During the Republican presidential debate on January 14, Ted Cruz attacked Donald Trump for his “New York values,” an exchange that left the aggressor holding the short end of the stick. Trump, in his defense, brought up the heroism and resiliency of New Yorkers at the time of September 11. But he might well have included among his personal New York values a love of Broadway and theater. Trump has in the past been a producer (the 1970 short-lived Broadway comedy “Paris Is Out,” by Richard Seff) and a stage door Johnny. The latter occurred when his then girlfriend and now ex-wife Marla Maples joined the cast of “The Will Rogers Follies” in 1992. Trump was often at the stage door of the Palace Theatre to pick her up after the show. And from time to time, there have been some attempts at making his own life and career — as a business mogul or a reality TV host — into a stage-worthy vehicle.Since then, the Donald has been a fixture at Broadway opening nights, indulging in what he has called, “One of the great things about New York.” In 2004, Trump wrote about his love of theater for Show People, a theater lifestyle magazine. In a piece ghost written by executive editor Erik Jackson, he noted the guts and fortitude needed by those who would enter the arena.“Making it on Broadway is no easy feat,” wrote Trump. “I know what a difficult business it is and that the odds of success aren’t so great, so I respect anyone who has managed to create a successful business career there. Wall Street may be tough, but the theater business is tougher. It’s such a small business in comparison to others, so the stakes are higher.”In the feature entitled “Bullish over Broadway,” Trump told Jackson that he loved musicals more than drama for their escapism — “I deal in a tough business by day, I like a little relief at night” — and that two of his favorite musicals were “Evita” and “Chicago.” “I must have seen “Evita” at least six times, I found it riveting,” he said of the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about the fiercely ambitious and corrupt Evita Peron, the wife of the demagogic Argentine dictator Juan Peron. “Patti LuPone gave one of the great stage performances of all time.” His other favorite is the darkly cynical musical “Chicago,” which features a couple of merry murderesses using their notoriety to achieve Vaudevillian fame. The 1975 musical — which became a 2002 Oscar-winning film and is now, in a revival, the second longest-running show on Broadway — was based on a play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. A one-time reporter, Watkins covered the trials of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan and her reports were the print equivalent of reality TV. The women’s respective acquittals were the O. J. Simpson verdicts of their day and Watkins’s dramatization of the events was a smash hit. Director-choreographer Bob Fosse acquired the musical stage rights and John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the songs. Among them is “Razzle Dazzle,” which the slick and pomaded lawyer Billy Flynn sings to his client, Roxie Hart, on the eve of her trial. It might well be Trump’s campaign anthem.Give 'em the old razzle dazzleRazzle Dazzle 'emGive 'em an act with lots of flash in itAnd the reaction will be passionateGive 'em the old hocus pocusBead and feather 'emHow can they see with sequins in their eyes?What if your hinges all are rusting?What if, in fact, you're just disgusting?Razzle dazzle 'emAnd they’ll never catch wise!
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