Marjorie Lee North
"I'll never be jealous again" from The Pajama Game
with Anne Warner on piano
Joy is the word that best describes Marjorie. Her bright smile, generous spirit, and enthusiasm to sing and dance is inspiring—and perfect for a duet.
I first fell under the spell of Marjorie when I was assigned to photograph her portrait for the Harvard Extension School, where she teaches. We met in her office, and she opened our shoot by pleading "make me look good." Interestingly, I only worried about whether my skills were up to capturing the wonderful essence of Marjorie.
a conversation: Marjorie talks about music in her life
In the years since that photoshoot, in addition to more photoshoots, Marjorie and I have had an ongoing conversation about our love for musical theater. And fairly regularly, we have proclaimed our intention to do some singing together. Until this Duets with Friends collaboration, the closest we came to performing together was when Marjorie invited me to consult on choreography for a couple of songs from Kiss me, Kate—she was directing and starring in the production at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR).
choosing a duet: "lively, fun and a dance piece."
Why "I'll never be jealous again"?
Marjorie provided me with eight duets that she was interested in singing. I viewed videos for each online. After watching a performance of "Jealous" featuring Eddie Foy, Jr. and Reta Shaw, I knew it was the right song for us. Take a look at the video, which comes from the film version of The Pajama Game. The music is by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross; the choreography is by Bob Fosse—who may be rolling over in his grave after our interpretation of his choreography.
Transition from performer to speech therapist
When a career on the stage did not seem to be in her future, and that she might "end up as a frustrated kindergarten teacher," Marjorie changed her major in college to speech pathology. To her delight, her mentor-to-be clued her in to the fact "that there is a little ham in all of us." So Marjorie was able to bring her passion for theater to her healing work with children and adults who were communicably disordered. ... And outside of her career, she has always found opportunities to perform.
Marjorie continues to draw deep satisfaction from her efforts with Anne Warner, pianist for this duet, to bring music to the members at HILR. She pointed out that to "bring together a chorus, ... or soloist to sing and feel that joy of music, [and] see their happiness and the fun and camaraderie that's developed by music, it's just beautiful."
Thank you, Marjorie, for sharing your joy with me.