Free Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz by Greg Lawrence, John Kander, Fred Ebb Page A

Then we sat down in the middle of the theater to experience what the audience reaction truly was. I’ve always remembered that. You can’t stand removed from the audience and really know what they’re feeling.
    Mr. Abbott had a ritual whenever one of his shows opened. If the show was a hit, he would go to the party, drink a glass of wine, dance with his favorite chorus girl, and say, “Well, it worked out this time.” If the show was a flop, he would have his glass of wine, dance with his favorite chorus girl, and say, “Well, this time it didn’t work out.” That was it. The ritual never changed. It’s helped me a lot during flops to know they are part of what we do. Don’t get too deceived by success, but don’t get too deceived by a flop either.
    EBB: We always deferred to Mr. Abbott. He removed the song “The Kid Herself” just because he thought it should go, and there was no forum or discussion about that. It was Liza’s opening song, and he took it out and replaced it with another song that we had slated later, “All I Need Is One Good Break.” It was not something I would have done because I was fond of “The Kid Herself” and I thought the number worked. I also wanted to start the show with Flora’s high school graduation. But it was George Abbott, so naturally we did it his way.
    KANDER: We had meetings every morning at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston—I remember you had to wear a tie to get into the hotel—and Hal would be there along with Mr. Abbott. You and I, who were staying someplace less impressive, put on ties and came to meetings every day. At one meeting, you had
that idea for starting the show that you obviously believed in strongly, and I don’t think any of us supported it. But you were very expressive, and finally Mr. Abbott said, “Well, let’s try it. That’s what we’re here for.” When the number was put in, the moment didn’t really work, and Mr. Abbott said to you, “Look, we all decided to do this, so if it doesn’t work, it’s not your fault.”
    EBB: I was crestfallen.
    KANDER: But he was considerate enough to protect your feelings. He said that to you before the show, didn’t he?
    EBB: I was grateful for that. It was kind of him not to say anything like, “Oh God, look at the time you’ve cost us.”
    KANDER: He asked us to write a new song for the same moment called “Among the People.” We wrote it very fast in the theater while he was waiting for us downstairs. Then we played it, and he stopped the rehearsal and had us play it for the company. Afterwards, he said, “Isn’t it amazing that these boys did this so fast!” He didn’t have to offer that kind of praise, and I suspect another director like Jerry Robbins or Bob Fosse would not have done that.
    EBB: I think he sensed our terror.
    KANDER: Mr. Abbott was always a gentleman. I never saw him hurt anybody’s feelings, except on purpose. If he couldn’t get what he wanted after the third time, he would say something sharp, but it was never in a foot-stamping fury. Usually if he raised his voice, he would make it up with the person. He was the least self-indulgent director I’ve ever seen. I think that came out of his own sense of security, not that everything he did was going to be a hit.
    EBB: It was terrifying to have our first Broadway show and so much riding on it—both our careers. I had already had an Off Broadway show that didn’t work. I worried that maybe nobody would want to hire me again, and you had done A Family Affair, which didn’t work. But I doubt that you share this view.
    KANDER: I don’t think I thought in those terms. I just didn’t want to do bad stuff. I had the same insecurities that everybody has, but I didn’t think all that much about what would become of my life if we failed. Maybe I did and I’ve just forgotten.
    EBB: The day after Flora failed, Mr. Abbott said something to us on the way out of the office. We literally had our hands on the doorknob, and he