Barbara Cook | |
|---|---|
 Cook in 2009 | |
| Born | (1927-10-25)October 25, 1927 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 8, 2017(2017-08-08) (aged 89) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1950–2017 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Musical theatre,traditional pop |
| Labels | Urania (1958–1959) Columbia (1975–1977) Moss Music Group (1981–1988) DRG (1993–2017) |
| Website | Official website |
Musical artist | |
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the originalBroadway musicalsPlain and Fancy (1955),Candide (1956) andThe Music Man (1957) among others, winning aTony Award for the last. She continued performing mostly in theatre until the mid-1970s, when she began a second career as a cabaret and concert singer. She also made numerous recordings.
During her years as Broadway’s leadingingénue, Cook was lauded for her excellentlyric soprano voice. She was particularly admired for her vocal agility, wide range, warm sound, and emotive interpretations. As she aged her voice took on a darker quality, even in herhead voice, that was less prominent in her youth.[1] At the time of her death, Cook was widely recognized as one of the "premier interpreters" of musical theatre songs and standards, in particular the songs of composerStephen Sondheim. Her subtle and sensitive interpretations of American popular song continued to earn high praise even into her eighties.[2] She was named an honoree at the 2011Kennedy Center Honors.
Cook was born inAtlanta, the daughter of Nell (née Harwell) and Charles Bunyan Cook. Her father was a traveling hat salesman and her mother was an operator forSouthern Bell.[3] Her parents divorced when she was a child and, after her only sister died ofwhooping cough, Barbara lived alone with her mother. She later described their relationship as "so close, too close. I slept with my mother until I came to New York. Slept in the same bed with her. That's just, it's wrong. But to me, it was the norm....As far as she was concerned, we were one person."[2] Though Barbara began singing at an early age, at theElks Club and to her father over the phone, she spent three years after graduating from high school working as a typist.[2]
In 1947 Cook was engaged as a featured performer for Atlanta's Southeastern Fair at theLakewood Fairgrounds.[4] While visitingManhattan in 1948 with her mother, she decided to stay and try to find work as an actress.[5] In 1949 she performed in a touringvaudeville act entitled "A Toast ToRodgers and Hammerstein" which was organized by pianist Erwin Strauss, the son of the composerOscar Straus. Beginning in Boston, the act performed mainly at hotels and venues owned byErnie Byfield in cities like New York and Chicago.[6] She began to sing at other clubs and resorts, eventually procuring an engagement at the Blue Angel club in Manhattan in 1950.[7]
Cook made her Broadway debut as Sandy in the short-lived 1951 musicalFlahooley.[1] She landed another role quickly, portraying Ado Annie in the 1951City Center revival ofRodgers and Hammerstein'sOklahoma!,[8] and stayed with the production when it went on its national tour the following year.
Also in 1952, Cook made her first television appearance on the showArmstrong Circle Theatre which presented her in an original play entitledMr. Bemiss Takes a Trip.[9] In 1954, Cook appeared in the short-lived soap operaGolden Windows and starred as Jane Piper in a television version ofVictor Herbert'soperettaBabes in Toyland. That summer, she returned to City Center to portray Carrie Pipperidge in a revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein'sCarousel, which Cook described as "the first time the critics really paid attention to me. It was like I was the new young thing. It was very important for me."[10]
In 1955, she received major critical praise for playing the supporting role of Hilda Miller inPlain and Fancy.Walter Kerr wrote of her performance: "Barbara Cook, right off a blue and white Dutch plate, is delicious all the time, but especially when she perches on a trunk, savors her first worthwhile kiss, and melts into the melody of 'This Is All Very New to Me'."[11] Cook's critical reputation andcoloratura soprano range won her the role of Cunegonde inLeonard Bernstein's 1956 operettaCandide, in which she sang the vocally demanding, show-stopping comic aria "Glitter and Be Gay".[1]
AlthoughCandide was not a commercial success, Cook's portrayal of Cunegonde established her as one of Broadway's leadingingenues. In 1957 she appeared in a second City Center revival ofCarousel, this time in the role of Julie Jordan,[8] and won aTony Award for creating the role of Marian the Librarian inMeredith Willson's 1957 hitThe Music Man.[12] Cook continued to appear regularly on television in the late 1950s, starring in a 1956Producers' Showcase production ofBloomer Girl, a 1957 live broadcast ofThe Yeomen of the Guard, and a 1958 musical adaptation ofHansel and Gretel.[13][14][15] She also made appearances onAlfred Hitchcock Presents,[16]The Ed Sullivan Show,[17]The Dinah Shore Chevy Show,[18] andThe Play of the Week.[19]
Cook starred in an acclaimed 1960 City Center revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein'sThe King and I and in the short-lived 1961 musicalThe Gay Life. In 1963, she created the role of Amalia Balash in the classicJerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musicalShe Loves Me.[20] Her performance prompted Norman Nadel of theWorld-Telegram & Sun to write, "Her clear soprano is not only one of the finest vocal instruments in the contemporary musical theatre, but it conveys all the vitality, brightness and strength of her feminine young personality, which is plenty."[20] A number fromShe Loves Me, "Ice Cream", became one of Cook's signature songs.[21]
In the mid-1960s, Cook began working less frequently. She appeared in the 1964 flopSomething More!, which ran for only 15 performances on Broadway, and tried her hand at non-musical roles, replacingSandy Dennis in the playAny Wednesday in 1965[8] and originating the role of Patsy Newquist inJules Feiffer's 1967 playLittle Murders.[22][23] She starred in national tours ofThe Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964 andFunny Girl in 1967.[3] Her last original "book" musical role on Broadway came in 1971 when she played Dolly Talbo inThe Grass Harp.[8][24] In 1972, Cook returned to the dramatic stage in the Repertory Theater ofLincoln Center's production ofMaxim Gorky'sEnemies.[25]
As she began struggling with depression, obesity, and alcoholism in the Seventies (she would quit drinking in 1977), Cook had trouble getting stage work.[2] In the mid-1970s Cook's fortunes changed for the better when she met and befriended composer and pianistWally Harper. Harper convinced her to put together a concert and on January 26, 1975, accompanied by Harper, she made her debut in a solo concert atCarnegie Hall that resulted in a legendary concert and live album.[5] Continuing a collaboration with Harper that lasted until his death in 2004,[26] over the next three decades, Barbara Cook became a successful concert performer and Cook and Harper performed together at not only many of the best cabaret spots and music halls in New York City--like Michael's Pub and theSt. Regis Hotel--but nationally and internationally. Cook and Harper returned to Carnegie Hall in September 1980, to perform a series of songs arranged by Harper.The New York Times' reviewer,John S. Wilson, wrote: "Since her first Carnegie Hall appearance, she has grown from a delightful singer to become a delightful entertainer who also happens to be a remarkable singer."[27] The latter performance was captured on the CDIt's Better With a Band.[28]
In 1986, Cook was nominated for anOlivier Award "The Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement" for her one-woman show, accompanied by Harper, at London'sDonmar Warehouse and theAlbery Theatre.[29] She won theDrama Desk Award "Outstanding One Person Show" in 1987 for her Broadway showA Concert for the Theatre, again with Harper.[30] In October 1991, they appeared as featured artists at the Carnegie Hall GalaMusic and Remembrance: A Celebration of Great Musical Partnerships which raised money for the advancement of the performing arts and for AIDS research.[31] In 1994, they performed a critically acclaimed concert series at theSadler's Wells Theatre in London,[32] which was recorded by DRG asLive From London. "Cook still comes across with consummate taste and with a voice that shows little sign of wear after 40 years."[33]Alastair Macaulay wrote in theFinancial Times about the concert, "Barbara Cook is the greatest singer in the world ... Ms. Cook is the only popular singer active today who should be taken seriously by lovers of classical music. Has any singer sinceCallas matched Cook's sense of musical architecture? I doubt it." The performing duo traveled all over the world giving concerts together including a number of times at theWhite House – for PresidentsCarter,Reagan,Bush, andClinton.[34][35]
From the mid-1970s on, Cook returned only sporadically to acting, mostly in occasional studio cast and live concert versions of stage musicals. In September 1985 she appeared with theNew York Philharmonic as Sally in the renowned concert version ofStephen Sondheim'sFollies.[36] In 1986, she recorded the role of Martha in the Sharon Burgett musical version ofThe Secret Garden along withJohn Cullum,Judy Kaye, andGeorge Rose.[37] In 1987 she performed the role of Julie Jordan in a concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein'sCarousel withSamuel Ramey as Billy,Sarah Brightman as Carrie, and theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra,[38] and she won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show forA Concert for the Theatre. In 1988, she originated the role of Margaret White in the ill-fatedmusical version ofStephen King'sCarrie, which premiered in England and was presented by theRoyal Shakespeare Company.[39] In May of 1990, she was the featured soloist in a program of theatre music given by theOratorio Society of New York. In 1994, she provided both her acting and singing skills to the animated film version ofThumbelina, as Thumbelina's mother which featured music byBarry Manilow.[40] That same year she was inducted into theAmerican Theatre Hall of Fame.[41]
In November 1997, Cook celebrated her 70th birthday by giving a concert atAlbert Hall in London with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, joined by performers includingElaine Stritch andMaria Friedman.The Times reviewer noted: "The world is usually divided into actresses who try to sing and singers who try to act. Cook is one of the few performers who manage to combine the best of both traditions, as she reminded us in 'It Might as Well be Spring' – and, at the close, in her encore ofBock andHarnick's 'Ice Cream'."[42]
In 2000, she was one of the only American performers chosen to perform at theSydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival in theSydney Opera House.[43] Also in 2000, she was joined byLillias White,Malcolm Gets, andDebbie Gravitte on the studio cast recording ofJimmy McHugh'sLucky in the Rain.[44]
In February 2001, Cook returned toCarnegie Hall to performBarbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim which was recorded live and released on CD.[45] Critically acclaimed from the start, Cook then took the concert to theWest EndLyric Theatre in 2001.[46] She garnered twoOlivier Award nominations for Best Entertainment and Best Actress in a Musical for the concert. She went on to performSings Mostly Sondheim atLincoln Center for a sold-out fourteen-week run from December 2001 to January 2002, and again in June 2002 to August 2002.[46] She was nominated for aTony Award for Best Theatrical Event. She took the show on a National tour throughout major cities in the United States.[46] DRG filmed the stage production during a performance at the Pepsico Theatre, SUNYPurchase, New York, on October 11, 2002[46] and it was released on DVD on the DRG/Koch Entertainment label. In June and August 2002 Cook performedSings Mostly Sondheim at the Terrace Theater,Kennedy Center as part of the Sondheim Celebration.[46]
In 2004 she performed two limited engagement concert series at theVivian Beaumont and Mitzi Newhouse theaters at Lincoln Center, "Barbara Cook's Broadway!", with Harper as her musical director/arranger.[47][48] She received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award ("for her contribution to the musical theater")[49] and a nomination for the Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Solo Performance.[50] A recording of the concert was made.[51]
After Wally Harper's death in October 2004, Cook made adjustments to new accompanists in solo shows likeTribute (a reference to Harper) andNo One Is Alone that continued to receive acclaim;The New York Times wrote in 2005 that she was "at the top of her game.... Cook's voice is remarkably unchanged from 1958, when she won the Tony Award for playing Marian the Librarian inThe Music Man. A few high notes aside, it is, eerily, as rich and clear as ever."[2] In January 2006, Cook became the first female pop singer to be presented by theMetropolitan Opera in the company's more than one hundred-year history. She presented a solo concert of Broadway show tunes and classic jazz standards, and was supported on a few numbers by guest singersAudra McDonald andJosh Groban and Elaine Stritch (although Stritch did not appear on the CD of the concert). The concert was recorded and subsequently released on CD.[52] On June 25, 2006, Cook was the special guest star of the Award WinningGay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., celebrating GMCW's Silver Anniversary in a performance at theKennedy Center in Washington DC.[53]
Cook was the featured artist at theArts! by George gala on September 29, 2007 at the Fairfax campus ofGeorge Mason University. On October 22, 2007, Cook sang at theBroward Center for the Performing Arts with the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus in the chorus's concert entitled "An Evening With Barbara Cook".[54] Upon completion of the concert, an almost full house greeted her with a round of "Happy Birthday" in honor of her impending 80th birthday, which, on December 2, 2007, she celebrated belatedly in the UK with a concert at theColiseum Theatre in London's West End.[55]
As she entered her ninth decade, Cook performed in two sold-out concerts with theNew York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center in 2007. TheNew York TimesStephen Holden wrote that Cook is "a performer spreading the gospel of simplicity, self-reliance and truth" who is "never glib" and summoning adjectives such as "astonishing" and "transcendent", concluding that she sings with "a tenderness and honesty that could break your heart and mend it all at once."[56]
In June 2008, Cook appeared inStrictly Gershwin at theRoyal Albert Hall in London, England, with the full company ofEnglish National Ballet.[57] An advertised appearance with theUlster Orchestra as the Closing Concert of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's at theWaterfront Hall inBelfast on October 31, 2008 was cancelled due to scheduling difficulties.[58] Her other 2008 appearances included concerts in Chicago and San Francisco.[59]
In 2009, she performed with the Princeton Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and gave concerts inBoca Raton, Florida, and at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton.[60] She performed in a cabaret show at Feinsteins at the Regency (New York City) which opened in April 2009.[61]
Cook returned toBroadway in 2010 in theRoundabout Theatre'sStephen Sondheim revueSondheim on Sondheim, created and directed by long-time Sondheim collaboratorJames Lapine, atStudio 54. She starred oppositeVanessa L. Williams, Norm Lewis andTom Wopat.[62] Cook was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the category of Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.[63] On April 12, 2011, Cook appeared withJames Taylor,Bette Midler andSting, atCarnegie Hall for a gala called "Celebrating 120 Years of Carnegie Hall".[64]
Cook was named an honoree at the 2011Kennedy Center Honors, held on December 4, 2011 (the ceremony was broadcast on CBS on December 27, 2011). Performers paying tribute to Cook on that occasion includedMatthew Broderick,Sarah Jessica Parker,Patti LuPone,Glenn Close,Kelli O'Hara,Rebecca Luker,Sutton Foster,Laura Osnes,Anna Christy, andAudra McDonald.[65]
In 2016, Cook published her autobiographyThen & Now: A Memoir with collaboratorTom Santopietro.[66] She announced her retirement in May 2017.[67]
Cook married acting teacher David LeGrant (December 8, 1923 – July 28, 2011) on March 9, 1952, after meeting at a resort on theBorscht Belt. They performed together in a national stage tour ofOklahoma in 1953. The couple had one child, Adam, born in 1959. They divorced in 1965.
Cook died from respiratory failure at her home in Manhattan on August 8, 2017, at age 89.[34] The marquee lights of the Broadway theaters were dimmed for one minute in tribute to Cook on August 9.[68] Cook's friend and fellow musical theater actressElaine Paige paid tribute to Cook during herBBC Radio 2 showElaine Paige on Sunday on August 13.[69]
Solo[70]
Cast and studio cast recordings
Compilations
Source:[74]
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