Actors Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry (Stuart Markowitz and Ann Kelsey of the late 1980s TV drama L.A. Law) will open the season of Bay Area Cabaret with their husband and wife show Life Is a Duet at the Gould Theatre this Sunday. As Michael told me last week from their Manhattan apartment, the theme is autobiographical, about Jill’s recovery from breast cancer, but Michael said that it is “a very funny show.” It tells of their life together on screen and off, features songs, uses film clips, and even a cooking segment.
Michael does most or all of the cooking in their household of 34 years, but he would not reveal what dishes he would be preparing, other than to say he would not be heating anything up. The projections will include some stills, as well as some clips from L.A. Law episodes, especially the most famous “Venus Butterflies” scene, which alluded to a fictional, miraculously effective sexual technique used by Markowitz on his lover Ann Kelsey. It supposedly involves cunnilingus. Michael has also authored a cook book, entitled I Never Forget a Meal, which he said has “a theme of indulgence.”
Michael described their cabaret show as being about a long-term relationship, “a real story, rather than just anecdotes.” He would not say which songs they would be performing, other than to describe them as “nothing new.” He said they would include some Broadway tunes, some Joni Mitchell and some songs from Cabaret. Not all the songs will be duets. Musicians on piano and bass will accompany them. There will be some choreography. Michael plans to dance an Italian-style soft-shoe.
“I love to do comedy,” Jill said, and Michael added, “I find comedy fun.” In two acts and two hours, they will have a chance to prove what Michael said to me: “It delivers.” Although they have played the show in Arizona, Florida and Palm Desert, he said this will be their “big-city premiere.”
After L.A. Law ended, Jill and Michael lived in Marin County for a while. They also lived in Big Sur, where they met artist Emile Norman, an intensely private man who has worked in a variety of media. Notable works of his are the mosaic window and statuary on the facade of San Francisco’s Masonic Auditorium on California Street. At age 88, Norman still spends every day in the studio of his home on Pfeiffer Ridge in Big Sur. Jill and Michael decided to produce a film about him and his late partner of 30 years, Brooks Clement. They had the benefit of home movies that Clement had shot over the years. The resulting movie, not for theatrical distribution, has aired on KQED.
Both Jill and Michael have studied acting professionally and still use vocal coaches. Michael studied at Carnegie and Jill at the Yale Drama School. Michael said he likes regional theatre a lot, but Jill claims to be more flexible. Although she prefers live performances, “there is something about film.” She likes to “bounce back and forth between the two.” Both Jill and Michael are active in fund-raising for breast cancer research and treatment.
Life is a Duet will perform 7 pm Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Florence Gould Theatre inside the Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco. Tickets ($45) are available by phone at (415) 392-4400 or visit www.bayareacabaret.org.
