The Cavalier daily :: Friday, February 13, 1970 :: University of Virginia Library

NEW YORK In his lyrics for a
song in "Hello, Dolly!", Jerry
Herman wrote "If you ain't got
elegance you can never ever carry it
off." This line out of contest might
seem a bit pretentious, but when
applied to the new Alan Jay Lerner

Andre Previn musical, "Coco," it
accurately describes the state of
affairs. Elegance is essential to the
success of "Coco," for the show is
concerned with the world of high
fashion and, in particular, one of its
major exponents, Gabrielle Chanel.

Because of the necessity for this
expensive ingredient, it is doubtful
that "Coco" will ever be presented
anywhere but in high-priced commercial
theatre situations. At any
rate, the elegance abounds in this
Broadway original, which perhaps
explains why the estimated cost of
production was an all-time high of
close to a million dollars. Was it
worth it? For several reasons not
the least of which is the radiant
presence of Katharine Hepburn in
the title role and despite some
obvious negative factors, the answer
is yes.

"Coco," which has been in the
workings for more than a decade, is,
quite simply, the famed couturier's
musical biography. Her comeback
in 1953 at age seventy after a
fifteen year retirement is the
primary focal point, but her youth,
her designing history, and her loves
are all portrayed, in many instances
through the use of live action film
clips.

Fashion Show

One of the main benefactors of
the project has proven to be Cecil
Beaton, whose sets and costumes
(especially the later) are enough to
make Broadway matinee matrons,
drool. Indeed, the dazzling
creations which are beautifully
offset by the simplicity of the salon
worker's smocks are often
predominant to the extent that at
times we think we are watching a
high-priced fashion show.

Granted, this is substantially
thin material around which to
structure a musical. Chanel's loves
are platonic; her lovers, images on a
screen. Thus, her inner conflict
was she right to follow her career or
should she have married? Never
attains the dramatic proportions it
should. Memories and regrets are
two different things and, while her
memories give us insight into her
past, we are never fully convinced
that they are colored with romantic
regrets.

But many far superior musicals
have had thinner premises ("Oklahoma!"
is the classic example) and
"Coco" does often overcome this
dramatic weakness. The libretto is a
pastiche of Lerner witticisms (such
as "A woman needs independence
from men, not equality. In most
cases equality is a step down.").
Yet whatever strength it has lies in
Mr. Lerner's ability to write scenes
such that they flow by smoothly
and with much theatrical grace
One Serious mistake he has made,
however, is in having two songs
delivered by characters on film.

Controlling Force

Mr. Lerner has a great sense of
theatre and, fortunately for "Coco,"
his signature is all over this
project. One cannot overemphasize
the importance of his personal
involvement in the production:
from all indications, he has been
the controlling force. Mr. Lerner's
delicate way of handling a scene,
his concern for detail, and his
unparalleled style of shaping a lyric
are all here, just as they were in his
previous musicals, though not as
emphatically. Even if you saw
"Coco" unaware of his connection
with it, you would guess he was
involved by midway through the
first act.

While Lerner the lyricist hasn't
lost his magic touch, Andre Previn
has had the unenviable task of
following Frederick Loewe and
Burton Lane as his composer.
Although Mr. Previn sorely loses by
comparison, his score is pleasant
and listenable. Unfortunately there
are too many ballads which miss
their mark for it to average out to
anything more. The music, like the
show, is at its considerable best in
the two brilliant production numbers
and (if I can convince myself it
isn't derivative) a love song entitled
"Let's Go Home."

As I indicated earlier, the
production itself is, when it comes
right down to it, the major life
force of the evening. Michael
Bennett's fresh, high-kicking choreography
comes on strong when the
occasion demands and it is exemplary.
Michael Benthall's staging
ties all the pieces together with
much finesse. He gets more mileage
out of a turntable than any director
in recent memory and his high
octane cast never runs low on
performance fuel.

Hepburn Dominates

First, now and always, is Miss
Hepburn. She dominates as it
should be. There are many aspects
of her performance which are
worthy of remembrance. There's
the scene full of simplistic charm
in which she lies on the stage,
thumbing through her career scrapbook
with her "teacher's pet"
model. Then there's the one, as a
little girl, in which she affectionately
begs her salesman father not
to leave her. And the humorous one
in which she celebrates her public
success with a bottle of champagne
and the buyers from "Orbach's,
Bloomingdale's, Best, and Saks,"
whose store names she slurs after
having too much bubbly. But most
of all there is the final scene in
which she states in a voice echoing
with haunting decisiveness that she
lived her life as she should have.
Miss Hepburn's return to Broadway
is clearly another personal triumph
in a career which hopefully will last
forever.

Of the rest, Gate Dixon is the
lovely ingenue who appealingly
plays the favored protegee, and as
her determined pursuer David Holliday
possesses a rich singing voice.
Rene Auberjonols has fun with the
role of a jealous young designer
who is "way beyond" homosexuality,
and his rendition of a
tuneful tango called "I asco" is one
of the evening's highlights. George
Rose as Coco's lawyer and Jeanne
Arnold as her assistant are also fine.

But all eyes are on Miss Hepburn
and the costumes, all cars on Mr.
Lerner's wit and lyrics. This is the
combination that has made an
enjoyable evening in the old Broadway
tradition out of what could in
other circumstances come across as
a dull musical.