Harry Groener -- Articles
HARRY GROENER
A Career Study
by Jim Coughlin
February 3, 1908 saw the opening of George M. Cohan's "Fifty Miles from Boston", which was highlighted by the enduring song "Harrigan". In the audience sat the man to whom the tune was dedicated and who had served as an inspiration for Cohan: Edward "Ned" Harrigan of the old Harrigan and Hart stage team (1871 - 1885). Broadway is currently witnessing the persona of Ned Harrigan once again -- as portrayed by the versatile Harry Groener.
Upon meeting Harry Groener, one is immediately impressed by his energy and enthusiasm, which are both contagious and captivating. Exuding a great love for the theatrical profession, he displays a profound knowledge of the theory and technique of his craft. With five Broadway musicals and numerous regional theatre productions to his credit, Groener has performed with equal aplomb at song and dance, physical and sophisticated comedy, classical drama and tragedy. In the recently opened (1/31/85) musical "Harrigan 'n Hart", Harry Groener is treating patrons of the Longacre Theatre to a wonderful combination of singing, dancing, and acting.
"Harrigan 'n Hart" has come to Broadway under the auspices of Elliot Martin, Arnold Bernhard, and the Shubert Organization following a successful engagement at the Goodspeed Opera House this past summer. The book by Michael Stewart traces the partnership of Edward Harrigan (Groener) and Tony Hart (Mark Hamill) from its beginnings in Galesburg, Illinois, to their formation of a company and building of a theatre, until their breakup and Hart's tragic demise. The period is captured marvelously by the scenic design of David Mitchell and costume design by Ann Hould-Ward. Groener and Hamill perform original Harrigan and David Braham numbers, such as "Mulligan Guard", in addition to some fine original songs, such as "That's My Partner" and "Something New, Something Different", with music by Max Showalter and lyrics by Peter Walker. The entire company bring the tale to life in electrifying style thanks to the direction of Joe Layton and the choreography of D.J. Giagni, who combines old stock steps with modern technique with wonderful results (particularly on the wooden show "She's Our Gretel" number). It is largely the steady touch and timing of Harry Groener, however, that really makes "Harrigan 'n Hart" work.
Harry Groener was born in Augsburg, West Germany, on September 10, 1951, the son of Iris and Johann Groener. Groener's father, whose stage name was Harry Fox, was trained as a concert pianist, while his mother was schooled in voice and dance. During the troubled years of World War II, Johann Groener belonged to a rather unique troupe. "They were called the 'Eight Unchained' because they could do political satire," Harry remarked. "Of course it had to be very carefully done. So, along with songs and parodies on performers, they would also do scenes in which there was political commentary." Possessing the versatility that seems to run in the family, Johann Groener was involved in many types of performing over the years. He played in a band, tap danced while simultaneously playing the piano, did eccentric dancing "like those rubber kind of guys you saw in vaudeville," and was especially noted as a quick change artist. Johann would come on stage in a drab suit, sit down at the piano and begin to play a complicated piece. "The lights would go out -- total blackout -- but you'd still hear the playing. A very short time later, the lights would come back up again and he'd be in complete tails." This marvelous feat, managed by playing the piano with one hand while changing clothes with the other, so baffled theatregoers that they would sneak flashlights into the show in an attempt to discover Johann's technique.
The postwar years in Germany were depressing, both financially and emotionally, resulting in the immigration of many German families, including the Groeners, to the United States. Settling his family in a German-American community in San Francisco, Johann Groener took a position in the mailroom of an insurance company operating a Multilith machine, while his wife Iris secured work as a secretary. The local German-American Club provided the Groener family with "their one communion place to keep hold of friends they'd had in Europe" as well as an outlet for their interest in the performing arts. Forming a Bavarian band, Johann would entertain in the Club's Rathskellar, in addition to parties and Oktoberfests. Iris Groener became involved in the operetta staged by the German-American Club. "She would always get the leads because she was very attractive and had a wonderful coloratura voice. I can remember sitting watching my mother, when I was very small, up on the stage performing and doing all these wonderful crosses and gestures that were very exciting at the time to see." Harry's mother would also entertain in the cabarets with her husband, singing songs in many different languages.
Due in part to his parents' entertainment background and having been influenced by musicals like "West Side Story", Harry decided at about the age of eleven that he would like to become a jazz dancer. The Groeners were supportive of this ambition, but insisted that their son first learn the rudiments of dance provided by basic ballet training. Harry's parents enrolled him in the Conservatory of Ballet in San Francisco, where the youngster started jazz dance classes and, soon after, ballet. His fears that he would be the only boy in an all-girl class confirmed, young Groener had some awkward moments, compounded by impending adolescence and the adjustment to wearing tights for the first time, but he nonetheless endured.
As part of his dance school program, Harry appeared in the annual event, "The Nutcracker". "If you were real tiny, you played the kids or you played mice. If you were a certain age you played the Nutcracker and, as you got older, you got in the chorus and got more dance roles, which is what I wanted to do." At age thirteen, though, Groener was "delighted" playing the Prince. "You get to come out as the Nutcracker, you can be transformed, you have a beautiful costume on, and everyone bows to you. At that time it was quite something to do."
The years with the Conservatory of Ballet taught the aspiring actor/dancer many things, including an important lesson in makeup learned while doing the Prince. Copying styles from older members of the company, Harry became "outrageously elaborate," using blue eye shadow and glitter in hopes of accentuating the Prince's transformation. The director finally had to reprimand Groener, emphasizing the simplicity of make-up "to avoid ballet-eyes" and "just contour your face a bit so it has structure to it."
The Conservatory would take its students on both a summer and a winter tour, journeying around California and as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia. The opportunity to travel extensively and be fairly independent ("going to a restaurant without your parents") was very exciting for Harry and his adolescent comrades.
Groener continued his dancing while enrolled at San Francisco's Mission High School, receiving, at times to his surprise, the respect of his "tough" classmates rather than ridicule or abuse. Harry's strategy for a school dance performance was a sound one. "I would choose the most popular song of the day and I'd pick a partner, a woman who was very sexy and very popular, who happened to be in the dance program. And I'd always dress in black, cuz that was 'cool'."
Acting was gradually gaining in importance over dance to Groener. Thurber's "The 13 Clocks" gave Harry his first taste of musical-acting in his last year of junior high. His thespian pursuits continued with the Mission High drama club in such productions as "The Diary of Anne Frank".
Upon graduation from Mission High School, Groener chose to attend San Francisco City College. In the summer of 1970, Harry made an important decision, in terms of his professional training, to try out for and become a part of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) in Santa Maria, California. In all, Groener would spend seven summers at PCPA. "The year prior to going to the University of Washington, 1972, I went to Alan Hancock Junior College, which was the facility for PCPA. I enrolled there because a bunch of us were asked to be part of an ensemble program that would take the place of the artists-in-residence program that they wanted to get rid of." Donovan Marley, the head of the PCPA company, enlisted about fifteen of his students to remain and become part of his new concept, which had the participants engaging in every aspect of the theatrical trade: directing, stage managing, choreographing, acting, and so on. Among the roles Groener portrayed in 1972 at PCPA were Marat in "Marat/Sade" and the jester in "Once Upon A Mattress", which Harry also choreographed. Groener's favorite characterization that season, in fact one of his fondest to date, was that of captured British soldier Leslie Williams in Brendan Behan's stirring, satirical, yet tragic opus, "The Hostage". In a foreshadowing of things to come, Harry played Will Parker in PCPA's 1975 production of "Oklahoma!".
Returning to PCPA for one final summer after graduating from the University of Washington in 1976, Groener capped his years of training under the tutelage of Donovan Marley with a fine portrayal of the tragi-comedic Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet". Next, enjoying a variety of roles and earning his Actors' Equity card, Harry spent a season at the Actors' Theater of Louisville. At PCPA, Groener had choreographed "Candide", which starred Patrick Tovatt as Voltaire. When Tovatt heard that Harry was bound for the Actors' Theater, he called Jon Jory, the producing director, recommending Groener's skills. Jory asked Groener if he would like to choreograph some cheers for "Vanities". Harry fortuitously agreed, for performing as Mary in "Vanities" was Dawn Didawick, a fine young actress who would eventually become his wife.
Groener's first acting assignment at Actors' Theater was that of a reporter in Gore Vidal's "The Best Man" (10/7/76, 28p). One of Harry's greatest thrills in doing this particular show was the opportunity to work with legendary character actor Victor Jory, Jon Jory's father. "We had such a fabulous time and there was a wonderful kind of rapport that we had together." Victor and Harry sat next to one another in the dressing room, passing time doing "bits and schtick" and playing a game trying to see who could think of the oldest songs (Groener was as a distinct disadvantage, age-wise). "And then he (Victor Jory) did this one little thing that I thought was quite touching. One day he was waiting for an entrance and I was by the entrance also. Then he went, 'Oh, shoot!', looks at his wrist and had his watch on, which was inappropriate for this show because it was on a silver turquoise thing he got in Texas. He was sort of at a loss. I said, 'Give it to me and I'll put it in my pocket.' And from then on, occasionally what he would do was wear his watch purposely. Then, prior to that entrance he'd go 'Oh, shoot!' and take it off and give it to me. So I was sort of the keeper of his watch."
In the Actors' Theater production of "Much Ado About Nothing" (11/4/76, 29p), Groener was Conrade, one of the villainous cohorts of Don John. In addition, Harry recalled, "I did some part that Jon (Jory) added, which was like a little jester... in a clown costume, kind of, and a mask." "A Christmas Carol" (12/2/76, 33p) followed, in which most of the cast, including Groener and Dawn Didawick, played many different characters. Harry portrayed Nick, alongside Actors' Theater veterans Adale O'Brien as Martha, Ray Fry as George, and Lee Anne Fahey as Honey, in Albee's "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" (1/5/77, 18p). Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" (2/3/77, 27p) afforded Harry (as the artist Ambrose Kamper) the chance to work with his wife-to-be, Dawn (as Mrs. Malloy), once again. His portrayal of Peter Van Daan in "The Diary of Anne Frank" (3/3/77, 33p) represented Groener's final appearance at the Actors' Theater of Louisville.
"After Louisville, I went to Seattle to visit some friends. Then, I went to San Fran to visit my mother and father." Groener next obtained work in the summer of 1977 at the American Stage Festival in Milford, New Hampshire, acting in four of their productions. The initial festival offerings, played in rep at the same time, featured Harry as Major Sergius Saranoff in Shaw's "Arms and the Man" and as Carlos Homenides d'Histangua in Feydeau's Comedie Francaise farce "A Flea In Her Ear". Groener followed these with appearances as the Little Harp in "The Robber Bridegroom" and Dr. Lyman Sanderson in Mary Chase's whimsical comedy "Harvey". Upon leaving New Hampshire, Harry moved to Manhattan to avail himself of more theatrical opportunities.
During the American Stage Festival, Groener had auditioned at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre, which resulted in his winning the part of Fred Beenstock, the suitor of Vickey Hobson (Susan Sharkey), in "Hobson's Choice" (10/13/77, 33p). Long Wharf director Arvin Brown transferred Harold Brighouse's tale of Henry Horatio Hobson (William Swetland), the overbearing owner of a shoemaking establishment, from the British midlands to Bedford, Massachusetts of the mid-1880's. Frank Converse gave a fine rendition of the role of Will Mossop, the brilliant bootmaker, who undergoes a dramatic transformation due to thie influence of Maggie Hobson (Joyce Ebert). "It was interesting to watch Frank because at the beginning of rehearsals I thought it (Converse's portrayal) was so underplayed that my impression was that this was the way it was going to be during the performance. But the more we progressed and the more he started working and finding things, the level of the play started to get bigger and better. By the time we opened, it was all right there and wonderful. To watch that growth and development was really fabulous! And Frank was always working and he continually tried to make things better. He never said, 'Alright, I filed it, I'm going to lock it in and this is the way I'm going to do it every night.' There was always something different, there was always something he was going for to try to make the scenes better, try to make them click." The entire cast of "Hobson's Choice", Groener reminisced, was "terrific to work with."
Groener stayed on at the Long Wharf to appear as Bullock in George Farquher's restoration comedy, "The Recruiting Officer" (12/29/77, 33p). As opposed to the positive feelings Harry derived from "Hobson's Choice", "The Recruiting Officer" was "a terrible experience." Restoration plays are generally difficult to do and Harry felt that director Davey Marlin-Jones was "totally unprepared" for the challenges presented by Farquhar's work. "It needs someone who really has an idea of exactly what he wants to do. You have to know where to cut, because it has to be cut. You have to know what's supposed to happen." During the second week of rehearsals the company realized that they were in trouble, but, despite individual efforts to the contrary, "the production was awful and a very talented and capable cast looked terrible." Harry would often complain to Dawn about how poorly the play was turning out, but she doubted his objectivity in the matter until she finally had the opportunity to see "The Recruiting Officer" for herself. As Harry met Dawn after a performance, he was greeted with, "Honey, it's that bad!" The show had some redeeming elements. John Horton, who had the lead role of Captain Plume, was "another one of those people who always tried to make things better...and who never stopped working until the very last day. He would come to people and say, 'Let's just pick up the pace here' or 'Let's try this.' Not drastic changes, but things that should have been done in rehearsal." Feeling that they were powerless to make "The Recruiting Officer" better, many of the other players "just gave up" and went through the motions until closing night.
The Seattle Reperatory Theatre had hired Groener to play Claudio for their production of "Much Ado About Nothing" (3/15/78, 41p). Prior to leaving for Seattle, Harry recieved a phone call from former teacher Duncan Ross that the company had lost their Benedick. Groener jumped at the chance to take over this plum Shakespearian role, although he conceded that perhaps he was too young at the time to tackle Benedick. "I said, 'What the hell! If they're going to give it to me, I'm not going to be fool enough to pass it up because I'm too young.' But I think Beatrice and Benedick should be older -- should be in their forties. Petruchio and Kate (in "The Taming of the Shrew") could be younger, but Benedick and Beatrice should have lived a bit longer. Theirs is more of an intellectual battle. Petruchio and Kate is more physical."
This particular production of "Much Ado..." was rather offbeat in that it was set in no particular place or time. "I usually have an aversion to Shakespeare plays that are overconceptualized, so there's nothing to hold on to, nothing recognizable. There's no period. There's no anything. The costumes are all strange. The sets are all strange." In fact, the floor of this play's set reminded Groener of "a big potato chip". Duncan Ross had always impressed Harry as a traditionalist in class, so it was puzzling why he would present "Much Ado About Nothing" in this way. The cast would often have sessions in which they would talk to the house, asking the audience to relate their feelings about different aspects of the production. Although many of the people stated they would prefer instead to see the classical costuming and beautiful sets, others claimed that this version forced them to listen to the words. As Ross had always emphasized in class that the most important thing with Shakespeare was the words, it registered with Harry that, by avoiding as many distractions as possible, perhaps this was what the director was trying to achieve. When "Much Ado..." ended its run at the Seattle Rep, the company went on tour for about four weeks around the Seattle vicinity.
It was during the production in Seattle that Harry made the decision to ask Dawn to be his bride. Groener, therefore, returned to Louisville for an important visit. "Dawn was there doing 'Peg O' My Heart', 'Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlander' and something else. I went back there and I proposed to her -- and the rest is history!" Dawn Didawick accepted, and, after she completed a radio play in Madison, Wisconsin, they both returned to New York City, where Harry successfully auditioned for the role of Floyd Beavis in "Back Country". Following four weeks of rehearsal in Manhattan, the show opened in a small music hall theatre in Cohoes (8/15/78), an old factory city in upstate New York. "Back Country" was a musical adaptation of Synge's "The Playboy of the Western World", switching the setting from an Irish pub to a rustic tavern in western Kansas. As Floyd, Harry executed some enjoyable song and dance numbers with Christy (Ken Marshall), including "Heaven On My Mind" and "Diamond Jim Brady". "We were there (Cohoes) for about three weeks and worked on it and changed it. They wrote a whole new opening for the second act." With these alterations, "Back Country" then moved to the Wilbur Theatre in Boston (9/8/78).
Harry and Dawn had originally planned to be married in New York City, but, due to the ease in obtaining blood tests and the license in Massachusetts (3 days), they decided to seek out a justice of the peace in Boston. "On the 19th of September, we found this man named Emile Winkler, a little tiny man with little glasses and a pin-striped suit, who loved marrying people in his tiny little office." Harry had been excused from rehearsal for the wedding, but upon returning to the theatre that night, he learned that "Back Country" was going to close at the week's end (9/23/78). The producers had decided that prospects were not good and that it was not financially feasible to take the show to Broadway. The company had sensed that "Back Country" would not be successful, "but our feeling was that we would get to New York and close in one night." Most of the cast were upset about the Boston closing, but Harry, the newlywed, thought, "Okay, fine. Dawn and I can go on our honeymoon." The couple borrowed a friend's car and drove the scenic route back to New York, taking in Plymouth Rock, Salem, Provincetown, and other interesting locales.
Groener had missed out on landing a role in "Journey's End" at the Long Wharf due to commitments to "Back Country". Back in New York, Harry was contacted by director Arvin Brown and informed that the role of Lt. Raliegh had to be recast. With only a week to prepare before "Journey's End" (10/19/78, 33p) opened, Groener accepted the challenge. "Journey's End", R.C. Sherriff's masterful statement of the horrors of war, is set in the British trenches near St. Quentin in March 1918. A major subplot within the play is the conflicted relationship between war-embittered Captain Stanhope (Edward Hermann) and newly-arrived Lt. Raliegh, the young, idealistic brother of Stanhope's fiance. Despite lack of preparation time, Groener shone in the latter role.
"It turned out to be an incredible experience, one of the best shows that I was involved in, cast-wise and director-wise. John McMartin (as Lt. Osborne) was fabulous. Ed Hermann was incredible. Dawn saw it and said it was just incredibly moving, involving. She said she felt it was one of the best things she'd seen in her career. You know, you get three or four shows or plays that you've seen or you've been involved in, that you hold onto and say, 'These are terrific experiences.' There are very few of those that come along. 'Journey's End' was one of them."
A major breakthrough in his career came when Groener won the role of the nimblefooted cowpoke Will Parker in "Oklahoma!" "During the audition all I had to do was sing and read some scenes. I never had to dance for Agnes DeMille, but I tapped a little tiny bit for her assistant choreographer. Interestingly, Agnes DeMille never choreographed Will Parker's main number, "Everything's Up To Date In Kansas City" for the musical. In the original production, Les Dixon apparently did his own choreography. In the movie, Gene Nelson did his choreography." Nelson's ex-wife Miriam worked long and diligently with Harry on the choreography for "...Kansas City". Groener claims that she was a "real pusher" and "very inspirational." Miriam Nelson would provide Harry with the intricate tap steps, many that he had never attempted before, and drive him toward them perfecting them.
Rehearsals began under the direction of William Hammerstein in May 1979 in Los Angeles. Groener had landed a part in the upcoming motion picture Brubaker before he got "Oklahoma!", which meant that he would have to leave the pre-Broadway tour for four more weeks when 20th Century Fox needed him to shoot his scenes. "Oklahoma!'s" people were fabulous. They said, 'Fine, we'll work it in. He can be let out for that.' I mean that's almost unheard of!" Dawn, who had just flown out to San Francisco to meet and spend some time with Harry's parents, had barely landed when she was whisked off by her husband to Ohio because the word had come to report to Brubaker on location. On call to cover during Groener's absence, Harvey Evans took over as Will Parker, completing the San Francisco run in early June, playing Oklahoma City and staying with "Oklahoma!" until the show reached Tulsa.
In Brubaker (20th Century Fox - 1980), Groener was cast as Dr. George Campbell, a young physician who arrives at Wakefield Prison at the request of Brubaker (Robert Redford), the new warden, who has found the existing medical treatment to be as corrupt as most of the other services at the prison. Harry's first two scenes in the film are quite brief: Being introduced to Brubaker by Purcell (Matt Clark) and being prevented from entering Brubaker's office by Dickie Coombs (Yaphet Kotto). A more substantial sequence involving Dr. Campbell occurs when he examines the remains found in coffins unearthed in a field near the prison, while Brubaker probes the physician for causes and dates of death. Dr. Campbell is last viewed speaking up for Brubaker at an inquest near the film's conclusion.
Groener considers Brubaker, his only film to date, "a real learning experience." "Jane Alexander was wonderful to watch and to learn from -- the level of acting depending on where the camera is -- what she did facially. Her physical action would lessen depending on how close the camera was." An important distinction between theatre, where concentration is sustained throughout an evening's performance, and film, where "the concentration is off and on" with long breaks between shooting scenes, became quite apparent to Groener during his four weeks on the Brubaker set. "What a lot of actors do, though -- and Yaphet was one of them -- is that they stay in their character the whole time, off and on camera." Althought the offscreen behavior of some of the actors seemed a little strange to Harry at first, "now I realize why some actors do that in films -- so that the level of concentration remains the same."
The opportunity to work with and observe the technique of Robert Redford was what Groener found to be the most rewarding element in doing Brubaker. Unfortunately, it became obvious that most people want a piece of Redford to the point that "he has to make himself inaccessible. You saw it was a choice he had to make, but he doesn't like it." The price of fame, at least for Redford, illustrated to Groener that success does not buy freedom, "instead you're locked into a certain thing" which restricts movements and choices. Harry remembered an amusing anecdote concerning the scene wherein he is introduced to Brubaker. Initially, Harry's character was named Bruce, but after two takes the director changed it to George, without informing Redford. On take 3, when Dr. Campbell said, "George, just call me George," Redford countered with, "What happened to Bruce?" Groener still regrets that he didn't risk a retort because in his own element, the theatre, "I would've been able to comeback and continue an absurd dialogue. He would've loved it. He would've laughed because he loves to be funny. Redford has a very dry sense of humor, but a lot of people don't read that, don't see and don't respond."
When his four weeks with Brubaker were finished, Groener rejoined the "Oklahoma!" tour in Tulsa. "Oklahoma!" went on to open at the John F. Kennedy Opera House in Washington, D.C. on 8/9/79, 40p) and was met with great enthusiasm. Harry celebrated his 28th birthday with the company in transit between Washington and Philadelphia, the tour's next stop, where he and Dawn enjoyed their first anniversary together. After Philly, it was on to Chicago and Detroit, before "Oklahoma!" finally opened at the Palace Theatre (12/12/79. 9pr, 301p) on Broadway.
The critics, for the most part, were lavish in their praise of this revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's landmark musical. Kudos went to William Hammerstein for his staging, Bill Hargate for his costuming, Jay Blackton for his musical direction, and others on the production end. As for the actors, favorable reviews were garnered by Mary Wickes (Aunt Eller), Laurence Guittard (Curly), Christine Andreas (Laurey), Martin Vidnovic (Jud), and Christine Ebersole (Ado Annie), but, for many critics and theatregoers alike, the highlight of the evening was the energetic performance of Harry Groener as Will Parker:
"The performer (Groener) is probably the revival's most unexpected discovery: Singing with highly nasal hayseed enthusiasm, letting the shock of hair on his forehead bounce in erratic counterpoint to his swiftly triggered feet, he is both a fine young clown and a reasonably authentic bronco buster." ---Walter Kerr, "N.Y. Times" (12/14/79)
"Harry Groener -- an excellent singer and dancer -- is a sparkling Will Parker." --- Edwin Wilson, "The Wall Street Journal" (12/28/79)
"Harry Groener plays a beguiling Will Parker, with a sly acid wit which sharpens the character's "gosh-dern" humor -- and he can dance." --- Sally R. Sommer, "The Village Voice" (12/24/79)
"Harry Groener is a show-stopping Will Parker, a hoofer and light comedian par excellence." --- Douglas Watt, "N.Y. Daily News" (12/14/79)
The instructional tap session with Miriam Nelson paid off for Groener, as Walter Kerr claimed that his dancing in "Everything's Up To Date In Kansas City" "jumps from the floor like so much sudden popcorn." In his scenes with Ado Annie, (who "cain't say no"), Harry played Will Parker as sincere, chauvanistic, but humorous at the same time, particularly in his rendition of "All er Nothin'". Also amusing were his interactions with the peddler Ali Hakim (Bruce Adler, with whom Harry would later appear in "Oh, Brother!")
One of the favorite aspects of doing "Oklahoma!" for Groener was learning to twirl the lariat and perform rope tricks, which he initially received instruction in from cowboy Montie Montana. "The disappointing thing about it was that most of the people thought it was a fake rope. Except when it dropped, when I missed somehow and it fell to the floor, then they realized it was a real rope. I seriously thought, at one point, of working it into the routine -- to start it, do something, have it drop so they know it's real, pick up the rope and finish the routine. There had been a couple of times when I'd done that -- that's when the applause started!" Harry and his understudy Eric Aaron became so proficient with the lariat that they received invitations to perform at shows and fairs. Groener was also called upon to demonstrate some rudiments in rope twirling for a cast replacement in "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas".
When "Oklahoma!" went on the road again after the Broadway closing, Harry declined the chance to continue as Will Parker. Lara Teeter took over the role. Groener's efforts in "Oklahoma!" did not go unnoticed. Harry received his first Tony Award nomination for "Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical" (won by "Evita"'s Mandy Patinkin) and was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award. On May 22, 1980, Harry Groener was the proud recipient of a 1980 Theatre World Award, crowning an auspicious Broadway debut.
Returning to the West Coast, Groener won the role of Bix Beiderbecke in the Center Theatre Group's production of Adrian Mitchell's "Hoagy, Bix and Wolfgang Beethoven Bunkhaus" (1/15/81, 54p) at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Both Larry Cedar, as Hoagy Carmichael, and Harry, as Bix, were lauded by the reviewers. An interesting convention was employed for the scenes wherin Bix would play his cornet. Richard Sudhalter, who had collaborated on the book Bix, Man and Legend and was the musical director of the show, served as Harry's "alter ego." Groener would hold the cornet, doing some fingering, while Sudhalter would step up behind him in the same costume and start playing Bix's material. At that point, they'd shift, with Sudhalter now seen in the foreground. "And then when it was all about over, I'd raise the cornet to my lips, and we'd shift again, as if I were finishing, and we'd go on with the scene."
Groener next secured the lead in the Hartman Theatre's revival of George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly's "Merton of the Movies" (4/15/81, 23p). Harry creatively developed the character of Merton Gill, the small town sales clerk who years to be a dramatic movie star. Merton unknowingly rises to fame as a comedian, to his dismay, as his efforts to emulate the motion picture performers he admires are taken by all to be clever parody.
A particularaly enjoyable side to doing "Merton..." for Harry was that he and director James Hammerstein were able to inject the element of slapstick, thus supporting the silent film period that the play is set in. Physical comedy, rarely seen on the contemporary stage, is "an art form" that Groener would "like to bring out again." "But it has to be logical," Harry reflected, "It can't be cheap or call attention to itself." Playing Merton with naive sincerity, he avoided the trap of portraying the character as a bumbling fool. The main reason the comedy worked, however, was that the cast was very together, "Giving focus, supporting bits by physical action."
Mel Gussow in "The New York Times" (4/2/81) claimed that Groener played Merton "in a manner somewhat reminiscent of early Jimmy Stewart," which flattered Harry. "I get a lot of the Jimmy Stewart thing and I love that. He's a wonderful actor and every time that's brought up I feel real good."
In the summer of 1981, Harry and Dawn performed together at the Sherwood Shakespeare Festival in Oxnard, California. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" featured Groener as Oberon and Didawick as Titania, while in "Macbeth" Harry played the porter and Dawn was one of the witches. They were also to have portrayed Parolles and Diana in "All's Well That Ends Well" but that production never got off the ground. An otherwise fulfilling experience, the festival was marred by having to work with an incompentent producer and a condescending director.
"Oh, Brother!", a musical comedy based on Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors", with book and lyrics by Donald Driver and music by Michael Valenti, concerns two sets of twins separated during infancy by an airplane hijacking. Groener was Western Mousada, American raised, whose flight, years later, stops over in a revolution-torn Middle Eastern country. Mousada and his companion, Habim, (Alan Weeks), run into numerous episodes of mistaken identity, as do their Eastern twin-counterparts (David-James Carroll and Joe Morton). "Oh, Brother!" was a frantic and farcical musical, laden with intentional puns, chases, and slapstick. It even had two men come out in a camel suit and sneakers.
Following rehearsals, "Oh, Brother!" opened at the Eisenhower Theatre (9/30/81) in Washington D.C. Two weeks were spent rewriting and making changes. "At the beginning of the second week, people were starting to go crazy. By the time we left there (D.C.), people were going bananas." A new song had been added near the conclusion before "Oh, Brother!" went into previews (13pr) at the ANTA Theatre on Broadway in late October. The audience continued to respond to the onstage antics, leaving the theatre still laughing.
Groener termed the show's music "wonderful," highlighted by old time orchestrations by Jim Tyler that were "fabulous." Sone of Harry's numbers as Western Mousada were: "Everybody Calls Me By My Name", expressing surprise at being recognized in a strange land; "OPEC Maiden", sung lovingly to Musica "Mary Mastrantonio); and "I To The World".
Despite the pleasure that the audience derived from the proceedings, "Oh, Brother!" (11/10/81) lasted but three performances. Although critics such as John Simon and Frank Rich singled out some players, including Groener ("particularly adept") and Judy Kaye (whom Harry claimed stopped the show every night), for praise, they killed the show itself. Groener concedes that the timing for this musical may have been poor, following the Iranian crisis and Sadat's assassination, but adds, "That didn't affect the audience -- they got into it. It was the critics who weren't prepared for it." "Oh, Brother!" suffered from lack of money, mismanagement, and poor publicity. Groener is concerned that the powers-that-be no longer allow for productions like "Oh, Brother!" -- "a show that may not be a great piece of literature, but has wonderful music to listen to, so that audiences leave elated in some way, having forgotten about stuff for two and a half hours -- just sat there, laughed, and enjoyed themselves." Perhaps this is why so few original musicals have attempted to make a go of it on Broadway of late, with producers falling back on revivals such as "On Your Toes", "Porgy and Bess", and "Showboat".
Groener was next seen Off Off Broadway in the Hudson Guild Theatre's production of Stephen Temperley's "Beside the Seaside" (1/6/82, 28p). The play, mildly reminiscent of a Noel Coward comedy, concerns Jimmy (Groener), a British dandy and ne'er-do-well, who, in an attempt to secure a loan, visits his former stepmother Claudia (Leslie O'Hara) and her friend Anna (Charlotte Moore), who finds him sexually irresistable. Frank Rich ("N.Y. Times" 1/20/82) found that Harry Groener "...gives Jimmy his charming all. It can't be as easy as he makes it look to deliver lines like, 'Oh, Claud, you're such a tonic!' with a straight face."
Jimmy in "Beside the Seaside" was a different type of role for Harry and the critics had a difficult time accepting the change. "They felt I was miscast in the role because they were used to seeing me do the sweet guy, the innocent guy, the gawky kind of guy, and they couldn't buy a light complexioned villain. Iago (in "Othello") doesn't have to be dark and evil-looking. Iago can look like an innocent guy -- which to me is even more scary." The confusion in the reviews nonetheless pleased Groener, who adds that he wants to encourage the critics "to have to think both ways" when it comes to his portrayals and career.
"Is There Life After High School?" (5/7/82, 12p), based on the work by Ralph Keyes exploring love/hate relationships during those important, troublesome teenage years, marked Groener's third appearance on Broadway, this time at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The musical, with book by Jeffrey Kindley and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia, originally premiered in 1981 and the Hartford Stage Company. The five man and four woman cast were not listed in the credits according to character names. Instead, Harry was billed as "Man 5", but in different viginettes he played Eddie Rondello, recalling his high school fight with Jerry Doyle (Raymond Baker); Larry, who attempts to avenge his having been ignored and put down by a former high school "big shot" (James Widdoes) whoe doesn't even remember; and other characters. The biting "Things I Learned In High School" was convincingly soloed by Groener and he rollicked in the rafters with Raymond Baker and David Patrick Kelly in "Beer", affectionately recalling the magical potential of a six pack.
Frank Rich ("N.Y. Times" 5/8/82) considered the cast of "...High School?" to be "helpless victims on stage" and pointed, as did other reviewers, to the absence of focus due to the play appearing to be written in an impersonal "everyman's voice." Groener concurred that the show lacked "something so that the audience knows when you come out, you're a different person. Eventually it was like white bread, with all of us coming out, in our minds thinking we're different people, but the audience doesn't know any of that. That was a big confusion." Groener felt that this ambiguity and other problems were largely the fault of Melvin Bernhardt, the original director of "...High School?". "I don't usually lock horns with anybody that I'm working with," but Harry claims that he and Bernhardt "were always arguing -- always contradicting each other." The director, Groener felt, was not being honest with the cast and thwarted attempts to bring color to the show by blending everything into a kind of grey. Although the cast tried to make delineations between characters, "the point of view of the show was never made clear" because Bernhardt was "afraid to place it in any period or time." Bernhardt eventually was fired, but the damage had been done. Reflecting further on "Is There Life After High School?", Groener observed, "I'm not sure if it was right for Broadway. I think it would have worked better Off Broadway or in a smaller house," -- an opinion shared by some of the critics.
After the demise of "...High School?", Groener signed with San Diego's Old Globe Theatre to do two plays in rep. Harry had the title role in "Billy Bishop Goes to War" and portrayed Algernon Moncrieff in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance Of Being Earnest". "Billy Bishop Goes To War" is Harry's favorite vehicle thus far in his career. "I've always been in love with that period ... specifically stories of World War I fliers." Having turned down the opportunity to be a replacement in "Billy Bishop..." in New York due lack of rehearsal time, Harry was not about to let the chance slip by a second time. Of the experience doing "Billy Bishop...", Harry explained, "It was so wonderful because it was like going back to school. You got back to the basics. You got back to acting again in the sense that you really have to be so many different people that all your facilities are going all the time. I also loved that one-on-one with the audience. It was as if they were saying, 'Tell me a story, dad.' They would really be involved and I loved the feeling of going out there and telling stories."
Groener had taken a leave of absence during the Old Globe reperatory season to return to New York City to audition for "Cats", the musical based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats that had been set to music by the talented Andrew Lloyd Webber. With direction by Trevor Nunn, choreography by Gillian Lynne, and sets and costumes by John Napier, "Cats" was already a major hit in London and the producers were gambling five million dollars on replicating that success in New York. Harry Groener landed the central part of Munkustrap, in essence the narrator of the musical, introducing characters and organizing the "jellicle cats." The role of Munkustrap, as explained to him by Trevor Nunn, was described by Harry for AP's Mary Campbell (1):
"I'm second in command to Old Deuteronomy, the leader and protector of the pack. I fight when need be. And I will take over when Old Deuteronomy leaves us forever. That's why I'm the one keeping things going, rounding up all the cats to perform their numbers, so that Old Deuteronomy can choose one to go to the Heavyside Layer, which is the best place to be."
"Cats" (10/7/82) received a great deal of publicity prior to opening (not surprising, considering its budget), but the critics were mixed about whether the musical fulfilled all expectations. The show, nonetheless, has thrived on phenomenal advance ticket sales, and the public response has assured "Cats" a long Broadway run. Approaching the two and a half year mark, virtually every performance of "Cats" has been sold out.
Due to "Cats" being such an ensemble piece, the attention of the critics was divided among many performers: Betty Buckley, Stephen Hanan, Donna King, Terrence V. Mann, and Timothy Scott, to name but a few. References to Groener were made by Frank Rich ("N.Y. Times" 10/8/82), praising the "plaintive Munkustrap," and Douglas Watt ("N. Y. Daily News"), who hailed Harry's "clear vocalizing and nimble steps."
As Munkustrap, Groener was an everpresent figure on the stage of "Cats". His prominent numbers included introducing Jennyanydots (Anna McNeely) in "The Old Gumbie Cat", singing the praises of "Old Deuteronomy" (Ken Page) with the Rum Tum Tugger (Terrence V. Mann), and a marvelous sequence during which Munkustrap describes and gives direction to "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and Pollicles".
When the 1982-83 Tony Award nominations were announced (5/13/83), "Cats" led the way with eleven. A well-deserved second Tony nomination was earned by Harry Groener for "Outstanding Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical". "Cats" walked away with seven Tony's, including best musical, but Harry was edged out in his category by Charles "Honi" Coles of "My One and Only". Afterwards, Groener graciously acknowledged that Coles was a deserving winner.
A musical such as "Cats", without much of a plot and having the major emphasis on dance is not without its problems, according to Groener. "This show, ("Cats") is so fragile and so thin, there isn't really anything to hold on to. You have to be concentrated and you have to really commit yourself to it. You can't slack off, you can't change things, and you can't be selfish. You have to give to each other on stage and you have to focus." When performers are on stage for an entire show, as most of the company of "Cats" are, it is a difficult thing to maintain and sustain the concentration required night after night.
Groener had initially signed on to do "Cats" for one year, but extended for a few months because "there was nothing out there." By the time Harry received an offer from the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, he was eager to shed his cat costume. Although he had adjusted quickly to the rigorous dance routines of "Cats", performing the "rake" on the slanted stage led to tendonitis which nagged Groener through most of his time with the show.
The Ahmanson provided Groener with the "wonderful opportunity" to work with playwright Peter Shaffer and director Paul Giovanni in "Light Comedies" (4/6 -- 5/27/84), a revival of two one-act Shaffer works from the sixties. "The Public Eye" featured Harry as Julian Cristoforu, an introverted private detective hired by an insensitive accountant (David Dukes) to keep tabs on his young wife (Melora Marshall). Rick Talkcove of the "L.A. Daily News" opined, "Looking like the human equivalent of an unmade bed, Groener is both funny and poignant as he tries to save the sour marriage of an egomaniacal husband and his put upon wife." "Black Comedy", Shaffer's farce concerning the misadventures of a group of people during a power failure, made use of the old Chinese theatre technique of a fully lit stage representing total darkness. "Daily Variety" (4/11/84) found that Groener deomnstrated "assured timing" as Brindsley Miller, the aspiring young British sculptor whose plans go completely awry.
The eight hour CBS miniseries George Washington (4/8, 4/10, 4/11/84), starring Barry Bostwick as the father of our country, gave Groener national television exposure as Patrick Henry. (Harry's only prior TV work was his portrayal of Paul Unger in Showtime's cable production of The Country Girl, starring Faye Dunaway). Harry gave a well balanced rendition to the role of Henry, exhuding both the youthful trepidation as well as the fervor and eloquence of the famed orator. Filmed on location in places like Philadelphia and Williamsburg, VA., Groener found giving the famed "If this be treason, make the most of it!" speech from the actual House of Burgesses to be exhilarating.
In June 1984, Harry went into rehearsals for the Old Globe Theatre's revival of "Scapino", adapted from Moliere by Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale as a vehicle for the latter. Directed by David Ogden Stiers, Groener excelled in the lead role, but Harry's main thrill in doing "Scapino" was the opportunity to work with his wife Dawn (who played Zerbinette, the gypsy "laughing girl") for a number of months. "Scapino" eventually moved from San Diego to Palo Alto, with Groener traveling back and forth to New York during free moments to audition for "Harrigan 'n Hart."
At present, Harry Groener is quite pleased to be assaying the role of Ned Harrigan and is cautiously optimistic that "Harrigan 'n Hart" will have a healthy run. As for the future, Harry states, "I don't want to be lumped into one type of theatre and one type of playing. In this city (New York), I have to go more for the musicals and more for the song and dance. That's what is going to get me known. That's where I'm going to get more attention. It's very hard for them (critics) to accepts somebody who can do one things as well as another." With Groener's skills and versatility, critics and audiences will have to learn to accept him in varied characterizations and in different genres of performing. It will be interesting to watch what directions that the career of the dynamic Harry Groener takes in the years to come. In the meantime, theatregoers are in for quite a treat as the Longacre Theatre with Harry Groener starring with Mark Hamill in "Harrigan 'n Hart". Go see it!
REFERENCES
1. Campbell, Mary. "One Cat Keeps 'Cats' Moving." "The Daily Times", Associated Press, December 5, 1982, Section F, p.1.
All other quotes attributed to Harry Groener are from the author's transcription of his personal interview with Groener between performances of "Cats" at the Winter Garden Theatre, February 2, 1983, and subsequent conversations and correspondence.
DISCOGRAPHY
1. "Oklahoma!" -- RCA Red Seal -- CBL1-3572
2. "Oh, Brother!" -- Original Cast Records -- OC-8342
3. "Is There Life After High School?" -- Original Cast Records -- OC-8240
4. "Cats" -- Geffen Records -- 2GHS 2031
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Bert Fink (Fred Nathan & Associates), Rick Miramontez (CTG, Ahmonson Theatre), Ben Morse (Jeffrey Richards Associates), Anne Milillo (CBS Publicity Photo Dept.), and staff from the Hartman, Long Wharf, Goodspeed, and Hudson Guild Theatres.
Jim Coughlin can be reached at JimTomCog@cs.com