The Real Deals

[mrdreamjeans]

In 1989-1990, I was cast in a production of MAME in Houston starring Juliet Prowse as Mame Dennis. I was fortunate to play Uncle Jeff in the plantation scene and understudied two of the character leads. I made enough of an impression to be one of the actors taken to Seattle for a separate production in that city. That production played Denver, too, before closing. The Seattle run led to friendships which endure today, solidified by a National Tour for 22 weeks, also starring Juliet Prowse. The national touring cast featured all of the leads from the previous two productions filled out by a combination of actors from Houston and Seattle. It was a wonderful experience due to the star.

 
Juliet was dazzing in the starring role, singing, acting and dancing Mame superbly. She was stunning in her Bob Mackie costumes. In person, she was modest and kind with a wicked, bawdy sense of humor. Prior to the start of rehearsals, she had memorized all of the cast members names, greeted us at the first break by name and treated us as chums.


Delphi Lawrence (Vera) and Juliet Prowse (Mame)

At one point, my parents and a group of church friends made a bus trip from Kingsport, TN to Atlanta to see our show. Though, suffering from severe arthritis pain on a two-show day, Juliet stayed in her beaded gown after the matinee, greeting my folks and their friends with real warmth, aways the class act.

I used to arrive early for shows and spend time visiting with Juliet in her dressing room while she performed her regular Yoga warm-up. She was the first celebrity who treated me with respect, as an equal, and I adored her. Juliet died in her early 60’s from ovarian cancer, a major loss to the theater community. Juliet was the real deal.

 

Comments

[kaishin108]

Oh myyyy, that brought tears to my eyes, what a loving and caring person.

Thanks for conveying Ken's experience!

[mrdreamjeans]

Sorry the photos aren't showing up. :(

[kaishin108]

Oh that's okay! I struggle with putting photos up here. The only way I can do it is to post directly to a certain DW address that I happened to set up. But sizing is often an issue.