Sophie Tucker: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas Notes on the Production
LAST OF THE RED HOT MAMAS
“I will never forget it, ya know! My boyfriend Ernie and I…” whenever those words are uttered one knows they will be witnessing something great. In the contemporary world of entertainment, Bette Midler has made that phrase infamous. But it was not the Divine Ms. M who originated the “Ernie” jokes. It was the Last of the Red Hot Mama’s herself, the bawdy and quick-witted Ms. Sophie Tucker.
“I’VE BEEN RICH AND I’VE BEEN POOR. RICH IS BETTER” - MS. TUCKER’S LIFE
Sophie Tucker lived a life of strength, independence, and female empowerment. She was an icon to the women of her generation, but this role was anything but predestined. She was born Sonia Kalish in Russia on January 13, 1884. While she was still an infant, her family immigrated to Hartford, Connecticut. Her family’s expectations of her were minimal: marry well and birth many. Sophie explained that she desired more than becoming a wife saying, “that marriage, having babies, and helping a husband get ahead were career enough for any woman. But I couldn’t make [my mother] understand that it wasn’t a career that I was after. It was just that I wanted a life that didn’t mean spending most of it at the cook stove and the kitchen sink.”1 Sophie knew the option of living the life that she dreamt was possible and would fight to see it become a reality.
From a young age, Sophie was singing and entertaining the patrons in her parent’s restaurant. They would sip their soups as she strode up the aisles of the booths, singing at the top of her lungs. But the restaurant could not contain her talent; it would not be long before Sophie’s voice, full and rumbling, was echoing off the stages of the Vaudeville circuit. She would play the piano and sing in the burlesque and vaudeville acts, but not as herself. The theatre managers required that Sophie, a “fat and ugly” girl, perform in blackface, which they believed to be the only way an audience would accept her as an entertainer. Out on stage night after night with her face painted by blackened cork, she would sing songs written for African American performers. The great energy and skill that exuded from Sophie quickly made her a respected circuit entertainer.
Then, one night at an American Music Hall appearance while prepping for the evening’s show, it was noticed that Sophie’s makeup case was missing. Unable to dress in blackface, Sophie was forced to go out on stage as herself. She performed her songs and delivered her jokes with perfect precision and ended the night as a smash hit! The audience loved her songs and the sass that she brought to them on stage. From this moment on, she no longer covered her face with makeup to hide who she was; she was able to entertain as Sophie Tucker.
In 1909, Ms. Tucker was invited to perform on the stage of Mr. Florenz Ziegfeld, but this arrangement did not last longer than one season. Even though Sophie was a huge success with the patrons, the other performers were not fond of her. They were jealous of her popularity and refused to share the spotlight, leading to her quick departure from the Ziegfeld family. Not one to allow failures to halt or deter her from her dreams and ambitions, Sophie once again returned to the stage of the Vaudeville circuit. Her marquee status and renowned talent could sell out an audience. It was not long before her fame surpassed that of the Vaudeville world. Ms. Tucker found success in radio with such hits as “Some of these Days” and “My Yiddishe Mama,” in film with movies like “Honky Tonk” and “Broadway Melody of 1938,” and on stage in Broadway’s “Leave it to Me” and “High Kickers.”
“THE SECRET TO LONGEVITY IS TO KEEP BREATHING” - MS. TUCKER’S LEGACY
Sophie Tucker, a Red Hot Mama and a true diva of her time, was known for songs that pushed the limits of social norms and questioned the roles that women held in society and in relationships. Ms. Tucker made it known that women are capable of being independent, sexual beings who are able to stand on their own feet when dealing with life, lust, and love. She was a forward thinker, unafraid of others and ready to embrace every last inch of who she was. This legacy would be remembered and embraced by the female entertainers who followed in her footsteps. They, like Ms. Tucker, would refuse to listen to the hushed tones being uttered by society and with full voice let their emotions, opinions, and thoughts be heard by all. These women in contemporary society are congratulated for their efforts and their ease of representing women, but it is Sophie Tucker who should truly be congratulated. Without her courage and bawdy mouth, the world in which the female entertainers and women of today live would not be as it is.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ACTRESS MARY CALLANAN
What interests you about the woman Sophie Tucker?
I am impressed by the sheer will, determination, and sacrifice of one person to achieve her goals.
How do you feel about depicting a historic person on the stage? Are you going to try and incorporate any of Sophie Tucker’s style, or create a new image of Sophie?
I do believe this is the first historical person that I have depicted (that I can recall!), so I am very excited by the challenge. While I will try to give a definite flavor of Sophie, I will also portray her through my own lens to make her more accessible to today’s audiences.
What are your feelings of Sophie being ahead of her time when it came to the depiction of women?
As far as my research has taken me, she was a pioneer in the field of marketing and self-promotion. Madonna who? Sophie invented it!!! She also believed that women could and should speak their minds about their, ahem, needs.
What are you most excited about for this production?
Getting my own dressing room!! Seriously, getting the chance to work at New Rep (my debut here), working with Kate Warner and Todd Gordon (also a first-time experience), and bringing back, if you will, a style of entertainment that harkens back to a simpler time, and a Valentine to the “Last of the Red Hot Mamas!”
References:
1 Dorothy Giles and Sophie Tucker. Some of These Days: The Autobiography of Sophie Tucker. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1945.
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