Tracey Ullman Takes On New York
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''Tracey Ullman Takes on New York'' is an HBO
television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
starring
Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...
. The show was Ullman's first project for network; it led to the creation of the sketch comedy series '' Tracey Takes On...''


Premise


The Johnsons

Visiting
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
couple Penny and Gordon Johnson get separated in the
Big Apple "The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sportswriter for the '' New York Morning Telegraph''. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by th ...
. After actress Linda Granger is hit by a bus, Penny takes over her role in '' Finian's Rainbow'' playing on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
.


Family Reunion

Fashion magazine editor, Janie Pillsworth is reunited with the parents she disowned thanks to a colleague who is vying for her job.


The Rosenthal Affair

Harry and Fern Rosenthal welcome their daughter's future in-laws to the city. Fern becomes jealous and suspicious of her future son-in-law's mother.


Cast

*
Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman, 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows '' A Kick Up the Eighties'' ( ...
as Penny Johnson, Janie Pillsworth, Jackie Pillsworth, Fern Rosenthal * Paul Butler as Jay Levine *
Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...
as Gordon Johnson, Bryan Lynn *
Nell Campbell Laura Elizabeth Campbell (born 24 May 1953), better known as Nell Campbell or by her stage name Little Nell, is an Australian actress, singer, and former club owner. She is best known for her role as Columbia in the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror ...
*
Maddie Corman Maddie Corman (born Madeleine Cornman; August 15, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in over 25 films, including ''Seven Minutes in Heaven'', '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'' and '' A Beautiful Day in t ...
as Sheila Rosenthal * Blythe Danner as Eleanor Levine *
Jill Eikenberry Jill Susan Eikenberry (born January 21, 1947) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey on the NBC drama '' L.A. Law'' (1986–94), for which she is a five-time Emmy Award and four-time Go ...
as Jessica Stern *
Joe Franklin Joe Franklin (March 9, 1926 – January 24, 2015), born Joseph Fortgang, was an American radio and television host personality, author and actor from New York City. Franklin is noted for having the first talk show and inventing the format. His te ...
as himself * K. Todd Freeman as Byron *
Dan Futterman Daniel Paul Futterman (born June 8, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer. Futterman wrote the screenplay for the film '' Capote'', for which he received an Academy Award nomination, an Independent Spirit, Boston Society of Fi ...
as Peter Levine *
Jim Fyfe James "Jim" Michael Fyfe is an American actor, writer TV host, theatre director, and acting coach from Piermont, New York. Since 2003, he worked at Rockland Country Day School in Congers, New York. He started as a history teacher before becomin ...
as Drug Dealer *
Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series ''CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films ''Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), '' ...
as Disgruntled Ex-Employee *
Josh Mostel Joshua Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor with numerous film and Broadway credits. The son of Zero Mostel, he is best known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), '' Harry and Tonto'' (1974 ...
*
Todd Oldham Todd Oldham (born Jacky Todd Oldham; October 22, 1961) is an American-born designer and president of L-7 Designs Inc and Todd Oldham Studios. His approach to fashion and style has become known to millions through his fashion lines, interior desig ...
as himself *
Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. Posey made her film debu ...
as Libby *
Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...
as Theatrical producer * Michael Tucker as Harry Rosenthal *
Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Ro ...
as Central Park Acquaintance


Production

After ending her
eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
show in 1990, Ullman chose to take a break from television and concentrate on motherhood, having given birth to her second child in 1991. That same year, her husband, independent British television producer,
Allan McKeown Allan McKeown (21 May 1946 – 24 December 2013), was a British television and stage producer. Early life McKeown was born in Ealing, London on 21 May 1946. His parents Edith Mabel (née Humphries) and Albert Victor McKeown moved first to Hack ...
placed a bid a television franchise in the South of England. Along with his bid he included a potential television programming lineup which included a Tracey Ullman special. When his bid was successful, Ullman created the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
comedy special, '' Tracey Ullman: A Class Act'', which lampooned the
British class system The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, w ...
. After its success, the American cable network HBO became interested in her doing a special for them. The one caveat was that the show focus on an "American" subject. Ullman chose New York. The special entitled ''Tracey Ullman Takes on New York'' was filmed on location in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
over a period of three weeks. Three new characters were created for her to portray, along with Janie Pillsworth, and Janie's mother, Jacqueline; both characters were created and appeared in the previous British ''Class Act'' special. Weeks after the special's broadcast, HBO aired ''A Class Act'' on November 23, 1993, the special that initially sparked their interest. After the success of both specials, HBO became interested in Ullman doing a "takes on" series. Ullman and her husband agreed, and the pair set up production in Los Angeles in 1995 to begin work on '' Tracey Takes On...''.


Format

The special is split into three acts with one bit (Linda Granger being hit by a bus) shown from the point-of-view of two different characters: Penny Johnson and Fern Rosenthal (who causes the accident).


Reception


Critical reception

The special received generally favorable reviews from critics. Tony Scott of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "Ullman lends depth and insight to all her characterizations ... Ullman and the first-class cast surrounding her, the superior writing and direction give TV comedy a much-needed lift."


Awards and nominations


Home media

The special acts as a bonus feature on the DVD set ''Tracey Takes On... Complete Season 1''. It became available on Hulu in the United States in 2012.


References


Sources

*


External links

* {{Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman HBO network specials 1993 television specials 1990s American television specials 1990s in comedy Television series by Fremantle (company)