In the Wings -- Jennifer K Mahal

I mentioned to someone the other day that I was going to see a one-man

play by and about Charles Nelson Reilly.

“Isn’t he dead?” my friend asked.

“I don’t think so,” I answered.

Turns out I was right. But that question is addressed by Reilly in

“Save It for The Stage . . . The Life of Reilly” at the Canon Theatre in

Beverly Hills.

“Yes, ma’am, he is dead,” the Broadway actor and director mugs in his

show, acting out the part of the box office manager, “but he still

manages to come in anyway.”

With touches of humor and moments of quiet reflection, the

autobiographical play takes us from Reilly’s childhood to present day. We

learn about his Swedish mother, his birth in the Bronx, his first play,

the people who believed in him, the people who didn’t and the ones who

made him believe in himself. It’s a touching and revealing show, which

deserves to be seen.

If you’re wondering what Reilly has to do with Newport-Mesa, the

answer is not a lot, though he has his directorial work forOpera Pacific

listed in his biography, along with his Tony Award-winning turn in “How

to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and his nomination as

Cornelius Hackle in “Hello, Dolly.”

But “Save It for the Stage” has a lot to do with Newport Beach -- all

right, maybe just a middling amount -- because the show is produced by

Don Gregory. The former Newport Beach arts commissioner and Broadway

producer gave Reilly his first directing break more than 25 years ago.

The two met at Sardi’s in New York City when Reilly approached him

about doing a play on Emily Dickinson with Julie Harris in the main role.

The play was “The Belle of Amherst,” and Harris won the Tony Award for

her performance.

It was the “Belle,” or rather the revival of the “Belle” at the Laguna

Playhouse, that led Gregory to become the producer for “Save It for the

Stage.” While Reilly and Harris were rehearsing for the Sept. 2000

production, which teamed the trio again, Reilly would talk about his

show. He invited Gregory, his wife, Kay, Julie Harris and “Belle” writer

William Luce to see it in production in North Hollywood.

“I fell in love with it,” Gregory said. “There’s so much wisdom in it.

Things like ‘dream-droppers’ (a phrase Reilly uses to describe people who

inspire). We all started out like that.”

When Reilly called him months later and told him that the original

producer dropped out, Gregory knew what his answer would be.

“I said, ‘I’ll do it, if that’s why you’re calling.’ He said, ‘That’s

why I’m calling,”’ Gregory recalls.

The play is so personal that it has given Gregory a different

perspective of Reilly, who was a regular on “The Match Game” and “The

Tonight Show.”

“I considered him just a funny guy. He can say ‘Don Gregory’ and I

start laugh,” he said, later adding, “To me, he gained a greater depth,

he became much more of a person and more of a lovable man . . . a

palpable human being with all the flaws, and yet he just has a gift to

amuse, as Noel Coward says, and he does.”

Both men grew up in Brooklyn before moving to Connecticut. Both

attended the University of Connecticut. Both have led lives in the

theater.

For Gregory, “Save It for the Stage” is the sixth one-person play he’s

produced -- including “Clarence Darrow,” “Paul Robeson” and “The Belle of

Amherst.” He said producing is 75% the art of hiring.

“You have to surround yourself with talented people, not just in front

of the stage, but behind the scenes,” Gregory said. “The producer is the

one who gets everything and keeps everything moving forward.”

He relates a story about when he was producing “Harvey” for Hallmark.

One day, he came onto the set tired and unsmiling. After a few minutes,

he noticed that no one else on the set was smiling. When Gregory asked

about it, he was told, “When you’re not smiling, everybody thinks

something’s wrong.” It was then, he said, he realized what it meant to be

a producer.

But at the end of the day, with a show on the stage -- even if it is

far from his Newport Beach home -- Gregory said his life in the theater

has been worth it.

“It’s a very daunting task and very worthwhile,” he said.

“Save It for the Stage,” which opened May 9, will be at the Canon

Theatre for a limited engagement. Call (310) 859-2830 for more

information.

* * *

Do you know a local artist, writer, painter, singer, filmmaker, etc.,

who deserves to get noticed? Send your nominee to In The Wings, Daily

Pilot, 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, by fax to (949) 646-4170 or

by e-mail to o7 [email protected]

* JENNIFER MAHAL is features editor of the Daily Pilot.