COVER FEATURE
Harry Connick, Jr: With A Wink And A Smile
43-year-old Grammy and Emmy Award Winner and star of the new Warner Bros. film “Dolphin Tale,” Harry Connick, Jr. dragged himself away from his home in Connecticut and former Victoria Secret model wife and their children to do some publicity chores for his new family movie. The movie about the mammal with a prosthetic fin opened to generally warm and favorable reviews. Harry was happy about that but also grateful that he had a chance to work with the miraculous creature that the movie was written about.
“You know, we were filming in Clearwater at the facility where the actual thing took place and we got to act with the flesh and blood “Winter” from the story. It’s humbling to be in the company of the filmmakers, creators and the dolphin whose life we are paying a tribute to.”
Humble is a word that isn’t bandied about too often when dealing with Hollywood types and their ilk. Director of “Dolphin Tale” Charles Martin Smith seems to understand Connick, Jr.’s appeal and quite frankly why everyone is still wild about Harry. “He’s not Hollywood; he’s a musician which means he thinks and feels. If you’ve ever been to New Orleans (Harry’s birthplace and stomping ground) you’d know his characteristic good ‘old boy background” explains the director.
And that thinking feeling actor who interacts well with marine life will also find himself, on the Great White Way in a most interestingly re-imagined revival next month. Harry will tackle the starring role in Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane’s 1965 Broadway musical “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever” as the psychiatrist who falls in love with the past incarnation of one of his patients. In the original Broadway musical and film version the patient in question was a female and she played her past life as an Englishwoman .In the new version headed to the St. James Theatre in November for a December opening the clairvoyant in question is a gay florist whose past life is that of a 1940’s jazz singer. Jessie Mueller will play the jazzy incarnation and David Turner plays the patient. Excitedly Harry describes the prospect of exploring a new slant to the old musical that starred Barbara Harris on the stage and subsequently Barbra Streisand on screen.
“We have a great cast and a director who isn’t afraid to take the old horse down different paths. It has great music and so many different dramatic possibilities.” Director Michael Mayer admits the changes are quite outrageous.
“It’s a far cry from what we remember from the play and/or film. In the new reworked version, this heterosexual man is basically using his homosexual patient as a vehicle to get at this long dead woman from the past and have this psycho affair with her. It’s actually very romantic”
Both Connick, Jr. and Mayer are betting that audiences will like the new direction that the old musical will take. In fact the buzz is great that the upcoming show will hit the box-office nail on the head.
With a movie that just opened and a Broadway revival forthcoming Harry Connick, Jr. likes the fact that he’s busy and he’s challenged by the career choices he’s made.
“I’m grateful that not only am I working with some really terrific people but that the subject matter is stimulating and challenging. As an actor I’m blessed”
With a wink and a smile Harry was on his way back to Connecticut leaving a legacy of niceness and normalcy in his wake.
Volume 37 No. 5 October 2011