ROSEMARY CLOONEY-STILL A SUPERSTAR

“Tenderly” Entertains With Songs and Stories

~Doc Lawrence

Wendy Melkonian Glows as Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney was a mighty force in American popular music during the years of Eisenhower and Kennedy. Along with a group of women who sang to stardom like Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn, the girl from Maysville Kentucky entertained through recordings, club appearances, movies and TV shows. 

Then, on a Los Angeles night in 1968, the world came crashing on her with the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. 

Tenderly-The Rosemary Clooney Musical now playing at Stone Mountain Historic Village’s acclaimed Art Station Theater, surprised many on opening night. Poignant, tragic, funny describe special moments in two hours featuring over 20 songs made famous by Ms. Clooney. What makes the show very exceptional is the voice and acting ability of Wendy Melkonian who somehow manages to channel Ms. Clooney. (I was priviledged to see Ms. Clooney perform on stage).

Tenderly presents a fresh and remarkably personal picture of the woman whose talent and personality made her a legend in popular culture. Rosemary Clooney’s  journey starts with her Maysville, Kentucky childhood and meanders through her rise to Hollywood and TV stardom. A tour de force of her signature songs like "Come on-a My House," "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Count Your Blessings," "Hey There," "Mambo Italiano," and  many more are woven into the story of her successes on film, radio, and TV combined with monumental struggles in her personal life, notably a fading career and her battles with addiction and depression.  

Rosemary Clooney’s slide into the black hole of hopelessness is a major part of the production. Her marriage had collapsed, her money was gone, and her career at rock bottom. With a Beverly Hills mansion and five kids to look after, the tailspin accelerated. Prescription drugs and booze filled her emotional void. 

Rosemary Clooney was part of the Kennedy circle of superstars including JFK and the President’s brother, Robert Kennedy. When Bobby made his bid for the White House in 1968, she was with him during the pivotal California primary every step of the way. On election day in 1968, she flew with him to Los Angeles and sat in his car as he drove through the city. She was waiting for him at the Ambassador Hotel when the shots rang out.

Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby Come to Life on the Stage

Kennedy’s death was the final straw. She substituted reality with a bizarre world of her own. RFK wasn’t dead. It was a conspiracy, a plan by something or someone. Shortly after the tragedy, Rosemary Clooney traveled to Reno for a nightclub gig. Halfway through, she stopped the show, berated the audience and walked off stage, headed for Lake Tahoe, purposely driving the wrong way up an old mountain road and later tells her psychiatrist she was “playing chicken with God.”

With hospitalization and years of out-patient therapy, Rosemary Clooney made a miraculous comeback. A wiser person who breathed new life into her musical interpretations, she reinvented herself in a jazz idiom, surrounded by the brightest and best of a new generation of jazz players, and continued to sing until her death in 2002. Listen to the jazz masterpiece, her collaboration with Duke Ellington on the critically-acclaimed album “Blue Rose” and behold the spell only Rosemary could cast.

Luis R. Hernandez is the amazing catalyst who adds depth to the show and deep understanding of Rosemary Clooney’s demons and her triumphant return to sobriety and stardom. Brilliantly, he takes on multiple roles in the production, including a delightful

Bing Crosby, José Ferrer, Frank Sinatra, Ms. Clooney’s psychiatrist, and even her mother and sister.

Patrick Hutchinson’s musical accompaniment is flawless. Directed by Karen Beyer who also conducted the choreography, Tenderly is one of those productions that lingers in a special place where we store precious memories.

Through July 28.

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