The clock went off at 6:22am on Sunday morning and I hit the snooze – twice. Getting up that early on a Sunday is not common. I had bought tickets to see Angela Lansbury speak at the New York Times Center. She is my favorite actress. When I share that tidbit, I am often met with some mockery and strange looks. For me, Angela Lansbury is ageless and represents many good memories.
First, I remember watching BedKnobs and Broomsticks (1971) and enjoyed all the tricks and songs that Lansbury performed. Later, I became a huge fan of her show, Murder, She Wrote (1984 – 1996). I would watch this television show with my mom on Sunday nights. We would sit together and try to figure out the mystery each week. This is one of those memories I have carried with me since my mom’s passing in 2000. Whenever I watch a re-run of Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, I think of my mom.
I continued to follow her career and went to see her most recent performances on Broadway, including, Deuce, Blythe Spirit, and A Little Night Music. I even had the chance to meet her and get her autograph after one of her plays and joked with her about also having family from County Cork in Ireland. She smiled and said how lovely it is there.
From Mame to Gypsy, Ms. Lansbury has delivered many memorable songs. The best song that describes her long career is Liaisons from A Little Night Music. Lansbury sings, “Where’s discretion of the heart, where’s passion in the art, where’s craft?” After six decades in show business, Angela Lansbury has proven she has shown all that and more. At 84 years old, Ms. Lansbury exemplifies what a life lived full of passion on and off screen can do. She stands on stage, and chills run through your body. She comes to take her bow, holds her hand out for Catherine Zeta-Jones, and it’s in that moment you realize she shares a stage with class. Yes, I cried at her final bow – and whispered thank you. I shed tears of gratitude for a woman who has graced our stage, our homes, and our hearts.
When the chance came to see her again on Sunday, I was thrilled. She came out to the center of the New York Times stage and received a standing ovation. She talked about her years growing up in England, her thoughts about acting, and her long career. Ms. Lansbury shared, “It’s about being an actor first, then a singer.” She talked about all that is entailed to prepare for performing. She told us that when you can tap into the emotions of the character, you feel a connection. “I have felt each character, and I sing from that place.”
Angela Lansbury taught me that by stepping into full character, it allows your voice to be revealed. She showed me that when you live your passion, life can be full of joy at any age. Most importantly, she allowed me to feel connected to my mom and keep the emotional bond alive. With dignity and class, Angela Lansbury, thanked her audience Sunday morning, and once again I gave her a standing ovation.
With gratitude,
Mary Anne
This is dedicated to my beloved mom, Catherine Flanagan (1944-2000) and the many years we watched Angela Lansbury together.
One Response to “Angela Lansbury, My Mom & Me”
January 16th, 2010 at 9:44 am
What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing! I had the fortune of seeing Miss Angela Lansbury onstage in Blithe Spirit this past summer! I went with my father and a friend who lives in NYC. I didn’t want to miss that chance to see her, and I am so grateful that it was able to work out for me. It was my first time to see a Broadway show, and as I was watching Angela as Madame Arcati, I just couldn’t believe I was really there. The show was wonderful and I thought the set was beautiful. I am a tremendous fan of Angela’s and have been following her career, and I regard her as a talented, beautiful, and well-respected lady. Often I read from others little stories about their experiences meeting Miss Lansbury, and I have one of my own that I would like to share. After the show, my friend in NY knew how much I wanted to possibly meet Angela, so she took my father and I out to the stagedoor where we waited. A few other actors came out to sign, but after a while, we were told Angela was not coming out. But then we went around to the other side of the Shubert theatre building, away from the crowd, and we knew Angela would be coming out an alternate door to her car. Her driver had parked a black car along the street, and my friend told me that when Angela came out I could approach her and ask her nicely if she wouldn’t mind signing my Blithe Spirit playbill for me. A moment later, I saw Miss Lansbury coming out the door with her bodyguards, and at this point I was in sheer awe, looking at her from but a foot away, if that. I started to walk up to her and I said, kind of timidly, “Miss Lansbury?” Then her bodyguard said to me, “She isn’t signing tonight” as she was being ushered into the backseat of her car. I stepped back a little and said, “That’s all right.” But then something very special happened. After she was settled in the backseat of her car, I smiled and waved at her, hoping she would notice me. And she did! She looked right at me from her backseat window and smiled and waved back at me for fleeting seconds as her car disappeared down the street. That moment just made my whole night. It really did, and it just goes to show what a truly gracious lady she is and how genuinely she cares about her fans. I am so glad I had that moment. Nothing could ever hold a candle to the magic I felt the night that I saw her.
-Elizabeth
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