Nevertheless, I loved the show, and when asked several years later if I would be interested in a new production of it in London’s West End at the Garrick Theatre I jumped at the chance. It gave me another opportunity to work on it and to do things that I had realized it had always needed. I knew it needed to be cut in places; the show wanted to be shorter and happier. That’s the wonderful thing about the theater. Unlike in the movies where once a movie is finished and released you can’t change it, in the theater a show is a living thing. When you realize something is wrong you can actually fix it and mount a new production.
And mount a new production we did! The London run of Young Frankenstein was an unqualified success. No mixed reviews here! Both the critics and the audiences loved it. It did my heart good to read those five-star reviews. I went to the theater almost every night just to sit and bathe in the laughter and applause from the wonderfully enthusiastic audiences that packed the Garrick Theatre.
While I was in London I stayed at the Savoy Hotel, a storied landmark dating all the way back to 1889 when it was built by Richard D’Oyly Carte with the money he earned from producing all of those wonderful Gilbert and Sullivan operettas like H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, and The Pirates of Penzance. It’s located on the Strand overlooking Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament on the Thames River. There were suites named after famous guests who had stayed there like Maria Callas, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, and Katharine Hepburn. When they asked me toward the end of my stay if they could put my name above the door of the suite I had been staying in, I said “Absolutely! I’d be honored.”
* * *
—
With my three Tony awards for The Producers on Broadway, I became an EGOT—someone who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. At the time, in 2001, I was only the eighth person in history to do so. I joined Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, and Jonathan Tunick, and I was immediately followed by Mike Nichols.
As important and as meaningful as all of these awards were and still are, The Producers on Broadway was my life as a writer, composer, producer, actor, and director coming full circle. It was my happiest professional experience because I felt that I was truly paid for my creative work. But I’m not talking about the money. It’s a different kind of payment. It’s emotional currency. It’s audiences laughing their heads off, applauding, and at the end of the show giving you a standing ovation.
My god! This is what I was always meant to do.
Chapter 26
My Third Act
So while I’ve been lucky enough to receive many awards and honors throughout my career, and while each one is important to me, a few really stand out.
* * *
—
In 2009 I was chosen as one of the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. Since 1978 the awards have been presented annually at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to recognize individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to American culture.
It actually wasn’t the first time I was selected to be one of the honorees. A year or so before that, when George W. Bush was president, they called me to tell me I had been chosen.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said.
I didn’t want to be honored by Bush because as a veteran I was very unhappy about Americans being sent to war in Iraq. But in 2009, when Barack Obama was in the White House, I was delighted to once again be offered the Kennedy Center Honors. I immediately accepted and asked them whether I could get two, because I had turned down the first one. They were nice about it, explaining that they only give one to a customer.
Anyway, all kidding aside I really enjoyed that visit to Washington, D.C. My co-honorees that year were iconic musician Bruce Springsteen, the truly great actor Robert De Niro, jazz pianist virtuoso Dave Brubeck, and the talented opera star Grace Bumbry.
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a reception for the honorees at the White House. It was quite a gala occasion, and I got to bring my whole family with me: my daughter, Stefanie; my son Nicholas; my son Eddie and his wife, Sarah, and their daughter （my granddaughter）， Samantha; and my son Max and his wife, Michelle, and their son （my grandson）， Henry. We all got a wonderful tour of the White House capped off by being able to take beautiful pictures in the Blue Room with the president and First Lady. （I never realized how short my whole family is until we took pictures beside the Obamas. They were like redwood trees next to us!）
Me and the entire Brooks family flanked by the president and the First Lady at the White House for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009. Left to right: First Lady Michelle Obama; my daughter, Stefanie; my daughter-in-law Michelle with my grandson, Henry; my son Nicholas; my son Max; me; my son Edward; my daughter-in-law Sarah; my granddaughter, Samantha; and President Barack Obama.