An estimated crowd of 300 paid their respects to celebrated playwright/director/educator Jerome Lawrence in a public memorial tribute held Monday night at downtown's Mark Taper Forum. Lawrence, best know for his collaborative efforts with the late playwright Robert E. Lee in a partnership that spanned more than 50 years, died at age 88 at his Malibu home Feb. 19 following an illness.
This writing team's most famous works include Inherit the Wind, the controversial drama about the infamous Scopes Monkey trials, which challenged Darwin's theory of evolution; The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail; the prophetic political drama First Monday in October; and the classic comedy Auntie Mame and its subsequent musical version Mame. The simple and tasteful memorial tribute consisted of impassioned speeches by Lawence's family, friends, and colleagues, a few musical performances, and a champagne-and-dessert reception in the Music Center courtyard.
The recurring themes of program, which lasted two and a half hours, were Lawrence's deep enthusiasm for his craft and for the works of others, his utmost respect for fellow humans, his Auntie Mame–like zest for everything life has to offer, and his eternal optimism. Gordon Davidson, the soon-to-retire Center Theatre Group artistic director, kicked off the evening with some brief observations, speaking of the social and historic significance of Lawrence's body of work.
Then Lawrence's niece, Deborah Robison, offered her own tribute, in which she noted her uncle's love of language and how he advised her to read plays aloud so as to "taste the dialogue in your mouth." She then introduced other speakers and performers, often prefaced by her recitations of direct quotes from Lawrence or brief excerpts from his writings.
Janet Waldo Lee, the widow of Lee, who died in 1994, read a message sent by Angela Lansbury, who starred in two musicals with librettos by Lawrence and Lee: Mame and Dear World. Lansbury thanked Lawrence for "rescuing me from my less-than-satisfactory career" by championing her casting in the title role of Mame, when the show's backers were unenthusiastic, hoping to hold out for a more bankable Broadway name. This musical opened up a new career avenue for Lansbury as a Broadway superstar.
Waldo then described the launching of the playwriting partnership, including some amusing anecdotes, such as the instance when her husband briefly used a pseudonym when the team was forming: Ulysses S. Grant. In terms of flops, of which the duo had a few in their career, she quoted Lawrence as quipping that he wrote flops only so that the good stuff would look harder. She recalled their ill-fated musical version of Lost Horizon, titled Shangri-La, which had a disastrous opening night in which the whole show was falling apart, including the scenery. But their luck immediately shifted: They learned that their contract for Auntie Mame had been finalized.
Jerry Herman, who wrote the scores for Mame and Dear World, played the piano while delivering a rousing rendition of "Mame." Later in the evening, he took to the piano again to accompany Bea Arthur (the original Vera Charles in Mame), who delivered a devastatingly moving talk/sing rendition of the ballad "If He Walked Into My Life."
Tyne Daly, though not associated with a Lawrence/Lee musical, sang a showstopping medley of songs from Dear World. Broadway star Lisa Vroom gave a hilarious interpretation of a comic number from the duo's very first musical, Look, Ma! I'm Dancin', accompanied by Michael Tilson Thomas, music director of the San Francisco Symphony.
Carole Cook, who at various times has appeared in both Mame and Auntie Mame, appeared alongside her husband, Tom Troupe, who has acted in several Lawrence/Lee plays. Cook didn't sing but exhibited her signature flair for humor, saying that she once persuaded Lawrence to let her add a line during a run of Auntie Mame. When her Southern beau Beauregard gushed, "That's a mighty pretty dress you have on, Mame," Cook's contribution to the script was "Yeah, but it's a booger to iron."
Troupe spoke of how inspired he was as a young man when viewing Paul Muni on Broadway in Inherit the Wind, saying that he sneaked into the second act dozens of times.
Some excerpts from Lawrence and Lee's dramatic plays were read. Michael York, who performed in their last collaborative effort, Whisper in the Mind, about an imaginary meeting between Benjamin Franklin and hypnotist Frank Anton Mesmer, recited a fascinating speech from the show.
Eva Marie Saint, who played the first woman to hold the office of Supreme Court Justice in First Monday in October (seven years before this milestone event happened) read an intriguing passage from that script.
James Ragan, who heads the Play-writing Department at USC—among several educational institutions where Lawrence loaned his talents—recited a speech from Inherit the Wind.
There were many additional illuminating and heartrending moments. Members of different generations of Lawrence's family shared their feelings about the beloved man they called "Uncle Jerry," as did Nena Couch and Alan Woods, the curators of the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute at Ohio State University.
Actor/director Will Willoughby, a friend of Lawrence's for several years, who has benefited from the playwright's sage mentoring, mentioned a line from Mame's Agnes Gooch character that he says he often told Lawrence: "I'm your sponge." Playwright Ron Cowen, Drama Desk winner for the watershed Vietnam-era play Summertree, likewise said he was greatly inspired by Lawrence's caring advice. The ceremony concluded with a gorgeous performance of two hymns on a flute by another Lawrence niece, Paula Robison.
Some poignant earlier comments from Cook seemed to resonate at that moment. She had asserted that Lawrence often kept his spiritual side private, and as he stands at the gates of heaven, strains of "Open a New Window" were likely welcoming him in.