Take a Bow, Penny, for Women's Month

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Penny Davis, Wardrobe Supervisor to the Stars
Penny Davis: Gigi in the 561 Podcast
Penny Davis Talks Soap Operas

Penny Davis

By PAMELA BARKER
North Palm Beach Life

I will use any excuse to pontificate about one of my favorite women.

This quote from Ibn Battuta, is quite apt: “Traveling -- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

Now, this piece today is not really about travel, exactly. Yet, travel, if you pay attention, can put you onto a path you never knew existed.

In case you were unaware because you utilize the Google Calendar and they have removed many significant dates, March is Women's Month.

Which brings me to how travel brought a very special person, Madame Penny Davis
into my world.

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Right up front let me tell you there is no way on earth this post will accomplish doing justice to the life and work of this particular woman.

My mate, a travel writer, and I are frequently asked how we engage with strangers during our sojourns.

Occasionally the universe, if you believe in such things as signs and meant-to-be, took things in hand.

 Like being seated with strangers on a train for dinner, which is exactly how we were fortunate enough to meet Ms. Davis and her mate, Mike. I have no doubt, this charming couple groaned silently, they were too polite to visibly sigh and roll their eyes, when they saw the likes of us pointed toward their table. It's a train thing. Sitting with others in the dining car.

It was a random evening, nothing special in the Amtrak Dining Car. Simply dinner for four, as the train clicked along the tracks from Florida to the middle of Manhattan's, Penn Station. But, then again do we ever really know when special is about to happen?

Sometimes when you travel you enjoy the company of certain people, you exchange contact information with the best of intentions, but it quickly fizzles once back to home-base.

Such has not been the case with Penny. It began with the awkwardness of trying to create small talk. The awkward quickly morphed into me thinking this is a woman of substance. I already liked her. Why her? Because she was unafraid to mention politics in 2016. The gentleman, Mike, seemed unsure of the topic, and my mate squirmed a bit not wanting to make these lovely people uncomfortable, but knowing I would go there. No worries. It was the beginning of a beautiful (apologies to Hal B. Wallis and Bogey) friendship. We are still connected, and she has been gracious enough to guest star on several of my podcasts.

Enough about me though.

This is my tiny way of honoring a woman I admire and greatly respect. A woman who bought her own Manhattan apartment at a time women were not doing it, mostly not allowed to do it, without a man.

The kind, savvy, funny, irreverent, politically-involved Penny had a decades long career being
in-and-of the world of entertainment. Oh, you may not recognize her name, but plenty of the famous do. They owe her. Working behind the scenes, mostly on Broadway, but television as well, she has the best stories, some she shares, some she will not.

Think of it this way. You go to the theater or cinema, grab your Playbill, or popcorn, sit down and the magic begins. The talent does what they do, we applaud then go for dinner and drinks and review what we just experienced. Do you for one moment think about how that magic happens? Those who work tirelessly, sleep-deprived behind the scenes making it seem so effortless. Okay, perhaps during awards shows when someone gives a shout-out to the crew and catering.

Working behind the scenes, I imagine, dealing with egos, the eccentricities of the famous, once famous, will be famous if they work hard and get some breaks along the way, must be daunting. Having the patience of a saint just leaps to my mind.

Penny explains her particular role: ”The responsibilities of a Wardrobe Supervisor are to supervise the dressers, the costumes, the costume changes and maintenance of the costumes.” She worked with the designers putting the show together and maintaining what they have created. An integral part of productions, they do much more than ensure the costumes are properly tended, and ready as needed.

I can't even keep my closet organized, so I cannot imagine trying to manage such a massive task.

She spent time with many famous people, like Gilda Radner at the famed Dakota, had dinner with the iconic (a term I typically avoid using) Katherine Graham in her beautiful Georgetown home, attended countless parties with the famous, including the late actor Jack Lemmon (she has a photo of herself in his California home holding his Oscar from, “Save the Tiger").

So, now you may better understand what a Wardrobe Supervisor is and does. Not a designer, a Wardrobe Supervisor.

Mostly, in her long career, she had exhilarating  experiences working with legends like Ann Miller, Sandy Dennis, Christine Baranski, Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, too many for this short piece. Her stories on working on Soap Operas are just plain fun and funny.

But not everything is fun and fabulous in the world of being a Wardrobe Supervisor for stage and screen. Such as recalling a challenging time during the out-of-town tryouts for the musical production of Neil Simon's work, “The Goodbye Girl,” in the early 90's.

She said for all her career highlights, this was the lowest. Not a fan of Chicago, the weather was brutal and she found the conflict between the principal top-bananas -- Producer Neil Simon; Director Gene Saks and Choreographer Graciella Daniella -- made for some long days. She got scant sleep and virtually lived in the tiny wardrobe room shared with the hair department at the Shubert.

There was a bright spot, the actors Martin Short and Bernadette Peters. To quote Penny, “Two of the nicest people in the business and the rest of the cast, too.”

Frequently, I admit to her my various levels of envy. So, let me say, Mandy Patinkin.

Now, this where my envy level really ratches up.

“Friends of  Mandy and I went to see him perform his club act and then we went out for drinks later. I was meeting him for the first time.” She said she rarely mentioned a performance to the performer (don't blame her).

“We were talking about this and that and, though I forget how it came up, I commented that the first time I had seen the Pulitzer Prize winning, Sondheim musical,  'Sunday In the Park With George,' was Mandy's first night back from a few months away from the show.”

Yeah, she met him socially, but got to tell him how much she appreciated his “Finishing the Hat.” “I told him the audience was so enthralled, you could hear a pin drop!” She said, “His face lit up and he said he remembered that night very well.”

“I was actually good,” he said. “Oh, yes,” she replied.

Yes, her career is a book waiting to be written. But, to know her, for me, is paying attention when she recommends a work of art, a book, a movie or to just read her posts on social media because she is really-real and pulls no punches. She is not here for fake, phony anything. She is smart and knows of what she speaks.

Oh, she has never disappointed me on recommendations when we travel to New York City, places where you may notice someone famous dining, quietly, without fanfare. Penny recalls dining at Delsomma:

“During the run of 'Tribute,' Jack Lemmon, our hairdresser, Angie Gari, Cathy Hicks and Rosemary Prinz, two of our cast, had dinner there between shows almost every matinee day," she said. "So, when Jack came into town, a long time after the show had closed, a year or more I'd say, he came to Delsomma and sure enough, Angie and I were meeting there to have dinner.  He just showed up there like a homing pigeon.  He stood at the entrance for a minute and scanned the crowd.  His eyes lit up when he saw us and he came right over and said, 'I knew if I came here I would see someone I knew!!  May I join you?'  But of course he could and it was wonderful catching up.”

Yes. Penny, a woman of many talents, with many stories, a serene home with cats, who makes great pasta and wilted salad. Her beloved quiet, also talented Mike is greatly missed.

When you think about those invisible, behind-the-scenes artists helping make magic for us, think of Penny and others the next time you enjoy an entertainment venue. I know I do.

During March Women's Month, take a bow, Penny Davis, you are quite the lady.

Fade to black!