Guest
[...] Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard of Star Trek: the Next Generation) was scheduled to perform the finale with none other than Julie Andrews, who hasn't sung since throat-nodule surgery silenced her singing voice. Crawford, who was scheduled to sing one song on the show, got a call from his agent asking if he'd be willing to execute another. [...] He thought I would say no because I usually need sort of three years' rehearsal for an ad-lib,' says Crawford. So I said I'd love to do it. And I don't know why I said that because from that moment on, I became so terrified. I had two nights before I went on opposite Julie Andrews!' [...] When he got back from Philadelphia he began practising his dance steps alone in his New York hotel room. The next day they started to rehearse. She arrived and I said, “I've been up all night learning this“. And she said, “Darling, so have I, so have I“. And we started to rehearse. I'd not worked with her before. We were going to do a special a few years back, so I knew her. And she'd been very gracious to me in the past when she'd come to see the Phantom.' Crawford found himself in a dressing room between Andrews and Robert Goulet. I'm in my dressing room trying to warm up and I can hear this (he imitates Goulet's baritone) on one side, a soprano taking the roof off, and I'm in the middle sounding like a goat who'd been shot in the groin.' Crawford says he learned from Gene Kelly (when they made Hello, Dolly together) to have confidence in himself, even when he was paralysed with fright. So I had the courage that overcame the fear of when I said, “By George, she's got it!“. And it absolutely worked with the reaction from the audience to Julie's coming out onstage. I've got to say, it was one of the most special moments I've ever had in my career. And I've had some really special moments with Phantom, some things that I obviously will never forget till the day I die.' He and Andrews performed their dance steps, and Crawford recalls: She was magnificent. I held her in my arms. I started to tingle as the audience started to applaud when she came out. And when they heard this lovely lady uttering these sounds once again, and she had the courage to try it! We did the tango. and then I took her 'round and held her and the audience started to stand.' Crawford was so touched by the moment that he began to cry. I think you can see I was crying. I cannot tell you, it was so moving. To hear this audience - they would not stop. They would not stop. That's why I must have said “yes“ (I'll do the show.). Somebody up there must have said, “You've got to do this, Michael“.' Crawford says that Andrews never complained during the rehearsal. Julie's a very special kind of trouper,' he says. She's a very focused performer and very, very professional. There wasn't one bit of whining. When everyone else was saying, “Oh, well my mike isn't right ...“ She was saying, “It's all right, darling. Come along down the front here.“ She was looking after people. And she was onstage the whole time.' from: PHANTOM'S FAVOURITE by: Paul Stewart (NEWCASTLE HERALD) Date: February 26, 2001
