I first met Frank Yandolino on October 5, 2012. It was right after my first production: staging the reenactment of the infamous Marilyn Monroe skirt blowing over the subway grates scene from The Seven Year Itch in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of her passing. Erika Smith, one of the top Marilyn Monroe tribute artists in the world, wanted me to meet Frank, who was her friend and a Marilyn Monroe expert, in the hopes we would develop a Marilyn Monroe project together.
During my initial encounter with Frank, he hands me a non-disclosure agreement and says, “Sign this!” It was akin to becoming a blood brother, and after signing I thought I’d better fasten my seat belt, because I was going to be taken on one hell of a ride. And I was! We went on this crazy journey together to develop the stage play, “Marilyn Naked.” With his vast knowledge and passion for Marilyn, I remember he immediately drilled down on the list of possible actresses to portray Monroe. He was adamant about revealing her true story with “Marilyn being spiritually, emotionally and physically naked.”
As a parting gift, four months before he passed away, Frank called me one day shortly before Thanksgiving (we spoke several times a week) and said, “Hey, I was thinking. How would you feel about developing Woodstock as a Broadway musical?” At this point I was a producer on four Broadway shows and had won a Tony Award for the revival of Pippin, so feeling that Broadway was in need of new productions, of course I was interested. Frank was a great “connector,” and wanted to introduce me to Michael Lang, one of his closest friends and one of the four Woodstock founding partners. However, Frank’s illness was advancing rapidly, and that introduction would sadly occur at his wake (even after his time with us Frank continues to work his special magic). I’m certain the day that the Woodstock Broadway musical opens in commemoration of the festival’s fiftieth anniversary (August 2019), Frank will be smiling looking down upon the opening night with his Freak Flag Flying. Frank’s Freak Flag still flies and now you are about to find out why in Frank & Charli.
I had the pleasure of knowing Frank the last year and a half of his sixty-nine years; a bittersweet period. I was introduced to his wife, Charli, only three weeks before his death on March 17. Charli and I have become fast and dear friends since then. Frank was a true renaissance man. He had this great philosophy to “grab the ball” and keep as many balls in the air as possible. When I’m embarking on a new project, I can still hear his voice in my head telling me to grab the ball!
The last time I spoke to Frank was a Friday conference call where we were discussing the Marilyn Monroe project. Frank was on a speaker phone and sounded eerily far away. Frank told us not to worry, he could hear us, and participated in the call passionately and insightfully as he always did. He passed away the following Monday. I am not a religious person but I do keep Frank’s Mass card on my night stand; the reverse side positioned in a card holder (a.k.a. roach clip). It has the following poignant David Crosby lyrics:
Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
It’s getting kind of long
I could have said it wasn’t my way
But I didn’t and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
I feel like I owe it to someone.
Michael Rubenstein
Tony Award-winning producer