Queen Bee

Philly's matriarch of the stage talks motherhood, menopause and Florence Henderson.

by David Anthony Fox

John Flak

[ theater ]

There may be many contenders, but in this critic's eyes, Mary Martello is the first lady of Philadelphia theater. From frothy musicals to heavy drama, a season doesn't go by without a memorable Martello performance. Now she's written her own vehicle, Happily Ever After, an exploration of what happens to fairy princesses when they hit a certain age.

City Paper : Take me back to the beginning. Where did you grow up?

Mary Martello: Lansing, Mich., where I started performing when I was around 7. This was pretty much the early days of live TV, and there I was. In fact, I just had one of those full-circle experiences: I was in New York to see a revival of the musical Fanny, which had originally starred Florence Henderson. In the second act, the leading lady sings a song called "Be Kind to Your Parents" with a young boy. Well, 49 years ago, I sang that song in Lansing — with Florence Henderson! It was at a big Oldsmobile Christmas show. Hearing it again ... it was very moving, in a weird way.

CP: When did things click for you in Philadelphia?

MM: Around the early '90s, but I probably auditioned for four or five years before I got hired.

CP: That will come as a comfort to those trying to break in here.

MM: Oh, yes — it took a while. My big break was in Blood Brothers at the Walnut in spring 1998. I was back the next season in Triumph of Love, and I won a Barrymore. Then things got easier. Don't get me wrong, I still had to audition — but people started to know me.

CP: I remember loving you as the dominatrix in Café Puttanesca. That must have been a stretch.

MM: Well, a mother is a kind of dominatrix, no? You try not to bring the sexual element into it, but you do need to get people to do what you want them to do ...

CP: I hadn't thought of it that way. Then there was Mrs. Parker in Bat Boy ...

CP: So you're happy working in the Philly theater?

MM: I love it. There's a sensibility here — creativity, and a commitment to artists and artistic ideals — 100 percent commitment. And I see it all over, from Bernard (Havard, president and producing artistic director, Walnut Street Theatre) to Kevin Glaccum (producing artistic director, Azuka Theatre). These are people who care about their work, and are fantastic supporters of artists.

CP: Tell us about your new show.

MM: Years ago, I was in Beauty and the Beast, listening to another actress sing "There's Been a Change in Me." I thought, I should do this from the perspective of a woman going through menopause. That's what started it. So the show is my perspective on princesses and others who face getting older. There are songs — including one by my son, Benjamin — and monologues. I hope it's funny and optimistic. And maybe just a little bit tasteless, too.

CP: Are there roles you're still dying to do?

MM: Shaw's Mrs. Warren. Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit, though not too many Philly theaters do Noel Coward. (I'd love to see Blanka Zizka try it!) Anything in Shakespeare I can still play. Oh, and I would love to be in Grey Gardens.

CP: So you plan to do the theater thing for a while longer?

MM: Absolutely. For the next 10 or 15 years at least. Then I'll become a nun.

(d_fox@citypaper.net)

Happily Ever After, through March 28, $25-$35, 1812 Productions at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-592-9580, 1812productions.org.