Friday, May 20, 2005 | 3:52 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
May 21 - 22, 2005
A little more than five years ago, on Jan. 9, 2000, the Las Vegas Sun launched this weekly feature, Q&Accent.
The first subject was Robert Goulet.
A lot has happened to the 71-year-old Las Vegas resident since that first interview, perhaps the most exciting being his return to Broadway in director Jerry Zaks' revival of the Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein hit musical "La Cage aux Folles" at the Marquis Theater.
The musical has been nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Gary Beach), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell) and Best Costume Design of a Musical (William Ivey Long).
The awards will be announced June 5 at Radio City Music Hall.
Film fans might best remember the 1996 movie version of the story, "The Birdcage" -- a non-musical directed by Mike Nichols and starring a relatively subdued Robin Williams and a flamboyant Nathan Lane.
The plot revolves around a gay couple -- Georges (the owner of a St. Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment) and Albin (his star attraction) -- and the complications that arise when Georges' son from a brief heterosexual fling brings home his fiancee's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
The story first was a 1973 French play written by and starring Jean Poiret. In 1978 the play became a hit French film, and in 1983 the musical version premiered on Broadway, sweeping the Tonys.
In 2004, Zaks revived the musical, which featured Daniel Davis as Georges. Davis abruptly left the show in March and on April 15 Goulet stepped into the role.
Goulet has received glowing reviews from New York critics, which shouldn't surprise anyone who is familiar with the actor-singer whose rich baritone voice is as strong as ever.
Goulet, a Las Vegas resident since 1981, has kept his chops up with an occasional concert tour and by performing from time to time in a road show of a Broadway musical.
Goulet has had a distinguished career in the theater -- in 1960 he made his Broadway debut as Lancelot in "Camelot," which featured Richard Burton as King Arthur and Julie Andrews as Queen Guenevere.
This is his fifth time on Broadway.
He stayed with "Camelot" two years. When he left, Goulet's career took off in every direction -- he won a Grammy in 1962 for Best New Artist, an Emmy in 1966 for "Brigadoon" and a Tony in 1968 for Best Actor in a musical for his performance in "The Happy Time."
Through the years the native of Lawrence, Mass., has made his mark on television ("The Simpsons," among dozens of other series), screen ("Beetlejuice") and records (more than 60 best-selling albums) -- not to mention the stage ("Man of La Mancha," "South Pacific").
Goulet has been busy these days settling into his new role as a gay nightclub owner and living with his wife, Vera, in temporary digs at the Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City.
He took a few minutes recently for a telephone interview with the Las Vegas Sun:
Las Vegas Sun: When you were asked to join the cast of "La Cage aux Folles," what were you doing?
Robert Goulet: I wasn't doing anything, just sitting on my big fat bottom doing my occasional concert tour.
Sun: You weren't planning another tour with a Broadway road show or something?
RG: I was sort of working on a couple of projects, but I had nothing really in mind at the time they offered me the part.
Sun: What was your initial reaction when you were asked to play the role of a homosexual?
RG: Actually I was first offered a part in "La Cage" back in 1982. I was working at the Dunes at the time. I had just finished my second show and I was in my dressing room changing my wet shirt when Norm Johnson, my PR man, came up to me with a script -- he was slapping it against the palm of his hand.
"Hey, Bob," he said. "I got a script here for you -- it's a musical. The only thing is, you have to wear three-inch heels and shave your moustache."
They wanted me to read the part for the other man -- Albin, the transvestite. I turned it down.
Sun: So what changed your mind, 23 years later?
RG: The producers called me after the first of the year. They were having a rough time and asked if I would consider joining the cast -- this time they asked me to play Georges, the straight homosexual -- is that an oxymoron? -- instead of the transvestite homosexual.
Sun: Did you have any misgivings?
RG: I am very heterosexual -- but I figure at my age, I can handle it.
Sun: With such short notice, did you have any problems learning your part?
RG: I only had two and a half weeks to prepare. There were thousands of things to learn, thousands of words, thousands of notes. But it moved pretty quickly. I'm into my fifth week now, so I did all right.
Sun: How did you prepare for your role?
RG: It was a challenge. I analyzed the character -- here we have a gay guy, and I'm not gay.
Sun: Everyone is talking about the kiss. You and your co-star end the show with a kiss. Was that a major issue with you when you accepted the part?
RG: I was surprised the director wanted us to kiss at the end. It hadn't been done in the other productions. I asked him if it was absolutely necessary. He said yes, it was absolutely necessary. I said, "Just a plain little kiss, right?"
So that first time, at the end of the show we put our arms around each other and we're walking off in the spotlight -- we had never rehearsed it, never even talked about it -- and I grabbed him and kissed him. I was a shade nervous. I think I almost broke his nose. I didn't know where the noses were supposed to go.
Sun: Is yours a limited engagement or are you there for the duration?
RG: It's a limited engagement. They gave me a six-month deal, but then I was asked if I would extend to the end of the year. After that, I'm out of here.
They want me to go on the road with the production, but the road is tough. They would have to pay me a lot of money to go through that. If we did a couple of months in Chicago, a couple of months in Boston, a couple of months in San Francisco, that would be fine, but not a few days here, a few days there.
Sun: What awaits you after "La Cage?"
RG: I don't know what will happen after I finish with the show -- maybe some recording. I could do something else on Broadway. I can't really talk about it right now.
Sun: You've lived in Las Vegas more than 20 years. Now that you're in New York, which do you prefer?
RG: You can't compare New York and Las Vegas. If I had my druthers I would be working six nights a week in Las Vegas in my own showroom and sleeping in my own bed at night.
But I'm here and I'm enjoying it.
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