The MDA Telethon’s future in Las Vegas was doomed the moment Jerry Lewis was shut out of last year’s broadcast. The reports last week that the show was moving from South Point, its home for the past six years, back to Los Angeles verified what was clear for months.
If the MDA were to continue to broadcast from South Point in the foreseeable future even after Lewis had relinquished his role with the organization -- that would have been a stunner. The show was moved to South Point six years ago primarily because of Lewis’ close relationship with South Point owner Michael Gaughan. With Lewis out, the show’s strongest link between the MDA and Las Vegas was severed. I once asked Lewis if the show would remain in Vegas if he were not the host. His unspoken response was to wave bye-bye.
With Lewis out of the organization and off the telecast, the MDA aired the shortened show from South Point a last time on Labor Day. The telethon is to be shortened again, cloven to 3 hours from 6, and staged at CBS Studios in the L.A. suburb of Culver City. R.A. Clark, son of legendary entertainment broadcast pioneer Dick Clark, is now running the show as executive producer, and it will be a primarily recorded experience. The live, marathon coverage of the MDA telethon is as dead as the Sahara hotel, which decades ago was one of its homes in Las Vegas.
Lewis is not commenting on any MDA activity these days, remaining silent about the confounding outcome ever since after it was announced in October 2010 that he would no longer serve as host. But the further shrinking of the show and its move out of Vegas was not the only news to surface from Lewis’ universe last week.
New information about the stage version of “The Nutty Professor” also came to light. The musical adaptation of the great 1963 film, widely regarded as Lewis’ best and one of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 comedies of all time (at No. 99), makes its world premiere July 24 at James K. Polk Theater at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville.
The plan is to give the production a healthy ride in Nashville, from July 24-Aug. 19, and build toward a run on Broadway.
Lewis is directing the musical but is not appearing onstage. The production stars Lewis favorite Michael Andrew in the Jekyll-and-Hyde lead role of Julius Kelp/Buddy Love. Music is supplied by Marvin Hamlisch, with the story and lyrics by Rupert Holmes (pop fans will appreciate that this is the same Rupert Holmes who wrote and recorded “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” and who is a highly regarded playwright and author).
Lewis has supplied a statement about the show, which was published by The New York Times:
“This musical will be spectacular for a couple of reasons. One, I’m directing it. Two, I have Michael Andrew, who is one of the best talents to come down the pike in 50 years. And I’m surrounding him with one-of-a-kind creative people, like Marvin Hamlisch, Rupert Holmes and me.”
Lewis added: “After it’s over, give me a call and let me know if everything I said was spot on.”
No false humility there.
Las Vegas does play a part in this outcome, of course, as Lewis remains a Las Vegan, and the city is home to the beautifully conceived, $475 million Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The Center’s Reynolds Hall boasts a busy program schedule of touring Broadway productions -- “The Color Purple” is wrapping a series of swift-selling shows tonight.
The world premiere of “The Nutty Professor” would have been an ideal fit at Reynolds Hall, likely the hottest ticket in the city and a stirring civic event. Rolling out one of Lewis’ favorite titles in his city of residence would have been a fine moment for him, the Smith Center and Las Vegas.
But that never happened simply because there was no contact between Lewis (or anyone involved with “The Nutty Professor” musical) and Smith Center officials. On Saturday night, before Clint Holmes’ dazzling debut at Cabaret Jazz, I asked Smith Center President Myron Martin if he’d known of plans of “The Nutty Professor” to premiere in Nashville.
He didn’t know anything about plans for the musical. The most likely reason is that Smith Center officials did not have “The Nutty Professor” at all on their radar, and the same can be said of Lewis in relation to the new performing arts center.
Maybe “The Nutty Professor” will make a stop in Las Vegas, someday, on its national tour. We can hope so. But it is a missed opportunity, and a big one, for our city.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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