A CHRISTMAS CAROL - Milwaukee Repertory Theater

MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER • Winter 2010 • 7
(BRENT HAZELTON . . . continued)
CM: What did you learn in your research of Liberace’s life?
BH: The most fascinating thing for me was discovering how he began his career. Most of our recent cultural memory
of him is the very overblown “Mr. Showmanship” role with the massive costumes and the hugely spectacular
performances. The first thing I did to learn about Liberace was watch YouTube clips. Many of the clips were from his
TV show in the 1950s. He was much more of a traditional pianist than he would become later in life. There was a very
simple set with a piano and he would come out in a classy tuxedo and play some music while he spoke directly into
the camera. That connection he had with the audience later on was there right from the beginning.
The biggest hook for me about Liberace was looking at that guy from the 1950s and then looking at the performer
who I remember from the ’80s and wondering, “How did that guy become that guy? What is that process?” Anytime
you have someone, whether it’s a public figure or an average joe, go through a personal evolution, there is
something emotional that triggers that. So what caused that change in Liberace? Why did he choose to become
what he became? Who was the private man behind all of the glitz and glamour? These are some of the questions
we’ll be exploring in the play in what I hope to be a clever, interesting and fun production. We’ve got Jack in there
– so one thing for sure is, it’ll be fun with some really great music.
CM: In the field of entertainment, how important was Liberace?
BH: He opened the door creating what we recognize today as modern pop music presentation through his lavish
performances and over-the-top costumes, revolutionized early television entertainment and played a leading
role in putting Las Vegas on the map. Everybody else followed him through that door – Elvis, Elton John, David
Bowie, Kiss, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Madonna – Liberace is definitely Lady Gaga’s spiritual greatgrandfather!
Liberace was already well established in Vegas when Elvis started. He took Elvis under his wing. That
gold lame jacket we always attribute to early Elvis, was literally one of Liberace’s – he gave it to Elvis!
What amazes me the most about Liberace is largely how forgotten he is. To come from the Vegas generation in
the ’60s with Elvis, the Rat Pack and all of those other performers, he was really the leader of that group. So to
have all of those other people live on as iconic figures and to have Liberace marginalized and not taken seriously
as a performer is a little amazing to me. Why have we forgotten him? It is certainly easy to lose sense of him as an
artist inside all of those over-the-top performances, but at the end of the day, he could play the hell out of a piano.
My hope in writing this play is to remind everyone how great he was as a piano player and showman, and to give
people a little insight into his deeply complex personal life – to reclaim a bit of his legacy in his hometown. We
can be proud of the fact that he came right here from Milwaukee.
CM: What designers are you working with to help tell Liberace’s story?
Jack Forbes Wilson. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
BH: Alex Tecoma is designing the costumes and is having a ball with it. Rick Graham, from UWM, has designed a
wonderful set for us. It’s loosely based on the set from his 1950s TV show with all sorts of tricks and flourishes in
it. Lee Fiskness, from Chicago, who last worked with us on SOULTIME AT THE APOLLO, will design our lights – lots
of bright color, moving swirling lights and, of course, chandeliers and the odd candlelabra. It’s going to be great.