The A list opening night of Barry Manilow’s (and Bruce Sussman’s) musical, “Harmony,” was filled with celebs.
I was lucky enough to sit right in front of a bunch of them: Judd Hirsch and Marilu Henner from the classic sitcom, “Taxi,” as well as the great musical entertainer, Michael Feinstein.
During the intermission of the emotional show, I chatted with Hirsch and Henner, who told me that the entire cast of “Taxi” does a Zoom call every month. Marilu said, “It started during the pandemic and we’ve kept it up. It’s us, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, Carol Kane. Six of us. Plus Jim Brooks [who created the show]. We have a ball. We’re a family.”
The two who are missing, sadly, are Andy Kaufman and Jeff Conaway.
The pair told me there will be a “Taxi” reunion on “The View” sometime this week because Hirsch and Kane each live in New York, DeVito and Henner are in theater productions here right now, and they just like seeing each other. Is it an anniversary, I asked? “No,” said Hirsch. “Marilu put it together and we’re just doing it.”
Actually it is 40 years since the show went off the air. But it’s never stopped running in syndication.
I love these casts that still get together decades after the shows ended. The “Knots Landing” and “Dallas” casts remain close, too, and I’m sure there are other. For Jim Brooks, it must be rewarding that the “Taxi” is still around. Almost everyone connected to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” one of his other triumphs, is sadly gone.
Some other stars in the “Harmony” audience included Broadway greats Tovah Feldshuh, Sutton Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Patrick Page. Lorna Luft flew in from Los Angeles. And people left the theater singing, which is always a good sign. (Review coming later Tuesday morning.)
