The performance with Chelsea Field at the M. Fischer Theater benefited local charity Our Little Haven, which provides care, counselling, and foster care placement for abused, neglected, and drug-addicted children up to age five.
I would like to let TrekWeb's readers know about the pleasure and privilege of seeing Scott Bakula and Chelsea Field perform in a live charity event in St. Louis on Sunday evening, June 23rd.
I attended the first Sunday evening performance. The sell-out crowd was enthusiastic but muted as I arrived. Indeed, Scott's parents, who still live in a part of St. Louis known as Kirkwood, sat a few rows ahead of me, while Chelsea's mother and all four of Scott's children were nearby. Amazingly, Scott's parents were not seated front and center, but rather to the right of the stage about midway back. The fact that they weren't treated like honored guests with the best seats in the house initially surprised me, but I quickly realized that they don't want to be treated differently, but are simply good people more concerned about the audience seeing an entertaining show that benefits charity rather than hogging any limelight for themselves.
Indeed, Scott's mother and father were pleasant, greeting friends who had come to see the show. However, they were equally nice to total strangers who walked up to their seats simply to say how much they enjoyed Scott's acting. Mother and father had a few words for all of these folks, always smiling, and apparently enjoying the atmosphere of good will.
Bakula is legendary for being an extremely nice and personable fellow. Having met his parents, I can say that it's part of his upbringing, for both of them were genuinely down-to earth, even laconic.
The show itself, with lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt, and direction by Dennis Deal, follows 50 years in the marriage of Michael and Agnes. The story opens in the late 1940s on their wedding day, then follows the trials and tribulations (or is that tribble-ations?) of love, career, infidelity, parenthood, and old age. Michael is a romance novelist, while Agnes is a housewife and mother who provides an excellent foil for her initially silly, then increasingly vain husband.
The story itself is fairly typical, depicting the rush of enthusiasm that greets the marriage (a hilarious song sees Agnes admitting that she's a virgin on the wedding night, only to ask Michael if he's ever seen a woman naked--Bakula's reaction was truly priceless at this moment), mounting tensions as Michael leaves all houshold duties to his wife, confessions of infidelity, then the inevitable ups and downs of parenthood. In fact, anyone who has seen the film PARENTHOOD has a good idea of where the story will go, although the musical was written years before the movie.
I'll confess that I'm not a huge fan of musicals. Although OKLAHOMA and SINGING IN THE RAIN please me, musicals are, generally, more annoying to me than enjoyable. As with many pieces of musical theatre, I DO! I DO!'s story is conventional almost to the point of triteness, so you must depend upon the songs and performances to sell the production. I DO! I DO! is cute, even incisive in a few places, and mildly enjoyable, but not particularly distinguished.
However, Scott and Chelsea elevate the material to what one attendee called "a whopping good time at the theater." Leapers know well how good a singer and dancer Scott is, and he didn't disappoint. He communicated Michael's boyish charm, fecklessness, occasional arrogance, and eventual compassion with great clarity, charisma, and, best, of all, a sense of real joy.
However, Chelsea truly stole the show, perhaps because she's much less known than Scott (although her performances in INDICTMENT: THE MCMARTIN TRIAL and BACHELOR'S BABY are quite accomplished). Everyone was talking about QUANTUM LEAP, MURPHY BROWN, and ENTERPRISE before the show, but Chelsea was, essentially, a non-entity during these discussions.
I'm also not given to fulsome praise, but Chelsea's stage acting was terrific. Her voice is quite lovely, while her movements are feline, even during the character's two pregnancies. The most enjoyable moments for me (and, judging by audience applause, for most people) came when Agnes punctured and deflated Michael's preening ego. Chelsea also revealed real pain when Michael tells Agnes he's having an affair, only to immediately ironize and dismiss his philandering as simple male idiocy. This leads to her best solo, a number called "Flaming Agnes." Chelsea was simply sexy, sensual, and provocative, dancing in a manner that was a cross between Mae West and Marlene Dietrich.
The final scenes see Michael and Agnes leaving their house to move into an apartment after their daughter marries. Scott must be singled out for singing a song named "The Father of the Bride," in which he complains about the stupid man that his daughter is about to marry, with a perfect combination of cantankerous dismay and grudging acceptance. It's truly a bravura moment, as is his rendition of "It's a Well Known Fact," in which the 41-year-old Michael asserts that men grow more attractive as they age, while women "go to pot." (As you might imagine, Agnes doesn't agree.)
Bascially, Scott and Chelsea had the entire audience laughing, clapping, and singing along with them. The production was excellent live musical theatre, and even more amazing is that it was rehearsed in only nine days. Since Scott begins filming ENTERPRISE's second season on July 9, I must say that I was impressed by his energy and total mastery of Michael. It's completely different from Sam Beckett or Jonathan Archer, and Scott's performance only served to underscore his talent.
As for Chelsea, I hope they find some way to bring her to ENTERPRISE as another female Vulcan foil for Archer. I now believe she could have been terrific as T'Pol, which is not a criticism of Jolene Blalock (who I personally think puts in nicely textured performances every week), but simply a first-hand observation of Chelsea's talent. According to the program notes, this was only her second live musical performance (the first was OKLAHOMA in 1977!).
In spite of myself, I can only rave about this production. While I DO! I DO's story is a bit canned, the performances, excellent orchestral accompaniment, and spot-on direction impressed me. The show was enormous fun, and I'm sorry that more TREK fans won't be able to see it.
However, meeting Scott's parents and eventually the man himself were the night's real high points. During intermission, I walked into a group of children who were laughing and joking, not realizing that they were Scott's kids. Only when Scott's mother moved over and called one boy Owen did I know what I had stumbled into. Another audience member complimented Scott's mother on her son's performance, to which she said, without guile but with perfect sincerity, "Thank you for saying something so nice."
After greeting and talking to many people by that point, I would have expected Scott's mother to try to find a private corner, but she was as sweet as your own grandmother.
Scott's father was more reserved, but equally pleasant when spoken to. After five minutes or so, most people headed for the concession line, leaving the family in relative peace.
Since I had read reports that Scott doesn't leave LEAP conventions or live performances without signing autographs, I stayed after the final curtain to see if he's as affable as I've heard. About 30 people collected in a corridor outside the stage. After 20 minutes, Scott literally bounded out the door, obviously expecting to greet fans. The theatre's manager took photos of him, then Scott thanked everyone for supporting a charity that he's been involved with for 15 years.
Scott then said he'd be happy to sign autographs, and stayed for 45 more mintues doing just that, while talking with us and taking pictures with anyone who had a camera. Having stood in seemingly interminible autograph lines at a few TREK conventions, I can honestly say that only James Doohan approaches Scott's level of friendliness. Many of the first people in line were obviously nervous and star-struck, but Scott spoke with them about their lives and families, rather than condescending to them. He didn't rush anyone, but allowed each person to take his/her time. Everyone complimented him on his performance, to which he said: "I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to be with us."
People then began chatting with him as if he were an old friend, which is a perfect illustration of how powerful charm and good humor can be. The women smiled like teenagers after an N'Sync concert, while the men (myself included) received a hearty handshake from Scott.
When my turn in line came (I was nearly the last), I simply asked Scott if he would sign my program. He said yes, asked me my name, and thanked me for taking time to attend. I asked if we'll ever see QUANTUM LEAP again, to which Scott replied, "I live in hope that that will happen." I then asked if EISENHOWER AND LUTZ, his 80's sitcom, will return. Scott chuckled, said he didn't think that would ever happen, but complimented Pat, his co-star from the short-lived series, as one of the best actresses he's ever known.
As he finished signing my program, I thanked Scott for returning to St. Louis for this performance and for the good work on ENTERPRISE. He said, "We're having such fun with that series. Thanks for watching."
While I wasn't googly-eyed or light-headed after this encounter, Scott made me feel comfortable and sent me away with a smile. He's six feet tall, looks you straight in the eye when he speaks (causing most of the women to swoon), and puts on no airs whatsoever. All the stories I've heard about his affable, pleasant nature were proved true. This guy's the real deal: a star without ego or pretension who knows how to work a crowd.
I had to leave at this point, which was unfortunate since Scott said that Chelsea would be out soon to sign autographs (her makeup and costume for the final scenes are more extensive than his). His children were also running around by this point, and were obviously accustomed to their father's long autograph sessions. As I left, Scott was good-naturedly bemoaning the Rams' Superbowl loss, and then became more serious while talking about the passing of long-time Cardinals announcer Jack Buck, and Cardinals pitcher Randy Kile's sudden death just the day before.
I never expected to see Scott Bakula in a live performance or receive his autograph (although I expect he'll come back to St. Louis if he ever hits the TREK convention circuit). However, I recommend that TREK fans avail themselves of meeting and talking with him if the opportunity arises. He's as personable as he is talented, and his talent is as evident in person as it is on screen.
Jason Vest
Washington University in St. Louis
