THEATRE GOSSIP #103: "Why Would a Fellow Want a Girl Like Her?" Edition

Cinderella arrives for previews! Will Broadway's newest "it" girl, Laura Osnes, take the town by storm and finally become a STAR? Or will it be a case of "been there, had that"? Meanwhile, in another part of town ... Hollywood "it" girl Jessica Chastain cranks out the last few weeks of The Heiress. Does anyone even remember she's in town? Cat With a Hot Tin Goof: Following the summer's Ghost Investor scandal, we now have: GHOST SKIPPER! A little song, a little dance, a little bulge inside the pants. Is Williams turning over in his grave? Holland Tunnel: Will Ms. Taylor waltz off with Tony for "Ann"? And will she have Stage Door Jills fighting to escort her home? Speaking of Holland Taylor - Moose Murders returns! Better than ever? The said it couldn't be done: "Let My People Come!" is back for eight special Sundays! Who will sing the hits "Come in My Mouth" and "The Cunnilingus Champion of Company C"? And talk about eldergay! Barry Manilow back on Broadway! Does he still warm up the same old way? PIPPIN! For reals! Trapezes n' everything! Which lucky theatre gets it? NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP! NICK AND NORA! OH, CAPTAIN! Ready - set - go, gurrl!

• Whoa -- am I really first? All I wanted was to point out how the closing of the aptly named Dead Accounts, together with the canning from Smash, will only feed TR's delusions of being a martyred genius, to the dismay of those who think it will be the final slap in her downfall ...

• Wow

• [quote]And talk about eldergay! Barry Manilow back on Broadway! Does he still warm up the same old way? What way? Yes, I'm dumb. And curious.

• More gossip please

• SCANDALOUS!

• "GHOST SKIPPER! A little song, a little dance, a little bulge inside the pants." I love you, OP.

• Back to the previous thread on Bye Bye Birdie. Whether or not you think the movie was terrible, that's the version that's beloved by the public. End of discussion. A revival of the play will never be a hit and has never been a hit. The TV revival followed the show as closely as possible and it was just not well received, although Vanessa got some nice reviews.

• [quote] Hollywood "it" girl Jessica Chastain cranks out the last few weeks of The Heiress. Does anyone even remember she's in town? And no one cares she's in ZDT either

• Denzel in Raisin in the Sun. Hmmm, he must be playing the ghost of the dead father. Walter Lee SR., right? So it's a Rob Assford production. Now I get the casting.

• [quote]And no one cares she's in ZDT either She's the lead of the most critically acclaimed movie of the year and one of the frontrunners for the best actress oscar. Yeah, I'm sure no one cares.

• [quote]The said it couldn't be done: "Let My People Come!" is back for eight special Sundays! Where is this taking place?

• Actually, r7, the TV movie was terrible and updated lyrics and other bad decisions, so after that I presumed the show was unplayable. But I thought the Encores production was wonderful, because they really respected the original material and had appropriate casting. (including DL fav Karen Ziemba!)

  Kim%20Mcafee

• Yes, in Rob Ashford's "Raisin In The Sun", Walter Lee's dead father lurks about the apartment swilling gin and playing pinocle with Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. And Karl Lindner's deaf wife waits in the hallway smoking weed while Karl tries to bribe the family. Sheer Brilliance!

• What proof do we have that Manilow is an eldergay?

• You didn't hear it from me, BUT Debra Winger was overheard asking the Weisslers if they would produce a stage version of Terms of Endearment where Winger could play the mother. "That bitch MacLaine was too busy channeling other personalities to do the part of the mother justice. Let me demonstrate how it should be played."

  You didn't hear it from me troll

• which former Broadway bitch is already causing headaches in London over her little revival of an infamous flop?

• [quote]which former Broadway bitch is already causing headaches in London over her little revival of an infamous flop? Batty's been there not even a week!

• R15 Only if it's called "Aurora! The Musical."

• I don't know r16, but you tell me who it is and I'll make sure they never work again.

  Betty Buckley

• There is a TERMS OF ENDEARMENT piece out there. I'm not sure if it was a play or a musical, but I know Linda Gray was attached to it at one time.

• because it was scripted by Gray's husband, no?

• You never cease to surpass yourself, OP. Brava!

• OP, you are wonderful beyond believe and description, and I would love to know (have politely asked before - but perhaps you like an air of mystery, hee-hee!): what do you do for a living? You write VERY well!!

  Fan of OP

• This is indeed a first-class Theatre Gossip lead-in.

• Too soon, R5!

  An%20empty%20bottle%20of%20Pinot%20

• I adore OP!! I couldn't come up with his clever lead in. He gets the Broadway gold seal of approval from me!! xo

  Karen Ziemba,TONY winning actress/dancer/singer/banjo player

• Listen, Winger, you little bitch. I won the Oscar for playing Aurora, and did the sequel, which you were conveniently written out of. Don't even think about trying to play that part. "Let me show them how to do it right" MY ASS.

  Shirl%2C%20still%20pissed

• I have come to realize that as much as I don't like to admit anything positive about The Wall Street Journal, I find myself agreeing with Terry Teachout more than any other major NYC critic. He always seems to get it right and his summary of revivals in 2012 is an example of the range of theater he covers.

  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324407504578185522740187926.html

• Dear Charing Cross Theatre: If batty Betty is too much of a pain, you know who to call!

  Sally%20Field

• At this point, anyone who chooses to hire Betty B. deserves any headaches they end up with.

• Well Shirl r27, I hear Maggie Smith is not acting when she turns up her nose at you in Downton Abbey. Hope you stay over there along with Madge and Gwynnie. Maybe your inner Lady Jane Grey will surface while you're there.

  Debs, the Winger

• Darling, we dont hire starts who don't sell any tickets

  Fran%20Weissler

• Terry Teapartychout is the worst. His conservative bias is always his first agenda. Fits well in the Murdoch complex.

• Would like to mention, as a general point of interest, in googling OP's Moose Murders reference, it has come to my attention that not only did the original production feature Holland Taylor (a very last minute replacement for Eve Arden who left the production after the first preview) but it also featured the young Mara Hobel as the tap dancing Shirley Temple daughter who gets poisoned by her mother in Act II (while the mother laughs hysterically and applauds her "death" scene). Mara Hobel! What an auspicious start, from Mommie Dearest to Moose Murders.

• Terry is a big homophobe and campaigned for Romney.

• Sorry, an ATC question: Was the late PhilG the poster who an unhealthy relationship with his mother?

• R36-No, that would be jdm. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, buzzie is still with us.

• Could we keep the ATC shit off this thread PLEASE? It's already poisoned too many other theater threads on DL....

• A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD/A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE!

• OP, do you have any opinion about the upcoming ENCORES! season? Did anyone here ever see Fiorello!, Superman or On Your Toes? Any dish on the backstage shenanigans during their original (or revived) runs on the Great White Way?

  squeee%21%20%20I%27m%20seeing%20all%203%20shows%20in%202013%21

• I am bored by all three choices.

• No one care about Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty? Isn't she the frontrunner with Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook? But yeah, saw The Heiress and was not pleased with her. She's marvelous in film and should probably stick to it.

• What's the gossip around Dear World?

• R40 Saw FIORELLO! national company when I was a kid. so it wasn't the original cast.Don't remember much other than I liked the score. And I bought one of those souvenir programs for 75cents. My mom always loved the song "Till Tomorrow." Starlight Theatre did a stock production of SUPERMAN with original star Bob Holliday. Wish I could have seen it. All I know about the show is from the CD cast recording and the TV adaptation with Kenneth Mars, Lesley Ann Warren and Loretta Swit. A 90 minute special that ABC ran one time and one time only. Wasn't very good as I recall. The guy who played Superman was not well known and I don't think it did anything for his career.

  kcguy

• Mufti did Superman a few years back. Cheyenne hit a career high in the title role, but Lea Delaria in a pants role as the mad scientist was embarrassing. It will be good to hear the original, wonderful orchestrations.

• Would you prefer Lea Delaria in a skirt?

• Could John Lloyd Young play Fiorello? He's been proven great at playing short Italians.

  Christian Hoff

• Lea Delaria in pants as Fiorello!

• Kennedy Center Honoree Natalia Makarova was the lead in the revival of ON YOUR TOES. It was a HUGE hit, though oddly all I recall is Dina Merrill was in the cast.

• R40 and R49, I saw the revival of "On Your Toes", too. Lara Teeter (he's a boy) was the male lead. Teaches school - theater?college? now, I believe (PA? I may have read this on this board few years ago.) R49; others?, do you remember there was something of a mini "scandal" a few years before "Toes" - Lara Teeter had been on of the brothers in an ill-advised flop stage musical of the film "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", and for some reason: Frank Rich LACERATED him in print. More so than the other performers. Dear God, this was 30 years ago, so I don't know how to research that review and I don't remember exact quotes but it was pretty bad; think it even was mentioned in other article (Post?News?Variety?) Sorry for all the question marks; wish my brain was better (not senile, but 30 years is a while!) Wasn't the character-y actor George - aaaack, don't remember last name (not George Rose) in it, too? And yes, Dina Merrill. GREAT show, score, dancing - I miss NYC in the 80s!

  Oldster, nostalgic

• Looks like Denzel wants to play Walter Lee Older in Raisin in the Sun. He was overheard recently saying "She-it, if Streisand can play Mama Rose, then I can play Walter Lee."

  http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/sun_to_shine_on_denzel_RS9Jur79ZrnbviUx8aZ2RL

• George S. Irving, r50

  Maria%20Karnivola

• R50. teeter was at Northwestern for many years (one of mymentorsthere said he was since guy), then left to head the musical theatre program at Shenendoah U.

• I guess Lara Teeter occasionally still works professionally in the summers because he played Buddy in Follies at that theater in ittsfield, Mass. Donna McKechnie was Carlotta and Jeff McCarthy was Ben....can't rememebr the rest of the castbut Lara was just fine.

• Dear R23 - thank you - you're very kind. Yes, I work in the theatre, and writing is a part of what I do - sometimes. Re the Encores! choices, I've seen all three shows (not on Broadway, not that old) - Fiorello! is a bit of a bore to me (I thinkTenderloin is much more fun, and I enjoyed it at Encores) -but I understand the choice, as it was their first show. Love On Your Toes - saw a so-so production in LA with Jeffrey Denman (who was good but blandish) and look forward to seeing it done with money and a full orchestra. I love Superman - again, can't wait to see it with full orchestra and (hopefully) some Broadway pizzazz. The TV version of Superman was awful - no one was good, least of all the hapless young man who made his debut and swan song simultaneously in the lead. It was completely rewritten, so you can't really tell about the show from that.

  OP

• Frank Rich didn't lacerate Lara Teeter for "Seven Brides" - he ignored him (and everyone else except Debby Boone and David Carroll). It was, in fact, the "On Your Toes" review in which Rich hatcheted away, leaving Teeter in tatters. To wit: [italic]At the Virginia, this role has unaccountably fallen to Lara Teeter, a standard Broadway chorus dancer with little discernible personality. He fails to carry the show and undermines its noble efforts to reproduce the past faithfully. Paired with Christine Andreas in two supreme duets, ''There's a Small Hotel'' and ''It's Got to Be Love,'' he provides insipid crooning that sends the normally vibrant Miss Andreas crashing to his level. Paired with Miss Makarova in ''Slaughter on 10th Avenue,'' he brings such leaden strain to its final passage that he deflates his partner's delightful contribution and mars the hard work done by Mr. Martins, who has fastidiously reconstructed the Balanchine choreography for this production. [/italic] Andreas, by the way, replaced someone else on the road. Teeter's road reviews were decent enough, so he didn't get fired.

• Is Lea Delaria still a thing?

• [quote] Is Lea Delaria still a thing? The word is lesbian, dear.

• R58, by "thing" I meant "relevant after 2001"

  R57

• Lea who?

  Cherry%20Jones

• Saw Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory here in London on Friday night. It's a good production of what very much remains a problem piece. Jenna Russell is a fabulous Mary. Mark Umbers is simply too nice to play Frank-he's way too amiable throughout. Will Chase would be the ideal Frank, I think. I liked some of the changes like giving Beth "Not A Day Goes By." I didn't like the inclusion of Frank and Beth's son, Frank Jr. It didn't help that the little boy playing him sounded like he was from Notting Hill than from Manhattan. And having him sing a bit of the title song towards the end didn't make any sense. Was the second act opener of Gussie performing "Good Thing Going" in Musical Husbands done at Encores? The nod to Sunday In The Park With George in it was very cute. I don't think this production will go to NY-I'm not even sure it'll get a West End transfer.

• Thanks for the review, R61. Am seeing this towards the end of the run in February. The reviews have been amazing but I don't think the Menier gets the sell-out crowds that it used to, with the exception of Abigail's Party last year. Now when will someone do MAME?!

• R61 - I saw the Encores! production of Merrily and I remember Gussie singing "Good Thing Going" as part of Musical Husbands. Seeing Merrily at Encores made me realize that I don't need to see the show again; I love music, but as the multitudes have written over the decades, the book's just not good enough to warrant a full-out revival.

• Anybody but Nathan in FIORELLO. PLease!

• Teeter and family moved to St. Louis, I believe. He has appeared in and choreographed shows at the Muny. Played Albert in Bye Bye Birdie a few years back.

• [quote]The TV version of Superman was awful - no one was good, least of all the hapless young man who made his debut and swan song simultaneously in the lead. It was completely rewritten, so you can't really tell about the show from that. Amen to that brother! Have a copy on VHS. It was awful.... a close second, the TV Damn Yankees with lovely Lee Remick, Linda Lavin and a lot of cutout cardboard chorus boys and gals.

  One of the K.Z. trolls.

• Mame in London is actually a good idea, R62, because they love Kim Cattrall and she'd be the right person to do it.

• Catrall can sing?

• Does it matter?

  Lucille%20B.

• In that case, Jennifer Saunders should do MAME. Joanna Lumley as Vera. Dawn French (or Julia Sawalha) as Gooch.

• We need a revival of "Dolly" with Faith Prince and Nathan Lane, AND a revival of "Mame" with Judy Kaye and Nathan Lane. Both roles, of course, too small for Big star Nathan. But Kevin Chamberlin might be a great Horace.

• Actually, Dolly might be a good role for Faith. And what else does she have to do with her time?

• If Mame were to be revived it'd need someone like Sarah Jessica Parker or Catherine Zeta Jones playing the part in order to run. Sarah Jessica Parker as Mame, Harry Connick Jr. as Beau and Kristen Johnston as Vera.

• Catrall is doing Sweet Bird of Youth in London next year. Is Mame not staged as often as Dolly because of Ito and the slightly dated "radicalness" of Mame (All-nude schools and so on)?

• I daresay an all-nude school would seem pretty radical in 2013.

• MAME is not staged often because of Lucille Ball!

  Angela

• In that case, I wish Lucille had done TWELFTH NIGHT at the Delacorte so we wouldn't have to suffer through the same Shakespeare play every three years. I mean, does anyone really think it won't be the first play this summer?

• I'm curious about something, and I was wondering if you guys could help. How come Broadway and theater fans always refer to actresses and actors in the field by their first names only? It's ubiquitous, and doesn't happen in any other fan community.

• r78 What do you mean?

  Vicky

• Dolly needs a star. Faith ain't one.

• Josie DeGuzman IS Hello Dolly!

• It's Jossie - I cut you!

  jossie%20deGuzman

• [quote]Dolly needs a star. Faith ain't one. I've always wondered if Joanna Gleason was too mousy to play the role. But she ain't a star either.

• Interesting link on the Broadway LA site (they took over LA Civic Light Opera, or what was left of it, in the late 1980s) listing all of their productions with cast lists from 1938 through 1987. Joanna Gleason was in a few of them, since her husband at the time Paul G. Gleason ran the Musical Theatre Workshop there for years. LA Civic Light Opera first had there performances at the LA Philharmonic Auditorium, until the Music Center was built, and then they moved to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The last few seasons (from 1984 on) they moved to the Pantages Theatre after it was renovated to be a legit house.

  http%3A//www.broadwayla.org/info/civic.light.asp

• Nathan in Mame is a wonderful idea! And the role isn't too small r71. It won Bea Arthur a Tony Award, if I recall.

• Nathan would be a good Gooch too. I hope no one really seriously thinks he could do Beau! (Well, I'm sure he could "do" Beau, but you know what I mean.)

• 1940 Red Mill \t Sterling Holloway, Dorothy Stone, Charles Collins, [bold] Gwen Verdon [/bold]

• Did anyone see Madeline Kahn in Hello Dolly? I bet that was odd.

• R88 I did. Kansas City Starlight. Having seen Carol Channing in the original and twice on tour, I wasn't sure how I would like Madeline. She was good. I've also seen Dorothy Lamour (bus and truck) and Marilyn Maye and Michele Lee both at Starlight. Next to Channing, I have to say that Kahn was my second favorite. The only other time I had seen her on stage was On the 20th Century that actually turned out to be her last week before being fired. During the Dolly number, she hummed a bit of "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" as she circled the runway in counter point to the boys Dolly chorus.

  kcguy

• With all of the interest in the '60s generated by "Mad Men," would a TV version of "How to Succeed" work? Is NPH too old for Ponty? I'm seeing Megan Hilty as Hedy.

• There was talk of a theatrical remake with Daniel Radcliffe but nothing ever came of that. I would like to see a version that restores some of the songs that were cut from the movie.

• With the entire Frank Loesser songbook at its disposal, r90?? I'd say that sounds just fine!

  Jo Sullivan

• r89 Thanks. I've heard she was very erratic as a stage performer.

• I thought the talk was of a TV remake with Darren Criss.

• NPH is not too old. Perfect casting. Katherine McPhee as Rosemary, Megan as Hedy, Jim Parsons as Bud Frump, Diana DeGarmo as Smitty

• Darren Criss versus Daniel Radcliffe. Would Criss really be a bigger sell for a TV remake than Radcliffe? I don't watch Glee anymore, so I don't know - is he still "hot" as a TV performer?

• NPH is too old. I saw Robert Morse take it out on the road when he was fortyish, and it was gruesome. Radcliffe and Criss were young for it. Ponty should be thirtyish.

• Andrew Rannells for H2$ TV Movie Remake! I doubt Radcliffe would want to do a TV version. That's why I thought Criss was being talked about for it instead.

• [quote]Andrew Rannells for H2$ TV Movie Remake! Okay, we've cast Rosemary. But who will be Ponty?

• [quote] Okay, we've cast Rosemary. But who will be Ponty? I can still play it!

  Gavin

• Speaking of Gleason, I wonder why she's never been cast in any of the Sondheim jukebox musicals. She's a brilliant Sondheim interpreter.

• I wonder if Gleason was approached for Follies with BP?

• Exactly!

• I've always wondered by people thought Bernadette was the chief interpreter of Sondheim. I know she's done three of his shows, but I think there are better interpreters. I love Cleo Laine's Sondheim album.

• I'm the chief interpreter of Sondheim! I bite your lip, r104!

  Pandy%20Matinkin

• How is it possible that Andrew Rannells's waxen face doesn't melt under hot studio lights?

• Andrea Mcardle is doing a low rent regional tour as Mame

• Andrew R is very well hung. Even Max couldn't handle him and had to walk funny the next day. Gavin still can't eat bananas to this day. About eight flaccid

• Proof please. There must be pics. Someone ask dennis!

• Nathan Lane would make a great Mother Burnside. However, the combination of Faith and Nathan, 20 some years after "Guys And Dolls" would send the box office through the roof for a revival of "Dolly". With Jeremy Jordan as Cornelius and Bobby Steggart as Barnaby, it would be a production to die for. Just don't let Rob Ashford near it. I hear Tommy Tune is looking for the right vehicle to make a directorial comeback on Broadway.

• Pamela Myers and Joanna Gleason would have been wonderful in Follies.

• Sondheim wanted Myers to take over as Hattie for New York, but Houdyshell was close friends with one of the big money people who facilitated the move.

• We still need a Mr. Biggley, Jonesy, and Wally.

• Mame isn't that great of a show. It would need a really big star attached to make a go of it. The Baranski version crashed, so it'd have to be like Latifah or Zeta Jones or some big name, unless Roundabout or one of the other non-profits did it, and I don't see that happening.

• I only realized reading the Sondheim HAT book that little Pamela Myers was only 21 and fresh out of school when she did COMPANY. What a voice, and what a stellar, lasting performance of that song. It's a shame she didn't have a bigger career.

  D%27Jamin%20Bartlett

• Speaking of D'Jamin, I saw WORKING at 59 E 59 today, and remembered seeing Ms. Bartlett in the original Broadway production during previews. And then they fired her ass.

• Biggley: John Laroquette Jonesy: Holland Taylor Twimble/Wally: Greg Jbara

• I saw the original WORKING on Broadway, with PATTI LUPONE (!) in a small role as the hooker, with no solo singing. No wonder the show only ran 2 weeks. Did Lin-Carmen Miranda cut the hooker for this revival and replace her with a male prostitute?

• WORKING doesn't... work as a musical. Never has, never will.

• [quote]I remembered seeing Ms. Bartlett in the original Broadway production during previews. And then they fired her ass. D'Jamin got fired? Oh, the poor, poor thing! Karma, baby!

  Garn%20Stephens

• I heart R120.

• Aside from Into the Woods, are any other movie musicals actually in development? I doubt Emma Thompsons' My Fair Lady and Streisand's Gypsy will ever happen. And Macintosh took so long getting Les Mis going, so Miss Saigon will probably be released in 2024.

• Does anyone her work on "Drood"? I am curious how much of the costumes are actually from the Madison Square Garden "Christmas Carol"

• Madonna to buy the rights to Next to Normal

• A friend of mine originated Just A Housewife in Working. She's on the cast album.

• The 1974 Bomb 'Let my people Come' is being revived in a basement bar on the West Side with a 99 dollar ticket price. Are they fucking kidding?

• This revival of Working worked much better than that bloated elephant in 78. This was actually a lovely, moving production. Deserved a longer run. Prostitute had a short monologue.

• No matter what anyone says about the show, the OBC recording of Working is brilliant. Perhaps it was only ever meant to be a concept album?

  Lynne Thigpen

• The ticket situation/cust svce at 59E59 where WORKING was playing was a mess. I tried twice to get tickets and the staff was useless.

• LET MY PEOPLE COME was hardly a "bomb", R126. It was a huge off-Broadway hit at the old Village Gate, and in its time, was much more critically popular than OH! CALCUTTA! It moved to the Morosco Theater on Broadway, but it was not a show suited artistically or financially for the more legitimate venue and folded after 108 performances. Better than some Broadway shows today. My fear is that it hasn't aged well, but let's give credit where credit is due.

  http%3A//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_My_People_Come

  Billy%20Boy

• YOUR OWN THING!

• I'm guessing "Let My People Come!" is aimed at tourists who don't have the nerve to go to a strip club.

• Looks like COMEDY OF ERRORS will be the first play at the Delacorte this summer. Now who will direct? Please God, don't let it be Daniel Sullivan.

• Anyone know of the dancer from Argentina, Gustavo, who was in the opening number of the Gypsy of the Year show-what a dreamboat. And where is hunky Charlie Williams these days?

• Charlie's probably still up Rob Ashford's ass.

• Will Les Miz be back on Broadway soon because of the popularity of the film?

• Unfortunately, yes, we'll have to suffer through another Broadway outing with the latest flavors of the week.

• R125 - I LOVED Susan Bigelow back in the day. She got treated like crap when she divorced Tim Jerome. Does she still perform anywhere?

• [quote]Andrea Mcardle is doing a low rent regional tour as Mame She's making an honest living in theater. Get off your high horse. [quote]I'm guessing "Let My People Come!" is aimed at tourists who don't have the nerve to go to a strip club. I'm sure there are a few people in the tri-state area like looking at naked people too, ya know. [quote]Unfortunately, yes, we'll have to suffer through another Broadway outing with the latest flavors of the week. Please explain how any show playing anywhere makes you suffer. Please enlighten the class.

• Didn't Susan Bigelow replace D'Jamin Bartlett?

• I don't know, R138. I haven't had contact with her for years and live out of the country. But yes, she is a lovely person. She used to work a lot when I knew her.

• Why was D'Jamin fired? And how does she pronounce her name? Deejammin? Jammin? Dezhameen?

• Duh-Jah-Maahn?

• IIRC it was originally Doris Jamin Bartlett and Bartlett was her married name, which she may no longer be.

• The last time I remember hearing Susan Bigleow's name was in the OBC of Is There Life After HIgh School around 1981. So it's a safe bet she left the business.

  Sandy Faison

• I'm rebranding for the New Year, kids! How do you like K'Ren Ziemba? Kinda exotic, isn't it? Hee.

  K%22Ren%20Ziemba

• Susan Bigelow wasn't in IS THERE LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, r145.

  Alma%20Cuervo%2C%20I%20was

• Really? Susan was certainly in it at Hartford Stage Co. where it premiered.

  Craig Carnelia

• Dear Ms. Ziemba: I'm a huge fan and you are SUCH a blessing to this business we call show. I can't ever hear a banjo without misting up just a bit. While I'd hate to quibble with a star such as your self, may I suggest ... You're such a fierce presence in this business (and by that I mean the industry) that you don't even need two names. (Like Brando or Streisand or Zoloft.) You should just be rebranded as: Z'Ba! Think about it. A fan.

• Acually, during "And The World Goes Round", KZ's billing had an accent mark over the "e" in her last name, so people would pronounce it correctly - as Zee-EMM-ba.

• Saw the last show of "A Christmas Story" and had a swell time. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. Audience ate it up too.

• r151 I agree. I hope the Tony voters got to see it. John Bolton was terrific as the father.

• Those mousy Christmas Story writers are ghastly. Didn't one of them fuck Stephen Schwartz? Give head to get ahead?!

• [quote]Susan was certainly in it at Hartford Stage Co. where it premiered. If she was, then she was replaced for Broadway. She wasn't in the cast, wasn't an understudy, and isn't on the OBC. She must have been in the role that either Sandy Faison or Cynthia Carle played. If it was Carle's role, then they obviously wanted someone more quirky, which Carle is and Bigelow isn't.

• [quote]Z'Ba! Starring Antonio Banderas as Z'Ba!

• Tip of the day: When screwing Stephen Schwartz to get ahead, do NOT run your hands through his hair while he's blowing you.

  Been%20There%2C%20Done%20That%2C%20Awkward

• Speaking to Tim Jerome. I see he's back in Phantom!? What happened to Kevin Ligon? Was he fired?

• Kevin Ligon was fired from THE PRODUCERS.

• The Weisslers will be putting PIPPIN into the Imperial, the same theatre where it premiered on Oct. 23rd, 1972. They're such nostalgia buffs. One of them can actually remember their wedding day.

• Are you bitches asleep? No posts on the NY Phil tv tribute to Marvin Hamlisch? Raul and his dfgtdyhcock. Kelli. Audra tripping over the teleprompter. Megan Hilty crasing and burning. And little Annie putting everyone to shame rocking a song from Smile.

  Paul%20G.%20I%27ll%20sit%2C%20thank%20you

• Why isn't Lucie Arnaz considered for a Broadway revival of Mame? She's got the chops, the voice and the comedic timing. And it woud be a dream, full circle PR moment to redeem her mother's somewhat unfortunate film performance.

• R160 When is/was this on? PBS has that Jewish composers/Broadway thing on tonight.

• Aired here in Dallas New Year's Eve.

• The Hamlisch tribute airs again this coming weekend on afternoons on NYC PBS stations. As to R161 - the reason nobody wants Lucie in a revival of MAME is: a) Lucie is a cunt and b) nobody wants a revival of MAME - period. Too expensive to mount with that size cast and the last revivals (with Lansbury and Baranski, and the Goodspeed last spring with Louise Pitre) have all FAILED at the box office.

  It%20Ain%27t%20Sondheim

• [quote]Kevin Ligon was fired from THE PRODUCERS. Really? Then how did he get the first national - and then the movie?

• Louise Pitre was awful in Goodspeed's production of Mame. The show was period appropriate with costumes and decor throughout (I liked the supporting cast), except for Pitre... the hair was wrong, her costumes seemed to be made up of pant suits from the 1970s and she seemed bored the entire time she was on stage, simply going through the motions, no real verve to the performance which is required of the character. I wonder who thought she'd be a good choice. Mame's a fine show, but doesn't rate a B'way revival until Jerry Herman's dead. Do it as a tribute show.

• [quote]she seemed bored the entire time she was on stage, Well, Jerry Herman is no Abba. You'd be bored, too.

  Louise%20Pitre

• And Lucie would sell how many tickets? No one under the age of 40 knows who she is!!

• BROOKE SHIELDS is MAME!

• And Mamie Gummer is MAMIE GUMMER!

• Brooke could handle the comedy, she can't sing the songs.

• If Mame has to be stunt casted couldn't they just get a celeb for Vera? She's not in the show the whole time but anyone just buying a ticket to see a celebrity probably won't know or care.

• So why was Kevin fired from phantom? Will Tara rubin ever bring him in for anything again?

• Lucie would make a brilliant Mame and she has the innate class to pull it off.

• Streep would be a good choice for Mame. You really would get a surprised laugh out of her sliding down the banister, which would not be the reaction with Lucie.

• Streep's a lock for a busted hip if she slides down anything 8 times a week. The girl is no girl no more.

• no phantom kevin gossip?

• Saw a regional production of "Mame" starring -- I'm not kidding -- Joanne Worley (sp?) and Lenore Nemetz as Vera. And ... it was great. Nemetz killed in the part and Worley was absolutely extraordinary -- which surprised nobody more than me.

• Worley was a great old fashioned stage performer. She was still fun doing her schtick during Drowsy Chaperone a few years ago. I like Kim Cattrall for Mame. She's classy and warm, does a lot of stage work, wears clothes well and has a name that would sell in a musical- if not a play (like Nathan Lane). She was cast as Phyllis in Follies before dropping out and being replaced by subsidized rent whore Jan Maxwell. Thoughts? Does she sing well enough for Mame?

  .%20.%20.%20.%20and%20SJP%20as%20Lightning%20Rod%21

• Joanna Gleason for Mame!

• What's the deal with the Harvey Firestein/Cyndi Lauper collaboration of "Kinky Boots"?

• Weird about Kevin Ligon. The guy who played M. Andre with him is no longer listed on the website either. Did they both get fired? What happened?

• [quote]Joanna Gleason for Mame! Of course not, but Vera,hmmmmm? Possible.

• Did Joanne's face ever settle?

  Ilene Graff

• I saw it, r160. It was very mediocre. Megan Hilty was Horrible. It was almost like a parody. The lowest point of the evening. Audra's rendition of "The Way We Were" wasn't much better. loved, loved, LOVED Joshua Bell, Lila Crawford and Raul. Simple, beautiful and effective. I was curious about Sweet Smell of Success after Raul's performance but that quickly went away after Kelli O'Hara and Brian D'Arcy James sang more of the score. Brian wasn't bad but the song... Maria Friedman. Why? Kelli O'Hara has a beautiful voice but I can't be the only one who finds her incredibly bland. "At the Ballet"? zzzzz "Tits and Ass". Boy, did that fell flat! That poor broke girl was dying. Maria Friedman singing "Nothing". Again, Why? Audra was OK as host, nothing exceptional. The sound was terrible, and it only got worse. At the end I could only hear Audra and Raul. I did find the performers taking their bows as they danced to "One" to be cute.

• What song did they do from Smile? I'm kind of in love with the demo that Hamlisch sings on. I think it's the first draft with Carolyn Leigh.

• "Disneyland", r186. Crawford put the other women to shame, and that includes 5-time tony winner Audra McDonald.

• Could Smile get reworked anytime soon with a combination of drafts/lyrics?

• Why does Andy Karl continue that tired boy band routine? Watched that awful "Bustle Fluffah" video and have to wonder if anyone is really amused by him. Is HE even amused by himself?

• It will be repeated this Sunday and while Megan was underwhelming, Audra was just fine. The "Tits and Ass" performer was the blonde from Two Broke Girls. She was fine. The entire evening was very entertaining.

• Considering who she is and what she can do, no Audra wasn't "fine." She was a huge disappointment. As for Kelli O'Hara ... There are no words.

• Can some one direct me towards the Busby Berkeley sequence that was the inspiration for "Favorite Son" in "Will Rogers Follies"?

• I don't know if it's Busby Berkeley, but it's a direct steal from a number in the Paul Whiteman movie, King of Jazz. I saw it a long time ago - but it's almost the exact choreography. Can't remember the name of the song.

• Soooooooo typical NY thread when discussing the Hamlisch tribute on PBS. Audra M. was not fine --her "Way We Were" was off key at times, nothing magical about her singing that particular evening and her hosting was typical slick, shallow commentary. Megan H. was fine but , oh no, everyone attacks her as they do when "Smash" TV series is running. She's headed for major stardom and not restricting herself to tired old Broadway musical cliche "selling" a song. She sings well, is sexy, can actually act and, of course, no one in NY can deal with that. That Crawford girl --well, she's your "Annie" all right and will be so phony and technique-y by the time she reaches 20. Then there was Joshua Bell -- a true artist - The best of the evening.

• Joshua Bell - who's his bf?

  Kristi%20Dawn

• r179 I don't know if she can sing and I do think MAME needs a singer (not an actress who sings or brays) but other than than that I think Cantrell would be great casting but would she or MAME sell out last a year? She's age appropriate and I think she could find emotional depths in the role that neither Roz or Lucy could touch. She's also has the body of woman half her age and wears clothes well and I think even on SITC she had a certain over the top camp style. If you want to cast older but I think reads even younger than Mama Patti would be Andrea Martin One other thought.. Jennifer Saunders? Just based on FRENCH AND SAUNDERS, I think the woman can do anything

• Lana Cantrell for MAME!

  Lesley%20Gore

• I love Andrea Martin but she's no Mame. Maybe a Vera.

• Mame really shouldn't be past 40. The character is 30ish when the show starts, and in her early 50s when it ends.

• Kim CATTRALL R196 couldn't keep PRIVATE LIVES running for more than 3 months in one of the smallest houses on Broadway 2 seasons ago. And she appeared practically nude in it at one point. She's not a big enough name to carry a Mame. R199, Mame has always been the role for "older" glamorous ladies. Angela was over 40 when she created the role and her replacements were all much older than that. It's definitely THE role for glamour queens over 50 (drama queens over 50 play Mama Rose). WEHT the Michele Lee revival Jerry Herman was pimping? With Linda Lavin as Vera.

  Manny%20Azenberg%27s%20mustache

• Angela Lansbury was exactly 40 when she created the part, not older. She had turned 40 in Oct, 1965. It's definitely not a role for women in their 50s. And the only way for it to be fresh is if someone a bit younger plays it. Maybe the little Annie can play it.

• Kathy Griffin is MAME!!! Chelsea Handler is VERA!

  Anderson%20Cooper%20is%20GOOCH%21

• Errico's BACK! And Sondheim's got 'er!

  http://www.playbill.com/news/article/173633-NYC-Passion-Will-Also-Ensnare-Stephen-Bogardus-Jeffry-Denman-Complete-Cast-Announced

  You poor cast....

• Mariska Hargitay is MAME!

• After the revival flopped, even Lansbury fretted that the public had passed "Mame" by. Despite Herman's numerous attempts to get her to do a TV special for "Mame", Lansbury refused after the stage debacle.

• r[202] Thank you for making me laugh out loud today! :)

• Why are you dumb bitches yammering on about Mame? Should this be the granny grandma thread? CLEARLY there are Talkin' Broadway morons over on Datalounge.

• You're making things up, r205. Lansbury desperately wanted to do the TV Mame. The deal was going to be with CBS (of course), and they're the ones who dragged their heels. Then it got "hot" again after Lansbury hosted the Tonys and sang "Bosom Buddies" with Bea Arthur on the Tonys. The plan got going again, and it was going to be presented on stage in Long Beach (the theatre where the Long Beach CLO was), and would be filmed live (which was how Lansbury wanted to do it, a la the way Sweeney was filmed) and various performances edited together. But then the costs skyrocketed and CBS got cold feet again and that was that. As to the 1983 Mame, did you see it? It was done on the cheap - very cheap - it looked like summer stock thrown up on a Broadway stage. It was not a first-class revival. Lansbury herself couldn't carry a third-rate production.

• r207 is MAME!!!

• R207 is the fetus Mame aborted in 1926.

• R208 The revival was taped.. It was going to be on Showtime. Producer of the revival balked at the last minute and refused to allow the broadcast. For years, Lansbury pleaded to get him to release it.

• R207 If you have anything nice to say about my subscribers please feel free to do so....at anytime.

  aNN

• [quote]That Crawford girl --well, she's your "Annie" all right and will be so phony and technique-y by the time she reaches 20. Oh fuck you, that kid was amazing.

• [quote]Megan H. was fine but , oh no, everyone attacks her as they do when "Smash" TV series is running. She's headed for major stardom and not restricting herself to tired old Broadway musical cliche "selling" a song. She sings well, is sexy, can actually act and, of course, no one in NY can deal with that. If you thought that Megan Hilty's performance of 'Nobody Does it Better' was good or even fine then you have really bad taste. Even Anna Faris singing that song in 'Lost In Tranlation' was more fun. And I haven't seen one episode of Smash (not the only one, I'm sure)

• R208 - that's a different situation. The deal with CBS was as I described - put it up again for a week of performances in Long Beach that would be taped. That's the one CBS decided would be too much.

• ART's Pippin starts previews at the Music Box on March 23.

  http%3A//www.playbill.com/news/article/173663-Pippin-Staged-by-Diane-Paulus-Will-Spread-Magic-on-Broadway-This-Spring

• Does anyone know why the PBS Marvin Hamlisch show just ended abruptly at around 9:10 or 9:15? Did it run over or under? (Don't these thing usually end on the hour or half hour?) It seemed weird to end like that, the Philharmonic still playing and the audience getting up and going or chatting.

• OMFG enough Mame. It's not that great of a show.

• Shirley MacLaine as Mame! Maggie Smith as Vera! Elizabeth McGovern as Gooch! Dan Stevens as Older Patrick!

  Downton%20Abbey%20fan

• R219 Hugh Bonneville as Beau!

• Saw Kinky Boots in Chicago. Awful, awful, awful. Granted, it's a "fun" show and I think Stark Sands (Charlie) and Annaleigh Ashford could potentially merit Tony noms if their musical competition is weak this year but it had zero substance. Quite lovely scenic and costume designs and choreo but I don't really remember the lights personally and a competent sound design. It's apparently had some work done since I saw it that make it somewhat better but this was my take on it (from what I remember). Terrible book and truly terrible score. Songs Lauper could sing on her own with sparse connection to the plot. Btw, Harvey, what IS the plot? A pointless use of children at the beginning to emphasize a time change that only wastes time. Sudden realization four songs in that the main character hasn't had a solo and so they introduce a throwaway Charlie' first big number. Billy Porter (Lola) cannot do the accent worth a single damn and is trying ridiculously hard at balancing a caricature with no personality into an actual character. Big emotional ballad centers on Charlie and Lola "not [being their] father's son" and sharing in that but are clearly from utterly different worlds and circumstances with nothing in common (mostly because EVERYTHING his father wanted him to do). Random bitch girlfriend and "treat others kindly" moral that falls flat. Charlie has a random and unstimulated change into a complete asshole that is "fixed" but not really. This leads into a fight with Lola who won't go to Milan to save the shoe company, which is obviously turned around in the most horrendous, blatant epitome of and eleven o'clock number (literally started at 11) alongside a contrived and blatant "twist" when [WARNING! WARNING! SPOILERZ!] the only other black actor in the cast is wheeled onstage--just guess who the fuck he is. [/SPOILERZ] He makes it back in time to watch Charlie's train wreck of a Milan fashion show, makes it even more tawdry and ghastly......and curtain. No denouement, no capstone. It ends. I was left with no confidence that any boots were sold and the company sustained after the trash they just pulled in Italy and I would've quite liked some explanation. Mind you, I did see this back in the second week of October so there very well may have been other things I liked or didn't like with more specificity. But three months on, this is what clearly stuck in my mind more.

• Homeland's hunky ginger Damien Lewis in talks to star in a revival of ME AND MY GIRL in London next fall. Apparently he's quite the singer and tapper and the part is one of his dream roles.

• My friend, Marsha Waterbury (nee Skaggs), played the Barbara Feldman role in the original production of Smile.

• That's "Feldon."

  Don%20Adams

• The Mame revival WAS taped?! Who do I have to fuck to get a copy? I hope it's not the same queen that has the rest of A Star is Born. My Fair Lady with Dominic West may be going to the West End in May. Visiting in February for Merrily, Kiss me Kate and A Chorus Line, but may go back in the summer now for MFL, Mormon and the outdoor production of The Sound of Music.

• [quote]but I don't really remember the lights personally You lost me with the lighting comment. With the exception of something like "Spring Awakening" when the lights are actually part of the set, who the fuck remembers the lighting? You're dismissed.

• R225- the producer of the revival, who has since died, had the tape. Lansbury tried to get it for years. Showtime apparently bowed out and didn't pursue. Of course there is a bootleg out there of the revival. It was taped by Ken Mandlebaum over a two night period at the Gershwin. Ms. Lansbury has a copy sent to her right before she left Los Angeles and moved back to NY for the play DEUCES or whatever it was called.. the tennis play. Being a boot it's not easy to watch.

• [quote]that's a different situation. The deal with CBS was as I described - put it up again for a week of performances in Long Beach that would be taped. That's the one CBS decided would be too much Thanks. Did not know about that plan. Interesting.

• God that Marvin Hamlisch (sp/) thing mostly was putrid. Kelli cannot hit high notes without sounding horribly strident, the ONE finale was under-rehearsed, Hilty's solo stunk, Audra has sounded a lot better, the kid from Annie was okay -but damn I sure happy I didn't spend money to see that thing.

• Well, according to the Gottfried bio of Lansbury, she said before "Mrs. Santa Claus" something to the effect that she'll do anything for Jerry, just not "Mame." Despite the lack of quality of the revival, it was a flop based on the advance sales. With her name recognition, that had to be a giant blow to her. I didn't see it but a friend who saw it on Broadway said it was cruel for a woman of her age to be put through the show. She looked like she was going to expire at the show's end. The bio is also includes the quote about audiences moving past "Mame." The concept of a worldly woman being ennobled by a child seems quaint.

• Hamlisch did not compose enough great songs to fill the time allocated for the concert. The music fit well into his few successful shows/film. But without Marvin's magical personality to boost the songs, the show did not work & wouldn't have worked with another production team or performers.

• MAME revival had very little advertising too. Playbill program was plain with just the title / Lansbury font on the cover.

• I think a great TV special for PBS, would be Mame with Bernadette Peters as Mame and Patti LuPone as Vera. It would be like when Ethel Merman and Mary Martin did those TV Specials back inthe 50's. The good thing is that on PBS, it woudn't be a slave to network tv ratings and could give the theatre queens exactly what they want. I'm pretty sure Bosom Buddies would stop the show.

• If Isherwood's rant on Les Miz isn't going to get him fired, I don't know what could. I agree with his opinions, but the style is so tired, jaded, bitchy and queeny. Simply awful. Please God, exhume Walter Kerr.

• Bosom Buddies would have a whole new meaning, R233

• [quote]If Isherwood's rant on Les Miz isn't going to get him fired, I don't know what could. THAT was a RANT? Honestly, honey, calm down. He's been much harder on less worthy targets.

  S. Melling Salts

• 'It would be like when Ethel Merman and Mary Martin did those TV Specials back inthe 50's.' Those special were broadcast on network TV in the days when Broadway stars were known to the general public. Martin hosted the famous 1953 Ford Anniversary show with Merman; televison's first hours-long special. Martin did several live telecasts of Peter Pan. Those show received very high ratings. But, both ladies were in their 40s back then. Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters are in their 60s, and Broadway is far from the center of American culture now. Don't see it happening.

• Patti and Bernadette may be in their 60s but they nevertheless look 20 years younger than Ethel and Mary did in 1953.

  Mainbocher

• [quote]y, she said before "Mrs. Santa Claus" something to the effect that she'll do anything for Jerry, just not "Mame." Yes, well, by that point, she was way too old and knew she didn't have the stamina. The last time it was being considered, she had just slimmed down (for Murder She Wrote), and looked ultra glam hosting the Tonys. That was around 1990. If it was going to happen, it had to be then, because she was already mid-60s. When CBS pulled out, that was it. She knew she'd never be Mame again.

• Any reports from "Cinderella" rehearsals?

• Impossible things are happening every day R240. Victoria hasn't balked or yelled at anyone.. yet.

• Some of us actually do remember the lights, if the lighting designer is good enough to be more than just a supplement to the scenic designer.

• R238, I agree about Bernadette still looking young and fabulous, but...have you seen Patti LuPone in close-up lately???

• Betty Lynn has lost her voice.....already. Fasten your seat belts.

• The idea of Peters as Mame makes me ill.

  J.%20Gleason%20

• I just heard her in concert and she sounded GREAT, no voice lost on the Betty front.

• r246...she's lost it temporarily and is on vocal rest from rehersals of her new show. (per her twitter)

• Peters is actually an inspired choice for Mame, and it would be nice to see her in a non-Sondheim or Merman role. LuPone as Vera is also a fun idea although I doubt she would play second fiddle to Peters since she hates her. Although just because you hate someone doesn't mean you can't support them to get an award nomination and a showstopping song.

  Kristi Dawn, who LOVES Idina.

• The Ford 50th anniversary show was seen live in 1953--60 years ago. Lighting, make-up and clothes, etc. circ 1953 made everyone look older on a live black & white telecast back then, not just Merman and Martin.

• THE GOODBYE GIRL!

• What the hell is wrong with Bukley? The songs in DEAR WORLD are not exactly difficult - very mid-range.

• I love the idea of Peters as Mame or Dolly.

  Time Heals Everything

• [quote]As to the 1983 Mame, did you see it? It was done on the cheap - very cheap - it looked like summer stock thrown up on a Broadway stage. It was not a first-class revival. Lansbury herself couldn't carry a third-rate production. It was a tour production. The producers brought it to Broadway at the wrong time. It came in July of 1983 (the middle of summer?) into the Gershwin (huge theater) with zero publicity and next to no advance sales. A friend of mine said "Honey, by the time word got to Fire Island that Angela had brought Mame to Broadway, the show was closed." Rumor has it that both Angela and Jerry Herman offered the producers money to not open the production until after Labor Day.

• [quote]What the hell is wrong with Bukley? The songs in DEAR WORLD are not exactly difficult - very mid-range. She never had to sweat it out in the chorus so she never learned how to pace herself. She flew into NYC and one week later was starring on Broadway, the only woman in an all male revue called 1776.

  Valerie Harper, propping up Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball and Carol Lawrence

• When has Peters ever played true sophistication? And don't tell me A Little Night Music.

• Bernadette can't even consider playing Mame until she gets rid of her Queens accent. "And the winnuh is Norbutt Leo Butz"

• Sadly R239, she was already too old when she did the revival and that was fifteen years before.

• On the PBS show about Jewish Broadway composers, there was a clip of "Porgy and Bess" from 1992 with Damon Evans as Sportin' Life. He was the second (and far cuter) Lionel Jefferson on "The Jeffersons" and as I recall he was a trained singer. What ever happened to him?

• So whom does Bertie Carvel play in the Les Mis movie? I thought he was the factory foreman but apparently that's someone else. Is he one of the revolutionaries or one of Thenardier's gang? Lots of London (and occasional Broadway) theatre regulars pop up in the movie, including Kate Fleetwood, Hannah Waddingham, Daniel Evans and Linzi Hateley, among many others I'm sure.

• [Lots of London (and occasional Broadway) theatre regulars pop up in the movie, including Kate Fleetwood, Hannah Waddingham, Daniel Evans and Linzi Hateley, among many others I'm sure. Don't forget the original Jean ValJean, Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop

• Who's fucking Jeremy Katz these days?

• [quote]She never had to sweat it out in the chorus so she never learned how to pace herself. She flew into NYC and one week later was starring on Broadway, the only woman in an all male revue called 1776. Excuse me?

  Abigail Adams

• R251, "Kiss Her Now" has a pretty wide range.

• Don't forget original Eponine, Frances Ruffelle, playing a whore, too. And appropriately cast, I might add.

  John%20Caird

• Cleo Laine's daughter, Jackie Dankworth, is also in Les Mis as a beggar. Weird, cause at one point it looked like she was actually going to have a career.

• Why does Patti hate Bernadette? Patt's the one who got the Mama Rose Tony for heavens sake. Plus she got her first Tony way before Bernadette got her first. (Although Bernie had less of a wait till her second). Is it because Bernadette is still youthful, slim and beautiful, while Patti is ... matronly and still has a crooked wolf's face?

• Anne Hathaway as "Mame"!

• [quote]It was a tour production. The producers brought it to Broadway at the wrong time. It came in July of 1983 ... A friend of mine said "Honey, by the time word got to Fire Island that Angela had brought Mame to Broadway, the show was closed." I feel like I've just been force-fed an entire collection of Ethan Mordden "Buddies" stories. Blargh!

• Who gives a crap about Kevin Ligon? He was horrible in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN as that stupid ass ancestor song. Move on.

• But he rocked a real boat on the tour of Guys and Dolls.

• And he gives splendid blowjobs.

• [quote]Victoria hasn't balked or yelled at anyone.. yet. Give her time.

  Kelli

• She doesn't hate, Bernie, r266, she hates Glenn. (and not because Glenn got to do her part in "Sunset" but because Patti felt she was a stuck-up bitch about it.)

  Louella%20P

• Kevin Ligon was just one of many cast members who were let go recently including the actor who was playing Andre opposite him and a long-time swing who admittedly stayed too long (even by Phantom standards). It was justified as a sort of house-cleaning to get the production ready for the upcoming 25th anniversary, though if that was really the case I can think of two other cast members who ought to have been shown the door, too.

• Patti doesn't like Bernadette because of career jealousy. Patti is open in interviews about missed opportunities. She auditioned to replace Bernadette as Dot in Sunday in the Park, but was passed over. Then she was offered the Witch in Into the Woods before Bernadette, but the producers wouldn't meet her terms but then gave Bernadette everything she wanted in negotiations. Then the final straw was the Annie Get Your Gun fiasco. Patti played the part in a Lincoln Center Benefit, thinking she would get the revival, only to be passed over for Bernadette at the last minute when the producers decided that Patti wasn't a big enough name to sell tickets. Then Bernadette won the Tony for it.

• Hey 274 Housecleaning is one thing. But he had JUST been hired to freshen up the show and then in less than a year was let go. Lets face it. There's a story there

• To whom is r273 attempting to respond?

• I would be looking over my shoulder if I was that Pippin boy-Barry Weissler doesnt produce a show without some "Name" to promote. I sure someone is calling Zac Efrons agent--but theyll most likely wind up with someone on the Hunter Parrish level

• HELLO DOLLY! and MAME should never be revived. They are terrible shows. Jerry Herman - YUCK.

• Lilla Crawford did do a wonderful job with Disneyland. So wonderful that I then looked around for a video of her performing Tomorrow. WORLDS of difference - for some reason, a weird Long Island accent: "The sun'll come out, tsoomorrow"...all the t's were ts's, and her voice was incredibly nasal. Why? Is that some kind of character choice given by the director?

• yup

• R280, James Lapine is a terrible director who almost ruins everything he touches. I expect he's responsible for most if not all of the problems in Crawford's performance as Annie. Lonny Price (who directed the Hamlisch tribute) is just as bad a director as Lapine, if not worse, but I'm assuming he didn't have the opportunity to fuck up her performance of "Disneyland" because it was a one-night event with very limited rehearsals. R278, of course it's true that the Weisslers are famous for stunt casting of celebrities (or semi-celebrities) to keep their shows running, but they have opened several shows with no major stars in the original casts. (Think about it.) So they may let that boy stay as Pippin, even though I've heard he's adequate at best, and then bring in some "American Idol" kid to replace him at a later date. If PIPPIN does run for a while, it will be interesting to see if they start to stunt-cast the role of the leading player, and if some of the replacements are male (as the role was envisioned and originally played) rather than female (as in this production).

• Ligon and his M. Andre took over in Sept 2011. When were they let go? We must get to the bottom of this mystery.

  Jessica%20Fletcher

• If I paid DL dues here (I used to but won't anymore), I'd start a thread titled: JAMES LAPINE: Explain His Inexplicable Career Success or the like. Many here agree that he is a talentless, misguided hack. He was a terrible playwright as well. Why does Sondheim regard him as his most visionary collaborator? Why does he continue to get work he is unsuited for (eg, ANNIE)? Why has he lasted these many years when other, brighter talents have left the biz completely?

  Fosca%27s%20unibrow%2C%20waiting%20for%20a%20call%20from%20CSC

• I think Bernadette should have a shot at Mame, but only if her heart's really in it. Otherwise it's just a waste. Has SHE ever played Mrs. Lovett?

• Bernie too OLD for Mame! As stated before...She really should only be in her 40's not 60's

• After tomorrow, ONE THIRD of Broadway's theaters will be empty. What other shows will be gone by the end of January?

  Charlotte%20St.%20John

• What's closing tomorrow?

• Closing 1/6: 1. War Horse 2. Dead Accounts 3. Chaplin 4. Elf 5. Grace

• Well, shit. The post-Tom era of being fabulous in NYC is not working as promised, is it? Goddamn it. I'm teleconning with Nicole and Mimi in the morning. Someone's getting fired.

  Katie%2C%20face%20adorably%20askew

• Berthe is the obvious place to stunt cast, since they could bring in really famous old broads for very short runs if they got creative about it. Don't know if they could still do that with the trapeze, though, so AM may have some job security on that front.

• Gwyneth Paltrow is Mame. Melissa mcCarthy is Vera. Jenn Colella is Gooch. I smell a Tony!

• Vera is NOT supposed to be obese!

  Anne%20Francine%2C%20munching%20Bea%27s%20muff%20

• Peters is sort-of right for Mame, but not really. She's absolutely perfect for Dolly, an idea I would get excited about if I didn't loathe "Hello, Dolly."

• [quote]She auditioned to replace Bernadette as Dot in Sunday in the Park, but was passed over. Patti would have been all wrong - Dot should be beautiful. And if she was auditioning to replace Bernadette, why would that make her hate Bernie? I could see if she auditioned for Dot and Bernadette got the role over her, maybe. Of course, by that point, Bernadette probably didn't have to audition for Dot at all.

• The reviled-by-DL Paltrow is actually perfect for Mame.

• Cheyenne Jackson as Mame, Douglas Hodge as Vera, Nathan Lane as Gooch.

• I love Bernadette, but she's so not MAME. Mame Dennis is soigne, chic, a little off, but with a heart of gold. Every time Bernadette has attempted any sort of chic (UGLY BETTY, SLAVES OF NEW YORK), the results are not... good. By these standards, LuPone would be laughably wrong in the role.

• PS: I meant to add that it's part of the problem I had with Bernadette as Desiree. Though she did kill me with "Send In The Clowns."

• Eve Best as Mame! Can she sing?

• Reba McEntire IS Mame!

  The%20former%20PIPPIN%21%20troll....

• r280 Yes. Lapine.

• Jan Maxwell is MAME!

  At the Dollar Tree in New Jersey

• Ten years ago, Emma Thompson as Mame.

• There are very few out there now who could touch the hem of Mame Dennis. Lansbury struck the right balance, walking the ever thin tightrope between good hearted party mama and steely ball buster. Lucy Ball would have been perfect if her singing voice were better. Cher would have been great back in the eighties. And if Teri Garr had a great voice, she could have done it. Now, that Mullally chick from WILL AND GRACE perhaps? Sigourney Weaver? Ebersole and Baranski are too cold to get into the nuturing bosom aspect of the Dennis character. Their Kennedy center performance lacked warmth.

• Tyne Daly could wipe the floor with any of the actresses mentioned so far if she deigned to play Dolly Levi. Now THAT would be a HELLO DOLLY worth seeing.

• Tina Fey would make a terrific Mame, with Amy Poehler as Vera, and Melissa McCarthy as Gooch. Jackpot!!

• UGH! Tina Fey is a talent-free twat!

• R306 Fine, but you'd need a black Horace.

• [quote] Tyne Daly could wipe the floor with any of the actresses mentioned so far if she deigned to play Dolly Levi. Now THAT would be a HELLO DOLLY worth seeing. 20 years and 70 pounds ago maybe. She's look like a fire truck coming down those stairs in a red sequin dress today.

• r279, you can't fool me, the number is code for Stephen Sondheim.

• The next time HELLO, DOLLY is produced on Broadway, it will star Kristin Chenoweth in the title role

• too old, 310, I can grant you, but you obviously haven't seen her recently. She's thinner than she's ever been (which ages her up even a bit more, but whatever)

• Rachel York as Mame

  Zero%20tickets%20sold%2C%20but%20still.....

• I could actually see Kelli O'Hara working as MAME at some point. She has a goofy side, which she showed off in BELLS (even if she was still a BIT too refined), but thats perfect for Mame.

• No, if they ever revive MAME, it will be with some aging pop music diva, not some theatre B-lister. It's about putting asses in seats.

• Tyne's a dead ringer for Carmen Zapata in this pic

  http%3A//www.zimbio.com/pictures/xb4yL495JIX/Master+Class+Broadway+Opening+Night+After/Z_uWZbypD8u/Tyne+Daly

• MAME needs a complete overhaul to make it smaller, faster and funnier. A new book that uses more of the straight play script and the novel would be a start. Plus the fox hunt needs a much better theatricalization than the dreadful "song" in the original.

• Wasn't the MAME casting down to Angela, Dolores Gray and Nannette Fabray? As much as I adore Gray, she would have been an ice-cold Mame, but Nannette would have been as excellent alternative.

• Mame was down to Angela and Kaye Ballard. I think the ending of Mame is so rushed compared the the Auntie Mame movie. Vera marching in with a bunch of pregnant women and shutting the whole thing down is too abrupt.

• Nobody's told me whom Bertie Carvel plays in Les Mis!! I figured we all knew about Colm and Frances's cameos. Come on, people, someone must know!

• Ballard's too Jewish. Mame has to be a WASP From A Good Family.

• I think Carvel's the dandy who Fantine attacks. "It's the same with the whores as it is with the grocer."

• Don't know who the finalists where, but Mary Martin was Herman's first choice. We know that Martin was not interested, and turned it down.

• R322. Too Jewish? Excuse me?

  Catherine%20Gloria%20Balotta

• R217, I was wondering the same thing about the lame ending of the Hamlisch PBS broadcast (did Audra miss some cue, I wonder?) I also wondered if the audience, who continued to clap and clap (which was nice!) was waiting/hoping for another curtain call? VERY Mickey Mouse on PBS's part; LOVE to know what really happened/who screwed up. I first wondered, was it 'cause it was live? But there are plenty of live PBS broadcasts that don't screw up...

• This is obvious... ANNE HATHAWAY IS MAMED!

• blind item: the nytimes is busily preparing the obituary for this borscht belt comedian per the rumors of him being in the hospital and cancelling upcoming show dates

• "busily preparing"? Those obits are written in advance. Maybe an update or two, that's all.

• Jackie Mason? Jerry Lewis? Marilyn Sokol? Why in the world does this need to be a blind item on DL?

• Jerry Lewis isn't a "borscht belt" comedian, and has never been considered such.

• Just saw Water by the Spoonful which I found thoroughly engaging and smart. Unfortunately, I think a lot of audiences may be expecting more as it came out of nowhere to win the Pulitzer, but the play really spoke to me of the way we live now.

  Bill Heck, by the spoonful

• Excuse me, but Jerry Lewis began his career at Grossinger's and was their poster boy years after he became a star. Have you heard of Grossinger's r331?

• Does Bill Heck have any shirtless or feets scenes in WATER BY THE SPOONFUL? Loved him and his hot small penis in ANGELS IN AMERICA.

• "No, if they ever revive MAME, it will be with some aging pop music diva, not some theatre B-lister." Madonna IS Mame!

• Mel Brooks?

• I hardly think a blind item would refer to Jerry Lewis as nothing other than a Borscht Belt comedian.

• Vanya and Sonya et al is considering a move to Broadway...word of mouth is much better than the reviews, would YOU invest?

  Spike

• I didn't realize Jackie Mason was still alive.

• [quote]Have you heard of Grossinger's Is it an upscale supermarket chain?

• Personally, I'd find the world a much less cheesy place without both Mason and Lewis.

• People love to make fun of Daly's weight, but they forget that Sharon and her were very popular sex symbols back in the day. It was very common for high school guys to have Tyne and Sharon plastered on their locker walls, alongside supermodels.

• She'd still make a great Dolly!!!

• [quote]Tyne and Sharon plastered That sounds familiar.

  Barbara%20Corday%2C%20producer%20of%20C%26L

• [quote] It was very common for high school guys to have Tyne and Sharon plastered on their locker walls, alongside supermodels. More like high school gals.

• Tyne was never a sex symbol. She played a frumpy hausfrau/cop. Sharon was the sole hottie.

• Lots of Bill Heck's feets in Spoonful but always shirted, alas! For someone with rather bland American good looks, I find him an extraordinarily deep and affecting actor.

• Diner delayed to the fall. Odds that it will open then?

  http%3A//www.playbill.com/news/article/173714-Musical-Diner-Delays-Broadway-Opening-Until-the-Fall

• Tyne as Rose and Tyne as Callas were fantastic performances; Some of the best work I've ever seen. Tyne as Arkadina = awkward Tyne as Dolly might just work.

• r 338. I enjoyed the show a lot. With those names it could have a nice limited run. Would it recoup? Do plays recoup any more? Kristine Nielsen would have a shot at a Tony, which would be nice.

• UMA THURMAN is MAME!

• That's a revolting thought, r351.

  Cady%20Huffman

• Vanya and Sonya and Ted and Alice sucks. It is complete and total drivel.

• R353-and you have no sense of humor, obviously. This is one that deserves its Broadway shot and could wind up as Best Play.

• Oddly, onstage Heck is hot as fuck. In SPOONFUL, he's remarkably sexy and he was sex on legs in ANGELS, nude and clothed. But on screen & TV, not so much - he's bland and not as interesting as Lucy Liu's bf on ELEMENTARY. He's also a huge improvement over the actor who played his role in SPOONFUL in Hartford; not sure who that actor was, but Heck is the only recast from the Hartford production last spring.

• Tinky Winky as Mame!

  Thomas the Train

• Tyne Daly is too old for Dolly.

  Carol%20Channing

• Tyne Daly is not lovable. Dolly is a "charm" role.

• Tyne's recordings of Call Me Madam are wonderful - she did the Encores recording then a live broadcast on the BBC. I wish that would be revived sometime soon. Maybe tighten up the book a little bit, and drop one of the 700 reprises of Something to Dance About.

• Please R358, you've obviously never met Tyne Daly. She is charm personified.

• Tyne Daley is not that big...ummm..large ..of a woman. She is an average size woman. She looks larger onstage and onscreen If anything, she has skinny old lady legs

• [quote]does Sondheim regard him as his most visionary collaborator? Does Sondheim really think that about Lapine? I'd not heard that, and can't imagine what he's thinking if it's true. His best work was done with Prince--and from the sound of it, was greatly enhanced by his ideas. Maybe that's why he likes Lapine--he doesn't "drive" the process in the same way, letting Sondheim be the fancypants "genius" of the group?

• Sondheim does seem to think it. His first book ends with "And then I met James Lapine", so he definitely views it as a big turning point. Without Lapine his move to non-profit theatre was a big thing anyway.

• Don't think I've ever seen Heck on TV or film, but I agree he was major hunk in Angels, the Foote series and Spoonful.

• How is the Pulitzer-prize winning WATER BY THE SPOONFUL? I am curious about it from the perspective of the play itself, not just the (also essential) eye candy perspective.

• DINER is dead. It wasn't the hurricane; it was the writing. I saw the reading. No hope. The material doesn't want/need to be musicalized, and Crow's songs were bad. It was painful, and can't be fixed.

• Tyne is the SHIZZ and she told the Weisslers to go fuck themselves, which endreared her to all of Broadway. Tyne is a total charmer at those meet and greet things like B'way flea market and audiences adore her PLUS she sells tickets. She should have a show and a smart producer will mount one for her.

• And no one is going to miss the two most unappealing actors on earth, Griffiths and DeVito, as the SUNSHINE BOYS. Klugman and Randall were bad enough!

• I was really disappointed by the Hamilisch special. Why did Raul get one number? Megan Hilty is great live - she was perfect in "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" Kelli missed the money note in Ballet.

• Will Kelli be overexposed if she does Far From Heaven, Bridges of Madison County and The King and I? Why is she so so popular with directors and composers?

• Saw Kelli at Williamstown; she totally scores in Far From Heaven.

• Can we put a pause on all the MAME chat to talk about how creepy the obsession of Matt Doyle and Ryan Steele is on tumblr? And can someone teach Ryan Steele how to smile?

  http%3A//www.tumblr.com/tagged/matt+doyle

• Now that Pippin's actually happening, I'm no longer jazzed about it. What gives?

• Midler in the John Logan play about Sue Mengers has been confirmed. Kind of surprised she would do 8 performances of anything now. Great to see her doing something different, but how often are one person shows any good? Will this be the next Looped?

• Considering Midler is already pretty looped, my guess would be YES!

• Someone needs to cut Victoria Clark's hair. She looks awful in those Playbill photos.

• I saw Ebersole as Mame at Paper Mill. It was boring.

• Really, enough with Mame. We might as well be discussing The Student Prince. It's over.

• Is Michael McGrath taking a leave of absence from Nice Work to play Fiorello? That would be good!

  Brad Oscar

• [quote] As much as I adore Gray, she would have been an ice-cold Mame Dolores could not have filled the London Palladium for three years as Annie Oakley if she could only do "ice queen".

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D8uXwBhCv-Q8

• Hmm. I wouldn't exactly call myself a Dolores Gray fan, but her take on that song is much more interesting and varied than Merman's.

• She had rather a horsey face.

  http%3A//images.tvrage.com/people/53/156327.jpg

  Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker

• Are we really discussing Delores Gray in Mame? Really? And you wonder why the theater is dead...

• No, now we're discussing Dolores Gray in Annie Get Your Gun. Try to keep up.

• What did Tyne supposedly tell the Weisslers to go fuck themselves over?

• [quote]Will Kelli be overexposed if she does Far From Heaven, Bridges of Madison County and The King and I? [quote]Why is she so so popular with directors and composers? Theater people (producers specifically) are probably the least creative people I've ever met. Why is Broadway so DEAD? Because of the total lack of creativity in hiring. Why to the same three directors, designers and now actresses get hired for EVERYTHING? And that fact three the same three people ACCEPT every job, means they don't really have the time and mental space to actually do good work.

• What are you talking about R386!?

  Santo%20Loquasto%2C%20Gene%20Saks%2C%20Rebecca%20Luker%20%2C%20%20ETC.

• Uh ... what was your point, r387? Gene Saks has been dead for ages, and Luker is WAY past the point where she could "get everything" - in fact, she didn't even in her heyday.

• Maybe R320 was kidding, but I had never, ever heard that Kaye Ballard was up for MAME. And she would have been completely wrong for the part. I agree that, as talented and beautiful Kelli O'Hara is, she already seems very overexposed. She's been in so many things -- shows, concerts, etc. -- that it's no longer exciting to see her in anything, plus she's done a few projects she shouldn't have done. She seems to have become more than little piggish in seemingly taking EVERYTHING that's offered. If I were her agent or manager, I'd advise her to be more selective. (But I'm not.)\t

• Kelli O'Hara may be "over-exposed" from a Broadway perspective, but I'm willing to bet that 95% of the country has never heard of her.

• Maybe Kaye Ballard was up for Gooch originally. I could have seen that.

• For all of you Sutton Foster fans out there, "Bunheads" returns for the second half of its first season tonight.

• Bette Midler in the Sue Mengers solo-bio-play will never open. Bette is not interested in "acting" but in "affirmation" of her stardom. The problem is that 1.) Mengers is forgotten 2.) the script STINKS!!!! 3.) The script is all anecdote and won't provide Miss M any chance to emote and show how "brilliant" she is. Frankly... Bette would be MUCH better off doing HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett in a limited run. Everyone would fight to give her awards and accolades!

• Now that Kelli's dropped her baby, she is doing every job they throw at her - she is going to win that Tony, dammit, if it KILLS her!

• [quote] she is going to win that Tony, dammit, if it KILLS her! Maybe she should do a revival of Carnival in Flanders?

  Dot%20Gray

• Reidel outdid himself on meanness this morning...

• Sorry, I should've included you Kelly Bishop fans as well.

  R392

• r396 what do you mean

• What on earth are you talking about, r396?

• R396, are you talking about his roasting of Rob Ashford and Ghost Skipper? Or something else?

• Riedel's post today was just a short mention of MARY POPPINS closing in April. Here's his column from a couple of days ago about CAT ON A HOT TIN POOF.

  http%3A//www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/cat_needs_an_exorcism_WNLojujBRW1WikfFhig8LN

• Strangely astounded by the idea of Bette Midler doing Beckett's Happy Days. I love Bette but I won't believe that she's acting on Broadway until the show has actually opened. Her leaving Mamet's Spector film sounded suspicious, and I could see the same happening here.

• Dear Bette, There are no gels and filters on the Broadway stage. You'll be seen in all your mummified glory. And there's not enough stage makeup in the world to hide that. Unless you'll be wearing a bucket over your head like Sue Mengers used to do. Yeahhhhh, there's your angle.

• R403= CUNT

• R404-The truth hurts, doesn't it, Miss M?

• It was nine years since Louise Pitre left New York when MAMMA MIA closed. She did extensive work during those years but not in New York. She was in MAME in the starring role at Goodspeed. Wish I could have seen that. Last night she returned to New York doing the second show at 54 Below and was amazing. Her songs were varied with many songs we know translated into French and she told her what the translations were when turned to French and many had different feelings in it. She let us know what was being said. She of course did WINNER TAKES IT ALL. I hope she does more stuff here. Russ Kasoff was her musical director for the show. She had one rehearsal with him and the base and drums none, they were fabulous. Maryann

  mlop

• I didn't mean to say mamma Mia closed. 9 years ago I meant when she left Mamma Mia. Whips sorry bout that

  mlop

• [quote]Here's his column from a couple of days ago about CAT ON A HOT TIN POOF. His spies? That's why he's nothing but a gossip columnist. He writes a whole column about a show he hasn't even seen. Certainly confirms he's a Murdoch minion.

• I fucking LOVE the idea of Bette as Winnie in HAPPY DAYS!

  Fonzie

• Years ago I saw Bette in a dance studio while she was rehearsing Clams. She was on the phone and had no makeup on. She had to be one of the ugliest women I had ever seen. She looks pretty good at almost 70 and I wish her good luck with her show, but Broadway won't go for a one woman bio play about a long forgotten Hollywood agent who really wasn't known outside of West Coast movie folk. It will be the Scandalous of the Spring season. What are they going to charge to see it?

  Swifty Lazar

• Remember that John Logan won theTony for a two-person play just a few years ago.

• "Kelli O'Hara may be 'over-exposed' from a Broadway perspective, but I'm willing to bet that 95% of the country has never heard of her." True, but that's not at all what we were talking about. Thanks anyway.

• And it's being directed by multiple Tony Award winning director (with Tonys for directing both Plays and Musicals) Joe Mantello!

  Matthew%20Risch%20-%20I%27ll%20be%20understudying%20Bette

• You guys are wrong about the Bette show, if it indeed happens. Critics will cream all over the fact that the Divine Miss M is deigning us with her presence (see Julia Roberts) and tourist audiences will go see "the Bette show" even though they'll be shocked if she doesn't sing (see Hugh Jackman/Daniel Craig). This is a women who sells out Vegas, she'll be able to fill a medium sized Broadway house for a few weeks. And she'll win the Tony just for showing up (see Zeta Jones). No one will care if the play sucks (which it probably won't, Red was well done) or if they have no idea who Sue Mengers is/was. The big bomb will be the Holland Taylor show at LCT. She's never gonna fill that cavernous space because despite her long career she isn't an A-lister. And no one under 40 knows or cares about Ann Richards (despite the fact that they should). Look for that show on every papering website. Finally Michael Riedel is an asshole. He's probably right about his criticisms of Cat, but his stupid bitchy comments are just so lame. His "jokes" and writing is so devoid of any real wit, they sound like he stole them from some host at Don't Tell Mama.

  Thank%20gawd%20we%20stopped%20talking%20about%20Mame%20for%20ten%20minutes

• And BTW why does Disney keep closing shows that people are still attending (Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins) to focus on shows that no one wants to see (Tarzan, Little Mermaid, Aladdin). Is Disney just sick of sharing profits with Macintosh on Mary Poppins and looking to get all the profits from Aladdin, which will likely suck even more than Poppins? They supposedly had to be dragged kicking and screaming by Menken to finally do Newsies, which is a success.

  Walt

• So this June the Tonys for Best Actor and Actress in a Play go to: Tom Hanks and Bette Midler! Won't Hunter Foster and his midget wife have a conniption over that turn of events!

  ScarJo%2C%20back%20on%20the%20boards%20despite%20them

• Hanks and Midler are both sour and disliked. I don't see the NY theatre crowd being wowed by their phony Hollywood allure.

• [quote]Mengers is forgotten Mengers was never really known outside some movie magazines. BUT having Bette play her, people will come and here her story of Hollywood. And people will come, except for the poor downtrodden queers who will never forgive her one sentence to Larry King decades ago.

• Now that Pippin is coming to Broadway in a relatively small theater, does that mean that the notoriously cheap Weisslers are paying the leads peanuts?

  The cast of Chicago

• [quote]There are no gels and filters on the Broadway stage. Don't be ridiculous, there most certainly are. For DECADES actresses have had special gels used to light them onstage, minimizing wrinkles and other signs of age. One of the most popular used to be called "Special Violet" at least per lighting people I knew way back when. Also, Midler only recently was performing in Vegas, so she's most likely quite aware that she won't be benefitting from trick camerawork. I'm all for taking shots at celebrities, but please do so in a way that addresses something other than your own stupidity.

• According to Riedel someone new is going to "save" the Tonys. What a waste of time.

• Mengers used to feature in the gossip columns. I was 13 by 1980 and I knew who she was. Especially about the production of All Night Long. R418, gay people don't have to support Bette Midler. She's not so great that I can overlook her poor, ungrateful attitude toward gay people. You can if you want to but as far as I'm concerned she can go wait for a table with Diana Ross.

• I'll still believe that Bette will do 8-a-week in a solo show when I see it.

• Why does Rob Ashford get so much work? I think his choreography is ugly and repetitive and he really hasn't had that many hits. If it weren't for big stars being in his shows, they wouldn't run for 2 months. His revivals wouldn't be done without the stars anyway. Is he easy to work with? I just don't get it. He seems as much in demand in London as he is in the States.

  Andy Blankenbueler

• r424, the ONLY reason Rob fuck-me -up-the ASSfordgets hired must be his likability factor. I guess he doesn'r make waves and strokes his stars. Good thing this wasn't a criteria for hiring someone working 50 years ago because Robbins, Champion, and Fosse would not have worked very often. " I like you. You're my BFF. Let's put on a show" has been the death knell of good theater in America. And it applies to ALL positions - directors, writers, producers, and performers. Give me the sons of bitches, the arrogant bastards who had vision and taste.

• Agreed, R423. When she did her sitcom, all she did was complain about how much work it was for her and how long the hours were. I doubt she has the stamina or desire to do 8 shows a week.

• R425 completely and totally nails it.

• Regarding Midler: In some ways, it does seem that she really doesn't like to work very hard (see R426). But on the other hand, when she does live shows, as for example at Radio City and in Vegas, they're shows that require a tremendous amount of energy. My interpretation is that she doesn't mind working hard and giving her all in brief spurts, but she doesn't like the idea of being tied down to a regular, long-term schedule in a TV show or in a long run on Broadway. The limited-engagement Sue Mengers show seems like it might be a nice compromise.

• I have seen Midler twice. She works hard in her arena shows, even if I like her comedy much more than her singing. I also saw her in a charity tribute to Merman... she phoned it in, as opposed to Elaine Stritch who gave her all. I predict problems with her Broadway schedule.

• What happened on the production of "All Night Long," r422?

• Menger's husband was directing "All Night Long". He fired Lisa Eichhorn into production and their good friend Barbra Streisand stepped in at the last minute.

• That's the biggest thing Lisa Eichhorn is remembered for.

  sad

• No Skipper at today's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof matinee. Guess negative press and word of mouth nixed that idea.

• Maybe Skipper fucked Brick, lost interest, and moved to Key West.

• I didn't mind the Skipper stuff, except for that little song he did.

• R432, I think Lisa Eichorn is remembered for the big splash she created when YANKS opened - how she had fooled the producers by pretending she was British - and she got rave reviews as the American who was the "perfect English rose." Then she didn't get the expected Oscar nomination, and her career went downhill very quickly.

• My remembrance of her matches yours exactly r436. For a minute though she was the hottest thing going.

• Compared to the all talking, all singing, all dancing shows Bette does in Las Vegas, a 90 minute one woman monologue about Sue Mengers will be a walk in the park for Bette. And instead of her customary 6" stilettos, support hose and a bustier, Bette can be comfortable in a caftan, barefoot and wearing tinted eyeglasses, the signature Mengers look.

• What was the song, R435? I'm hoping they interpolated Cole Porter's "A Little Skipper From Heaven Above" from RED HOT & BLUE...

  http%3A//youtu.be/0WcdvA7rulE

  Eldergay%20%26%20Damn%20Proud%20of%20it%21%20C%20U%20@%20Townhouse

• Didn't Bette do quite a length run in Vegas? It wasn't just a couple nights. I saw her do it from the front row and she was great. She won't have to sing or dance in the Broadway play. Those are the things that kill you and break you down, As it was already said, this should be a walk in a park for her. All she has to do is talk.

• Somebody has been missing rehersals in London.....Is she really sick or just not up to the task at hand? Are the demons back?

• Oh dear world, r441, whomever can it be? Never mind, I don't want to know.

• Pat Stanley from GOLDILOCKS, last April. She looks amazing for 81.

  https%3A//www.lakewood-center.org/pages/news-item%3Fr%3D16TCU6BKD9

• Speaking (sort of) of Pat Stanley, that Encores cast for Fiorello! is.... uninspired. What happened to Michael McGrath as LaGuardia? Instead, we get Danny Rutigliano. And Emily Skinner as Mitzi??? I presume she'll sing the "Gentleman Jimmy" number, then hustle offstage so the dancers can do their thing. 'Cause she sure as hell is TOO FAT to dance. Love Kate Baldwin, but she should be playing Marie, not wasted as Thea. Plus the humorless Shuler Hensley... The casting for SUPERMAN better be a lot better than this.

  Walter%20Bobbie

• I was once yelled at by Bette Midler, it was cool. Back in late 70s or early 80s, it was the United Nations "YEAR OF THE CHILD", or some similar nonsense, and Bette was emceeing a mid-afternoon show or fund raiser in one of the NYC theatres. It was summer, mid afternoon, we scored some free tickets from a friend who was a gay activist in NYC at the time. It was a bunch of little stale acts that performed for free. There was that little girl singing TOMORROW (ugh!), two magicians IN A ROW (!!), you get the picture. The place was half empty. My two friends and I were in the balcony and we had the balcony ALL TO OURSELVES! So, we are in our early 20s, 3 queens in the balcony alone and we light up a blunt and get stoned because the acts are all so woefully bad. AND THEN WE GET THE UNCONTROLLABLE GIGGLES when two old vaudeville hoofers who flew in from England especially for this thing just to be seen, did a "risque" (haha) rap about the 12 signs of the Zodiac. (I'm not making this up.) So the freakin' thing had 12 long verses to be sung by one big tall black man and a little shorty white dude. So, long story short: By the time they get to the August verse even THEY know they are bombing. The tall black man sweats profusely and loses composure, the people downstairs are moving in their seats restless, and we are in the balcony absolutely rolling in laughter---shouting it out---and of course we don't know that we were making such a disturbance or that people were turning around to see who is making the racket in the balcony because we were so stoned we are totally unaware that we are causing a huge disturbance in a very large half-empty theatre. Until.... Before you can say "roll another", suddenly two hands plunk down on my shoulders from behind and we turn around and there is Bette Midler with semi-faux anger and she's kinda yelling at us. She came all the up to the balcony to yell at us. We think she's yelling at us because her mouth is moving real fast but we can't understand her. Why? BECAUSE WE ARE SO STONED! And the balcony reeks of reefer, too. And then she said, "Look, I know they are awful, but you are laughing too loud so stop. And don't laugh at me because I'm finishing up this mess in 15 minutes with some songs of my own." She ended up singing that lovely song about being an old sailor, do you recall it? And when she finished, she blew the balcony a big kiss just for us and that grat big Midler smile. I still love her to death. Should I get my own blog? Sorry!

  Love the 70s

• I thought the same thing, r444. Not a very auspicious cast with which to kick off their 20th anniversary (compare it to the first Fiorello! cast they had). Who the heck is Danny Rutigliano, anyway? And isn't Mitzi supposed to be a showgirl? Maybe they're changing her to more of a Sophie Tucker type, a big fat red hot mama. Nice to see that Kevin Ligon is no longer out of work - at least for the two weeks it will take to rehearse and perform in Fiorello's chorus.

• "Shiver Me Timbers," r446 (her song).

• [quote]Won't Hunter Foster and his midget wife have a conniption over that turn of events! Careful r416, lil' "cuddles" has been known to cut a bitch.

  Raul (ahbctscroc)

• Yeah R428, a lot of energy to distract from a lack of talent.

• Yes, Bette Midler will just act in The Sue Mengers Play. Like she did in The Stepford Wives.

• Additionally R431, Mengers got Barbra a then record-setting $4M for the role. However, Barbra refused Mengers her agency fee because she felt she was doing Mengers a favor and the agent shouldn't get a cut for that. They never resolved the disagreement and Streisand severed their professional ties which was Mengers professional downfall. They didn't speak for over three years. How much is Bette going to enjoy talking about Barbra so much?

• I love the R445 story! But I still think Bette is a cunt.

• Danny Rutigliano was in Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and Cirque de Soleil's "Banana Shpeel" two legendary flops!

• Emily Skinner would be great in Fiorello. As Dora.

• Watched some vids of Kinky Boots on Youtube...is it as bad as it looks? Does Broadway need another drag show from Harvey?

  Bette-producer of Priscilla

• [quote] And Emily Skinner as Mitzi??? I presume she'll sing the "Gentleman Jimmy" number, then hustle offstage so the dancers can do their thing. 'Cause she sure as hell is TOO FAT to dance. That's all that Mitzi does in the show. She comes in, belts the number and leaves. And Eileen Rodgers was rather pear-shaped herself.

  Ellen%20Hanley

• r441 LaBuckley is sick. That's all.

• Agreed, r457--agreed.

  Sigmund Fraud

• Loved the Bette story, R445. Those were the days.

• There are two musicals touring right now (Jekyll & Hyde and Flashdance) that are saying they're coming to Broadway, but the reviews are terrible. They won't actually come in, will they, or are the theatre owners that desperate? Here's the latest on Flashdance; kind of a brilliant review.

  http%3A//www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/reviews/flashdance-needs-more-wattage/article_07761190-c308-5e4f-b99d-325fc11b2132.html

• Jesus. I hope they dont bring that J&H tour to Broadway. Really awful

• Jane Krakowski *IS* MAME! 30 ROCK ends in a few weeks and filming is already wrapped. She's a recognizable name. Get Joe Mantello, Sam Mendes or someone with a contemporary sensibility to direct it and it could work.

  The%20Rural%20Juror

• Jane Krakowski is Gooch, maybe.

  Calista%20Ford

• Patti made up with Glenn! Maybe they can co-present Best Musical this year, or Best Musical Revival. ("The Mythery ofedwindrood!" Or, to end the DL meme once and for all, they can both joyfully scream, "PIPPIN!!"). See video below. Also, I like the idea of Jane Krakowski as Mame, though I'd give her a few years first.

  http://www.broadway.com/buzz/166463/exclusive-first-look-patti-lupone-savors-unexpected-reunions-in-episode-three-of-her-new-reality-series/

• [quote]Also, I like the idea of Jane Krakowski as Mame, though I'd give her a few years first. Miss Krakowski will never be THE STAR. She is, and will always be a fabulous supporting actress.

• [quote]like the idea of Jane Krakowski as Mame, though I'd give her a few years first. A few years? Krakowski is already four years older than Lansbury was when she played it.

• Patti claims she made up with Glenn at the party, but she almost purred the statement like a cat would, as if to suggest that underneath there is still healthy rage/betrayal issues. I wouldn't look forward to see Patti in a revival of Side/Show with Glenn (or Bernadette for that matter) anytime soon. We could make a list of people Patti does get along with: Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti Mandy Patinkin Audra McDonald and Michael Cervaris Howard McGillan Kelly Martin and possibly Debra Winger. Thats after being in show business for 35 years.

• NOT Winger. Not after that piece in the NY TIMES. But DO add David Mamet to that list. And Kevin Kline.

• Patti still gets along with her old fuck buddy, Kevin Kline?

  Phoebe%20Cates

• Does Jane Krakowski have a warm bone in her body?

  I%27d%20like%20a%20warm%20bone%20in%20my%20body

• I hope to god COTTON CLUB REVUE really comes in.

• Santino Fontana as the Prince in "Cinderella"? Really? How the hell old is he?

• Reidel's column is pretty funny today. And yes, that huge pic of ugly Hanks on the marquee is a huge turn off. He was adorable in Splash but has gotten repulsive looking after all these years-and his show will not be a must see this season. He can join Scarlett in the who gives a fuck category. Add Bette there too. Holland Taylor will steal all of the thunder in "Ann".

  Katie Holmes

• [quote]Holland Taylor will steal all of the thunder in "Ann". Not in that huge barn at Lincoln Center. It should be in The Helen Hayes. It will last six weeks max.

• Is it true that Holly Hunter is out of Hamish Linkletter's play because she is stark raving mad?

• Linklater

  Elaine Benes

• Who is keeping hottie boy Sebastian Stan company when PICNIC is over?

• Both Jekyll & Hyde and Flashdance will come in. And like Leap of Faith, Wonderland, Ghost and Chaplin, they will gone within months. Bad producers never learn, and the theatreowners don't care how bad a show is.

• Why is Holland's play at The Beaumont? Was that by choice or was it the only theater available? Or did LCT give her a bargain rental price as some sort of favor? Is LCT producing?

• Does broadway.com actually pay this guy Squigs for his drawings? He's awful. He is no where near Al Hirschfeld. This is supposed to be Laurie Metcalf.

  http%3A//ppc.broadway.com/buzz/166557/squigs-explores-the-mysterious-world-of-the-other-place-starring-laurie-metcalf/

• Gersten is too ill to make responsible decisions because of the effects of 2 strokes. So basically, the clowns are running the circus over on 65th Street. God help us next season.

• I did love this Riedel comment: Poor little Katie Holmes couldn’t sell a hot dog in Central Park, let alone a ticket to “Dead Accounts.”

• [quote] Mandy Patinkin Patti and Mandy get along? What, does their batshit craziness cancel each other out? Same pharmacist? Same shrink?

• Hmm. Interesting...it can't be any worse than the film, which Eastwood fucked up royally. I loved the book.

  http%3A//www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/midnight_in_the_garden_of_musicals_mwnGlxCDETjJ3Iyfqqqp4K

  Kevin%20Spacey%27s%20Boxer%20Shorts

• I'm not sure making it a Johnny Mercer jukebox musical is the best idea.

• That idea comes from the original book. Berendt uses Mercer song lyrics all thru the story, because the "incident" took place in the Mercer House. So the one to be credited with the idea should be the author of the original book, not Hamburger and/or Uhry.

  Ginger%20Mercer

• I wonder if they'll make John Berendt straight in the musical, the way Eastwood did in the film?

• Any more Betty Lynn gossip? Will they fly in someone else to replace. or will her understudy be a busy lady?

• Neat

• r488 Jill Martin to the rescue!

• What's a work week?

  Betty%20Lynn%20and%20Audra%20Ann

• Christa Justus and Mark Linn-Baker tie the knot

  http%3A//www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/fashion/weddings/christa-justus-and-mark-linn-baker-vows.html%3Fsmid%3Dfb-share%26_r%3D0

• Mark Linn-Baker is straight?!?

• And someone wants to marry him?

• I find that to be one of the creepiest stories of courtship ever.

• Actually, I just read it and am now apologizing for being a cunt at R494. That sounds really sweet.

• Stritch's britcom is on YT

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DVjzCEYftDqw

• Mark Linn-Baker was previously married to Adrienne Lobel, daughter of Arnold Lobel, author of the Frog and Toad books. It was their idea to adapt the books into a musical, for which she designed the sets and he starred.

• I know it's been mentioned to death, but...just saw EVITA Ricky: Can't sing it at all, can't act, is nice looking and never EVER looked up into the balcony Michael: Riding out his time with his Bob Gunton accent. Max: Sang EVERY note without acting anything. VERY generic. Uninspired. Mistress: Nice voice, a little too "poppy" The production: BORING, tired and dull. I missed some of the Hal Prince concept. If you don't wanna do that, great. but come up with SOMETHING. The Direction: Bad staging...basic staging 101...don't have your leading lady sing most of her songs with her back to over half the audience. The Choreo: Oh My God...another tango? We said that during EVERY number...they all looked alike. The sound: Are you kidding...second row of balcony and STILL couldn't hear things. It would have been more exciting if it would have been louder. and now.... The EVA: Christina DeCeccio....WAS TERRIFIC! Acted, sang, danced...just wish her mic would have been pumped. Flame away...bitches!

• [499], Bitch to an empty cave. The rest of us know when to leave the party, you should learn the same lesson soon.

• Bizarre response r500

• I think r500 is indicating that no one cares about a report on "Evita" anymore. Last year's news.

• That Stritch Britcom is truly bizarre. Not funny at all, but well acted by Sinden. Someone should have told her to wear some makeup. She looks like she rolled out of bed, tossed back a couple of martinis, combed her hair and went straight to the set. She also keeps taking these strange little pauses here and there, like she's trying to remember her lines. Which she probably was.

• [quote]Ricky: Can't sing it at all, can't act, is nice looking and never EVER looked up into the balcony Boo hoo, you were in the balcony and he didn't sing to you. Fool.

• [quote] That Stritch Britcom is truly bizarre. She looks...odd. Almost older than she does now.

• OH MY GOODNESS! Just put it together (thanks to IMDB) that the Stritch Britcom was remade here as THE TWO OF US, which I totally remember (with Mimi Kennedy!)

• R472, what are you trying to imply with your stupid question? Do you think Santino Fontana is too young for the Prince in CINDERLLA? Or can it be possible that you think he's too old? Either way, you're wrong, but tell us, how old do you think the character should be?

• Santino Fontana is neither too young nor too old to play the Prince in CINDERELLA, just too un-handsome.

• Don't worry, R508. Hardly anyone will bother to see Cinderella anyway, since it's such a terrible show.

• R499- who was on as the mistress? My friend Emily Mechler is the understudy. Did you see her or Rachel?

• [QUOTE]Santino Fontana is neither too young nor too old to play the Prince in CINDERELLA, just too un-handsome. And the receding hairline doesn't help.

• Saw Pippin. Andrea Martin stops the show. Patina Miller delivers all her lines the same way. The acrobatics are amazing but the dancing not so much. Pippin himself is forgettable. Draggy second act. Will be a huge hit.

• I think the approach to this Cinderella revival is to have an adorkably nerdy Prince Charming who requires saving from Cinderella rather than the reverse. Girl Power and all that.

  The 1,000,000,000s of Wicked fans

• Late to the party here but I understand there were some juicy gossip threads on this site where insiders posted Broadway gossip. Caused a bit of a stir in the Broadway community a few years ago. I heard it discussed at a party the other night and a lawyer I know was talking about how his partner had a client who was mentioned in it and upset but the shit written about the client was true so nothing could be done .... Datalounge doesn't have archives going back far enough. Does anyone know if those pages are saved anywhere? thanks

• R513, I know that this Wicked fanbase is the demographic that the Cinderella producers are desperately hoping to attract but that just shows how tone-deaf they are to popular culture. The score to Cinderella is a snooze. You're not going to have fat girls singing lesser Rodgers and Hammerstein songs on YouTube in anything but an ironic way.

• r515 Is she being ironic?

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBW4TE9yw-jw

• I'd be shocked to find fat girls singing ANY Rodgers and Hammerstein songs on YouTube!

• R513, please say it's not so! If there's one thing I can't bear, it's when pc theatre/film directors "update" classic fairy tales and stories by making the female empowered. These tales are timeless because the damsel was in distress and in need of rescue by the handsome prince. These are archetypes not to be tinkered with and making the girl powerful is just pandering to today's audiences. The King Kong movie remake did the same thing by making the actress alll resourceful and plucky instead of the gorgeous, screaming gorilla food/obsession she was intended to be. Enough!

• r516, Miss Dork is pretty good! I thought she was lip-syncing but apparently not.

• r514 here they are

  http%3A//www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%3Ft%3D9252721%23page%3AshowThread%2C9252721

• r514 here is part two

  http%3A//www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%3Ft%3D10029782%23page%3AshowThread%2C10029782

• r519 I think she does lipsync, but to her own voice.

• ROTFLMAO R518, I completely agree!

• Miss Dork is being ironic since she would only ever be cast as the pumpkin in that show.

• She's good and a lot of fun. Shows you talent is more than skin deep. Bet she doesn't die alone like R524.

• I LOVE MissBroadwayDork! Her Poor Unfortunate Souls video is hilarious. And she does a great Another Winter in a Summer Town.

• Wow - that girl is a surprise. I expected to laugh, but she has a terrific voice, and is a charming performer. WIth a make-over and weight loss, she could make it.

• Re Stritch's britcom - unfunny slightly charming shows seem to have been a trend. Judi Dench's show As Time Goes By is another example.

  Patricia%20Routledge

• I guess I just don't get Brit humor. None of them seems particularly funny to me, except for Keeping Up Appearances. That goes for the contemporary ones, too. Well, except for Robert Lindsay-Zoe Wannamaker show - "My Father"??? That was funny.

• My Family is the Wanamaker one- awful show!

• Speaking of Robert Lindsay - why has he never once returned to Broadway in the twenty-five years since Broadway fell on its knees for him in ME AND MY GIRL? Did he have a terrible time here and hate New York or something?

• Supposedly there was some scandal with Edward Albee's agent during his agency's retreat last week that everyone is talking about- anyone know the details? does it involve a goat?

• Jesus Christ R529! You ought to be shot.

• r529 also adores Last of the Summer Wine.

  Jennifer%20Saunders

• R528 Shouldn't that be "Patricia Routledge, Tony Winner"?

• I'm in love with Miss Dork. What an amazing voice. Here's a male version - yes, his voice, he has a clip of himself in How to Succeed in school and it's the same voice.

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DaHNrNXTaBvA%26list%3DUUBQdjYO9oPj_P674MPKCv4A%26index%3D7

• Didn't Emily Skinner lose weight for Billy Elliott? And r441: [quote] rehersals Oh dear.

• Skinner also lost a lot of weight for DINNER AT EIGHT years ago at Lincoln Center but I am sure she gained it all back.

  Pamela Tiffin

• Emily looked great and was great in Billy Elliott

  http%3A//images.bwwstatic.com/upload5/225564/tn-1000_b7.jpg

• Did Emily actually show up eight times a week for BILLY ELLIOT?

  Donna%20Murphy

• No, Emily did not lose a lot of weight for Dinner At Eight. In Fact, that was probably her biggest.

• Lots of recent readings....Anyone see them or have any dirt? ROCKEWELL John Davidson, Nancy Opel FIRST GENTLEMAN Sally Struthers Let's get a gosspin!

• What exactly are Emily's health problems? What causes the weight gain and the absences?

• r543 Pie!

  Alice

• Big Fish is official for the Fall (no, I'm NOT talking about Bette Midler!)

  http%3A//www.theatermania.com/chicago-theater/news/01-2013/tony-award-nominees-kate-baldwin-and-bobby-stegger_64134.html%3Fcid%3Dhomepage_news

• unless she put weight back on, Emily has lost a lot of weight and her attendance record is much better today than it used to be.

• I heard the same r546.. glad to hear it too, she's a really talented performer

• Does Seth Numrich REALLY enjoy burying his gay-faced face in women's pussies?

• R548 Only on matinee days.

• Not Yvonne whats-her-name's. She's a dyke.

  Zachary%20Levi

• Ooh, we're getting close to 600 again! I'm so excited!

• Is that Lillard Crawford (Broadway's Annie) in the bottom right corner of the Billy Elliott picture?

• [quote] Ooh, we're getting close to 600 again! I'm so excited! Take it down a notch, Jessie Spano!

• Mufti announces Jason Alexander and Tovah Feldshuh for TWO BY TWO. Dear Lord in Heaven, do they not know what they are getting into? It will look like the war in Iraq relocated to the York Theatre by the time those two are through with it.

• But the after show picnic should be fabulous.

• Well, Alexander has to do SOMETHING since he managed to kill REPRISE.

• R556 Ain't that the truth!

• R531, I would guess because Robert Lindsay has such a terrific career in the UK it's probably of little interest to him. He's a stalwart of British drama on television and stage. It might have something to do with that Carl Reiner film he did but I doubt it.

• With all this gush over Anne Hathaway and the role of Fantine being such an awards magnet dating back to Patti's Olivier, why was Randy Graff snubbed by Tony Awards when she originated the role on Broadway? Was that out of loyalty to Patti or did Graff suck as Fantine? I remember they trotted her out on talk shows but nothing really happened for her until City of Angels. Was she miscast in Les Mis?

• Frank Rich panned Randy Graff. He was pretty powerful back then. The Tony's pretty much followed his ideas. "Though uniformly gifted as singers, the American supporting cast does not act with the consistency of its West End predecessors. Randy Graff delivers Fantine's go-for-the-throat ''I Dreamed a Dream'' like a Broadway belter handed a show-stopper rather than a pathetic woman in ruins. David Bryant, as Marius, brings fervor to a touching hymn to dead comrades (''Empty Chairs at Empty Tables''), but not before he's proved a narcissistic romantic lead. Jennifer Butt plays the funny but cruel Mme. Thenardier as if she were the toothlessly clownish orphanage matron of ''Annie.'' Other roles fare better. Frances Ruffelle, the production's second London emigree, is stunning as the bedraggled Eponine: She's an angel with a dirty face and an unrelenting rock balladeer's voice. Leo Burmester's moldy-looking Thenardier really metamorphoses into the vicious, dog-eat-dog social carnivore his lyrics claim him to be. Judy Kuhn's lovely Cosette and Michael Maguire's noble rebel, Enjolras, are also first-rate. Donna Vivino, the young Cosette, and Braden Danner, the urchin Gavroche, tower over most child actors, however diminutively."

• Thanks R560. Another Oscar-related question: who covers for Chastain in The Heiress when she's out attending award shows? Isn't the revival rather pointless without the leading lady?

• [quote] Another Oscar-related question: who covers for Chastain in The Heiress when she's out attending award shows? Isn't the revival rather pointless without the leading lady? Since tickets are currently only on sale through February 10th, I'm guessing that there will be no performance scheduled on Oscar Sunday, if they extend beyond February 10th.

• [quote]Another Oscar-related question: who covers for Chastain in The Heiress when she's out attending award shows? Isn't the revival rather pointless without the leading lady? Mairin Lee is the understudy.

• Fair enough R562 but I meant like last week when she was at the Broadcast Critic's Choice and the GGs, SAG a week from Sunday... Who wants to see Marin Lee in The Heiress? I thought Chastain was the draw not the play.

• [quote] Note: The role of Catherine Sloper will be played by Mairin Lee on January 10, 13, and 27.

  http%3A//broadwayworld.com/shows/The-Heiress-330222.html%23

• Isn't Dan Stevens a draw?

  Lady Mary

• Lloyd Webber wants Julian Ovenden to play Stephen Ward in his Profumo musical....what is the appeal?! He's doing Sunday in the Park with George in Paris, which has immediately put me off seeing a production I was initially excited about. I love the film Scandal with John Hurt and Ian McKellen, so the idea of this musical fascinates me. But it's Don Black and Webber so could be god awful. Presumably LND will never happen in the US? He's released amateur rights for two more shows, so surely he'll eventually let some theatre independently stage LND?

• Which one of you bitches is this!

  http%3A//youtu.be/RPekUN1-0iQ

  Jimmcf

• ^ Ursula lives!

• responding to the poster @ r561 No doubt, it was part of Chastain's negotiation that she be allowed to take performances off to attend awards shows. Her agent no doubt insisted on it and Paula Wagner[ one of the plays producers] is a film person herself, was likely understanding. The financial investment the movie business has made in Jessica Chastain is considerable and makes it necessary for her to appear at awards shows to promote her own films. This was probably a non-negotiable factor in her deal. I am not familiar with Ms. Lee, her standby, but there is a very good chance she is as good as Ms. Chastain in the role and an even better than 50/50 chance she is better. Standbys on Broadway are paid a decent salary and they are there for a reason. They are often at least as good and [not infrequently ]better than the people they cover. The Heiress box office is driven by the boy from Dowtonw Abbey more than Chastain. Although in a few years that will probably not be the case. I don't see his box office impact for a play lasting once he is off that show. Btw, the gossip in the Nastiest Person on Broadway threads, is as far as I can tell almost entirely true and definitely comes from insiders but I have to admit it is much tamer than its reputation which compelled me to find the Datalounge and read through them in the first place. There are much seemier Broadway stories but many involve producers and agents and they are more litigous than actors. Some juicy actor stories have been left out but I don't have the courage to post them, even on an undeclared message board. Anyway, as someone privy to Ms. Chastain's contractual details, I can tell you that her departure for film related commitments was negotiated before rehearsals began.

• r560 you make me remember how much better a critic Frank was than Miss Ben. I know we sort of hated him back in the days but at least the man could write and had something worthwhile to say