On Stage and Off, They’ve Become Sisters

Sally Ann Howes and Marni Nixon had never met before they were cast last year as the elderly, unmarried Morkan sisters, who host an annual Christmas party in “James Joyce’s The Dead,” now at the Ahmanson Theatre.

The two women certainly knew about each other, though. Nixon is well known as the voice behind the stars of such movies as “West Side Story” and “My Fair Lady,” and she also has a distinguished record in recitals and opera. Broadway veteran Howes is probably best known as the star of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

“But we never were in the same projects,” Nixon says. “I suppose it’s because we could have played the same role.”

As the two chat, however, allusions to their newfound sisterhood keep floating into the conversation. Maybe it’s merely a “sister act”--a phrase that pops up more than once--but trained observers of sisterhood probably would be convinced.

Howes and Nixon look at each other more than they do at the reporter. Howes unleashes some giant-sized laughs, while Nixon responds with warm chuckles. They occasionally tease or interrupt each other, but they also allow each other to speak at length. “Marni and I really are close,” says Howes.

Howes plays Julia, a more developed role than Nixon’s Kate. In the musical, Julia falters when she tries to sing a solo at the party, and Kate comes to her assistance. Julia is troubled because she was recently axed from the church choir, and she’s close to death, we later learn.

Meanwhile, Kate is frequently close to tears, but we’re not told why. Still, the two of them break out of their blues--and virtually stop the show--in an unexpected ditty that touts their qualities as “Naughty Girls.”

Taking the title of that song to heart, Howes and Nixon giggle with delight as they recall a recent onstage incident. Though they discreetly mention no names, they report that the noise of “a bodily function” (Howes’ words) interrupted the quiet of a scene, which made the requisite seriousness of the moment a little harder to achieve. “At least the audience didn’t hear it,” Nixon says.

Nixon and Howes are both 70, playing women who are six or seven years older. “I was surprised to be chosen as a 76-year-old,” Howes says.

Nixon responds by emphasizing how important it is for “a real singer” to be cast in the role of Julia--”someone who can’t sing yet has a song.” And then, a confession: Nixon reveals that when she first heard about the show, she wanted the role of Julia.

“I had no idea you had your eye on my part,” replies Howes.

“Well, I know how to non-sing,” Nixon says.

‘It Was Such a Joy to Sing Out’

A couple of months ago, the two performed at a Carnegie Hall concert, “and it was such a joy to sing out,” says Howes--after months of keeping their voices in check as Julia and Kate. “Marni sounded like she was still 16.” Despite her original desire to play Julia, Nixon realizes why she was cast as Kate. Like her character, she cries easily: “I cry during the opening scene of ‘The Sound of Music.’ ” During rehearsals, she cried every time she heard the song “Golden Hair,” “and I was afraid I’d be all cried out.” But she wasn’t. The people who were casting the show, she says, “wanted me because Kate’s extremely emotional, and they had to define who she is.”

So why does Kate cry so often? “I’ve developed an intricate subtext,” Nixon replies, “but actors shouldn’t give away their subtexts.” She offers, however, that Kate “feels like a crone, and gets premonitions of something she doesn’t know.”

Later, when asked why the Morkan sisters never married, Howes begins to respond with a tale she’s devised for Julia: “I have a whole romance in my life--a wonderful young man who went away to America. . . .”

But Nixon interrupts, reminding her, “You’re not supposed to give away your subtext.” She adds that the Joycean characters, back in 1904, probably wouldn’t talk about their interior lives. “Nowadays, we’re much more open with trying to change the family script. In 1904, they weren’t open.”

The story “The Dead” was originally part of Joyce’s collection “Dubliners,” and Howes says she wanted the musical to be called “Dubliners.” “It’s such a challenge to the audience to see a musical called ‘The Dead.’ My husband said they should call it ‘Aunt Julia’s Party.’ ”

Defending the interests of Julia’s co-host Kate, Nixon says she wouldn’t have taken a role in the show if it were named after Julia.

“You would have if you played Aunt Julia,” retorts Howes.

“Or if I got more money or top billing,” quips Nixon.

The Ahmanson is the largest theater in which this intimate show has played, but “Marni and I have worked in such enormous places, it doesn’t seem huge. We’re even used to working without amplification,” Howes says. This leads into an attack by both women on the overamplification of modern musicals (“The Dead” being an exception). Howes compares the lack of control on the actor’s part, due to super-miking, to the lack of control an actor has in film or TV. “You’re not able to put in your own nuances of sound,” she says.

Howes leaves the cast after Aug. 6 because of previous concert commitments. However, the two will reunite when “The Dead” moves to the Kennedy Center in Washington next fall (co-produced there by Center Theatre Group).

Serious Reflection on the Show’s Theme

Immediately after the New York run of “The Dead,” Howes says, she was offered roles in a play, a movie and a TV movie--all of them parts for very old ladies. “By the time I finished reading them, I was 90--no, I was dead.”

“If you find a niche, go for it,” responds Nixon. “I want one of those parts too.”

A show called “The Dead” invites some serious reflection on its theme, and Nixon recalls the Emily Dickinson poem with the line “My life closed twice before its close.” Howes mentions the Stephen Sondheim lyric “Every day a little death.”

“You never know what’s going to happen in the next 24 hours,” Howes says, referring to the sense, within Richard Nelson’s Tony-winning adaptation of Joyce, that unexpected jolts await everyone. “Life and death walk totally together, hand in hand.”

“And it’s better that we see this,” Nixon says, “because then we can see the whole picture of life.”

* “James Joyce’s The Dead,” Ahmanson Theatre, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Also: Sunday, Aug. 6, 13 and 27, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 10, 17 and 31, 2 p.m. No performance Aug. 12 at 8 p.m. Ends Sept. 3. $25-$70. (213) 628-2772. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.