THREE GENIUSES
MICHAEL BENNETT, JEROME ROBBINS, AND JACK O’BRIEN BY JERRY
MITCHELL
“Human rights have crept into the theatre.’’ I will never forget that phrase. Where I was and who spoke those words. At the time, it was said nonchalantly, but it puzzled me and made me sit up and listen. Was he bitching about someone specific? Was there some incident? Or was it just a frustrated throwaway at the end of an extremely concentrated day of dancing? I was young, sitting at the feet of a giant, and I was absorbing everything every day. Often after rehearsals we would go to his office across the hall and have a drink. Jodi Moccia, Danny Herman, myself, and a few others from the cast would be invited for a
Michael Bennett rehearsing Scandal with Jerry Mitchell + Jodi Moccia PHOTO c/o Jerry Mitchell
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“wrap-up cocktail.” We would talk over the choreography of the day and speak openly about our sexual experiences. Why were we talking about sex? Because the show was about sex. All kinds of sex. This musical was going to be shocking, funny, and have a point to make about sex and love. But the point I am trying to make is we were being asked to talk. Rehearsal had finished, but the work went on. Have you guessed the giant who first uttered that phrase? The quote is Michael Bennett’s. The time was 1984/1985, and the place was Michael’s office on the seventh floor of 890 Broadway, across the hall from Studio A, where we were
in our second six-week workshop for the musical Scandal. Time Jump Now it is 1988. I’m back at 890 Broadway on the seventh floor, but this time in a small side room with another giant of the industry. Equity deputies are explaining to him the rules for five- and 10-minute breaks for the performers. My mind flashes back about four years to that phrase, “Human rights have crept into the theatre.” I am witnessing a giant of our industry who can’t understand why he can’t control when the breaks happen. He promises to give the required number by the end of each day but when he deems appropriate based on the workflow. No dice!
