Earlier this week Hizzoner, now deceased, was once again at center stage, this time in the footlights at Germano’s Trattoria in Little Italy where a near capacity crowd of 90 spectators saw a preview of scenes from a new musical based on Schaefer’s life entitled, “Do It Now.”

Composed by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Jensen, with book by award-winning local playwright Rich Espey, the show seeks to recall the tumult and triumph of Schaefer’s last decades at City Hall, where he presided as Mayor of Baltimore for 15 years.

The “musical in development” was narrated by Aaron Henkin of WYPR.

Boiling nearly a score of years of the iconic mayor’s life down to a two-hour play is indeed a tall order.  With Schaefer, the possibilities might seem endless.

In a telephone interview subsequent to the opening at Germano’s, Jensen told Voice of Baltimore he initially got the idea to write the show from his wife.

“In the weeks after Schaefer’s death” — which occurred a year ago this week — “with all the tributes and press coverage,” Jensen said, “I felt there is a story here with a very broad appeal.”

So, following his wife’s suggestion, he mentioned the idea to Schaefer biographer C. Fraser Smith, who, as a reporter at the Baltimore Sun, had covered the former mayor and governor for much of his political career. (Smith is now a senior editor and news analyst at WYPR-88.1-FM.)

SUGGESTED SCENES AND PLOT POINTS

“Along with providing a copy of the bio,” Jensen said, “Fraser helped by suggesting various scenes and plot points.

“One story led to another.”

With a biography, a binder full of articles and notes, and the strains of an up-tempo theme in a minor key dancing in his head, Jensen began to write.  Seeking help with the story side, another friend, James McGruder, put Jensen in touch with Espey, who began working on the book last summer.

Espey, who describes himself as “a playwright, actor and proud native Baltimorean,” is the facilitator of the Playwrights Group of Baltimore, past Chair of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, and current President of the Board of Directors of Single Carrot Theatre. He also works on playwriting with children and adults at Center Stage.

Connecting the dots of the political life of the former mayor and governor would not end however with the Smith biography: Jensen started mining others for their memories.

BSO multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Jensen, seen here at Germano's Trattoria in Little Italy, is the composer of a ‘musi- cal in development’ based on the political life of former Mayor William Donald Schaefer. (VoB Photo/Anthony C. Hayes)

One group he specifically sought out was the Aging Newspaperman’s Club, a local gathering of current and former reporters and editors, many of whom covered Schaefer throughout his political life and more than one of whom was beneficiary of his legendary ire.

“He threw his life into the city he loved and was sensitive to criticism,” Jensen said. “He felt the press should be cheerleaders for Baltimore, not critics.”

And what of Schaefer’s fabled temper?

Jensen noted, “He often came off as mad but actually made madness his tool. Schaefer was impressed by the way [former Mayor] Richard Daley ran Chicago: ‘Do it now and convince Washington that it’s legal later’” was Daley’s motto.

Jensen would appropriate that phrase for the title of his play: “Do It Now: The Mayor Schaefer Musical.”

Though many characters in the play are composites, several are quite real, including political mentor Irvin Kovens, Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay, longtime “girlfriend” Hilda Mae Snoops, and Schaefer’s mother Tululu.

In the preview — and one would assume in the play when it’s produced — Hilda Mae and Tululu are played by the same actress.

Events touch on the Baltimore riots of 1968 following the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the construction of Harbor Place and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the loss of the Colts, and zany civic stunts such as the Trashball campaign and Pink Positive Day.

Award-winning local playwright Rich Espey, left, collaborated with BSO composer Jonathan Jensen on a new musical based on the life of former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer. (VoB Photo/Anthony C. Hayes)

Jensen said he wanted to show that, at heart, Schaefer was about “people and caring.”  To that end, Jensen did not include what he referred to as “petty stories such as the stuff which happened later as governor, like the poison pen letters, colorful language and short temper.”

Nor did he include one of Schaefer’s final acts, when at a public hearing he famously told a young woman in tight pants to turn around and “walk again,” an ill-conceived attempt at humor that ultimately cost him his job as state comptroller.

He was defeated in the next election.

“Schaefer changed when he became governor,” Jensen noted, “and discovered he could not run the state like he ran the city.

“I felt it was important to show how he wanted to serve the city even though he was an unlikely savior.  It was also important to me that the musical not be a bunch of inside jokes but a story any theatergoer could relate to.”

Did Jensen and Espey succeed?

Reaction from the crowd, which paid a $15 cover charge for the preview, may best be described as “measured enthusiasm.” While one audience member mumbled, “one-dimensional,” and another opined, “pure schlock,” several people said they could see the show’s playing for limited runs at Center Stage or Everyman Theatre.

Bonnie Schupp, a Baltimore area photographer who was on hand last fall when Jensen previewed his songs for the Aging Newspaperman’s Club, said she thought the work was “enjoyable and going in the right direction.”

SAME ACTRESS PLAYS HILDA MAE AND TULULU

Vocalist Elisabeth Gavrielle was a bit more forthcoming: “I think the idea of having the same actress play Hilda Mae and Tululu is a brilliant stroke, but I don’t see any layers with the Schaefer character,” she told VoB in an interview following the show.

“He seems to be written as ‘cute’; however ‘cute’ is not what I associate with William Donald Schaefer.

“I would also like to see more of the conflict which surrounded Schaefer’s entry into the mayor’s office,” she explained.  “Something to grab me from the start and pull me in.”

“Do It Now” is a worthy effort but admittedly a work in progress.  One can wistfully imagine an agitated William Donald Schaefer somewhere in the great beyond demanding that they get it done right.
 
mypoetrypage@yahoo.com
 
VoB Managing Editor Alan Z. Forman contributed to this story.