by Marcia Blondin
It was 1994. “Debby!” The voice shouted into the phone. “It’s Hal!”
She knew who it was; only one person in the world ever called her ‘Debby’ and got away with it.
Director Hal Prince (21 Tony Award-winner for things like Cabaret, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, etc.) wanted Deborah Darr to reprise her role as Paquette for the opening of his latest revival of Candide at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago. And she did.
When it was 1974, March 05 to be exact, the curtain rose on Candide in New York City, Director Hal Prince debuting his revival of the 50s Candide. The names bouncing around Hal Prince and this production- Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman, and Voltaire way down the list at the beginning of it all were commonplace.
Deborah Darr, in this illustrious company, sang and danced, and her world on Broadway was secure in her role as Paquette. Finances were in order; love and life were good.One day, Deborah swung herself on the back of her BF’s motorcycle, a fab leather jacket snug around her body and helmet secure, and off they went into traffic.
On their way home, a car suddenly swerved in front of them, sending them flying. Deborah’s first thought when she came to was of her leg, broken and lying on the pavement at an unusual angle. She remembers screaming at the paramedics that they had to save her leg.
She recalls having her jeans cut off in the emergency room and the stones, asphalt, and other road debris being hosed off her smashed leg.
Nineteen days later, she was sent home from the hospital, the surgeon urging her to be happy she could walk on her heavy cast, although she would likely never bend her knee again, and dancing was out of the question.
Instead of succumbing to the inherent depression, Deborah studied for four years and became a certified Physical Therapist specializing in dancers. Having been there, she understood the backstory of the entertainment industry and included Chita Rivera and Julie Andrews as her patients.
Deborah learned about non-impact aerobics (N.I.A.) when she was healing herself, and she not only incorporated the practice into her personal physio-therapy, she now teaches weekly by Zoom and in person wherever she happens to be.
Deborah Darr does one major charitable Cabaret show a year here in Puerto Vallarta, at The Palm, when she gets to don sequins and sing and tell her tales to an enchanted audience. Her show is directed by the legendary Lina Koutrakos, with Musical Direction by the incomparable Beckie Menzies from Chicago.
Every January, it is my pleasure to watch this remarkable, lovely woman sing and tell her stories kindly and with love and affection. The admiration continues as Deborah teaches N.I.A. at the International Friendship Club every Sunday at noon while she and her husband are here in Vallarta. The nominal fee for the class is given back to the IFC, as are ticket sales from her Palm sellout annual concert.
