On January
6th, 1973 , ABC aired what was intended
to be one of The Julie Andrews Hour’s
most ambitious shows. Julie’s only guest was multi-talented Keith Michell, who
had recently won an Emmy for his unforgettable portrayal of King Henry VIII on
the PBS series, The Six Wives of Henry
the Eighth. In addition, Michell had recently appeared in the London
production of Man of La Mancha.
Episode 14 would be Julie Andrew’s first show of 1973. Appearing
shortly after New Years, it was no doubt meant to be a kind of holiday
celebration. In addition, it would be the last show to appear in the old
timeslot, Wednesday at 10pm. At the end of the show, Julie announced that
beginning next week The Julie Andrews
Hour would be shown on Saturdays at 9:00pm, 8:00 Central. By now, it was no
secret that the ratings were not as hoped and both ABC and the producer were
scrambling to improve them.
***
For the opening, Julie appeared in a long blue and white
satin coat. After introducing Mr. Michell, she presented him with his Emmy.
Then the pair were off, literally, to the show. The theme, “Two on the Aisle,” took
the couple to the theater where they would view a series of scenes from various
plays, in which they had the starring roles. The only other persons on this
show were a few of the male dancers, who during the first scene, served as
ushers and seated them in the theater. The other audience members on this
rather mod set were mannequins.
 |
| Keith Michell as the King |
Over the next hour, Julie and Keith ran the gamut of
theatrical productions. The first scene was a portrayal of The King’s Breakfast by A.A. Milne, a poem that Julie said was one
of her favorite when she was a child. Shot against an illustrated background,
the pair, who portrayed king and queen, dairymaid and cow, appeared to have
come alive in an illustrated children’s book. Their portrayals are wonderful. Julie
is especially wonderful as the queen, when she speaks in a rather deep, haughty
voice.
The second scene, a theatrical music piece, “Mack the Knife”
finds Julie and Keith on rather modern set with steps and scaffolding. The pair
are dressed in proper English men’s attire that includes bowler hats. Julie
often plays Keith’s shadow, creeping behind him and then disappearing. The
director uses a kind of stop action camera work with editing; the pair suddenly
disappear and then reappear 4 or 5 feet away. The number is interesting, though
not one of the best on the show.
The third scene is from The
Applicant, a play by Harold Pinter about the future in a computer-aged society.
In the scene, Keith Michell, wearing a fright wig, plays a very gawky physicist
applying for a job. Julie Andrews is a sort of Eve Arden/Nancy Kulp character,
proper and completely focused on the job at hand – testing the applicant for a
job. The scene progresses to a hysterically funny sequence where Julie questions
Keith, who is hooked up to electrical wires, about his personal responses and
life. By the end, the whole experience has sent him over the edge. The scene
defies description.
 |
| Keith Michell and Julie Andrews The Taming of the Shrew |
This rather over the top comic scene is followed by Shakespeare’s
The Taming of the Shrew with Keith
Michell playing Petruchio, who is intent on wooing the lovely young Kate,
played by Julie Andrews in a long, brown wig. Kate, of course, is a girl who
would not be wooed, and this leads to verbal confrontation and then physical
confrontation. Both actors are wonderful in this scene, only making us wonder
how much more wonderful would they have been if they had the luxury of
appearing on stage night after night, working on the rich subtleties that develop
with the repetition of a role. As far as we know, this is the only time Julie
Andrews ever played Shakespeare and she shows great ability.
This scene from The Taming
of the Shrew, although considered a comedy, is a rather intense scene with a
lot of physical struggle and fighting. The scene was taped without an audience
and had a laugh track added later, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to enhance
the scene.
The fourth scene, from the delicate and witty English comedy,
The Importance of Being Ernest by
Oscar Wilde, is a nice break from the intensity of the previous scene. In it,
Julie plays Gwendolyn, a young woman who believes that she can only love a man
by the name of Ernest. Michell plays Jack, a man only pretending to have the
name of Ernest so he can marry Gwendolyn. Julie is very funny as she tells Jack
that that the name “Ernest produces vibrations” and “Jack produces no
vibrations.” Earlier in the show, the sets had a rather modern, spare
appearance but for this scene, the pair appear in a fine drawing room.
The
Importance of Being Earnest marks the first half of the show. At
Intermission, Keith Michell and Julie Andrews go “outside” to discuss the show
and charmingly get into an argument. She thinks the “actor” in the play
brilliant and he does as well, but when he says that the “actress” is “stepping
on his lines,” Julie becomes incensed and calls him a “male chauvinist.” It’s
all very funny, especially in the context of 1973, when women’s liberation was
a big deal and caused many an argument.
The second half of the show begins with something we were
waiting for – music! Julie appears in the shadows of the stage, wearing a gown
that dazzles. The gown is black with patterned bright flowers and gold sequins.
The flowers on the gown are also sequined and beaded and, as Julie sings “On A
Clear Day,” she literally sparkles.” Begun in close-up, quietly, the song
concludes with high energy, showing Julie full-length standing on stage. It is,
perhaps, one of the best moments of the show.
The next scene takes us into the future. Julie is a little
girl in a completely fabricated garden. She explains that she gathers leaves
off the tree in fall and puts them back on in spring. Keith then gives her a
real apple to eat, something that is shocking and wonderful to her. This little
scene is the lead in for Keith Michell’s solo, “Consider, What Will You Leave.”
It’s a song that seems even more poignantly relevant in 2013 than it did in
1973. Michell gives a fine, intense performance.
The ninth segment of this show is a masterpiece beyond
anything else in it, and, in this writer’s humble opinion, as grand as anything
on the entire series of The Julie Andrews
Hour. For this number the pair dance to their pre-recording of “Dancing in
the Dark.” The set is glorious, as are the costumes and music. In the middle of
the number, Julie appears, dazzling in her gold gown, singing “He dances
overhead…” It is sentimental and lovely with a background of stars. In the
final segment, as the dancers, Julie and Keith, join together to dance once
more, the use of mirrors is stunning. This musical number with choreography by
Tony Charmoli is a work of art, simple, glorious, and unforgettable!
For the final segment of the show, Julie and Keith play
Edith and Edward, a couple on their honeymoon in 1911. The scene is from Noel
Coward’s Cavalcade. The couple’s
conversation is sentimental and playful as they speak of love and death while
standing on the deck of a ship in the moonlight. The scene is photographed beautifully
and we are drawn into the charm and sentimentality of the moment. Then, as they
move away from the deck, we see the name on the lifesaver - “Titanic,” and in
that second we realize that this is indeed the last night of their lives.
Now the show is over, and from their seats in the audience,
Julie and Keith sing “This Was a Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.” The two stars seem
happy and relaxed. Julie announces her next show and then sings, “Time Is My
Friend,” with Keith holding her hand. These moments seem relaxed and off the
cuff, though all was planned and rehearsed. It does seem as if we’ve spent a
lovely evening with them.
So began The Julie
Andrews Hour in 1973.
Remember you can find a list of all The Julie Andrews Hour blogs with links back to this page on: http://www.JulieAndrewsHour1972.com
If
you think The Julie Andrews Hour
should be released for the public on DVD, along with music releases of Julie
and her guests, please e-mail a polite request: dan.gopal@itv.com
If
you prefer, you may look up ITV in London Los Angeles
Coming Up Next: Events Leading Up to
the Next Closed Set of the Julie Andrews Hour
Note: All photos here are for entertainment purposes only.
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