By Ruth Ross
One-man shows about celebrities can be tricky. Too slavish an impersonation can result in caricature; too little, and there's not much there, there. Fortunately for local theatergoers, Chris Lemmon hits the right notes in A Twist of Lemmon, his tribute to his famous father, Jack Lemmon, now onstage at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown.
From his Newton, Massachusetts, birth in 1925, through a career spanning 40 years, to his death in Hollywood in 2001, Jack Lemmon was an icon in the history of American cinema. Despite his slight physique and rather ordinary looks, Lemmon grabbed our attention through his talent for comedy (Some Like it Hot, Mister Roberts), his probing performances as defeated men (The Days of Wine and Roses, The Apartment) and his camaraderie with co-star Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men). Along the way, he was a doting parent, an absentee father and an alcoholic.
On a stage sporting a large grand piano, photographs mounted on easels and projected on a screen behind, and flanked by movie kleig lights, Chris Lemmon recounts the life of this movie legend—and his involvement in it. Accompanied by piano riffs, backstage reminiscences and impersonations not only of his father but of many of the old man's co-stars, Chris tells a charming, poignant tale of a 40-year film career and a complicated father-son relationship that waxes, wanes and waxes again, with the two becoming best friends when Chris reaches adulthood.
Along the way, we learn about Jack’s childhood, parents and first forays onstage in elementary school. The only child of Jack Lemmon's first marriage to actress Cynthia Stone, Chris Lemmon was obviously the apple of his father's eye. Fondly referring to his son as the "little hotshot," the budding actor spent time noodling with the boy on the piano (Jack was an accomplished pianist) and taking the child with him as he made his way around (and up the ladder of) Hollywood. To the child, those days spent with the most important person in his young life—loved and cared for by a doting father—are idyllic. Things change, however, when Jack Lemmon approaches stardom and becomes involved with actress Felicia Farr. At that point, the studio bigwigs counsel Jack to put aside his parental life and concentrate on his career—which, unfortunately for both son and father, he does. The relationship lapses until it is rekindled on a fishing trip to Alaska and continues to the end of Jack Lemmon's life when he has the chance to tell his now-grown son just how much he loved him, even if he wasn't always around.
Replicating Jack Lemmon's squeaky voice, fluttery gestures, nervous giggle and other verbal tics, Chris leads us through his father's career, from his hilarious turn with Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe and Joe E. Lewis in Some Like It Hot through Grumpy Old Men, his 1993 film with Walter Matthau. Along the way, he reveals what went on behind the scenes of the first (drugs and booze and their effect on Marilyn Monroe), his breakout role in The Apartment and subsequent evolution into a true dramatic actor as the drunken Joe Clay in The Days of Wine and Roses, a role that would precede his becoming an alcoholic himself. We learn of Jack's brotherly feelings for Walter (Walts) Matthau and his devastation at his friend's demise. And his experience at nearly losing his own son enabled Jack Lemmon to turn in a superb performance as the father searching for his son missing during the coup in Chile in Missing —a role that, according to Jack, "hit a nerve."
A chip off the old block (to use a cliché), Chris Lemmon is a talented pianist (he graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a degree in classical piano and composition) and an actor who has appeared in films and on television. He is also an accomplished author, having written A Twist of Lemmon as a memoir before turning it into a play. He composed the original score for the play, and when he assumes his dad's persona, looks (and moves) astonishing like the old man.
A Twist of Lemmon is a real treat for film buffs, especially those who love movie history. Jack Lemmon was one of our truly great film stars, able to perform spot-on (often low) comedy, as well as to dig deep to convey high drama. As proof of his versatility, he was nominated for an Academy Award eight times and won twice: Best Supporting Actor for Mr. Roberts and Best Actor for Save the Tiger in which he played the miserable cynic Harry Stoner. Chris Lemmon has probed his relationship with his father to produce a loving, poignant—albeit clear-eyed—tribute to a complicated man. You won't want to miss their journey.
A Twist of Lemmon will be performed at the Bickford Theatre, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown through August 30. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 PM, Sundays at 2 PM and Sunday, August 30 at 2 PM and 7 PM. Please note the early evening curtain. For information and tickets, call the box office at 973.971.3706. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the theater box office.
