Elton John, The Phantom of the Opera and Lynn Swann…The Rush Limbaugh Affair.
MANY OF YOU OUT THERE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THIS MUSICAL EPISODE IN MY LIFE. WHILE THIS CERTAINLY REVOLVES AROUND A MUSICAL TOPIC, IT IS A BIT MORE IN STORY FORM SO IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE TIME CHALLENGED GO AHEAD AND HIT DELETE.
“Dave It’s a Lou Pecarelli on the phone for you” said one of the interns in my office. Not that I am a big “call screener” but I usually ask whoever answers the phone to find out at least what the call is about. I didn’t know who Lou was but I was told it was “something about booking some singers for some event” Nice and specific. A very nice yet somewhat New York to the point, style business like voice was on the other end (even though he was calling from Florida) and tore into his mission before I could say much. “I’ve been calling The CAA agency and Columbia Artists and they can’t seem to help me. They suggested I call you,” He said rapidly. “I’m coordinating the entertainment for a big society wedding here in Palm Beach and I need some really good Broadway singers…ones that have done The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miz and Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway…the bride and groom are big fans of The Phantom” he said so that I knew the music of this show was particularly important. “ I think I can help you there.” I told him and after he let me know subtlety that money was no particular roadblock for us, I began to think of artists who would fit the bill. My friend Rob had played Valjean and Jekyll on Broadway and was chosen to sing The Phantom at The Kennedy Center honoring Phantom composer Andrew Lloyd Weber. Another friend Lisa (she was Fantine while I was Valjean of the Les Miz tour) was the “go to” Christine in Phantom whenever the company needed someone for a U.S. or worldwide production. I told Lou about them and I began to make phone calls. The date was months away and as I was able to land the fees the singers wanted, and the arrangements were made. There was plenty of time to put it all together. After Rob and Lisa were all set, Lou called back and told me that there would be “something extra” in my fee and would I please use that to be present at the event, which was taking place at The Breakers Hotel. “I’ll put you up at The Breakers for the weekend…I don’t really need you to do anything but just be here and make sure all goes smoothly.” A weekend at the Breakers?…one of the nicer hotels on the planet?…I was SO there.
Months went by and the songs were chosen (with a heavy emphasis on Phantom obviously) and all seemed to be in order. During another phone call Lou began to mention some song choices and some details about the bride and groom. What he mentioned began to seem a bit odd…”well you know… with him being in the news and all…with his heart trouble…” Lou said. I explained I didn’t understand what he was talking about and he asked had he not told me whose wedding this was. As he had not, he went on to explain that the wedding was Rush Limbaugh’s. I’ll say it here and now…I freely admit to listening to Rush’s show over the years…not because I agree with his politics but I find him very entertaining and love it when he gets excited and “tees off” on some liberal political figure…I look at it as more of a comedy act. I was fine with taking Mr. Limbaugh’s money and I figured my friend Rob was as well but I wasn’t sure about Lisa and her politics. After some “let’s think of it this way” type coaxing Lisa finally said “you know what… I’ll take part of the fee he pays me and make a donation to The Democratic National Committee.” Lisa agreed to continue on…all would go on as planned.
We were told that there would be some BIG name entertainment taking place after the reception and we all figured it would be Toby Keith or someone of the like who had already associated themselves with that side of the political spectrum. When we all arrived on Friday for the rehearsal, we were told that the post reception big name entertainer would be none other than Sir Elton John. It was told to us so matter of fact… like it was going to be someone nobody would really care bout. Elton John??? This was WAY exciting yet seemed a bit odd as only Madonna and Jesse Helms could have been more political polar opposites. It was quite thrilling that it was an icon (if ever there was one) of the music business we would be seeing.
As I sat behind a row of Republican luminaries and pundits during the ceremony, I noticed that right in front of me was democratic commentator and strategist James Carville there with wife Mary Matalin…(she does the same thing James does but only for the other side). Carville was fidgety and looked none to happy to be there throughout the entire ceremony. But other than some exasperated breaths from Mr. Carville, all was quite and beautiful and actually a lovely ceremony. I began to listen to Rob, Lisa and the orchestra move thru their “set”. As they sang duets from Phantom I realized that of all of the people I knew in the musical theatre industry or had heard sing these songs over the years, it would be impossible to beat what I was hearing from Rob and Lisa… they were simply stunning and had already wowed Rush and company the day before at the rehearsal. I think this moment in the ceremony was when I began to feel any sort of “politics” fade away (save Mr. Carville’s obvious chagrin) and the focus moved to the incredible music we were hearing and the joy of a marriage.
The music of the ceremony and reception went off without a hitch and I felt that Rob and Lisa had made me look good with their incredible performances.
The reception hall soon began to fill with a conservative cavalcade of “stars of the right”. At the table next to me was Senator, Actor (Law and Order, Hunt for Red October) and former Presidential candidate Fred Thompson. Oddly enough, we are both from the same small town in Tennessee so I introduced myself. I explained the connection and he replied in that totally recognizable voice, that he didn’t think there were too many others there from Lawrenceburg, TN. I watched Rudy Giuliani nervously come in and out of the room and knew that somewhere in the midst of the festivities was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (thus the Secret Service presence). Sean Hannity walked by and everywhere I looked I saw many other political faces made famous by CNN and Fox News. I may not have been able to remember all of their names but I knew that you would not find a DVD of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth in their movie collection.
My friend Rob grabbed me and said that he was just on the dance floor next to Lynn Swann. If you don’t know, Lynn Swann was a 4-time Super Bowl winner with The Steelers, Hall of Famer and maybe the best wide receiver to ever play the great sport of the tackle football. NOW I was excited. I couldn’t lay eyes on him but hoped I would catch a glimpse of him at some point. Rush made a quick speech and we were told it was time for us to move into a hotel ballroom intimately set for 400 people. A lone grand piano was set on a small stage and it was not long until the magic began.
As he started his set with Your Song it hit me that this amazing song was a hit for Elton some 40 years ago (it was off his 2nd album released in 1970)…it just didn’t seem like that long ago. He sounded amazing as he went from hit to hit to super smash hit. I realized just what an important figure he is and (has been for over 40 years) in the popular music world…4 #1s…16 top 10s…Grammys out the ass with a Tony and an Oscar to boot. Someone who truly deserves the title of legend was playing and singing within a short distance of me and I was mesmerized. It was simply wonderful from all perspectives. He sounded great (although I did miss some of his signature falsetto) and he played with such style and groove. To quote Mr. Joel…the piano sounded like a carnival as obviously it was a midi-grand and he had a rack of synth units in the back but it was all controlled and played by him. I began to realize how much Elton John was one of my early musical influences. Your Song was one of the first things I learned to play on the piano…I can spout those chords by heart to this day. His music was so omnipresent in my youth that I think I began to absorb things from him and didn’t even know it. I wore out the grooves in my Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album and mispronounced… well, distorted all the words right along with him. C’mon did you REALLY know the first time you heard Bennie and the Jets that the word was “magazine”? Not that I ever sounded like him or played like him but I believe all of what went into my early musical formation was influenced somewhat by him. He was just so good that you couldn’t help but emulate. This all hit me in a flash and made the experience all the more moving. It was as if all the conservatives and me were getting our own living room show but instead of the grandkids, the star was a musical and cultural icon.
At some point during his hit-parade 75-minute set, I began to look at all of the people seated in front of and around me. I again saw Fred Thompson (a bastion of conservative politics), the great Lynn Swann (I had finally met him and gawkingly spoke to him as he showed me his Hall of Fame ring), some other important Republican party official (whose name escaped me) and most surprisingly, an openly gay male couple with their arms affectionately around each other. What truly struck me was that all of these people from their various walks of life were within 20 feet of each other. What else but this amazing artist and his stunning repertoire could have brought such a vastly different group of people together. For these hours…from Rob and Lisa singing to Sir Elton doing his thing, there were no politics. There was no left or right. There was no intolerance. There was only the music…amazing music that was a gigantic punctuation mark on a celebration that we were all there to share. Rob, Lisa and I sang all the background vocals just as if we were on the stage with Elton and had microphones. The fun and the sight-sound-memory flooded our minds as did the energy of what was happening flood the room. Needless to say…a good time was had by all.
What else but music and great artists performing it, has this power to make the divides disappear. “Is there a political divide?” Rush had said in his speech at the reception…”of course there is a political divide between us (He and Elton) but there is also much mutual admiration between 2 people who are at the top of their chosen professions and tonite, we will focus on that.” Elton said much the same but even a bit more passionately…” I am a tearer down of walls and a builder of bridges, so maybe we can tear some walls down and build a bridge or 2 here tonite.” He then looked at Rush and his new bride and earnestly asked them to “Please come stay with David and I at our home in England.” Rush nodded. Who knows if he would ever do something like that but you could tell that Elton was dead serious about the invitation. The audience roared with applause at Elton’s statement as they had while leaping to their feet after EVERY song…seriously, every song got a standing ovation. The power of music and great artistry had taken us all over and for that period of time that is all there was.
Do I think any of these people went back to Washington and changed their political views after this incredible evening of music?…I seriously doubt it. Will Rush Limbuagh suddenly change any of his staunch sometimes very unpopular views on certain topics?…the odds are not good. But…maybe…just maybe the slightest seeds of tolerance were planted that nite. Maybe the next time a political agenda, that may not be in ALL our best interests, is on the table, a LITTLE thought may be given before making a rash decision…a decision with a bit of thought given to ALL of us. Maybe someone will take pause before espousing some statement that could be viewed as intolerant and think better of it. Just maybe, as we all were bonded by the gifts of the moment, there was some subtle, unknowing change in the minds of all of us that nite. One hopes that somehow, in some way, it will make our point of view a little broader as we consider the differences between us and realize that they may not be as vast as we sometimes think. An unrealistic hope?…quite probably. Not a chance in hell?…yeah well. But as the impact of that evening lingers with me I find myself with a shred of hope… a glimmer of faith in ALL of us that maybe the power and gift of music could be the rare, hard to find yet common bond in us all and have the power to make us see things from a different perspective. It certainly bonded the folks in the room that nite. Maybe, hopefully, possibly that bond can permeate that part of us that thinks what we personally believe is what is right for all of us and only if even slightly, open our minds that maybe there are other places that we can meet in the middle. Hell…I can dream can’t I?
