In mid-June last year, Salt Lake City was caught up in the euphoria and excitement of the 2002 Winter Olympics bid, and Carol Channing was playing to packed houses with her "Hello, Dolly!" tour at the Capitol Theatre.
On Friday, June 16, crowds jammed around the City-County Building burst into cheers when Salt Lake's successful bid was announced. That night, during her "Dolly" curtain call, Channing told an already captivated audience that "I'll be back in 2002!"The crowd went crazy.
Both Carol Channing and Dolly Gallagher Levi are women of utmost integrity.
If Channing says she'll be back in 2002, you can bank on it.
But, at the time, neither she nor her local fans realized that she'd be back in town long before the Winter Olympics.
She and crooner/pianist Michael Feinstein will share the stage on Monday, March 25, for an "Evening on Broadway" gala formally reopening Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus following a two-year, $15 million renovation.
One of Broadway's biggest hits, "The Phantom of the Opera," opens three nights later at the Capitol Theatre.
These two major theatergoing events have a common connection. It was the lengthy, three-month engagement of "Phantom" at the Capitol Theatre downtown that provided the motivation for the massive project at Kingsbury Hall. With its huge new state-of-the-art backstage area, upgraded patron facilities and top-to-bottom overhaul, the historic and stately old Kingsbury Hall will take some of the scheduling heat off of the Capitol Theatre.
Both facilities seat nearly the same number of patrons - 1,917 at Kingsbury for those shows that require an orchestra pit and 1,913 at the Capitol. Depending on the configurations, Kingsbury Hall seating can also be increased by another 200 seats.
Details on the program for the Channing/Feinstein gala have yet to be worked out.
Feinstein, widely regarded as the definitive interpreter of great standards from the 1930s, '40s and '50s, has a fairly busy performance schedule, and the two headliners will arrive next weekend to rehearse the show.
"I will go on first, then Michael and then we'll do some songs together," Channing said during a telephone interview from Los Angeles earlier this week. "It's not easy getting two people together when they're both working."
But, given the "An Evening on Broadway" theme - along with Channing's extensive theatrical credits and Feinstein's catalog of tunes by Cole Porter, the Gershwins and Jule Styne, among others, you can bet there will be plenty of great show tunes on the agenda.
According to Jay Ball, director of development relations at the University of Utah, the gala will be a fitting tribute to both the theater's storied past and its lavish renovation.
"When we discussed plans for reopening this historic building," said Ball, "we wanted to do something that would not only reflect its history but also would show off in a big, colorful, dramatic way, the theater's new role as a major venue.
"Carol Channing and Michael Feinstein are the perfect star attractions. Each has built a career on an American tradition of popular song and theater that goes back to the era when Kingsbury Hall was built in 1929. We are giving our stars an on-stage orchestra, and each will perform in front of sets specially designed for them."
Seven Nielson, one of the region's busiest scenery designers, will have a New York City skyline backdrop for Feinstein's segment of the show and a set inspired by both "Hello, Dolly!" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" for Channing's performance.
- CAROL CHANNING has performed the roles of matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi and husband-hunting Lorelei Lee more than 4,000 times.
Her 30th anniversary "Hello, Dolly!" tour, which stopped June 13-18 in Salt Lake City en route to a blockbuster Broadway revival, will soon be heading overseas.
Channing said, "Charles and Manny (manager/husband Charles Lowe and producer Manny Kladitis) are busy negotiating the global extension of my tour."
The show itself was extended two or three times in New York, where it finally closed to packed houses when it couldn't be extended any longer.
"Right now I'm doing some concerts and finishing up `Dolly' in some of the cities we missed. On March 18 Jerry Herman (who composed the music and lyrics for "Hello, Dolly!") will present me with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles theater critics," she said.
One thing Carol Channing doesn't lead is a boring life. When she's not performing, she visits friends and colleagues.
"I saw George Burns just a few weeks ago, and he was so excited that his book, `100 Years, 100 Stories,' was number 7 on the best-seller list," she said.
One interesting appearance by Carol within the past few months was with the "Dolly!" cast in Times Square during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
"Oh, that was freezing cold! I had to wear thermal underwear under my costume!"
Channing also performed in a recent Jerry Herman tribute as a fund-raiser for AIDS research and is negotiating for some television projects. She'll have concerts in Chicago and Louisville after leaving Salt Lake City.
- TALK ABOUT BEING in the right place at the right time.
When he was 20 years old, Michael Feinstein left his home in Columbus, Ohio, and headed west.
He landed in Canoga Park, a suburb of Los Angeles, where a meeting with pianist Oscar Levant's widow evolved into an introduction to lyricist Ira Gershwin, who hired young Feinstein to help catalog the vast Gershwin brothers' music collection.
One of Feinstein's biggest fans, who happened to live next door to Gershwin, is Rosemary Clooney - a performer who really knows her way around the classic pop hits of yore. Both Clooney and Feinstein have performed together at Hollywood Bowl and other venues.
"He's a very good musician," said Clooney in a recent Los Angeles Times article. "He cares very much about the words. He's an honest performer. If he makes a mistake, he'll be funny about it. He's very kind, too. He takes care of his friends. I had a bout of pneumonia over the holidays, and he made a point of calling me every day. My own children didn't do that!"
- THE BACKUP ORCHESTRA for the Kingsbury Hall gala will include 18 musicians from local bandleader Joe Muscolino's stable of professional players.
Robert Wendell, Channing's personal pianist/conductor, and her own drummer, Perry Cavari (currently in the orchestra for Julie Andrews' Broadway production of "Victor/Victoria"), and Feinstein's own conductor, Larry Blank, will be here for the performance.
"Feinstein also plays his own piano and will be using Carol's drummer," Muscolino said.
Four hours of rehearsal time have been scheduled for Channing and a couple of hours for Fein-stein, followed by a full dress rehearsal on the day of the concert.
- BENEFIT - Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Kingsbury Hall Renovation Fund.
Patrons may attend the gala and have a seat named in their (or someone else's) honor for $2,500 in the loge section, $1,000 on the main floor (front and center) or $500 in the balcony. For named seating, contact Lynda Christensen at 581-7100.
- RENOVATION HIGHLIGHTS - Patrons revisiting Kingsbury Hall for the first time in nearly two years will find these refinements:
- Completely renovated and greatly enlarged stagehouse, nearly four times the size of the old backstage area. The spring-based floor is designed for dance and ballet. There are enough dressing rooms for 77 performers, including two "star" dressing rooms.
- For patrons, restrooms have been considerably expanded, and access is much easier for the disabled to all areas of the building, including a pedestrian bridge connecting 1400 East directly to the theater's plaza/lobby level.
- New air conditioning and heating systems . . . renovated seating . . . improved sound isolation from outside noises . . . new ticket office.
- Office space for Kingsbury Hall's administrative staff and student facilities have also been expanded and improved. The building has also been upgraded to meet current safety and seismic codes.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
`Gala' tickets
Tickets for "An Evening on Broadway" with Carol Channing and Michael Feinstein at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 25, at Kingsbury Hall are priced at $35, $50 and $100, available at all ArtTix outlets, including the main box office at the Capitol Theatre and selected Albertson's stores. There is also a $10 discount for University of utah students and staff. For reservations, call 355-2787.
For all Kingsbury Hall events patrons should plan to arrive at least half an hour early to allow time to get parked and into the theater. Free parking is available in the lot west of the Ute stadium, with buses (also free) shuttling patrons to and from the theater.