ELMSFORD, N.Y. -- Suzyn Waldman is a long way from the
broadcast booth, wondering about pitch counts and if a left-handed
pinch-hitter is available. The New York Yankees announcer is a former Broadway singer, and
she's spending the offseason delighting in the cheers and laughter
at a suburban dinner theater. It was at the urging of an unlikely source -- doomed Yankee
pitcher Corey Lidle -- that helped her decide to take on the new
challenge. She was traveling with the Yankees last season -- "I think we
were in Kansas City" -- when Bill Stutler, a friend and the
co-owner of the 450-seat Westchester Broadway Theatre, offered her
the part in a musical called "Christmas Inn." "Bill e-mailed me, `I've got this idea. You're not working in
the winter, why don't you come back and do a little play?"
Waldman said. She was tempted but torn. Her first career was as a Broadway and
cabaret singer, but it had been 21 years since she'd last sung on
stage. So she sought advice from her friends, and Lidle overheard. "Cory always sat behind me on the team bus and he'd hear all my
cell phone conversations," Waldman said. "I'd be talking about
this offer to friends, you know, `What if I can't sing, I haven't
done this in years, the only thing I sing anymore is the national
anthem.' He heard like three of these phone calls and said, `What's
wrong with you? Go for it. Have some fun.' "I am having fun now, and I think of those words often since he
died," Waldman said of Lidle, who died in a Manhattan plane crash
in October. "He was a wonderful man, a terrific guy. He knew who
he was. He was not a star but he loved life; he adored his wife and
his little boy. I would hear his phone calls, too, calling home,
asking to speak to his son." In the play, Waldman belts out Christmas songs and dishes
wisecracks as the manager of a recently split two-man comedy team
she wants to reunite. The script has been tailored to make four
references to the Yankees, and each one gets a laugh. "I could have been spending Christmas with one of my boyfriends
in the Bronx," Waldman says as her character, Maxine, arrives at a
dreary New England inn. But the role isn't stunt casting. Waldman's voice is strong and
true, revealing the talent that had her playing Dulcinella, the
female lead in "Man of La Mancha," on Broadway and on tour. "I came to New York to be a star on Broadway," the Boston
native said after Thursday's matinee. "I took my voice lessons at
the New England Conservatory of Music and I was going to be Ethel
Merman and Barbara Cook and Mary Martin. But, you know, the
Broadway musicals I came to do are gone and they're not coming
back." A baseball fan since age 4, she switched careers and was the
first voice heard on all-sports radio station WFAN in 1987. She
covered the Yankees and Knicks and did a talk show before becoming
the first woman to do major league play-by-play on TV and the first
to do full-time color commentary on radio. The monthlong "Christmas Inn" gig runs through Dec. 23 and
plays 20 miles from her home in Croton-on-Hudson. During the
show-within-a-show, Waldman gets to be a fruit-topped Latin warbler
and a soused chef and sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas" and "Silent Night," among many other songs. "I feel like I did when I was a little girl," she said. "It's
Christmas, it's fun, people just love it. I love seeing people come
in their Santa Claus sweaters and little ornaments in their hair. I
love these matinees for senior citizens because they're having so
much fun." The 60-year-old Waldman is a breast-cancer survivor, and is
enjoying the moment. "I've earned every single one of these years and I never
understand when people lie about their age," she said. "There was
a time 11 years ago that I was not sure I'd be here." Yankee radio colleague John Sterling, who occasionally breaks
into song during the baseball broadcasts, saw the show Wednesday
night. "He said, `I knew you could sing, but I had no idea it was
going to be like this," Waldman said. Waldman is not yet ready for another baseball season, but she's
not planning another career change, either. "Baseball is my job, every day for eight months," she said.
"This was just fun. I'm not saying I wouldn't do this again, but
I'm not looking to get back into the theater." ------= On the Net: Westchester Broadway Theatre, http://www.broadwaytheatre.com
|