February 29, 2004

BY HEDY WEISS THEATER CRITIC

NEW YORK -- The difference between acting and impersonation may be subtle, but it is formidable. What is so impressive about Frank Gorshin's performance in "Say Goodnight, Gracie" -- the 90-minute one-man show about the life and times of comedian George Burns -- is the way the actor manages to so seamlessly fuse both approaches to characterization.

From the moment that Gorshin strolls on stage -- with Burns' defining cigar between his fingers, his quizzical, barely suppressed grin on his face, and that distinctive controlled gait that invariably combined a hint of leisureliness with a dash of mischievous anticipation -- Gorshin vanishes and Burns takes his place. The surface illusion he achieves in the role is astonishing,but the degree to which his portrayal delves far beneath the surface of the man -- and triggers an emotional reaction as well as easy laughs -- is even more impressive.

'SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE' When: Tuesday through March 7 Where: Centre East Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie Tickets: $42-$48 Phone: (847) 673-6300

Of course those familiar with Gorshin's background should not be at all surprised by his theatrical sleight-of-hand. The master impressionist, who will turn 71 in April, began doing his takes on Al Jolson, Walter Brennan and Cary Grant while still a working-class teenager in Pittsburgh; he spent a good portion of the late 1950s and '60s as a nightclub entertainer whose repertoire included spot-on evocations of such film legends as Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Marlon Brando, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and a later addition to his roster, Jack Nicholson.

Television fans may still remember him primarily as the Riddler in the "Batman" TV series of the mid-'60s, a campy role for which he developed a memorably insidious laugh, and B-movie aficionados can probably list some of the more ghastly films he appeared in (among them, "Invasion of the Saucer Men" from 1958). But he is no stranger to the stage. He made his Broadway debut in 1970, starring in "Jimmy," about the life of New York mayor Jimmy Walker, and appeared in the national touring companies of everything from "Promises, Promises" and "Deathtrap" to "On the Twentieth Century" and "Ah, Wilderness!"

'SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE' When: Tuesday through March 7 Where: Centre East Theatre at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie Tickets: $42-$48 Phone: (847) 673-6300

"Say Goodnight, Gracie" had its debut in Florida in 2000, with direction by Broadway veteran John Tillinger. It was written by Rupert Holmes, the creator of the Tony Award-winning Dickensian musical, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," who is now at work on a new musical based on the classic film "Marty."

"Say Goodnight, Gracie" arrived on Broadway two years later, where it enjoyed great critical acclaim and full houses, and it is now in a national touring production that will run Tuesday through March 7 at the Centre East Theatre in Skokie's North Shore Center for the Performing Arts.

I chatted with Gorshin last year, while the show was in the final weeks of its New York run. We met at Sardi's after a matinee performance, where Gorshin, who had changed into a windbreaker and baseball cap, suddenly looked like any ordinary Times Square tourist on a package tour to the city. Just minutes earlier, onstage at the Helen Hayes Theatre, he had fully convinced me that George Burns had made a bargain with God and had been sent back to the legit stage to tell his story.

"The only difference between acting and doing an impression is one of semantics," said Gorshin, a small, lean man with weather-beaten skin and piercing eyes. "When I was offered this role I knew I could 'do George Burns.' But the question I had was whether I could sustain him for an hour and a half, rather than two minutes. That's what frightened me. But I was also looking forward to playing the highs and lows of his life, and showing his deep involvement with Gracie."

Gracie, of course, was Gracie Allen, the peerless comedian who was his beloved wife and unforgettable stage partner.

Ask Gorshin where he began his preparation and he doesn't miss a beat: "The memorization. I had two months to learn 45 pages of script. I never met George Burns. In fact, I never saw him perform live. But I watched the television show and the movies, especially 'The Sunshine Boys,' which I had done as a play. And then I got the wig, the suit, the cigar, and it fell into place. I didn't worry about what he must have been like; I just used the material I had in the script. What was difficult, at least in the beginning, was not having a real Gracie. [Gracie is heard only on tape in the show, performed by Didi Conn.]

"The real key to Burns was his relationship with Gracie," Gorshin said. "He found a strength in her funniness. And his ability to see that she was really the active comedian of the two -- and then his willingness to not just recognize that, but to hand it all over to her -- was what made their partnership work. He understood that it was better if he did nothing, and found enjoyment in just reacting to her. He also developed a certain timing, as well as the confidence, that enabled him to sustain those all-important pauses. George could just look at his cigar and the audience would laugh."

Gorshin sees "Say Goodnight, Gracie" primarily as a great love story, although despite some unhappiness on the part of Burns' estate, there is a disquieting mention of his philandering.

"I think we needed to see that part of him in order for him to be human," he said. "But George's love for Gracie was rooted in his enjoyment of her, in letting her be as funny as she could be. He loved her talent. Ironically, she didn't care about fame, and he was pretty devastated when she decided to retire."

One of the greatest challenges Gorshin faced in playing his role was finding a way to suggest the "young" Burns. For most contemporary audiences, the comedian, who was born in 1896, and died a full century later, was the eternally wisecracking old man. But he was still in his 20s when he wooed Gracie, having already been part of a barbershop quartet and a number of vaudeville acts.

"When I start working on any impression I sometimes try to get the voice down first, sometimes just an attitude or a stance," Gorshin said. "With George, it was the voice. But I didn't listen to tapes, because they just discourage me. In fact, that's why I've never done an album of impressions. I think you have to see me to enjoy what I do in that regard. I'm not just a voice."

Ask Gorshin what he'd like to do next on the stage and he thinks seriously.

"I've always wanted to try Eugene O'Neill's 'Hughie,'" said the actor, referring to the one-act play in which a shabby gambler talks up a storm while the desk clerk at a rundown hotel listens. "I love to work. And I worry a lot about what I'll do next."

'SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE'

See GORSHIN, Page 6D