Tustin woman aims to revive Vietnam War-era Broadway musical in honor of her late dad, the lead guitarist

Orange County Register (CA)

June 14--Not long after Mark Cianfrani died unexpectedly at age 65, his daughter Rachael visited family friend Chuck Strand in New York. Strand sent her home to Tustin with what would become a transformative souvenir.

For four decades, a vinyl record hibernating in the attic quietly preserved a compilation of show tunes featuring Cianfrani as lead guitarist. They tell the story of "The Lieutenant," a Tony-nominated production based on the 1968 My Lai Massacre of South Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers.

Rachael Cianfrani, 39, had never before heard the album.

"I first had to buy a record player," she said with a laugh. "When I listened, I recognized one of the songs as something my dad had whistled to me as a little girl."

That LP would ignite a passion and purpose in Cianfrani. The attorney and mother of three young children is now shopping "The Lieutenant" around, trying to attract backing for its revival.

Last month, she orchestrated a presentation at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club with the mission of drumming up potential investors. Actors with the Chance Theater in Anaheim belted out a selection of witty and stirring songs that ponder whether militarism as a whole was more to blame for the crime than the sole officer found guilty.

"Performing on Broadway was the highlight of my dad's life," Cianfrani said. "I want to do this for him."

Critical acclaim

When the play debuted in 1975, New York Times critic Clive Barnes applauded a "vitality not often found in musicals these days."

"It covers a lot of territory, including-old-fashioned vaudeville and even a touch of a comic barbershop quartet sung by a trio," Barnes wrote. "This rock opera is unusual entertainment, sharp in its aspiration, modest in its resources and silkily assertive in its achievement."

But despite such rave reviews, "The Lieutenant" -- strapped for funding -- closed after only nine days at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway.

The musical's creators still bask in its afterglow.

"Nothing I have done before or since has equaled that experience in satisfaction," said Florida resident Gene Curty, 79, who co-wrote the play with Strand and Nitra Scharfman.

Strand, 69, said he will never forget Mark Cianfrani's audition for "The Lieutenant."

"He was phenomenal. We hired him on the spot," he said. "It was a guitar-heavy production, so his role was critical."

Strand and Curty came to Tustin to witness the resurrection of their brainchild from the dust bin of obscure artistic gems.

"It has given me a lift like you wouldn't believe," Curty said.

Father-daughter bond

That reawakening is owed to an enduring father-daughter bond.

Cianfrani was born a few years after her dad's moment in the limelight. Her parents, who had relocated from the East Coast to Garden Grove, divorced when she was 2, but she remained close to both.

Mark Cianfrani continued pursuing music -- accompanying the likes of Ella Fitzgerald. Later, he worked as a corrections officer with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Mother Karen Cianfrani practices law in Santa Ana.

As a traveling musician, the elder Cianfrani often took little Rachael along to jazz festivals and concerts.

"He taught me the guitar and the saxophone, but I was terrible at both," she said. "Once he figured out my passion was reading, he would buy me all kinds of books to read together."

Her father died of a stroke while undergoing surgery for internal bleeding in 2015, a year after Cianfrani and her husband Mike Brodie welcomed their third son.

"Dad was a doting grandfather," she recalled. "My children adored him."

Within weeks of acquainting herself with the score of "The Lieutenant," Cianfrani hired an entertainment attorney to help make her newfound dream a reality. With input from the play's original writers and others, she wants to revise and update the script -- and then open the show in Orange County before taking it back to Manhattan.

"I'm confident we'll get it on Broadway," she said. "Look at 'Hamilton.' Who would have thought that historical musical would be so popular?"

First, she needs to raise several million dollars -- a daunting task on its own, Cianfrani admitted.

"We will host sneak previews in various venues to gain interest," she said. "Investors will have a chance to own a piece of the play's success."

Four Tony Award nominations

Her optimism is not without foundation, given the short-lived production's slew of Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Actor in a Musical.

Eddie Mekka, later Carmine on the sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," starred as The Lieutenant -- representing unnamed platoon leader William Calley Jr., who was convicted of murder.

The writers did double duty. Curty portrayed a drill sergeant in one scene and the judge in another. Musical director Strand played the piano.

"We had no money for advertising, so the show did not generate enough box office," Strand said.

Two days after producers called it quits, Tony nominations were announced -- yet "The Lieutenant" already was pretty much out of the running.

"Tony voters couldn't even see it," Strand pointed out.

Still, the writers relished attending the heady affair -- where they watched another musical, "The Wiz," rake in seven awards.

Afterward, everyone went their separate ways -- eventually leaving the theater behind. Scharfman became a court reporter; Strand transferred his engineering skills to the manufacturing industry; Curty went into the insurance business.

Their entertaining yet poignant examination of the My Lai tragedy deserves a present-day audience, Cianfrani believes. Next March, she noted, marks the 50th anniversary of the infamous mass killing.

Mark Cianfrani himself served in Vietnam. He forever mourned the death of his best friend there, his daughter said.

"Younger generations don't have any attachment to what our country went through," Cianfrani said. "I feel that the time is right for this theatrical take on a painful piece of history. It is both educational and healing."

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