To gay fans of musical theater, cabaret, & superb singing, Tony & Grammy winner Barbara Cook has given 2 lifetimes' worth of happiness. In the 1950s she originated the leading roles in the musicals Candide & The Music Man. Today, among many other achievements, she is possibly the greatest interpreter of the music of Stephen Sondheim. Last season she starred, at 82 years old, in Sondheim on Sondheim, a new Broadway musical, along side Vanessa Williams & Tom Wopat. She was nominated for a Tony for her work. What Cook's gay fans may not know is that she is also the mother of an out & proud gay son, 51 year old Los Angeles based actor/ teacher/ vocal coach- Adam LeGrant. She tells of their moving journey together with the same warm heart & openness that she brings to her music.
Cook: "When he told me he was gay, I laughed. I laughed! Because it was the farthest thing from my mind. He said, `Mom, I'm not kidding.' It was like a thunderbolt, & I was very upset. The family & the grandchildren & all that stuff bothered me. But more than that, here was this person whom I thought I knew so well, and here was this enormous part of his life that I knew nothing about. I felt as if I didn't know my own son. I was very upset, not so much at the time, because I was in shock, & I also didn't want to make Adam feel bad. Then I went into a kind of depression, & really, really cried for 5 days & mourned the son I thought I'd had. On about the 5th day of that, I said to myself, What the hell is going on?"
Cook, who has been candid in the past about her struggles with depression, weight & alcohol: "I've always felt that I was not a part of the mainstream of life. I don't know what the hell I mean by that, but it's the only way I know how to put it. When I had a son, that seemed to connect me more to the stream of life. When Adam told me that he was gay, I felt, I'm no longer a part of the mainstream. & then my next thought was, my son is not here to make me feel comfortable. He's here to be the fullest person he can be, & what I have to do is help him fulfill himself as much as I can. & when that came to me, the whole thing lifted. I love him so much. I loved him then, & I love him now. & I like him…that's the thing."
Cook has long been involved with PFLAG: “What I will never, never be able to understand is how a family or a mother or father could ever be able to turn their backs on a child because of homosexuality, & do that to themselves, much less to their children. I can't understand how anyone could come to that."
As a youngster, I was such a little musical comedy queen. I had every Original Cast album of every musical, with a specialty in the little known shows & the flops. Among the collection were shows with Barbara Cook: Flahooley, Plain & Fancy, The Music Man, Candide, Showboat, The King & I, The Gay Life, & my favorite- She Loves Me!
I was already a fan before Cook resurrected her career with a successful turn to cabaret & concerts. In the summer of 1975, her Barbara Cook At Carnegie Hall Concert album was my most played record. I could not have been more excited when I had my 1st chance to see Cook live. I sent a note backstage at the cabaret at Studio One, a gay disco in West Hollywood. My missive explained that not only was I a huge fan, & a fan of her magical musical director- Wally Harper, but that the concert album was the soundtrack to my life at the moment, & that my date for the evening was not a fan of standards or show tunes, but a rock & roller that had come to love her from my constant playing of her music. I noted that she had won over a Led Zeppelin fan with her resplendent interpretations.
I was more than a little shocked when a clip board holding staff member of Studio One, asked those in line: Stephen? Stephen? Would you come with me? Ms. Cook & Mr. Harper would like to talk to you". I was shown into the tiniest dressing room, where I was treated to the thrill of a meet & greet with one the most splendiferous virtuoso performers of the popular song. She told me that she & Wally had gotten a real chuckle from my note, What could she have made of the young, gushing, saucer eyed fan with big red afro? Thank you for all moments, Barbara Cook. I am still a fan. You continue to look & sing with stunning, sublime style. Happy Birthday!
Just out this month on DRG Records- the 6 disc The Essential Barbara Cook.
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