Ron Moody and Georgia Brown Conflict

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1 APPENDIX C Ron Moody and Georgia Brown Conflict The conflict between Ron Moody (Fagin) and Georgia Brown (Nancy) during the first year of the original London run of Oliver! is fairly inconsequential in the greater scheme of the musical s biography and therefore did not seem to warrant discussion in the body chapters of this text. Nevertheless, the dispute between these two gifted performers has been documented elsewhere most notably, in Moody s autobiography and merits a basic acknowledgment. Moody s tendency toward comical improvisation had previously brought him into conflict with Lionel Bart (see Chapter 6), and although Moody was capable of provoking tremendous laughter from audiences with his comedic embellishments, Bart was frustrated that such laughter seemed to distract from the show s narrative. Though Bart also objected to the overly ethnic elements of the actor s performance, Moody was adamantly opposed to turning Fagin into the stereotypical Jewish monster depicted in Dickens s novel and Lean s film. By playing up the character s comicality, Moody felt he was supplementing Bart s vision by making Fagin fundamentally likable, engaging, and human; as he explained in a later interview, I kept developing Fagin, changing Lionel s words until I got laughs. So he got cross with me. He said: You have to change the words back to how they were on the first night. I said: If you do that, you won t get any laughs. Instead of being grateful, Lionel was offended. 1 Bart quickly grew frustrated with Moody s unwillingness to commit to an established performance routine. Still, the very notion of a routine was antithetical to Moody s view that a comedic performance is nebulous and constantly developing. 2 Moody s tendency to ad lib likewise created strife with Georgia Brown, who felt as though Moody, by improvising laughs, was deliberately upstaging her. Though Fagin and Nancy do not share much stage time, they are both featured in some of the show s most memorable moments, including the sequence that introduces Nancy which features two of her songs in It s a Fine Life and I d Do Anything and the opening of Act II at the Three Cripples. Generally, Nancy is the focal point of these scenes. Fagin does not sing during It s a Fine Life and Oom Pah Pah, and he only sings briefly toward the end of I d Do Anything. Fagin and Nancy likewise share an intense scene toward the end of Act II, when Oliver is brought back to the thieves kitchen. ( 1 )

2 (2) Appendix C This final scene proved to be the most contentious in the Brown-Moody conflict, for Moody wanted to explore the scene s potentially humorous moments through improvisation. Conversely, Brown was trying to capture the angst and hysteria of the scene, which marked a critical, dramatic moment in her character s development. 3 From the beginning of the rehearsal period, Moody objected to Brown s heavy approach to Nancy, and to the melodramatic tenor of the scene. 4 Given that his own approach to Fagin was based around comicality and levity, Moody generally detested the more intense and dramatic moments in the play, for such moments ran counter to his very conception of both his character and the adaptation. In spite of protestations from Brown, Moody began to incorporate jokes and laughs into the confrontation scene, and indeed into the other scenes featuring Nancy s interactions with the boys. 5 What should have been a minor disagreement quickly degenerated into an all-out feud in which both actors repeatedly did what they could to try to upstage one another during their shared scenes. The spring of 1961 marked the apex of the conflict, as the backstage controversy began to emerge onstage throughout the month of April. The fact that this conflict transpired in front of audiences is somewhat shocking, for as Donald Albery noted in a letter to Moody, whatever the rights or wrongs are of a dispute or any other feeling there may be between two artists, it is absolutely an inviolable rule that this must not show on the stage. 6 Nevertheless, the quality of the show was soon compromised by the conflict, and the stage manager s report gravely noted that the Ron Moody Georgia Brown feud is now sufficiently bitter and total to result in serious damage to their scenes together. 7 Albery, eager to find a diplomatic solution, tried to characterize the situation as little more than a series of misunderstandings that could be rectified so long as both sides were willing to compromise and cooperate: I presume that things which may appear irritating to one person would not necessarily be so to another. We are here unfortunately dealing with the human element and I am quite sure that comparatively minor sacrifices and a certain amount of goodwill should enable at least a tolerable working arrangement to be resumed. 8 The production team worked with both Brown and Moody to draw up a mock contract (see Table C.1) in which each performer outlined the various practices that had so offended the other. This contract is an interesting historical document as it provides insight into what exactly was transpiring onstage between the two performers and how such behavior was detracting from Oliver! Tellingly, a great many jokes and improvisations relating to Fagin were ultimately cut, though Moody had his own complaints and requirements regarding Brown s performance that did not make it into the contract, including her trying to obscure him from view during Oom Pah Pah and her attempts to break his concentration during his subsequent dialogue with the Artful Dodger. 9 Ironically, Moody was most annoyed with Brown s using a Yiddish accent during the controversial Act II thieves den confrontation: When I said the lines Why Nancy you re wonderful today, such talent, such an actress she said her lines mimicking my gestures and in a mock Jewish accent, an action which is really insufferable from someone who is herself Jewish. 10 Moody s annoyance seems oddly reminiscent of Bart s own frustrations regarding Moody s increasingly Yiddish performance.

3 Table C.1. MAJOR CONDITIONS OF MOODY/BROWN CONTRACT Nancy Clauses Fagin Clauses Neutral Clauses Nancy s curtsey fall on intro to Oliver is permissible. Fagin s fall backwards off the stool during introductory dialogue to I d Do Anything must be omitted. No artist must indulge in uttering personal insults to other artistes on stage such as you re mad etc. Nancy must not put her handkerchief back in her bosom after wiping the stool in 1st verse of I d Do Fagin must omit gentleman to the core gag. No extra business may be inserted by any artist at the curtain calls as originally rehearsed. Anything but must allow Fagin to snatch it from Dodger. Nancy must not mimic Fagin in her speech following civil words speech. During Fagin s lines Nancy you re wonderful today, what an actress he is not permitted to use elaborate finger gestures in front of her face. The objective of all artistes at the end of I d Do Anything is to form one group, on no account must artistes do anything to split the group into 2 and to individualise the effect. Nancy s curtsey fall must never be omitted. Fagin s exit during 3 Cripples scene must never be later than was originally plotted. On no account must personal antagonism be conveyed to the audience during a performance. On no account must Nancy and Bet leave the Thieves [sic] Kitchen before their exit cue. Fagin must not insert laughs during Nancy-Dodger verse of I d Do Anything 2nd Thieves [sic] Kitchen scene must be performed as last rehearsed with the director as regards moves and positions. Fagin must not ad-lib the Oliver introduction to Nancy nor move down stage to put his spit gag across the front of her. Fagin must try to part Nancy and Sikes during quarrel in 2nd Thieves Kitchen and Nancy must allow herself to be parted. The line What, on the floor again delivered by Fagin in the 2nd Thieves [sic] Kitchen must be omitted. Mr. Moody must not improvise sections of the 1st Thieves [sic] Kitchen scene and on no account must the dialogue be changed as it is in the prompt script. (Continued)

4 (4) Appendix C Table C.1. CONTINUED Nancy Clauses Fagin Clauses Neutral Clauses Fagin must not make bird like toot-toot s [sic] during Fine Life or I d Do Anything. Fagin must omit well bred gag when he is using bread. There must be no backwards fall of [sic] the stool by Fagin during I d Do Anything. Fagin must not mimic Nancy during Oom-pah-pah [sic] Fagin must not sing a counter point of Fine Life during the song. Ron Moody/Georgia Brown Contract. Sir Donald Albery Collection, DAT Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. Regardless, the contractual agreement, though hardly a legally binding document, was put forth with the hope that both parties would agree to stop antagonizing one another for the greater good of the show. Despite Albery s efforts, the producer was eventually forced to consider more drastic measures for gaining control of the situation, and the involvement of the London Theatre Council only served to further anger and alienate Moody. 11 In fact, the bad blood between Moody and Brown remained up through Moody s departure from the play a few months later, though its impact on the quality of the show seems to have dissipated after the especially tense period in April Moody s conflicts with Bart and Brown had generated negative publicity, but Albery remained keenly aware of the fact that Moody had simultaneously contributed heavily to the show s success. The impresario was understandably eager to try to convince Moody to sign a new contract and continue on with the role of Fagin. Moody declined, publicly claiming that he was exhausted from the physical and emotional exertions required by the role of Fagin. 12 Nevertheless, Albery tried to persuade the actor to reconsider, though his efforts proved futile. In informing Peter Coe of his failure to convince Moody to re-sign, Albery broached the subject of the feud, alleging that Moody s contractual demands were deliberately vindictive provisos meant to upstage Brown once more and prove to her that he was the true star of the show: From our point of view as well as yours I have done everything I possibly can to persuade Ron to stay on but he is adamant that he will only do so for three months and for a salary of not less than 350 and sole star billing above the title. On the latter

5 Appendix C ( 5) point neither Georgia nor any other artist must be in the same size type or above the title. As Georgia has the proviso in her billing clause that she is to have the same billing as the person playing Fagin, we are, apart from moral considerations, in an impossible position. I offered him 350 per week if he would even stay on for 2 or 3 weeks to help us out but met with a flat refusal. His main objective in staying on is apparently to show Georgia where she gets off and to establish the fact that he is the star of the show and not her. 13 Though Albery s allegations regarding Moody s desire to retaliate against Brown seem like conjecture, the impresario s interpretation of the situation nevertheless confirms the sheer depths of the bad feelings engendered by the Moody-Brown conflict. Moreover, Moody would later confirm that his conflict with Brown was one of his main incentives for leaving the show at the end of his first year, though he simultaneously expressed his regret for not having handled the situation with Brown more kindly and considerately. 14 Brown and Moody would never again share the stage as Nancy and Fagin; when Brown took Nancy to Broadway, Clive Revill took up the role of Fagin, and when Moody reprised the role of Fagin for the film version, Shani Wallis played Nancy. NOTES 1. Ron Moody, interview with Ann McFerran, Sunday Times, June 12, Ibid. 3. In the original text, it is one of the most overtly melodramatic scenes, as Nancy uses melodramatic rhetoric in her condemnation of Fagin and ends her speech by fainting (like any good melodramatic heroine), thus creating something of a tableau; Cruikshank would illustrate a similar tableau in Chapter 39 when Nancy faints from exhaustion. 4. Ron Moody, A Still Untitled (Not Quite) Autobiography (London: JR Books, 2010), Ron Moody/Georgia Brown Contract. Sir Donald Albery Collection, DAT Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 6. Donald Albery, letter to Ron Moody, April 7, Sir Donald Albery Theatre 7. Stage Manager s report on Moody/Brown feud, April 6, Sir Donald Albery Theatre Collection, DAT Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. 8. Donald Albery, letter to Ron Moody, April 14, Sir Donald Albery Theatre 9. Ron Moody letter to Donald Albery, April 12, Sir Donald Albery Theatre 10. Ibid. 11. Donald Albery, letter to Ron Moody, April 17, Sir Donald Albery Theatre Moody, Autobiography, Fagin Quits Oliver!, Daily Mail, July 17, 1961.

6 (6) Appendix C 13. Donald Albery letter to Peter Coe, June 12, Sir Donald Albery Theatre Collection, DAT Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. The letter would seem to indicate that even in this later stage of the production process Coe was Moody s chief advocate, as Albery seems to be trying to justify his handling of the Moody situation to Coe. Still, while Coe had repeatedly taken Moody s side in the previous conflicts between Moody and Bart (see Chapter 6), their working relationship was difficult at times due to the strong personalities of both men. This relationship degenerated further around the time of the feud, and Moody thus became even more frustrated at the notion that everyone (Bart, Coe, Albery, and Brown) had turned against him. Moody, Autobiography, Moody, interview with Ann McFerran.

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