Yesterday I gave Mary Martin’s explanation for why “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” didn’t get the audience response that its creators expected at the initial previews.

Today we’ll get Josh Logan’s version from the first volume of his memoirs, Josh.

The show went as we prayed it would, but it came to a strange halt at a point least expected. With real water, real soap and a real audience, Mary began “Wash That Man.” We knew this would balance out Pinza’s triumph. Sure as I was of it, I had still staged it with all the care and affection I could muster. Yet as she began to lather her hair, I sensed that something was wrong

There was no concentration in the crowd. Mary and the nurses, flecked with soapsuds, came to a big finish, sure of applause. To my horror there was none. Not a handclap. I was sickened and ashamed. I had let dear Mary down, bumbled some way in the staging. Mary had followed my lead so trustingly, and here she was at a dead end.

[…]

The second night got a great response until Mary sang “Wash That Man,” and again, she received the barest applause. I had watched carefully to see what was wrong, but I remained confused […]

Molly Williams, Emlyn’s wife, had come from New York to see it, and afterward I quizzed her about “Wash That Man.” In her nice, chirping English voice, she said, “Oh, I thought it was marvelous when she washed her hair—terribly original. I really got quite excited, you know, and I was dying to talk to someone about it. But since I was alone, I just listened.”

“Listened?”

“Yes, to what the other people were saying. They were wondering whether it would damage her hair, and what kind of soap she used—or was it soap?”

“Did you like the song she sang?”

“Song?”

“She sang it when she washed her hair.”

“Oh, well, that explains it. I couldn’t hear whether she was talking or singing. All I heard was people around me. It’s terribly clever, you know, getting the audience to talk like that. Next time, I’ll try to listen to the song.”

I felt like an amateur. I had directed Mary to rub her head with water and soap just as she started singing the refrain “I’m gonna …” By the time she got “right outa my hair” there were the beginnings of suds. Obviously, she was trying to sing against a scene-stealer more powerful than a baby or an animal: soap!

The solution was simple. She sang the song first and then went into the shower and grabbed the soap. During the loud music that had been composed for the dance, Mary washed her hair and romped about, flinging soap and suds.

From then on, when they finished the number there was roaring approval. Mary was delighted, but not as much as I was. 

So you can decide which version makes more sense, Mary’s or Josh’s. I know which one I pick.

Then a very short time later, Richard Rodgers published his autobiography,  Musical Stages, and his version— 

Actually, he didn’t mention it at all. He was more concerned with not mentioning all the affairs he had with chorus girls.

His daughter Mary Rodgers Guettel was so annoyed with her father’s book that she commissioned Meryle Secrest to write a more complete one. After her mother died.

Meanwhile, shortly after those three autobiographies were all published, Johnny Carson had Mary Martin, Joshua Logan, and Richard Rodgers on The Tonight Show in a tribute to Rodgers, and Mary and Josh each repeated their stories about the initial failure and fix of the staging of that song. It was, uh, interesting. Alas, I can’t find that episode online. I can’t even find a reference to it on imdb.

PS Yes, it’s quite possible, even likely, that both stories are correct. But while Mary may very well have added the bar of soap to her performance, I suspect that Josh’s story of moving the washing to the instrumental portion of the number is what really solved the problem.

Meanwhile, here is very poor quality video of the London production of South Pacific with Mary Martin repeating her role. This is the “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” scene, but it’s prefixed with a short scene between Nellie and Lt. Cable, who is played by Peter Grant sporting a terrible American accent. You can see how it’s staged. She sings the song and then during the instrumental dance she lathers up (yes, she gets a bar of soap from a friend) and flicks the suds.

You can see the entire London production at this link, and while the video is terrible, it’s probably worth watching at least part of it just to get a sense of Martin’s performance.

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