Ain’t No Sunshine When He’s Gone, Part 2: “You Always Do It Wrong”

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The entirety of this post is taken directly from what Loeffelholz wrote in his notes immediately after the rehearsal.]

On Friday June 22, after Loeffelholz arrived at the Ambassador Theater, he encountered production stage manager David Hyslop who asked him if he wanted to rehearse in heels, an important component of the character’s costume. Loeffelholz replied only if he or Bobbie wanted to see him in them and asked what they were going to work on. Hyslop said he didn’t know and that Bobbie didn’t say.

According to Loeffelholz’s own handwritten notes after the rehearsal, he went upstairs where he greeted the dance captain with a hug and the usual pleasantries and when asked how he was, he replied he was great but he was “ready to rehearse.”

At that point Hyslop said he received a text from Bobbie saying he hadn’t slept all night and was running late. By now it was 1:15 and much of the cast had started to arrive. Bobbie finally arrived at 1:20 and after small talk with Stifelman and Hyslop he said to Loeffelholz, “I want to hear you sing,” adding that Loeffelholz was “never on” and he wanted to know why. Loeffelholz hadn’t performed the role since the last week of February.

Loeffelholz sang Mary Sunshine’s signature song, “A Little Bit of Good.” Silence from Bobbie until he said, “Again.” Loeffelholz sang it again. Bobbie then told Loeffelholz he should quit “overperforming it and being draggy” (i.e., like a drag queen), because “it is not a drag role. You need to be believable,” according to Loeffelholz’s notes.

Loeffelholz sang it again at which time Bobbie told him he couldn’t hear his lower register and he asked Loeffelholz for “more volume! I don’t believe what you’re telling me!”

Bobbie then said he was very disappointed and upset and stormed into the theater’s lobby at which point Stifelman took over the rehearsal instructing Loeffelholz to start in the middle of the song, adding “You always do it wrong.”

Loeffelholz sang it again. Bobbie entered the theater again and Stifelman repeated to him that Loeffelholz always does this part of the song incorrectly and could they do it again, according to Loeffelholz’s notes.

“I walked up to Walter and he just stared at me. I stared back and wanted him to say something.” – Jeff Loeffelholz’s rehearsal notes

Loeffelholz sang it again after which Stifelman told him he was singing the wrong notes and that it was impossible for her to follow him when he performs the role.

Loeffelholz sang “A Little Bit of Good” for the sixth time. Stifelman alleged that Loeffelholz was “oversinging it and talking too much,” according to Loeffelholz’s own handwritten notes. Stifelman had Loeffelholz sing the middle part and told him he was singing the wrong lyrics. Loeffelholz’s notes simply state, “I was not.”

Stifelman then asked Bobbie if he wanted Loeffelholz to sing it again. Bobbie said no, adding, “We’ve wasted enough time.” Bobbie then said to bring in the rest of the cast and Loeffelholz approached him. “I walked up to Walter and he just stared at me,” his notes read. “I stared back and wanted him to say something.”

“I appreciate your loyalty,” Bobbie finally said to Loeffelholz, according to his notes. “But I am an actor too, and you have to respect the production.”

“I cannot tell you what to do,” Bobbie continued. “But twenty-two years… I don’t agree with Equity and their ROP (run-of-the-play) contracts, but you make more money than I do with this production. It’s been twenty-two years … just saying.”

Loeffelholz wrote that Bobbie continued his icy stare at him. Loeffelholz thanked Bobbie for his time and shook his hand. Despite the vitriolic tone from Bobbie and Stifelman during the rehearsal, he remained professional.

“At that moment the cast was sitting behind me,” he wrote. “So confused.”

NEXT: The theater kid from Oklahoma realizes his dreams.

Ain’t No Sunshine When He’s Gone: Did Bullying Extinguish One of Broadway’s Brightest Lights?

Jeff Loeffelholz brings down the house as Mary Sunshine in the Broadway musical Chicago.  Loeffelholz was one of the longest running standbys in Broadway history until he ended his own life June 28.

There’s a big reveal toward the end of the Broadway musical Chicago: busybody reporter and social butterfly Mary Sunshine is revealed to in reality be a man, the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Depending on who was playing the role often depended on the reaction of the audience. When Jeff Loeffelholz was on, the reaction was always the same – gasps of shock and surprise. He was just that believable. The theatergoers didn’t think it was a drag queen or a transvestite. They were honestly led to believe that Mary Sunshine was a woman because Loeffelholz, with a voice that was as pure and crisp as any soprano on Broadway, sold it with all his heart and soul.

On Friday June 29^th, surrounded by his closest circle of friends and his partner of 33 years, Peter De La Cruz, Loeffelholz elicited gasps one final time as he was taken off life support the day after he attempted to take his own life. It was a touching, tragic curtain call.

It was also one tragedy that should’ve never played on Broadway. Loeffelholz took his own life almost a week after a  rehearsal with Chicago’s director, Walter Bobbie, as well as the show’s musical director, Leslie Stifelman.

Under Contract

Loeffelholz had a rehearsal with Bobbie and Stifelman on Friday June 22 at 1 p.m. Bobbie showed up 1:15; Loeffelholz had been at the Ambassador Theater since 12:45.

While standby and understudy rehearsals with the show’s original director are not unheard of, usually such rehearsals after a production’s initial opening is handled by the musical director, dance captain, and the production stage manager. Loeffelholz hadn’t had a rehearsal with Bobbie in over two decades.

This was unusual. Loeffelholz could sense it. But what was also unusual was Loeffelholz still worked under his original contract when Chicago opened in 1996.

Loeffelholz had what is known as a “run-of-the-play” contract with Chicago, which many actors/dancers sign when a show opens. Essentially, a run-of-the-play contract ensures the performer has a job as long as the show stays open. Therefore, Loeffelholz’s contract has been in effect for over 20 years, a very unusual case since it’s rare that a Broadway show — much less a revival — has  such a long run.

Therefore, in order for Loeffelholz’s contract to be broken – aside from Chicago closing – was for him to either quit or to be fired. Under Equity rules, an actor can only be fired for “just cause” and according to an Equity source, Loeffelholz’s file is empty with not one single complaint in over 20 years. If the producers wished to fire Loeffelholz, under the terms of his contract, that would require a buyout of “15 weeks at maximum salary.” That would result in a buyout to Loeffelholz of over $30,000.

Since Chicago was Loeffelholz’s dream job, it was doubtful that he would ever quit, despite having other opportunities falling by the wayside over the years due to his devotion to the Kander & Ebb revival.