Rita McKenzie is America’s go-to girl when it comes to playing Ethel Merman. Since the early 1980s, the song-and-dance veteran and New Jersey native has been performing Merman’s most celebrated songs in a stage show. Her award-winning one-woman biographical play with music, “Ethel Merman’s Broadway!,” opens Sept. 8 at the Laguna Playhouse.
We caught up with McKenzie, who sounds amazingly Merman-esque even in conversation, and asked her a few questions about the show.
The Orange County Register: How did “Ethel Merman’s Broadway!” get its start?
Rita McKenzie: We started in 1989. It originated in New York in a little club. It was an hour-long version of the present show. Of course, I didn’t look as I do now, but even then I was constantly being told I reminded people of Ethel. I didn’t want do (an impersonation) but my friend and partner Chris Powich said, “Ethel has passed away. Why don’t we honor her in a way?” (Powich is the show’s writer and director.) We found some songs that the public didn’t know she sang. I did a lot of research at the Lincoln Center Library. We wrote a 20-minute segment and brought it to this place called Don’t Tell Mama. People liked it. Then we played The Ballroom, a very big venue in New York. Then the Pasadena Playhouse invited me to come out and do it. We made it into a two-act musical then. That was in 1990.
Register: What did you discover about Merman that surprised you?
McKenzie: She was shy and had two kids and was a good mom and a wonderful daughter to her parents. Coming from my Italian Catholic background in New Jersey, that felt good to me.
Register: What are your own early experiences with Ethel?
McKenzie: I never saw her (Merman died in 1984 at 76). But she was in my world because in those days when Broadway had a hit, those songs were played on a hit parade. As a kid, I was conscious of Ethel but I didn’t like her. She was loud and I didn’t like loud people. I was a demure young girl growing up in New Jersey. Julie Andrews was the gal I identified with.
Register: How did you choose the songs?
McKenzie: Well, it was tough. We had to honor Ethel with the hits she had. I do 20 songs in the show. That’s a lot for one singer to do. There are a couple of medleys: seven songs from “Annie Get Your Gun.” “Gypsy” is big. Cole Porter is big, too – four songs. We looked at the Broadway composers that had worked for Ethel. But she had more of a life than Broadway. She did 30 movies before Broadway, so we did songs from the movies. Then she did TV. We pulled in songs that integrated into the story we wanted to tell of Ethel.
Register: Is the story autobiographical?
McKenzie: Yes. The story goes through her life, all of it. She was a Republican and a secretary from Queens. She was also fun. Everyone who knew her said what a great, fun-loving gal she was. And gossipy – she comments on everybody. She was ahead of her time in many ways. Ethel was a take-charge kind of gal.
Register: What made her great?
McKenzie: Anybody who ever saw Ethel perform says she made them feel like everything was going to be OK. She took people out of their troubles. Everybody embraced the energy she had on the stage. She rose in the Depression. Everyone was struggling. She was a clarion voice, so to speak. In those days people were looking for strong women and men. I was close to Ann Miller and she said, “You can’t replace these people; they’re very special.”
Register: Do you try to mimic Merman exactly?
McKenzie: I never did an accurate imitation; I couldn’t. I stole her cadence and accent. I decided I would be as New York as I can. Before I started this show I sounded more like Melissa Manchester. I had to learn technical things liked holding a note for 16 counts. Before I go on the stage, I put the dress and the big red lips on and I’m totally in character. I also worked with Milton Berle, Steve Allen, a lot of big comics. I watched them and learned a lot about comic timing. That helped.
Register: This show is a major part of your life now. Are you happy being known as Ethel?
McKenzie: I tell you, once I embraced the show wonderful things happened. I travel everywhere. After I leave Laguna I’m going to Switzerland to do an hour version of the show with Michael Bublé. I did it in Antarctica on a Holland America cruise. I was one of 10 people to represent the U.S. at the 50th anniversary celebrations for the end of World War II. It touched me to be a part of that. I’ve sung on the steps of the Capitol and in the (Capitol) rotunda. It’s all been a thrill!
Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or phodgins@ocregister.com
