McKenzie Makes ‘Ethel’ a Tribute to Merman

Everything’s coming up roses for Rita McKenzie in “Call Me Ethel!,” a one-woman show about legendary Broadway singer Ethel Merman by McKenzie and Christopher Powich. It opens tonight at the Pasadena Playhouse’s Balcony Theatre.

“I grew up in New Jersey, across the river from New York City,” said McKenzie. “She was in my life from early on. I don’t remember ever listening to Broadway music without hearing Ethel. When I started my career, people would say, ‘You remind me of a young Ethel Merman--the energy, the vitality.’ As I got a little older, people said I sounded like her.”

In spite of the similarities, when it came time to actually playing this part, McKenzie (who did a critically acclaimed cabaret version of this show at the Hollywood Roosevelt last fall) had to study old recordings of Merman to duplicate her trademark performance style.

“I have a warmer, richer quality,” she said of the differences. “Ethel had a voice that pierced; mine is a more rounded tone.

“But you know,” McKenzie said with an easy laugh, “I learned an awful lot about singing naturally from Ethel Merman. ‘Open your mouth and sing’ has great value. Ethel never did understand what all the fuss was about her. She’d always say, ‘I just go out there and do my job.’ ”

McKenzie also hopes to sidestep the comic caricature of Merman--singing an ear-splitting rendition of “There’s No Business Like Show Business”--that was popularized a decade ago on “Saturday Night Live.”

“From the time I walk out there, I’m Ethel,” she said. “We wanted this to be a loving tribute--but we didn’t want to gush too much either. It’s nice to be loving, but you have to be honest. Ethel Merman was an honest woman. And we wanted to let the audience know she wasn’t just a loud voice.”

One quality that may come as a surprise was Merman’s shyness. “I don’t think it’s something people associate with her,” the actress said wryly. “She was a very private person, very vulnerable in her personal life. She was married four times--the most famous one was to Ernest Borgnine, and that only lasted a couple of weeks. She had a daughter, a son. There were some tragedies in her life. But you never saw it on her. She was a trooper.”

McKenzie maintains that the gaudy success of her show business life never changed the real Merman.

“She was raised in Queens, was a secretary at the Booster Brake Factory. Till the day she died, she took steno. She was so proud of that. The other thing (she took pride in) was doing her job. She never missed a performance, never missed a cue. And in her personal life, she liked things simple. She didn’t hang around with show-business types. The people at the Booster Brake Factory were her friends for life. She was very well-grounded, middle-class.”

McKenzie too has managed to keep a healthy balance in her personal/professional life. An 18-year-old daughter is safely tucked away in college, her 12-year-old son--who stays with her husband in Connecticut--often flies out for visits during “Ethel” dates. (McKenzie has been touring the show, off and on, since January, 1988.) But in their growing-up years, McKenzie said, the priority was motherhood.

“I was acting, but it was more of a part-time thing. And I didn’t take all the jobs that were offered. Hey, it’s not easy to do that in a career. You can’t really get ahead. But that was my choice, and I’m glad I did it. Because my daughter is wonderful, gorgeous, the apple of my eye--and I know I spent time with her. Same with my son. Now it’s an adventure for him to come with me. And when I told him I was singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ next week at the Dodgers game--let me tell you, I moved up in his estimation.”

As for the ego boost of doing this show, McKenzie (who taught grade school for several years after college) believes that she is not eclipsed by her famous subject.

“You bet, Ethel Merman’s the calling card,” she said. “People are coming to see her. But what happens is they go away with--I don’t want to say my version of Ethel--but my personality superimposed on Ethel’s. They have a feeling they’ve met Ethel Merman, but who they’ve really met is me. She also gets to say things I’d love to be able to say in my own life. She pulls no punches. I’m having more fun than I ever did. And I’m in a show where I get to sing 25 songs. Even Ethel never got to do that.”