October, 1986

Brownstone and baseball

Happy Fall! The leaves are turning, and my Miracle Mets are still playing baseball. At least for another day. (My apologies to my Chicago friends who are dismayed that this Chicago girl roots for a New York team- in 1968, my Dad was transferred to CBS Radio in New York. I fell in love with the 1969 Mets in second grade and remained a diehard fan when we moved back to Chicago in 1973.

I’m feeling nostalgic about another time the Mets were in the postseason, so I thought I would take a trip back in time and tell you about October, 1986.

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I was doing an Off-Broadway musical called Brownstone with Rex Smith, Ben Harney (Dreamgirls!) Ernestine Jackson, and Kimberly Farr. Brownstone was a mostly sung-through musical about five people living in a brownstone apartment in New York City.

Photo by Martha Swope from the NYPL Digital Collection

I played Claudia, a rather kooky girl who was getting over a break-up with her boyfriend. Brownstone had a wonderful score by Peter Larson and Joshua Rubins, and one of my songs was a gorgeous ballad called “Since You Stayed Here.” I recorded it on my second solo album, The Story Goes On: On and Off-Broadway. I also included it on The Essential Liz Callaway.

I love singing “Since You Stayed Here” in my concerts- in fact, I’ll be singing it tomorrow afternoon in Nashua, New Hampshire. It’s a good example of a song that’s more enjoyable (and easier) to sing in a concert setting than in the show. In my concerts, I sing it while sitting on a stool. In the Brownstone, I sang it after carrying a bicycle down a flight of stairs!

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At the same time I was doing Brownstone, the Mets were on their way to their second World Series. I started singing the anthem for the Mets in 1984 when I was doing Baby, and I was thrilled when they asked me to sing the anthem at game 4 of the NCLS at Shea Stadium. (I wasn’t the only Broadway Mets fan singing the anthem - Glenn Close sang at game 3 of the NCLS, and Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd, Blue Bloods) also sang in the postseason that year.

I found this video of my anthem on YouTube. The title of the video is incorrect and rather amusing, but it’s nice to have a record of it and to hear the announcer mention I was doing Brownstone.

Fun fact: A Hollywood casting agent saw my anthem on TV and asked me to audition for a Martin Short movie called Cross My Heart. I did the audition, but the role went to Annette O’Toole.

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After an incredible NCLS series with the Houston Astros, the Mets went on to face the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. I had tickets for every game, but because of my show schedule, the only game I could go to would be Game 7 after my matinee. If there was a game 7. I remember watching the end of game 6 with the famous Bill Buckner ball through-the legs-moment at the Joanna’s Restaurant on 18^thStreet. I was so excited- there WAS going to be a game 7!

The next day it rained. And the game was postponed to Monday night. It was my day off, but Dan and I had plans to fly to Chicago for the Jeff Awards, the Chicago equivalent of the Tony Awards. Earlier that year, Dan and I did Baby together at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, and we were both nominated for our performances.

WBBM-TV did this profile of me for their news magazine Two on Two. There’s some amazing footage of the show, interviews with Dan, me and my beloved Dad, (and some serious kissing!)

  

Back to game 7. I was terribly conflicted, but we flew to Chicago as planned.

And Dan and I both lost. I watched the final moments of the Mets winning the World Series at a hotel bar. “Regrets, I’ve had a few….”

I still haven’t gone to a World Series game. In the 2000 Subway Series, I was in Los Angeles recording my album The Beat Goes On and watched the games at the Denny’s next to my motel. And in 2015, when we played Kansas City, I was in Australia for concerts. Will 2024 be the year? It’s not likely, as we’d have to win the next two games in Los Angeles, but I have learned never to underestimate this Mets team, which I think might be my favorite Mets team of all time.

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A final word about Brownstone. When we opened, the show was not embraced by the critics enough to make a cast album, which I thought was a shame because it had such a special score. Happily, in 2003, Original Cast Records made a studio recording of the show with me, Brian D’arcy James, Debbie Gravitte, Kevin Reed, and the late, great Rebecca Luker.

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Where in the World is Liz?

• Oct 20 NASHUA, NH Liz Callaway Live

• Oct 28 NEW YORK, NY Bound for Broadway Liz Callaway, Host

• Nov 7-9 FAYETTEVILLE, AR Liz Callaway: Broadway and Beyond

• Nov 26-30 NEW YORK, NY New York State of Mind with Ann Hampton Callaway

• Nov 30 LIVESTREAM New York State of Mind with Ann Hampton Callaway

• Dec 14 OWENSBORO, KY Home for the Holidays Owensboro Symphony

• Dec 20-22 VENICE, FL Home for the Holidays Venice Symphony

• Jan 11-18  Seth Rudetsky’s Big Fat Broadway Cruise with Tony Yazbek and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, and yours truly.

• May 25-June 1 Cabaret Stars at Sea with me, my sister, Ann, Jason Graae and Alex Rybeck!

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And lastly, today is our anniversary. 39 years! (I was 12 when we married.) How lucky am I?

Thank you for reading. Have a great weekend. (And let’s go Mets!)

xoxo Liz

PS If you enjoyed this issue of “Between Flights” I would love it if you would share it with your friends and family.