Maryann, the Pianist

“If you ever want anyone to play - Tex is always ready. Rubenstein has nothing on her. She sure is hot when it comes to ticking the ivories, and this red-headed damsel can squeeze tunes out of an accordion as well.” (Stearns HS 1950 yearbook)

Maryann Arnold, a Millinocket girl, loved music and playing the piano (starting at age 6). Her first piano lessons were provided by the sisters at St. Martin of Tours school. This interest took her from playing for musicals at Stearns High School and for town events to the bright lights of Broadway. After graduating SHS, she attended music school in New York City and her ability as a jazz pianist came to the forefront when one of the music school instructors suggested that jazz should be her focus. He stated that she was a natural jazz player. Thus began her professional career as a jazz pianist. Early on, Maryann performed at several New York City night clubs.

             A highlight of Maryann’s career came in 1966 when she joined the cast of a new Broadway musical, Cabaret. She was the pianist for the four-piece, all-female Kit Kat Band where Maryann sat front and center onstage playing a pink piano. Cabaret, set in late 1920’s Germany in a seedy German night club, continued on Broadway for 1166 performances (3 years) with Maryann at the piano.

While Maryann Arnold (then Burns) played the piano onstage, her two children were often present at the theater during rehearsals and some performances. Her young daughter was about 7-8 years old and her son a bit older. Many times, they played backstage or were taken to a room under the stage. (The daughter, sitting at a table in the MHS museum recently talked of those days.) After the Broadway closing, Maryann traveled the country summers with the touring company of Cabaret. The children came to Maine to stay with grandparents.

Maryann was asked to be the pianist for a Liza Minelli live TV special titled “Liza with a Z” which aired in September, 1972. Maryanne’s eight-year-old daughter watched from the home of her grandparents in Millinocket as her mother played the piano on stage in New York while Liza was singing. Maryann also appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Tony Awards show and I’ve Got a Secret.

          The Katahdin Journal (8/8/1973) includes an interview with Maryann by reporter Anne Benjamin. It took place in Millinocket. She stated that getting the job with the 4-piece band in Cabaret “was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.” Maryann answered an ad in a New York Daily newspaper and auditioned with other applicants. They were given some music and told to improvise. The band was originally hired to be only a small part of the show, but they often played also during intermission.

         At the time of the Journal interview, Maryann worked as a production assistant to the technical director in NYC at the Julliard School of Music. Her children were with her. The following year, Maryann Arnold entered the public relations field and her career as a jazz pianist came to an end.