plan seems to be working pretty well.

Dave Grier

Along with production manager Dave Grier, an active board of directors, support from local civic leaders and business, Curtis and the Skokie Theatre provide a performance experience for out-of-state and local groups, seniors, children and all fans of cabaret, folk, country, swing, pop, comedy and classical.

The Veteran’s Program

The Skokie Theatre has a strong and committed relationship to our Veterans. Any Veteran can attend their Wednesday matinees at 1:30 free of charge. You can help their Veterans Fund by making a donation (click here) or putting a few dollars in the jar when you are at the Theatre.

BUY 1-GET 1 FREE: HALLOWEEN SPECIAL FOR AGELESS READERS

On Saturday October 31, come to the Skokie Theatre to see AN AMERICAN TRILOGY THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF BOB DYLAN, PETE SEEGER AND WOODY GUTHRIE presented by BUCKY HALKER. This guy is a real folkie, plays harmonica and knows the music.

Just meet us at the Skokie Theatre, Don will be wearing his aging hippie costume. Buy 2 tickets and just pay for 1.

Going green: from Highland Park to Nicaragua

Peggy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:51 +0000

Peta Kaplan-Sandzer in Granada, Nicaragua

Peta Kaplan-Sandzer came to the North Shore via Israel and South Africa; we met her in Highland Park, and last saw her at the 2008 Artist Project, part of the “Art Chicago” exhibition. Peta was exhibiting larger-than-life paintings of stray dogs in Nicaragua; before that we had seen her smaller-scale landscape paintings – and then we heard that Peta and her husband, Ben Sandzer-Bell, are now living in Nicaragua.

It turns out that Ben, a VP of strategy for an aerospace company, saw the writing on the wall as oil prices rose to $147 a barrel, and began planning his exit strategy. He founded “CO2 Bambú” (bambú is Spanish for bamboo), a company designed to capitalize on cap and trade, the selling of carbon credits to offset the production of greenhouse gasses. Ben wanted “green” issues to be central to his work.

Peta, what is CO2 Bambú, and why Nicaragua?

CO2 Bambu is a bamboo-based “triple bottom line” company. This means that while it is run with intent to generate financial returns for its shareholders, it also strives to have significant environmental impact (through large scale reforestation with bamboo) and to have meaningful social impact by improving living conditions in the communities where the company does business.

Can you expand on the “social issues” aspect of CO2 Bambú?

There are several layers of social impact that CO2 Bambu is having. Firstly, there is the introduction of a new crop for farmers. Then there is job creation, both in the communities that process bamboo for CO2 Bambu and in our own factory. The greatest social impact comes from producing and selling low cost houses made of bamboo at a price that Nicaragua’s rural poor can afford.

Are you still painting?

Yes. The series of “Stray Dogs from Nicaragua” that I have been working on for the last two years just culminated in a large exhibit in

"Stray at Casares" by Peta Kaplan-Sandzer

Storm Lake Iowa, at the Witter Gallery. And in a surprising development, a large globe depicting the use of bio-fuel as a strategy to reduce carbon emissions from oil, which I had contributed to Chicago’s Cool Globe public arts project in 2007 and which has since been touring the country, is now on its way to Copenhagen, Denmark where Cool Globes will be part of the Climate Change conference bringing together government representatives from around the world to negotiate a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. As you see, the “green” theme runs deep in this couple!

You and Ben write a fascinating blog (greenglobaltrek.blogspot.com) about your life in Granada, Nicaragua. We know you have gotten involved with your Nicaraguan neighbors, buying school uniforms and supplies for some girls you befriended so they could attend school for the first time. Can you tell us more about that? How could Ageless North Shore readers get involved?

Silvia getting new shoes for school

There is a desperate need for help in this country. Unemployment is over 30% and the average Nicaraguan family lives on less than $2 per day. This level of subsistence makes food and shelter a priority for most and school is often seen as a “luxury”. Even though public school itself is free, a child needs to have a backpack, supplies, shoes and a uniform. This is sadly a non-starter for many families, especially since many are single-mother households with numerous children. We have personally helped a number of kids who had expressed great desire to go to school and found that the cost per child of setting them up runs about $25 for the uniform, $10 for shoes and $10 for mandatory notebooks, pens & pencils, reading textbooks and backpack. Your readers could help have a direct impact on a child’s life by making a contribution (of any amount). The donors should specify if they would prefer to sponsor a boy or a girl and we will take the child to get a uniform and get ready for school, and we will email pictures of the lucky recipient of this financial gift. For many it is the first time they will attend school. Checks should be made to:

Peta Kaplan (for “school supplies”)
Apartado Postal #246
Granada, Nicaragua
(please include a note with your email address)
Click here to read Peta’s story about outfitting some neighborhood girls for school.

How’s your Spanish?

Ben’s Spanish is fluent (helps that his native language is French) and mine is terrible, but I’m working on it — improving every day… When I first came to Nicaragua 3 years ago, I couldn’t say ONE word in Spanish. Now I have basic communication, which is great because I can interact with people on a different level than before.

Ever coming back to Highland Park?

Unlikely. I raised four boys and lived in HP for about 20 years. Now that they are grown up and living in Northern California and Austin, Texas, I want to experience living in and traveling to as many different countries and cultures as I can.

Peta with neighbor kids