THEATRE GOSSIP #325: All Alone With My Mammary Edition

I'm the poster in the previous thread who had some criticism of The World Only Spins Forward. A poster on the late, lamented Thread #324 suggested that it might be oral history books that I don't like, but I assure you that is no the case. If edited well, they can be the best way of letting many voices be heard, and of showing the excitement of forward momentum. I have no problem with the form. I do have a few quibbles with that particular book, though. Some of the quotes do, indeed, sound like they were from a group discussion or taken from a talk show of some sort -- particularly with Gough and Tovey -- because they comment immediately on what the other said, so they had to have been in the same room at the same time, or one read the transcript of what the other said and commented as they were reading. I would have liked to have known where and how the quotes were obtained.

The book was not terribly well annotated, but that could be because I read an ebook version. Perhaps the printed version is clearer. I wish that it had been the definitive book on the creation of AiA, but, alas, it is not. It's not bad, mind you, but it could have been better.

I don’t get it.

Goddamn, OP, in a long line of utter shit, this might be the worst thread title ever.

Is there any way to sterilize you or something so that you're never able to give birth to another one of these?

[quote] I hate it when Betty sings like a wounded butterfly and tries to art-jazz up songs. Just sing the fucking song Betty. She has such a powerhouse voice, but she rarely uses it. I only like it when she belts, like in As If We Never Said Goodbye.

Cyndi Lauper did this on a covers album she released about 10 or 12 years ago. I previewed it in store and walked away without buying. She fucked with the arrangements of every song, putting all kinds of spins on them. (One was even a faux reggae.) Cyndi has one the all time best voices in modern pop music. I'm sure many, many people would have loved to hear her voice sing those songs the way they were meant to be heard.

I hate when really powerful singers who also know how to use their instrument pull this shit. If you have a truly amazing voice, trust us, we want to hear you sing these songs the way they were meant to be sung. It's your voice we're looking for, not your (usually wrongheaded) spin.

OP made me LOL. I heard the same thing in that Betty clip

R3 is obviously the Poppins Loon

So is King Kong this year’s Spider-Man?

Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie and David Kernan in drag doing "You Could Drive a Person Crazy".

Julia McKenzie looks so funny dressed as a woman!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the uproar Bette caused the other day when she referred to women as "the N*****S Of The World". Just went right by almost everyone, especially on DL.

David Kernan looks like he could be fun at parties.

R9, Bette was quoting a John Lennon song.

R9 Because we remember when John Lennon first stole it from Yoko Ono

The AIA book is probably the best we'll get for a long long time. Not easy contacting everyone involved.

R10, in Side by Side, he also sang "Could I leave You" and turned it into a trophy husband's lament.

Millicent Martin would have been a great Mrs. Lovett.

Trying to navigate DL on an Android is sheer unadulterated torture...

Composer criticises colour conscious casting.

Legendary lyricist? Shade.

There was a whole thread about the Bette thing, R9. I searched the word “Bette” using the search function of the website and it was the first result.

[quote]Julia McKenzie looks so funny dressed as a woman! —Elaine Paige with her ciggies and bon-bons

Oh, sweet, darling, short Elaine. We know that you only had a career because you were short enough to blow Tim Rice and he didn't have to stoop down to receive it.

My career has been very full. Throughout the 1980s, I starred in a popular sitcom called "Fresh Fields" (Name comes first in the credits, if you'll notice). And then it was so popular, they decided to move the character to France and called it "French Fields." Tell me, Elaine, did they build a sitcom around you? I thought not. What could be interesting about a shrimpy, bottle blonde whose singing sounds like an alley cat being neutered?

To the DL'er on the previous thread who asked about Betty in Song and Dance: Vocals were thrilling but not even remotely believable as a young Englishwoman who comes to NY in search of love. Bernadette, who is older than Betty, could pull it off. Betty just looked too old and worn and the short hair didn't help. Nothing girlish about her so the role was an uneasy fit. But man could she sing.

Thank you, r20, I always assumed that was the case.

Cleveland liked Betty

I read another review that praised Stadlen and the supporting cast but said Betty brings little to the role.

post it, please, R23

Could u imagine being a 71 year old Broadway star, doing a tour and getting so so reviews in Cleveland of all places?

Where does one go from there?

[quote] Could u imagine being a 71 year old Broadway star, doing a tour and getting so so reviews in Cleveland of all places?

A girl's gotta eat. Have you seen the prices at Chipotle?

Given that the role IS the show, r23.....

The Cleveland Jewish News review mentioned above. Loved the production except for BB.

R26-I sure have.

When on tour, I'm sure someone like Betty Buckley gets white glove treatment. Put up in a suite, meals prepared and brought to the room, etc.

Any of you who have done tours, can you share your experiences? Both good and bad. What's it like to live on the road? Are you treated well or do you have to eat at McDonald's 3 meals a day? Do you have to share a room with another castmate or do you get your own room? What do you do on the bus all day long or are you flown from stop to stop?

R19 ....I do not need TV as I have the chip money.

I have a fireplace.

I got a rock.

[quote]I do not need TV as I have the chip money.

Oh, poor Elaine! Your theater career is in the toilet, so Tim lent you money to start a fish and chip shop? How kind.

Last I saw, you were having to stumble through "I Know Him So Well" with that half-wit, talent contest winner Susan Boyle.

Do you sing all the songs that other actresses made popular in your fish and chip shop? Don't Cry For Me Argentina by Patti LuPone, Memory by Betty Buckley, even Petula Clarke got to record songs from Sunset Boulevard. Maybe they'll do a revival of The Wizard of Oz and you can play the leader of the Lollipop Guild.

The official music video you cretinous bumpkins!

R30 I've toured in 3 different Broadway shows. If the production is Union. (Which mine was), you are not given star service but treated with respect. We had shared hotel accomodations in two hotel productions and once in a rented condo. Food was not provided, but we had a per diem written into our contracts for food....plus, the hosting theatres would often host meals for us as well. It's an incredible experience but after awhile, living out of a suitcase and sharing a room becomes tiresome....however, I did have "fun" with one roomie in the condo.... But he had "fun" with most of the male ensemble

When I was a young college gayling studying in London, I saw Martin, McKenzie and Kernan in "Side by Side By Sondheim" twice and then again when it came to Broadway. I still listen to it occasionally. The two-piano arrangements are lovely, and I'd put Kernan's Could I Leave You up against any Phyllis. (And Martin's I Never Do Anything Twice still makes me laugh.)

[quote]I do not need TV as I have the chip money.

I'm sorry, I have to pick myself up off the floor from laughing so hard. Are you meant to look like a drag queen? Or are you auditioning for Faye Dunaway as Joan Craword in Mommie Dearest? The exaggerated makeup? Is that to hide all your age wrinkles? Dear, no matter how big they draw your lips, you still can't hide those ill fitting dentures. They're the only thing big about you. Maybe that's why Tim left you? They dragged on his willie when you were trying to get a role in Blondell? And whose idea was the mole, sorry, beauty mark on the corner of the chin?

And, dear, your voice is shot. When you sing, "I'm coming out of makeup" you can't sustain and have to speak the word "makeup". And then again on the phrase, "This time we'll be bigger." Really, a whole phrase spoke-sung? I bet Andy was furious that you pulled a Julie Andrews on his notes.

Also, dear, this is a video. Your acting is so big, they can see you in Singapore. Remember, with one look, I'm the girl next door? It's a look, dear, not an entire upper body jerk.

And I was laughing so hard that I posted to the wrong person. Of course I meant the video in r35.

[R30] I worked on the crew of many Broadway tours for several years. On a star-driven type tour, the star gets what they negotiate- usually a hotel suite or rental house, car service, first class air travel etc. Betty Buckley is traveling with her dogs, paid for I'm sure by Scott Rudin as part of her deal. Unfortunately now there are many different kinds of tours on many different levels of contracts. The best contract is the Full (original) Production Contract (or Pink Contract, for the union road crew). On that contact you get a weekly salary (whatever you negotiate above the contractual minimum) and per diem with the full benefits. It's lucrative and at least on the crew, everyone gets paid about the same.

"Hello Dolly!" is on a reduced contract. Everyone gets paid less (or A LOT less) up front (salary, per diem and benefits) in exchange for profit-sharing bonuses after you play a city. The problem is that there are no checks in place to assure that the producers of the shows are reporting their profits accurately and honestly and paying the traveling employees their due bonuses. The unions are supposed to audit the books, but they don't. So, on "Hello, Dolly" the rest of the company is likely paying for Betty's huge salary, suite, dog care- whatever. The big salaries are always offset by the small ones.

I loved (and still love) musical theater, but after several years of garbage jukebox/bio shows and the business becoming a theme park, it was time to go home and spend time with my parents before they're gone. The main thing about touring Broadway shows is that prior to about 2000 you were paid a premium to be on the road and away from a normal life. Now you work for less and the producers act like they're doing you a favor while they make millions. It's not glamorous at all.

r28 But I hear she got raves from the Cleveland Penny Saver.

When it comes to Broadway touring shows, Cleveland is the gem, since it has the highest number of season ticket holders in the US for the Broadway series. This is why so many tours begin there.

[quote]When on tour, I'm sure someone like Betty Buckley gets white glove treatment. Put up in a suite, meals prepared and brought to the room, etc.

Sure of that, are you? Not so much. She'll get what she has negotiated, and I'm sure it's decent, but not a suite or meals prepared and brought to the room (nor chorus boys, either).

[quote]Any of you who have done tours, can you share your experiences? Both good and bad. What's it like to live on the road? Are you treated well or do you have to eat at McDonald's 3 meals a day? Do you have to share a room with another castmate or do you get your own room? What do you do on the bus all day long or are you flown from stop to stop?

It varies wildly, but nobody is being flown anywhere. Basically, you get a per diem. You can do what you want with it. The company will often offer housing, but it's usually crappy and shared. Veterans of touring will often pool their money to rent a big house with private bedrooms, and share grocery expenses. On the bus, people knit, read, listen to music, hang out, etc. Some will opt to pay extra to take a train, if it's possible.

Ken Davenport continues to have no shame. He's courting investment from a young heir to a massive real estate fortune so Davenport can take Gettin' The Band Back Together out on tour.

Cleveland here. Betty was boffo in Dolly Honestly amazing performance in a brilliant production

R44 Barron Trump is now investing in shows?

Anyone else see Dear Evan Hansen in Denver? What was your take?

My friend did 2 Broadway tours. She said it is ultimately lonely, as you put your real life on hold for a year and are away from everyone you love.

[quote]My friend did 2 Broadway tours. She said it is ultimately lonely, as you put your real life on hold for a year and are away from everyone you love.

Not true for everyone. It really depends on your mindset (and, I guess, your relationships). I enjoyed touring when I was younger (eldergay? Why, yes I am). Traveling the US (or abroad) in a tight-knit company can be a wonderful thing. There is no experience quite like it. If you do it right, you can bank money for later...or you could, back in the day.

David Kernan was handsome back in the day. Wasn’t he a big slut? Or was that just when he was in NY with Side by Side? Who had him in his prime?

I read "Cornelius' guy Friday Barnaby Tucker" too fast and thought it said Cornelius' gay Barnaby Tucker ...

Everybody knows what Cornelius and Barnaby have been doing down in that grain storeroom.

Regardless of what Gavin told you, Charlie, that’s not a mandatory part of playing the role.

Fascinated to read the reviews tonight of the St Ann’s Warehouse Oklahoma! I loved it but I know a lot of people hate it.

Has anyone seen King Kong? I'm eager to hear about it. It could be fascinating, or it could be a fascinating flop.

Unless they rewrote the story -- but how many can they change it? -- I think it was a mistake to case Ann as a black woman. Part of the story's tension derives from the beast Kong falling for the fragile Ann, who was like something he had never seen before. He had certainly seen black women before in his homeland, but Kong had probably never seen a white woman, and the attraction of something so different than what he has known is part of the story. I don't think the story has racist undertones, or at least not that I recall, but you need a contrast of dark, brute beast, and a lily white fragile woman to exploit the contrast between the two.

R55, so given that a black woman does not contrast so much with a gorilla and cannot be as fragile as a white woman, then casting a black woman is not a good choice.

But there is nothing racist about this.

R55 here. I did not express myself clearly enough, R56, because I didn't mean to imply that a black woman can not be fragile. We grow up watching westerns and other stories in which the good guys wear white, the bad guys where black. Gangs wear black. Black jeans were the uniform of "the bad kids." And the good guys wore white. This has nothing to do with racism or race at all; black is dark and the color of the unknown and the dangerous. White is the sign of purity. It is just a shortcut to knowing the difference between good and evil. What do we say when things are clear cut? it's black and white, non? It is a strong contrast between two things. I am in no way saying that a black woman can not be fragile etc, but reinforcing the "good and bad" contrast of a black gorilla and white women dressed in virginal white heightens the difference between the two characters.

^^^ wear, not where.

To paraphrase:

So black is the color of bad guys and white is the color of good guys and purity. So you have to cast a white woman if you want to suggest purity and goodness. Also, white women suggest virginal in a way that black women cannot.

This is not a racist thing. It is just about the color of the actress's skin.

As long as they don’t make Ann Darrow all pc clever and resourceful like they did in the overblown Naomi Watts remake. We just want the chacacter to be fainting, screaming and sexy gorilla food, like the iconic Fay Wray, and that’s all. Black or white don’t matter.

I cannot figure out if R55 and R57 is an actual clueless racist, or if he is writing a parody of how clueless racists justify themselves.

They evidently cut all the natives from the story. It’s an uninhabited Island, except for Kong and a giant snake. I imagine that was to avoid cries of racism.

A giant snake???? Scott is in the show?

Is it a giant racist snake?

But you still have a leading lady whose skin is the color of the unknown and the dangerous.

r55 has a point and then blew it. Ann being different from anything Kong has seen could explain his curiosity about something foreign, and that could be any non-African person. But then applying characteristics of "fragile" "lily white" etc shoots the point all to racist hell

[quote]She said it is ultimately lonely, as you put your real life on hold for a year and are away from everyone you love.

Words to live by when you're on the road ...

And living in a place where there are no humans, Kong would see a black Ann as being similar to what? A monkey? A gorrilla?

But a white woman would not look like an animal.

Got it. And this is not racist. Black people just look more like creatures from the jungle.

Does Kong get a good power ballad?

Power ballads are so 1980s. Kong needs a good rap song written by a guy from the 'hood.

They should make Kong trans....

I don't care if KING KONG advances or sets back race relations 100 years. It remains (arguably) the stupidest idea for a musical ever conceived.

Urinetown?

R73 Winner

R74, Urinetown was actually a good idea for a musical, it just should have been an knowing off-Broadway send-up of WPA theater along the lines of Dames at Sea, and Little Mary Sunshine. It never should have been on Broadway.

I want Betty to be good as Dolly, but she's not a naturally funny woman. I think she's much funnier in person than she is on stage, which is kinda strange. She's very ladylike on stage and seems scared of people thinking less of her if she does something unattractive. Maybe it's the Texas breeding. I'm from the south myself and I remember a lot of community and regional theatre performers were like that. They'd always be scared to do a pratfall if it made them look bad or take the lord's name in vain or play a character of less than upstanding moral character. It's like they were scared that people in the audience were going to think that they were like that. It was always incredibly annoying.

Comedy is about being brave. You HAVE to be brave to be funny. Betty isn't a brave actress. I'm sure she sings the score beautifully, but I still remember her Gypsy. Painfully unfunny in the first act (I don't think she landed a single laugh) and, somehow, not very scary or disturbing in the 2nd. You can see clips of it online. It's very pedestrian, well sung, but you don't feel Rose's pain. She's scared of really getting gritty. It was such a cold, empty performance.

Well she’s a virtuoso but has no idea how to play Rose

There IS rap in King Kong, actually.

R78 Written by rap God LMM I hope and pray?

Betty

Another one

In that clip at R81, both express that they did not “get” the show until seeing this production. I know a lot of actors are dumb, but this sentiment strikes me as particularly appalling. How could anyone not like Hello Dolly (unless maybe their only exposure to it was community theater)?

URINETOWN is inarguably one of the greatest musicals in conception AND execution, and the extremely rare complete artistic success.

Was King Kong a financial success in Australia?

[R55] has a point and then blew it. Ann being different from anything Kong has seen could explain his curiosity about something foreign, and that could be any non-African person. But then applying characteristics of "fragile" "lily white" etc shoots the point all to racist hell.

Yes. In the original movie, the natives are fascinated by Ann because of her coloring -- they call her "the golden woman" -- and that's why they go to the trouble of kidnapping her from the ship, because they think of her as a very special prize they will sacrifice to Kong, rather than another one of their own women. I didn't know there were no natives in this version until I read R62's post, but it sounds like that whole element of the original story has been thrown out.

r81 that smile doesn’t hit the eyes. Very telling.

King Kong is a metaphor dreamed up by a white man afraid of black men stealing white women away. The whole premise of the story is rooted in racism. But it's old enough now that the story is in the public domain hence all of us have to suffer what is going to be a really shitty story with too much production value trying to make up for it.

Kong is the white cis-male fear of the enormous black penis, unsheathed. Ann represents all non-POC womynhood, initially intrigued by "Kong" but then endangered by it. She must be rescued from ravishment/seduction from the oversized "Kong" or be lost forever.

Has anyone seen The Nap?

[quote]URINETOWN is inarguably one of the greatest musicals in conception AND execution, and the extremely rare complete artistic success.

Well that's a big puddle of horse pee. It sucked. Not one memorable song, just total crap and only lived longer than a week from little old ladies and tourists that were titillated by the title. Movie sucked too...errr that's right it was so lousy no one wanted to make a movie of it.

Whatever happened to the sequel about amoebas (yes, actors playing amoebas)? They workshopped it it a few times I believe. Furthermore, what about the other show by the same composing team, THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT? In 15 years after winning all those Tonys they can’t get another show on Broadway? Wtf?

r90 is the bunny.

Holy fuck there is a legit article on Broadwayworld where it says DL fave Rosie O announced that she and LADY GAGA are reviving Funny Girl on Broadway with Gaga as Fanny and Ro as her mom.

It would sell like hot cakes but what a shitshow

Has anyone seen King Kong yet? How is it?

Run, Lady, Run! Rosie fucks up everything she touches.

Oh, shit. I don't know if that's a good move for Gaga. First of all, after doing A Star is Born, does she really want to take on another former Streisand role?

Besides, is she funny? At all? Strangely enough, Fanny's mom is GREAT role for Rosie and she'd probably be great.

I saw The Nap. It was one of the worst, weirdest things I've ever seen on stage.

Gaga's going for that EGOT!

R91, it's clear you don't have the experience to understand what a torturous, soul-murdering prospect it is to get a musical produced today. Don't pick on the writers--they're pawns in the process.

I don’t understand the Gaga/Rosie comments. And I haven’t ignored any posters. Did someone post about Rosie O playing the Mother in Funny Girl?

[quote]Does Kong get a good power ballad?

His agent negotiated for the 11 o'clock number.

Can Betty rap?

Yes!

Could you imagine between Rosie’s depression and rages and Lady Gaga’s fibro what the cancellation line will be?!?!

And you make such a persuasive argument R90....

*rolls eyes*

I take it Betty will be King Kong on tour?

[quote] I saw The Nap. It was one of the worst, weirdest things I've ever seen on stage.

Damn.

I love Alexandra Billings and was rooting for her, but it sounds totally bizarro and has been getting mixed reviews.

I have a friend who saw Kong this weekend. He said that everyone should see it for the puppet. He sort of hemmed and hawed about the quality of the rest of the show. He tends to like everything, so his refusal to give an opinion was telling.

And of course that Naughty_Rob is gushing over it, which means it must be terrible.

[quote]I don’t understand the Gaga/Rosie comments. And I haven’t ignored any posters. Did someone post about Rosie O playing the Mother in Funny Girl?

r93 mentioned there was an article posted at BroadwayWorld. If you do a Google search it will come up.

Gaga needs to be very careful when choosing her next role. And, honey, stay far away from Funny Girl.

Posters at BWW world said that the puppet/marionette in Kong is one of the most spectacular and amazing set pieces they have ever seen. And that the rest of the show is dreck.

Likewise, BWW posters who were there said the Dolly tour production, including Betty Lynn, were just great.

And again, likewise, posters there who saw the opening of the Dear Evan Hanson tour said that the production is more than fine and that the lead is better than you know who.

R110, I can concur that the lead of Dear Evan Hansen is fantastic and better than original Ben.

Rosalie Craig was out of Company with a cold over the weekend. I'm sure Patti was thrilled because we know how much she LOVES working with understudies.

The Nap is extremely droll & well-played.

Patti is on the graham norton radio show today with Sondheim himself. I hope Graham is true to form and confronts Patti in front of Sondheim about all the times she’s told the press that she thinks he hates her.

To be fair to Patti, Sondheim has never exactly praised her so I don’t think her feelings are without merit.

[quote]Could you imagine between Rosie’s depression and rages and Lady Gaga’s fibro what the cancellation line will be?!?!

Rosie has done 3 Broadway shows and one off-Broadway and she doesn't miss shows. But why would facts matter to you? And no, I'm not her.

Well, you never know, but Sondheim and Patti socialize from time to time in CT, so I doubt either of them will be interested in the conversation r114 is envisioning.

[quote]I hope Graham is true to form and confronts Patti in front of Sondheim about all the times she’s told the press that she thinks he hates her.

You ain't gettin' a pool out of me, Patti!

He'd have to come out of his dungeon first......

Haven't we exhausted the tiresome comments about Sondheim and his dungeon?

Maybe Graham will ask Patti about the Gaga/Rosie Funny girl?

Rosie's Rose....

coming soon?

Graham Norton IS Uncle Jocko!

Hush, R119, or I'll lock you inside and toss the key.

[quote]Haven't we exhausted the tiresome comments about Sondheim and his dungeon?

Until you provide some better gossip, Sondheim's sex dungeon is all we have to work with.

[quote] technically not a "famous person" but a new york theater actor (the kind that does theater and turns up on Law & Order etc) . This guy has been mentioned in the Theater threads and Broadway threads. Known in "the business" but not famous. Anyway, winter of 2017 my friend was working for a press office repping a Broadwy production and asked me to go to an event at the Algonquin that was for the cast and producers etc. I chatted up this guy , very attractive but more the hot daddy type. Friendly, but oblivious to the fact I was flirting with him. I mentioned a story that was featured on the DL in a Broadway thread featuring this guy. He had never heard of DL and denied the story was true. Seemed genuinely surprised anyone would bother to discuss him on something outside of a theater message board. Anyway, I didn't quite believe his denial and pushed a little but he finally said verbatim. " Nothing about that story is true, people must be very bored to make up stories about me" and walked away.

This is a quote from another thread. Just a cautionary tale to take all the theatre "gossip" on DL with a huge grain of salt

—Anonymous

Oh, Vanni, what's your point? DL's whole existence is based on pointless bitchery. We don't need no stinking confirmation from no second rate diva who can't admit they were caught in the Ramble with their pants down.

Why are people so mean to Naughty Rob on All That Chat. He fingered my friend at the Townhouse and was just as sweet as he could be.

what the fuck r126 is blathering about

The Poppins Loon very often just flat out lies to see who will take the bait. So that post quoted at R125 doesn't surprise me one bit.

Is the "Poppins Loon" one person or a kind of hive?

The acting in The Nap is not the problem. The structure of the play, especially the final scene is awful.

Because, r127, he is vile, smarmy, and personally disgusting. He also used to shill for DL fave Jill Zaaaaaarin.

No, R119. Cracks about Sondheim’s dungeon never get old.

[QUOTE]I hope Graham is true to form and confronts Patti in front of Sondheim about all the times she’s told the press that she thinks he hates her.

Since when does Graham have a reputation for that kind of questioning? I don't listen to his radio show, so is him some kind of hard-hitting interviewer there? Because he certainly isn't on his TV show

[quote]Since when does Graham have a reputation for that kind of questioning?

He doesn't. He always plays "the happy leprechaun" in his interviews.

I think it would be hysterical if Sondheim opened with

“Well we originally wanted Bernadette for JoAnne, but the Patti was free, so....”

R99 you're talking about Yeast Nation, by the guys behind Urinetown directed by Lee Silverman. After a few workshops where the director and the producers and the composer thought that the show was getting better, the book writer disagreed and walked away.

It's dead dead dead.

A pity because it was really fucking clever.

Those writers also did the Sting which sounded like it didn't go well. anyone know more?

Just came across this....

“Well we originally wanted Bernadette for JoAnne, but the Patti was free, so....”

After Bernadette, we asked Betty Buckley, Glenn Close, Julia McKenzie and Terri Klausner. *None* of them were available. So the producers said, "Just call Patty." The PA called LuPone. The producer meant Loveless.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Actually, Glenn is a somewhat inspired idea for Joanne. Limited stage time, only one scene/song. And, after all, Elaine Stritch wasn’t much of a singer, either. It might not be terrible... might.

I think Rosie spilled the beans too quickly and maybe ruined the deal.

This happened to her with MSNBC. She had Maddow’s Time slot before Rachel was hired but lost the deal by talking about it publicly before it was time to announce.

It’s crazy to think Ro would have had the Rachel Maddie show.

[quote]Actually, Glenn is a somewhat inspired idea for Joanne.

I think Glenn would make a more whitebread Joanne, more like the "swans" that Truman Capote hung out with. Stritch and LuPone sort of brought a fishwife quality to it, which works. But I'd love to see a Babe Paley or Slim Keith type do the role.

No, Gaga, don't do it! Please don't let Rosie ruin your career.

The thought of Bernadette's baby voice attempting "The Ladies Who Lunch" boggles the mind

And we hear Rosie is courting Papi Raul for Nicky Arnstein Nicky Arnstein......

[quote]And we hear Rosie is courting Papi Raul for Nicky Arnstein Nicky Arnstein......

With Little Charlie Stemp as Eddie Ryan!

Lady Gaga, please read your contract. It probably says that once you finish your Broadway run, you have to perform for 8 weeks on Rosie's Big Gay Family Cruise. Please, Lady, you don't want to have to play Annie to Rosie's Miss Hannigan.

Fanny's mother is a pretty good role for Rosie. It was written for a non-singer and she has the chance to be funny. I'm sure Gaga can sing it, but is she funny? It is called FUNNY Girl after all, not Singing Girl.

Has anyone seen Rosie on the Showtime series SMILF? I was expecting the worst but she's actually pretty good. Maybe it's the meds but she's not as loud and over the top and turned in a decent performance.

Has anyone else noticed that photo captions on Broadwayworld.com are constantly wrong and performers/creatives are always mislabeled. Sloppy Sloppy Sloppy

[quote]Little Charlie Stemp, hanging by a harness

Who had little Charlie Stemp while he was here? All NY was open to him after his rave reviews. I know at least one of you bitches must have sampled Stemp’s stump.

R75, in the long run Broadway was actually a very good idea for Urinetown since it is very frequently done in college/regional/community theatres. Had it remained off-Broadway, it would have been mostly forgotten and would surely not have the afterlife it does.

R154 The production I saw recently set it post apocalyptic which made zero sense to me. Surely the only design that works with the show is the 30's look?

Who is producing the funny girl revival? How can it actually be happening while Gaga is doing Vegas through November 2019?

R156 It seems Rosie may have jumped the gun, as she is kinda known for being a stupid bitch who speaks too soon about projects before they are locked down

I bet Gaga backs out of the project. She currently has A Star Is Born running and I think off the back of that she'll get far better offers. She can make more money in Hollywood than she can in NYC.

R156, these things get planned years in advance sometimes, you fucking idiot. I've read that Gaga was scheduled to tour after Vegas too. So if I was producing this I'd aim for rehearsals starting in March for an April opening which gives Gaga time to tour.

IF this actually happens I'll bet Gaga does a Bette and only hoofs 7x a week.

I'd bet this will be a Daryl/Justin Roth production. MAYBE Rudin, but I hear that there's bad blood there with Rosie.

Tour opening night review for Dolly:

Gaga doesn't need money.

She needs credibility. And respect.

R161, ASIB is credibility and respect. If anyone needs that, it's Rosie.

[quote]Gaga doesn't need money. She needs credibility. And respect.

Everybody needs money. And she won't get credibility and respect in a Rosie Broadway production. If she wants credibility and respect, she should do a Shakespeare in the Park show. Lady Gaga *is* Mrs. Walker in Tommy.

Doubt very much that Gaga will step into another Streisand role like Funny Girl. Not good for the next step in her career after the raves for ASIB.

A friend fucked Naughty_Rob this weekend- poor Rob didn't douche prior and it was a messy messy naughty mess.... He used other words than 'boom' to describe the smell of his bedroom

"The Nap" was pretty good, though without question the best thing about it is Ben Schnetzer's fabulous ass.

Poor Rosie. Everything she touches turns to shit

[quote]Why are people so mean to Naughty Rob on All That Chat. He fingered my friend at the Townhouse and was just as sweet as he could be.

Because he enjoys shows. Most at ATC and here for that matter don't have the ability to just sit and enjoy a show. Their "love " is actually their jealousy of not being able to actually work in theater, thus everyone that can to them have no business doing it. Nothing is ever good enough. Rob just has a good time.

Rob was already drummed out of one business for being terrible and insufferable. Why has he decided to pollute the theater world? I think the open hostility towards him is hilarious, especially on ATC, which is known for its censorship

[quote]Poor Rosie. Everything she touches turns to shit

So much of it is her own fault. She's a very limited actress and should stay within her lane. She was godawful in the Fiddler revival. And if she had left Taboo alone with the London script and opened it in New York off-Broadway, she could have created a cult classic. Not everything belongs on Broadway. And we won't even begin to discuss "Riding The Bus With My Sister." I get that she loves Broadway musicals, but she really should have been the money behind shows, only showing up to collect a Tony and let the true creatives work their magic. And it frightens me to think what she would try to do as Fanny Brice's Jewish mother. A fake accent that a community theater would laugh at, ham acting, and then she would try to do some child tie-in. One free child ticket with one paid admission on Saturday matinees.

The sort of thing that Gaga should do on Broadway is to have Sondheim write her a new song and have her do the Witch in Into the Woods. Jake G. triumphed for a couple of months in Sunday in the Park With George. In fact, have him come back as the Baker and get Jessica Lange as....HIS MOTHER!

Goodnight, kids.

R168 Hello Rob, please douche before bottoming, you are shit filled

R172 There is no Bakers Mum in ITW

Gaga should wait 10 years and do a new production of ALW's Sunset Blvd. Or, at the very least, the screen version.

Gyllenhaal was amazing in that production.

r171 is right; Rosie should stay behind the scenes.

Try to keep up, r160. That review was already posted back at r22. Old news.

[quote]Doubt very much that Gaga will step into another Streisand role like Funny Girl. Not good for the next step in her career after the raves for ASIB.

Exactly. This is the main reason of several why Gaga will never play this part on stage or screen. The female lead in A STAR IS BORN is an iconic role, but it's strongly identified with three famous actresses in three movies that are very different from each other. FUNNY GIRL is identified only with Barbra Streisand, and I really don't think Gaga would ever in a million years agree to take it on.

Doesn’t Ryan Murphy own the rights? I can’t believe he’d fuck over Lea Michele.

Well maybe I can

[quote]The female lead in A STAR IS BORN is an iconic role, but it's strongly identified with three famous actresses

Well, two famous extremely talented actresses and one miscast actress with a Jewfro.

People said Cabaret would only be associated with Minnelli and we can see how that turned out.

[quote]People said Cabaret would only be associated with Minnelli and we can see how that turned out.

I don't think I heard anyone say that, and anyway, Minnelli in CABARET is a yet another different situation, because the stage version of that show is very different from the movie version, including the fact that the character in the show is British and the one in the movie is American.

People said Mame would only be associated with Lucille Ball and we can see how that turned out.

If they can remake West Side Story, they can remake Hello Dolly. And Hello Dolly needs a remake because you know who was much to young to play the role.

Alice Faye played Fanny Brice in Fox's Rose of Washington Square and the plot was badly so disguised that Brice sued Fox and won an out of court settlement.

^ so badly, not badly so. Sorry.

How do you get tickets for The True?

Even Stub hub doesn't seem to have them.

Oh DEAR. I love LOVE LOVE Patti in the Sondheim 80th concert and the Company concert, but she's... a mess here. And these new puny orchestrations sound so neutered.

I love past Patti, but wtf is she even doing any more? She’s like a parody of a parody of herself. She should try to get more TV, she was fun on Penny Dreadful.

[quote]She’s like a parody of a parody of herself.

She was that during the '88 revival of Anything Goes. Mumble, mumble, mumble. She never grew beyond that. She was really great in Evita and at Les Mouches. Don't know or care what happened.

Here's a palate cleanser.

Julie Wilson completely lost her voice in her last fifteen years or so.

R187 She should just stick with the concert version.

[quote]Doubt very much that Gaga will step into another Streisand role like Funny Girl. Not good for the next step in her career after the raves for ASIB.

Has she asked you for career advice?

Sex thread?

The orchestrations for that London Company are terrible! I mean really bad, like some college student wrote them.

And Patti has gone round the bend. The song sells itself, she doesn't need to go over the top bonkers.

They better not bring that shit to New York.

But are you so sorry, r185?

Gaga is quite good in the movie, but I don't think she has the comic chops for Fanny Brice or Madame Rose. But I'm not sure I agree that she wouldn't take on a Streisand role; A Star is Born is full of little pop-cultural references to Streisand (and obviously Garland and several others) and I assume she didn't object to the comparisons.

Funny Girl has a lumbering book. The second half of the movie certainly lumbers.

You bitches are so mean to our Patti. She’s a legend in a legen role in a legend musical with legend orchestrations.

r187 That bass guitar sure is no substitute for a string section.

And yodeling is no substitute for singing.

Who the hell is Alan Scott on ATC? Someone asked a question about Show Boat, and he went off on a pontificating rant. Does he always have a stick up his butt?

I like Alan Scott, he's extremely knowledgeable.

R201, Fuck you. My yodeling has mystical powers over men.

Pearl, those Winstons ended your yodeling career....

r202 and r203, you are both right. Alan Scott is extremely knowledgeable, and his opinions are thoughtful and thoroughly supported by facts. And he does have a stick up his butt most of the time--he's both really, really pompous and quite a decent person.

[quote]Gaga is quite good in the movie, but I don't think she has the comic chops for Fanny Brice or Madame Rose. But I'm not sure I agree that she wouldn't take on a Streisand role; A Star is Born is full of little pop-cultural references to Streisand (and obviously Garland and several others) and I assume she didn't object to the comparisons.

Again, I think it's a completely different situation. Maybe Gaga will eventually be announced for a Broadway revival of FUNNY GIRL and I'll be proven wrong, but I just don't think that's gonna happen.

R199 Patti is my all time favorite Broadway star and diva but the orchestrations are bad but she totally controls the song and the audience on the tape recording in R187.

Knowledge that can easily be found online by anybody...

What's your point, r209?

Wondering if r209 is criticising Alan Scott, since two posters have called him knowledgeable. If that's what you're getting at, r209, is online information not authentic enough for you? In fact, his knowledge, which is encyclopedic, comes from years of spending virtually all his time thinking/learning about musical theater, and from developing contacts with the creators and with theater writers and historians.

I don’t know that it’s all encyclopedic but he obviously has the tools to do deep research pretty quickly. He often references old newspaper articles.

Those company orchestratoins are realliy distorted on that recording

This is how he spends literally all his time, r212.

Alan Scott also has an astonishingly detail-filled memory of theatre he has seen

Those Company orchestrations are weird as fuck. Patti doesn't sound bad, though. How does she still have so much power in her voice at this age? I heard her sing some of her Evita songs in the original key a few years back and was amazed by how she sounded almost exactly the same.

The most depressing thing on that Patti bootleg is that crowd braying and cheering when the song begins. London theatregoers used to have some semblance of class. Now they’re like a studio audience at a taping of Married With Children.

The orchestrations sound homogenized and bland; all the energy's been taken out. Too bad.

Anybody know if Rick McKays sequels to Broadway The Golden Age are ever going to surface? After he passed away there was a site to donate money to keep the project going, but haven't heard anything.

That was the best observation I’ve ever heard and it’s true. The last few years of theatregoing ive noticed its like I’m at a taping for Married With Children or Who’s the Boss.

Do we really have to go back to gossip about ATC members?

I recently attended a concert of Broadway music at which EVERY performance by every guest artist was given a standing ovation. It's gotten completely out of hand, and I agree it's one of the worst things about the modern theatergoing experience.

Patti's "The Ladies Who Lunch" is fucking FLAWLESS. And anyone who complains about her diction can't find any fault with this performance - it is pristine. Much like her second go 'round with SWEENEY, she previously was good and now knocks it out of the park (though she was wonderful in the NPH version). She really makes it her own, which is near impossible. I'm impressed. I hope they film this production... NPH's version is a little too concert-y and the Raul version is bizarre and boring.

Picture it: Who's the Boss?: THE MUSICAL.

I went to a recent Broadway musical and some lady yelled out, "Slap her, Wilona!"

[quote]Picture it: Who's the Boss?: THE MUSICAL.

With Andrew Keenan-Bloger as Jonathan.

The standing ovations and hooting and hollering really have gotten insane everywhere even in regional and community theatre. I'm sorry, Linda, but the 2nd annual Birmingham Little Players production of Steel Magnolias didn't deserve a standing ovation. It's insanity.

Standing ovations used to be electric and well deserved. I've seen performances that were so brilliant that it's literally as if someone's planted a spring in your chair and lifted you out of it without even thinking about it. Nowadays, it's cheap and unearned. As an actor myself, I've grown to hate them, because I can almost always feel if they're earned or if it's because they're just being nice.

Ann Reinking and Gwen Verdon rehearsing "Mama's Family: The Musical".

At a performance of Carousel this summer, the audience was indeed whooping and hollering and woo-hooing (and I mean the majority of the audience, not one or two idiots) and weirder still, laughing uproariously at anything remotely humorous or light-hearted ("our dear little house will get bigger" "and so will my figger" drew guffaws).

Who ARE these people?

Drunk from the pre-show bar being open.

I get that that picture at r228 was a PR pic that was supposed to be along the lines of "Roxie #1 hands the show off to Roxie #2" (although technically Reinking was Roxie #4). But why on earth is Reinking wearing a grey wig? Surely she didn't wear grey in the show did she?

Hey, R231, it matches her frock so I think that’s the look they were going for

R231, maybe because Verdon was way too old for the role, so they decided to make her feel better by making Ann look older.

In the 1970s, women would "frost" their hair. Maybe that was the look they were going for with Reinking.

Reinking's wig is the Zsa Zsa #17. I saw it in the back of Good Housekeeping!

Speaking of Betty’s dogs. One of them played her dog onstage during Gypsy at Paper Mill. one night when Betty was sick and called out- her car was sent out from the UWS to the theater in NJ with her assistant and dog so he could still perform that night. True story!

I’m more of a pro than that cunt will ever be.

Was one of her dogs in Drood, back in the day?

Did her dog give a more interesting performance than she did in Gypsy? Not that it would be hard.

I really don't understand how one can fuck up Mama Rose in Gypsy. It's all the script. You could sit there and just recite the lines and lyrics and get some reaction out of the audience. I think that's why I'm so fascinated by the people who have played the role and managed to fuck it up. It seems like it'd take a lot of work to do that. Even doing a bad Merman imitation would have been better than what some of these people did to that role.

Get a feathered hat for the baby, r239!

I've posted this before and have been destroyed, but when Rienking and the glorious Nemitz replaced the aged Verdon and Rivera, the show went from being a funereal thing to a smart, fast, mean, wonderful thing.

And then it closed.

OMG, it was a typo. Nemetz of course. Her father was not an Admiral. I have adored Lenora since seeing her go on as either an understudy or standby for both Gwen and Chita . And then her triumphant replacement performance as Velma in the original production. I know how to spell her name or maybe I don't, I guess.

And I was graced to see her at NJPAC in that really nice Tony Curtis renamed tour of Sugar playing Sweet Sue.

My friend from Euclid OH saw Betty in the Dolly tour and sais she and the show were fantastic! And he is one picky kaween

There is a recording of Nemetz's one performance of Rose's Turn and it is spectacular! Which also makes it kind of meta, given the context

R242, was Rienking not a typo?

Rienking = new Julie Taymor musical

[quote]Reinking's wig is the Zsa Zsa #17. I saw it in the back of Good Housekeeping!

I vas the sister who sold the vigs, darlink.

Hugh Dancy's looking good in Apologia, except for the receding hairline.

Who was her understudy, r236?

[quote] Speaking of Betty’s dogs. One of them played her dog onstage during Gypsy at Paper Mill. one night when Betty was sick and called out- her car was sent out from the UWS to the theater in NJ with her assistant and dog so he could still perform that night. True story!

What? I should take a train??

[quote]Speaking of Betty’s dogs. One of them played her dog onstage during Gypsy at Paper Mill. one night when Betty was sick and called out- her car was sent out from the UWS to the theater in NJ with her assistant and dog so he could still perform that night. True story!

Which one was the bigger bitch?

I didn't mind the orchestrations from what I could hear in the Ladies Who Lunch recording. The question is, though, if the've updated the time the story is set it, what can they do about the orchestrations? Some of the songs scream 70's era Bacharach, and it will be at all order to update a lot of them to a contemporary sound, while still painting some similarity to the original orchestrations. I wonder if they will do a cast album. I hope they video the show for theater screening, but, since the NPH version was streamed just a few years ago, it is doubtful they will.

I grew up in the DC area and, when I was younger, I saw that everything in DC got a standing ovation. It was refreshing to move to NYC and not see many standing ovations at all.

And then, in the 1990's, they started sprouting up everywhere in NYC. I knew the cause was lost when patrons at the opera started standing, something that NEVER happened.

Just felt like puttin' on my capris and flats and watching this.....

Anthony Ramos IS Usnavi!

[quote]I recently attended a concert of Broadway music at which EVERY performance by every guest artist was given a standing ovation. It's gotten completely out of hand, and I agree it's one of the worst things about the modern theatergoing experience

Oh, I bet you looked so defiant sitting there with your hands folded in your lap the whole show. You showed them!

Reinking wore a shorter, curly blonde wig in the show and not the wig she wore in publicity pics. Not sure why they changed it but the blonde wig was more flattering. There's actually a bootleg of Lenora's entire Gypsy performance and I'm really sorry I missed her. She sounds nervous and there are a few flubs but she's glorious. Too bad she asked Laurents to take her off standby duty after that performance. I love Lenora.

[quote]I've posted this before and have been destroyed, but when Rienking and the glorious Nemitz replaced the aged Verdon and Rivera, the show went from being a funereal thing to a smart, fast, mean, wonderful thing.

Chita was ony 42 when CHICAGO opened, and she had the energy and dancing ability of someone far younger. Gwen was at least 12 years older than Chita (I believe she used to lie about her age), and looked and sounded older than that.

[quote]Oh, I bet you looked so defiant sitting there with your hands folded in your lap the whole show. You showed them!

Actually, [R256}, I noticed that I was far from the only person in my section who declined to stand after EVERY SINGLE performance by EVERY SINGLE performer in the concert. But most of the audience did so, even in the case of one performer who had three separate numbers in the show. And I'm sure you would have joined them in helping to destroy the tradition of a gesture that used to be very meaningful because it was so extraordinary, but now has almost no meaning at all.

Regarding Anthony Ramos in the movie of IN THE HEIGHTS -- he has REALLY bad skin. I couldn't believe how bad it looked in A STAR IS BORN. But I guess that's no longer considered a liability that would keep someone from becoming a movie or TV star, which is odd the age of HD.

OMG NOT HIS SKIN!

Somebody call Dr Zizmor......

how long can Summer hold on? and what do its sales portend for Cher?

How is "Head Over Heels" doing at the box office?

It’s doing about the same as Hamilton, give or take $2,800,000 a week.

R248 I saw it in London. He plays the brothers right? Which accent does he use? American or British?

R248, Hugh's using his British accent.

[quote]I've posted this before and have been destroyed, but when Rienking and the glorious Nemitz replaced the aged Verdon and Rivera, the show went from being a funereal thing to a smart, fast, mean, wonderful thing.

I don't know why you'd be destroyed over that. I would kill to have seen Reinking in the original Chicago production. I mean, I would have loved to have seen her in the revival, too, but back THEN she was so striking -- at least she seemed to be on all the YT clips of her in that era. One of those undeniably magnetic triple threats you can't take your eyes off of.

I mean, just the way she looked and moved in this ad for Dancin? As a kid of the 90s, I feel like I was born in the wrong era. I'm jealous of all the amazing theatre eldergays experienced in the 70s.

I know I'm going to get MARY'd over this but when Reinking made her entrance in Dancin' there were gasps from the audience. She was that stunning. Sandahl Bergman and Vicki Frederick were also gorgeous but Annie had something really special.

I had no interest in seeing THE CHER SHOW until I found out that the delectable Christopher Vo is in the company.

Now I must see it

Summer will Close Dec 31

How can Reinking be a triple threat when she can't sing or act?

I will say The Cher Show knows who its audience is and seems to have cast an attractive ensemble.

The notion that Reinking can’t act is ridiculous. She was a brilliant Joan of Arc in “Goodtime Charley,” one of the best Joans I’ve seen in any version of that story. Her singing wasn’t great, but it was definitely better than “can’t sing.” She didn’t sound the way she did in the Chicago revival.

r268 Wow, he's gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen a show just for an ensemble member, but I'd consider sitting through dreck to see him dance.

[quote]I know I'm going to get MARY'd over this but when Reinking made her entrance in Dancin' there were gasps from the audience. She was that stunning. Sandahl Bergman and Vicki Frederick were also gorgeous but Annie had something really special.

Love it! I've experienced that twice with audiences -- once with Jane Krakowski in, obviously, Nine. And then with Megan Fairchild in On the Town. Sure, Megan is more "cute" than stunning, but when she moves? That Miss Turnstyle's dance which I always thought was such a throwaway number in that wonderful Bernstein score was such a showstopper -- literally heard people around me gasping as she moved.

It's experiences like that that make me hate when true dancing roles get cast with actors who "move well". There is a BIG difference between a born dancer and an actor who can dutifully follow choreography.

More Christopher Vo. Agreed, he's scorching hot. Really sweet guy, too.

I guess my screen needs cleaning because I don't see any scorching hot man. I see an average looking Asian man with a well developed body.

[quote]If you touch me, you'll understand what happiness is....

Kind of pervy for the MeToo generation, isn't it?

R276 if you don’t find him hot you are a racist and not “woke” . Didn’t you get the memo?

He's ok, nice body -- I prefer the leading guy in "Crazy Rich Asians".

Vicki Frederick was a replacement Cassie and a true gasp moment came when she pulled her hair down from a ponytail and her hair shot out like an auburn flame. Unlike Reinking's strings, Frederick had hair that the wardrobe mistress of ACL said "looked like Walt Disney drew it."

Reinking can't act. Her performance in "Chicago" was an embarrassment. "I gotta paaaeeeee". As for her singing....well, does this sound familiar? One song destroyed her Hollywood career.

"She was a brilliant Joan of Arc in “Goodtime Charley,” one of the best Joans I’ve seen in any version of that story. "

Absolutely. She was right up there with Maria Falconetti.

No doubt being mentally ill in real life allowed Renee Falconetti to tap into the deep dark palaces of Joan’s delusions.

Revisted PHANTOM last week. I know people rag on ALW but I've always had a soft spot for the music and Prince and Bjornson's concepts. That said, this had to be one of the worst viewings of it in recent memory. The shape of the physical production and orchestra (under Daivd Lai) are the only things worth mentioning. Ali Ewoldt is devoid of any emotion or coloring to her singing, Jay Armstrong Johnson will go down as the WORST Raoul I've ever seen/heard (I don't think he understands what he's doing up there) and Ben Crawford was all boom and bluster -- there was no emotional core. No romance, no stakes. And the new sound system sounds like SHIT. I last saw it nearly 10 years ago after they swapped out the old, (reverb heavy) system, and now this one is dry as a bone. No depth, no verb, and sitting 2nd row, it sounded like everything was being piped in from across the street. WTF. Someone bring back Howard McGillin (and that old wet sound system) STAT!

I'm up for it, r284! In fact, do I still have a career?

[quote]Gwen was at least 12 years older than Chita (I believe she used to lie about her age), and looked and sounded older than that.

Verdon was actually only eight years older, almost exactly, than Chita. She was born in January 1925, and Chita was born in January 1933. Verdon was never one to lie about her age, but she didn't shout it from the rooftop. She had married originally at 17, and when Chicago was playing, the rumors flew that she has a son who was nearly 30. Which was true (she had him at 18, but he was brought up by her parents in California). It got mentioned in one of the columns (I think page six), and she admitted it, said she'd been married young, and that she was really "almost fifty" (whereas she was exactly fifty).

A bigger difference between Chita and Gwen than their ages was the fact that Chita REALLY took care of herself. She never smoked, and was not a heavy drinker. Gwen was a heavy smoker and enjoyed her booze after a show. The cigarettes especially took a toll on her, so she did indeed seem like she was older than Chita by more than she really was.

But the notion that the show was "funereal" with the two of them isn't true. You won't find anyone except our resident Gwen-hater who says that. I saw it first, actually, with Nemetz filling in for Verdon. She was good, but she didn't have any star quality in that role (she absolutely did have it later when she took over as Velma). Then I saw Liza, twice, then finally when Gwen came back, I saw her do it with Chita a couple of times (plus again when I was in LA). Gwen was actually by far the best actor in the role. Most people would think Liza was the best singer, but I like Lenora Nemetz's voice better. Liza certainly made it an "event." Reinking was excellent. I wouldn't say better than Gwen, but her equal. It's too bad it didn't run longer after she took over. Penny Worth and Carolyn Kirsch, who did the tour (except for Chicago, LA, and SF, where Gwen and Chita went back in) were also excellent. They both did the Hot Honey Rag on one of those "dancers over 50" videos, so you can get a hint of what they were like, but of course by that point they were both in their late 60s.

Saw King Kong in Melbourne 5 years ago...other than the puppet, it was a dud.....can’t imagine what they can do to revive it...saw THE CHER SHOW in Chicago over the summer & while not perfect, it was entertaining and the audience was in tears twice...the 3 Chers were all great but Sonny and Lucille Ball were my favorites.

Kirsch and Worth, two old broads reliving their glory days.

Lucille Ball is a character in "The Cher Show"???

Patti interviewed in The Guardian

[QUOTE]As a role, it seems made for her, but when I ask whether she talked about it with Sondheim before coming to London she becomes uncharacteristically tentative. “Er, not with Steve, no. I don’t think I’m Steve’s first choice,” she says.

[QUOTE]When LuPone performed Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina at the Grammys this year, it was widely assumed the feud was over, but such an assumption underestimates LuPone. “We haven’t made up, no. No! What he did…” Twisting the knife, she adds: “The poor guy – it seems to me he wants the kind of critical success Stephen Sondheim has.”

[QUOTE]“That’s bullshit!” she says. “They got that ALL wrong. I was out with Andrew (Rannells) and Jon (Hamm) – and Glenn was at another table. Glenn came to us and she sidled on up to Jon Hamm. She needed to make herself known to Jon Hamm! Ha ha!” She laughs, casually plunging in another knife.

[quote]Lucille Ball is a character in "The Cher Show"???

Yes, in one scene, played by Emily Skinner, who also plays Cher's mother. She's hilariously crude as Ball.

[quote]saw THE CHER SHOW in Chicago over the summer & while not perfect, it was entertaining and the audience was in tears twice...the 3 Chers were all great but Sonny and Lucille Ball were my favorites.

I'm not even a Cher fan and I enjoyed it, r287. It does need work (it needs to be a LOT shorter), but I can see it running for awhile.

What's the deal with TDF's make-over? It took quite a few days, and really does not look all that different. It seems to be an update that wasn't needed.

I first saw Gwen in Sweet Charity and she was amazing. Star Quality like no other.

This must have been in 1966-67? So she was about 40.

I'll never forget when she made her only costume change ONSTAGE into her red spangly dress for There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This, she stripped off her little black dress on the set of the "locker room" of the Fandango Palace and was revealed to be in a sheer black mesh body stocking with little black panties and black bra before she redressed. You could literally hear the gasps of the matinee ladies!!!

I saw her a couple of times early in the run of Chicago and I don't remember anything "old ladyish" about her performance. Once again, Star Quality of the highest magnitude.

Now, in addition to the fuck-ups who run the LCT website, we have the idiots who run TDF's website as well.

WTF is wrong with these incompetents? Nothing was wrong with the old website.

[quote]I was out with Andrew (Rannells) and Jon (Hamm)

Why was Andrew Rannells out with Jon Hamm? Was Patti their fag hag?

Poor, poor, desperate G... one would think being in the mere presence of such real celebrities as Ms. LuPone, dear Jon and Lord Andrew would be enough. But, no, she and another desperate soul grasping for a shred of fame impinged upon them only to be recounted in this publication as such. So sad. Maybe her “PTSD” made her do it?

R290 Love Patti’s honesty.

Patti's honesty is refreshing in the sense that so few celebrities are willing to talk like that to the press, but on the other hand, she spends so much time running down other people that it reflects poorly on her. Did you read her book ?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her book was refreshingly honest. I would like to know who the well-known person is that she won't discuss in that article. (Mandy P.?)

Did we know that Verdon's real name was GWYNETH?

While I agree that Patti's honesty and willingness to talk about unpleasant subjects without sweeping them undertake rug is refreshing, I also think it is often unnecessary. She seems to delight in insulting someone, and, really, there is just never a need to be mean spirited. For instance, she can talk about how hurt she was that she was fired from SB, and how badly they handled it, but is there really a need to insult ALW? What's the point? She crosses the line from being open and honest, to unkind.

[quote]She seems to delight in insulting someone, and, really, there is just never a need to be mean spirited. For instance, she can talk about how hurt she was that she was fired from SB, and how badly they handled it, but is there really a need to insult ALW? What's the point? She crosses the line from being open and honest, to unkind.

Or even worse, taking digs at Glenn Close. Why should Glenn make decisions about her career based on Patti LuPone? Glenn got a good offer and she took it and Patti needs to get over that.

R296, although the caption says Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon, they aren't in the commercial, except mentioned in VO. Fosse understood sex sells. In this piece on Rivera, there are filmed shots of the two of them doing Hot Honey Rag, and it certainly looks like Fosse's work. I think he saw it, realized it wouldn't sell tickets and went to his gorgeous chorus girls.

The brief segment is around 1:20

I absolutely LOVED Summer, mainly because I was a huge Donna Summer fan. Although I enjoyed Cher's music, I grew up when she was having a dry spell and didn't look forward to any of her stuff.

I don't care much about The Cher Show, particularly at $200 a seat

Raul Esparza to star as Hamlet at Chicago Shakespeare Theater next April.

Not only was Miss Kwan a phenomenal singer and dancer, r254, but she was also expert in dramatic roles.

[quote]Raul Esparza to star as Hamlet at Chicago Shakespeare Theater next April.

I hate when they cast old Hamlets. I like my Hamlets young.

To bi or not to bi.

Too bad he isn't doing.....

I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but...

'Print that!' Broadway legend Patti LuPone sounds off

Interesting interview with Patti Lupone in The Guardian. Seems like she has NOT made up with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Close, or Kevin Kline.

[quote]Seems like she has NOT made up with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Close, or Kevin Kline.

I bet they are all DEVASTATED!

[quote]Not only was Miss Kwan a phenomenal singer and dancer, [R254], but she was also expert in dramatic roles.

Nancy Kwan's singing was dubbed in "Flower Drum Song."

Patti mentions in the interview that Bette Midler was difficult during Dolly. That's the first time I've heard anyone say that. Here's my problem with Patti - yes, she'great singer but she's a crappy actress. She is. Fuck her Julliard pedigree, she can't act. When she doesn't know how to play a scene she screams (anyone who saw her in Gypsy knows what I'm talking about), Therefore, she should keep her comments about other artists to herself.

And it's a shame Ann Reinking's performance went so far off the rails when Chicago moved to broadway because she was sexy, smoldering and a walking Jessica Rabbit in the Encores! production.

R254 I really want her little hat, with the huge, pink pompom on a stick.

[quote]R258 Chita was ony 42 when CHICAGO opened, and she had the energy and dancing ability of someone far younger.

She was a true DLer, at heart!

Interesting that Patti says Sondheim didn't want her for the West End Company. I'd have assumed that Marianne cast as she saw fit.

R292 and R294, the change was not made for the website; TDF is now operating on a completely different and much more complex system.

I'm aware her singing was dubbed, r314....as well as her dancing.

That whimsical piece of millinery would be easy-peasy to whip up in NO time, r316!

The composer always has approval over casting.

What did Kevin Kline do to earn Patti's wrath? They were a couple during/after Juillard. Is she still mad that he broke up with her over 40 years later?

I did not know that, r322. Thanks.

He cheated on her with a dancer, r323. They were together a long time.

[quote]The composer always has approval over casting.

Yeah, and that motherfucker Sondheim wouldn't approve me to play Carlotta in Follies. He gave the role to June Nyson who uses a god damned walker!

[quote]He cheated on her with a dancer

Yeah, well, she would do Evita and then go straight to Les Mouches. When did he ever see her?

"Approval," yes, r322, courtesy of the Dramatists Guild, but that is no guarantee they will get who they want. Ever.

R327 She did Evita after they broke up. Just read the interview, all your questions are answered in it.

Patti is a cunt. She CAN act, but Gypsy wasn’t one of those times.

She was excellent as Joanne in that NPH Company. I wonder why Sondheim didn’t want her for the London version?

R326 made me LOL. Bravo!

Nancy Kwan had star quality for days in Flower Drum Song, and she was an excellent dancer.

The dubbing by BJ Baker is weird though. It sounds like they sent Baker to a phone booth in Thousand Oaks to do her recording over the phone wires.

Pat's pipes.....

Yes, it's quite obvious that the composer didn't get who he wanted in this case. That was the point Patti was making. You're slow.

Someone posted a while back about how Rose should be actor proof and an actress would have to work hard to fuck it up. I don't quite agree. This Karen Morrow clip illustrates how easy the edges can be smoothed off the character. It's not a "fuck up" performance, but where are the stakes?

Where in Phoenix was this. What company

r334, I'm sure you know exactly what you're talking about, but I don't. In what sense is it obvious that Sondheim didn't get who he wanted, and in what case? If you mean Patti in Company, can you explain why you believe that?

Didn't Stritch say something similar? Sondheim appreciated the talent but he was no buddy and no fanboy to either woman.

Baz Bamigboye just tweeted that Charlie Stemp will play Prince Charming in Snow White at the London Palladium with Dawn French starting in December. He’s cute but Prince Charming?

[quote]Baz Bamigboye just tweeted that Charlie Stemp will play Prince Charming in Snow White at the London Palladium with Dawn French starting in December. He’s cute but Prince Charming?

It's probably a Panto so they are cast in "types". Little Charlie Stemp fits into the Prince Charming "type". He reads very handsome from the stage. It's only up close that you begin to see that his face isn't in all the right places. He'll always do stage work because the camera doesn't lie. But yes, he can be believes as a Panto Prince Charming.

No, R340, I’ve been to many pantos in the UK and Stemp does NOT fit the Prince Charming type. They’re usually cast with pretty boys. Stemp is clearly what was known as the “character juvenile.” Which is why he was so perfect as Barnaby Tucker.

Charlie Stemp is no Gareth Gates!

So Gypsy of the Year is being renamed Red Bucket Follies. And the biggest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, will now be known as African American Friday.

r340 He looks like Imelda Staunton.

Wasn't responding to "Patti", dipwad r334.

I'm still wondering what Patti was doing out with Jon Hamm?

If he saw her tits in Summer of Sam he’d steer clear of her.

Who would tell Patti that she wasn't first choice? Her agent?

I suspect that she means that she's not Sondheim's favourite, not that he wanted Imelda and had to make do with Patti.

Patti is a good time gal and so is Hamm, no?

Patti's bio was quite one note. That doesn't suggest honesty. No mention of her partying, which might have influenced her professional conduct... I think her Cosette tweered about her "hoovering" ways.

I don't think it's true that Sondheim didn't want her for Joanne. And he doesn't seem to dislike her personally--although I believe he truly didn't like Elaine very much.

I happened to be on the crew of Glee when it was first in NY and overheard a fun conversation between Patti and Ryan Murphy. He was gushing to her about Gypsy and how he and his boyfriend saw her in it twice and sobbed through the whole thing. He then said he was sorry he hadn’t been able to catch her in her last Broadway show, Women on the Verge. Patti sneered and said “Yeah, well, we suffered a lousy leading lady.” Ryan asked “Who was that?” and Patti fired back “EXACTLY.” She paused and then said “And she wasn’t even a latina!” I remember thinking it was rich of Patti to say that when she starred as fucking Evita and she wasn’t exactly Rosie Perez.

[quote]I'm confused, I thought Betty Lynn played Thelma Lou on the Andy Griffith Show.

Lynn is Betty Buckley's middle name r591 from previous thread. (I didn't know that either and like you was confused as to what Thelma Lou had to do with Broadway until I looked up Buckley's name on Wiki.)

If you're new here, Kristi Dawn is Chenoweth.

People who "tell it like it is" yet lack self awareness... Euch.

Guess Patti didn't like Sherie Rene Scott.

R335 I see what you mean, but, my God, what a voice! The clarion power of Merman and the warmth of Martin. Why didn't she become a huge star--better than Carol Burnett and just about anyone else in her generation. The recording of Babylon Miracle Traveling Show always can get me out of a funk and I Had a Ball, while one of the stupidest shows, is thrilling in her recording of the title song.

Sherie Rene Scott is an odd one. Capable to give truly great performances (AIDA, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS) and also bizarre, self-indulgent ones (EVERYDAY RAPTURE, WHIRL INSIDE A LOOP). I've loved her in more things than I disliked her in, though (she was spectacular in TOMMY, OVER & OVER and LAST 5 YEARS, as well).

Weren't Jessica Biel originally supposed to star in WOMEN ON THE VERGE (in Benanti's role?) along with Salma Hayek as Pepa but both dropped out? That would've been interesting... Biel actually can sing and has stage presence as her Hollywood Bowl GUYS & DOLLS amply evidenced. No idea about Hayek.

R352 Why would Patti bitch about someone else not being Latinx in "Women on the Verge.." since ALL the characters in the show are Spanish and the last time I checked, "LuPone" isn't a Spanish name.

And, NO ONE in that cast was of Spanish descent.

What word is Karen Morrow trying to say at 8:52? It's like she can't make up her mind whether she wants to say "due" or "you" so she says both.

That Suzuki bitch should've been drawn and quartered for trying to pass as Chinese.

I've heard many a Rose make Due rhyme with Yo. I guess it's easier to belt, like For Me as "For May". Notice how she follows it up with a "You" in head voice.

For European definitions Patti is Latin.

Then so am I!

Miss Sherie Rene.....

Chita was definitely a smoker for many years.

My fav Sherie performance... this Elton John concert was *INCREDIBLE*. Probably the best event of its kind, nothing has come close since then. The story she tells before the song is absolutely heartbreaking and leads into the song so well. A true masterclass in concert/cabaret. If it doesn't elicit a tear you have no soul.

You don't really believe that story is true do you? She grew up in a city of 125,000 and her father was a chiropractor. A made up back story is a lot more dramatic.

Sherie's made up cousin would be better if he was named Daniel. Or Norma Jean. Or Nikita. Or Tiny Dancer.

Yeah, I was sure it was going to be Daniel.

[quote]Yeah, I was sure it was going to be Daniel.

Especially after the shit about they couldn't speak his name out loud but finally she can say it aloud.

I wonder if she got a text from her aunt the next day, "You're Disowned! And my lawyer will be paying you a visit for stealing my story."

Geez, Sherie, way to push those stereotypes. Loves Broadway showtunes, good looking, antiques dealer. Oh, he MUST BE GAY!!! Nobody saw that coming.

Did they ever conclude the Equity and in-house investigations on Mary Sunshine’s suicide?

Boy, I really disliked “The Waverly Gallery.” I’m mixed about Kenneth Lonergan anyway: I hated “Manchester by the Sea” for its perpetual gloom, which felt like an affectation rather than realism. But I really liked “Lobby Hero” last season, which I thought was a good production of a good play. But I’m astonished that “Waverly Gallery” was a Pulitzer runner-up in 2001 because it has no plot and no characterizations. Aging Gladys Green is an irritatingly batty dame in scene one, and then we learn she has Alzheimer’s and she gets worse and worse. That’s it for plot. The characterizations consist of second-hand clichés about New York and New Yorkers during the high crime years of ‘89 - ‘91. Elaine May’s performance will get raves and she’s very good. It’s a detailed, well-observed, realistic portrayal. Everyone around her is very kind and mostly patient. That’s it, end of play. Alzheimer’s is really bad and we should all be kind to each other. Skip it.

Any news on who is going to come in with Moulin Rouge and what the final cut of the show will look like?

I had never seen Sherrie R-S until that Mona Lisa clip. She has a lovely voice, but she does not come across as very sincere. That "dammit" when she allegedly started to cry was over the top, and signaled the insincerity of the whole segment. Props to her rendition, though.

Wasn't the original rumor about Moulin Rouge that Tveit and Olivo wouldn't stay attached but after the reviews, esp. Brantley's, they are now likely to stay involved?

[quote].. I think her Cosette tweered about her "hoovering" ways.

Yes. Rebecca Caine, who can be quite witty and doesn’t suffer fools gladly, is quite upfront about her dislike of Patti, when. the book came out, she tweeted “I see Patti’s started writing fiction.”

Oh, that Kevin Kline. Glenn was living with Len Cariou when she left town to film "The Big Chill". Next thing you know, Len goes down south to visit her and she's fucking Kevin Kline. End of relationship. Because Glenn has always been a slut.

R284, just saw Phantom again as well, and boy are you correct, it is a tragedy of miscasting and lethargy. Jay Armstrong Johnson is giving the WORST performance on Broadway right now and the Phantom and Christine are unlikable placeholders, devoid of any chemistry. The second they started casting the Phantom as a “hunk” the core vanished, hollow and slight is all that is left. The sound was HORRIBLE and the audience restless and full of foreign tourists busy on their iPhones during the entire show. The Music of the Night is DEFINITELY over now and then some! Close it!

I thought Glenn Close was the girlfriend of George Hearn (you know, the less good Sweeney Todd).

The Phantom is really a character part. Hell, Michael Crawford wasn't a true leading man, and he had a weird voice to boot, which worked. He sounded very creepy in the role. But somewhere along the line it went more romantic. Granted Howard McGillin sang it very well (though around his passaggio into the high notes he always sounded a bit hooty to me), but otherwise, I actually preferred the Crawford mode.

R382, absolutely, the casting directive has changed and the whole thing suffers for it. Wicked has stayed true to the original mold and it jugs along as a faithful juggernaut, Phantom, while still a stunning success isn’t the same experience as when it first opened. The tour is worse by the way, reimagined into a shitshow.

Wicked changed a bit in that non-romantic Norbert Leo Butz was the original Fiyero and now they practically cast Ford Models in the role.

No one can top Chita and Gwen in Chicago. They were sexy, funny , and were mezmerizing while dancing. Ann and Lenora were great as well but lacked that "star" quality that the other gals had. They both sounded very much like Chita and Gwen. The revival is excellent but the original was really excellent and the scenes played like vaudeville acts was a brilliant concept.. So sinister and weird. I remember a poker playing scene where the inmates cheated. Chita had a card hidden in her mouth and I think Mama Morton sat on a card. I second acted it so many times to see them dance.

R385, don’t forget Orbach. The original Chicago in 1975 was my favorite theatergoing experience ever. Even when everyone was raving about A Chorus Line two blocks away, I preferred Chicago. Verdon, Rivera and Orbach were electrifying. The person here who claims that Gwen and Chita danced like old ladies is full of crap.

[quote]The Phantom is really a character part.

It was originally written with Colm Wilkinson in mind.

[quote]I thought Glenn Close was the girlfriend of George Hearn (you know, the less good Sweeney Todd).

Glenn was Everybody's Girl.

No, Glenn was with Len Carioiu. George Hearn was with Dixie Carter.

So let's review: Patti LuPone was with Kevin Kline Bette Midler was with Peter Riegert Glenn Close was with Len Cariou Dixie Carter was with George Hearn

Have I left anyone out?

Close and Cariou were a fun couple, they liked to knock back the booze at the old Charlie’s, whew!

R307 Esparza as Hamlet? Good grief.

[quote] Love Patti’s honesty.

Oh she's just a cranky old broad.

r373, I just googled Loeffelholz and there is nothing current on any "investigation" into his suicide. Ditto that ridiculous Justice for Jeffrey blog. I suspect the whole thing was dropped pretty quickly if there were no obvious connections between his suicide (if that's what it was) and the alleged bullying by Bobbie and the musical director.

I thought Dixie was with Lily and Madeline....

r374 - But I’m astonished that “Waverly Gallery” was a Pulitzer runner-up in 2001 because it has no plot and no characterizations.

I'm surprised they brought it to Broadway. It was such a lovely last vehicle for Miss Heckart at the lovely Promenade, but not a particularly strong one.

R379, I knew Glenn back in the 1970s and she was actually what was then termed a “nympho” but is now termed “sexually compulsive.”

What’s the best Broadway news website to visit? Playbill? Broadway or Broadwayworld?

Heckart was brilliant in The Waverly Gallery. Can't imagine anyone else even coming close.

Heckie definitely put her imprint on roles, r397.

[quote]Jay Armstrong Johnson is giving the WORST performance on Broadway right now .

When I read that he was cast as Raoul, my first thought was that the part didn't seem like a very good fit for him. Anybody have any theories as to why JAJ's career appears to be stalled? It looked like he was coming up in the business quite nicely, but lately, not so much. I'm sure PHANTOM is a great pay check, but obviously he'll get zero cachet and little or no publicity coverage for it.

[quote]Anybody have any theories as to why JAJ's career appears to be stalled?

He's too boyish to be leading man. I saw him in the Emma Thompson Sweeney and he just didn't cut it as dashing, leading man.

[quote]He's too boyish to be leading man. I saw him in the Emma Thompson Sweeney and he just didn't cut it as dashing, leading man.

You may have hit on something with your boyish comment, although I didn't think that was a problem when JAJ played Anthony in SWEENEY, seeing how that character is probably supposed to be in his late teens or early 20s at most. JAJ's boyishness certainly worked for CANDIDE and ON THE TOWN, but I could see him reading as too boyish for more mature leading man roles, even though I think his actual age is probably around 35.

Going back to Woman on the Verge, Danny Burstein’s mother is Costa Rican, but I don’t think any other leading players in that show were of Spanish or Latin descent.

Speaking of him, he seems very low-key normal, particularly in comparison to most actors. What is he like in real life?

Can't wait for "Ni olette!" - The Nicolette Larson Musical coming soon! Gonna take a lotta love!!

JAJ doesn’t seem all that boyish in the video his bf leaked.

That was a hot vid. I still have it saved. Do we know for sure that the BF leaked it?

[quote]JAJ doesn’t seem all that boyish in the video his bf leaked.

I didn't hear about that. Was it a sex tape? Give details!

I had forgotten about that purported JAJ sex video. Is it possible his career has been hindered by the release of that vid, even though it wasn't 100 percent clear it was him in the vid? I don't know if those kinds of videos have that effect anymore.

R406 It's a threesome with him, his boyfriend below, and some third guy.

R407 I'm pretty sure it was him. We analyzed the moles and they were all the same. He's the top in the video. Also, it was removed from PornHub pretty quickly when it first leaked. I tried uploading it myself, and got some sort of licensing request to take it down.

Mike looks like a real douchebag in those Instagram pics.

I have heard on multiple occasions that JAJ is seriously hung

r399 is it that he can't shake his contemporary persona?

George Hearn was with Betsy Joslyn who played his daughter in Sweeney Todd.

And Cariou was with Betty Bacall.

If we're just talking about singing, Karen Morrow was a brilliant Rose and probably the best vocalist to tackle the role since Merman. Unfortunately, it looks like someone just wandered in and filmed an early dress rehearsal. Her acting is fucking awful. I've seen the entire video and there's barely one good line reading.

It's so weird when someone can't land any of Rose's lines. They're not funny, sad, scary, sexy, pushy, pathetic...none of it. I used to think it was a fool proof role, too, but after seeing people like Morrow, Lavin, Buckley, and Feldshuh in the role, I realized that, if one is miscast in that role, you're in for a looooooong evening. It's certainly not a slight on them personally, as they've been brilliant in so many other things - I just don't think they were good fits for Rose.

Yes, agree that WAVERLY GALLERY is slight, but I'm glad I saw it. Really luxury casting to see those five actors in this play. But boy was it depressing!!

Dolores Gray was a really good Rose -- thrilling vocals and she acted it well too. I saw her do it in stock, but she followed Lansbury in London too.

[quote]I'm pretty sure it was him. We analyzed the moles and they were all the same.

I remember the analysis, and I agree. I just meant that I don't think a sex tape would be enough to derail anyone's career if their face isn't clearly visible in the tape.

JAJ has a Broadway gig, which is still a fine credit. But try getting agent or casting directors to go to "Phantom" at this point is almost like a British actor trying to get one of those to see him in "The Mousetrap" in London. They're not going to see that again.

[quote]We analyzed the moles

To distill the Datalounge into one phrase is quite a feat.

[quote] I didn't know there were no natives in this version until I read [R62]'s post

It's practically BLACKFACE to have African-American actors play AFRICANS!!

WHY doesn't Equity put stop to this??

A convicted rapist who went to jail then went on to play the Phantom so, no, I don't think sex tapes hurt actors.

Miss Gray's Turn.....

[quote]JAJ has a Broadway gig, which is still a fine credit. But try getting agent or casting directors to go to "Phantom" at this point is almost like a British actor trying to get one of those to see him in "The Mousetrap" in London. They're not going to see that again.

Yes. Who knows, maybe he has a project or two in development and he just wants a good, steady pay check in the meantime. His last job I know of was in "Fire and Air" at CSC, a really bad play by Terrence McNally that nevertheless had some good people in it, including Marin Mazzie in what I believe was her final performance.

Did anybody here see Leslie Uggams in Gypsy? (Connecticut, was it?) Couldn't turn up anything on YouTube other than "sneak peeks". Just wondering if she was any good. She certainly has the pipes for Mama Rose.

There's an audio bootleg of Dolores Gray in GYPSY from, I believe, 1982. She clearly went on while sick based on the vocals. However, she's another one who shaved the edges off the character and her line delivery is slooooowww. I believe she had memory problems from at least late middle age. There are 1970s bootlegs from separate cabaret shows and she forgets lyrics both times. She sings a bit of "Some People" on one and sounds glorious. That said, there's plenty of bite to her Rose's Turn monologue - paraphrased though it may be - from the London Palladium, so maybe she was better when in full health. However, she also had vocal problems on her opening night in the Lansbury production.

I love Karen Morrow's voice. I think she's quite charming in the restaurant excerpt. However, some of her acting in the other parts is downright embarassing. The lollipops etc. "breakdown peaking through" section the Act 1 Finale... is basically community theatre in the acting department. Her gestures and physicality in much of the video do not suggest a seasoned actress.

There's a video on YouTube of Morrow singing "As Long As Needs Me" from the Jimmy Dean Show. Beautiful voice but she doesn't connect. She even smiles at one point in that old school "charm" way and it's very offputting.

There's also a video of "I Don't Want to Know" from the 90s, where there's no vulnerability. She doesn't let you in...

Lest I seem to be trashing her, there was a nice, understated "It Never Entered My Mind" from British TV on YouTube. It may have been pulled, though.

[quote]...there's plenty of bite to her Rose's Turn monologue - paraphrased though it may be - from the London Palladium,

Plenty of bite? That's one way to describe it....

Her line readings are rather... studied but I love the way she whines Louise's "I thought you did it for me, Mama". She's not a bitch on the bootleg I've heard - a North Shore engagement, IIRC.

Hal Prince loves JAJ so maybe the Phantom gig was a “master’s favorite” type bone throw, sadly he is beyond horrible in the role, acting AND singing a real misfire, but Ben Crawford isn’t really any better as the Phantom, he’s lost at sea as well. I think JAJ has a new BF with an ass that won’t quit, saw them making out on 8th Ave.

Sorry, I don't "get" the Karen Morrow clip. In some parts she doesn't even sing in time with the orchestra.

That clip of Gray is fantastic! Even though the monologue is paraphrase-y as fuck, it's pretty powerful and one of the most interesting and committed versions I've ever heard. I'm also obsessed with how she doesn't land on the right note on her final note, but scoops into it.

I heard the audio bootlegs of Gray at North Shore I think and she must have been under the weather, because it wasn't terribly good. I'm always fascinated by performers who can do a song or scene out of context of a production and nail it and then aren't terribly good in an actual production of the show. Bad directing maybe? Sometimes, actors will go along with a director's idiotic idea just to make them happy even if it goes against their better instincts.

I didn't see Uggams as Rose, but I heard a bootleg of her and it sounded fine. She wasn't terribly funny and seemed to play it too seriously (as many keep doing as the years go on), but she sang it well.

I think Morrow is/was pretty self-aware about her career trajectory. I can't remember exactly how she put it.

Even veteran actors can be thrown off course quite easilty. Compare the dialogue on the Kennedy Center/Broadway recording of FOLLIES to an audience recording. Same production, same time frame.

I saw Beth Leavel in GYPSY last summer at The Muny, and if she had any TV Q, that production should have transferred. Her real life boyfriend was Herbie, and the girl who played Louise was brilliant. Totally erased the ridiculousness of Patti's barking performance for me.

Some audio of Uggams. Not too bad.

Hey, what about me? I played Rose!

I thought Leavel was awful in that Muny Gypsy. Amateur level acting and the worst Rose’s Turn and Everything’s Coming Up ever.

Was Beth Leavel good in the role? It seemed like she'd be one of the first Roses in awhile to actually get the comedy of the role.

Was the infamous “Get a feathered hat for the baby” moment Uggams or Moreno?

Miss Leavel....

There's an interview with Morrow on itsdlevy.me , and yes, she seems to have no illusions about her career.

Beth Leavel seems to have the ferocious thing down pat. I wish there was more of her performance documented somewhere. Wasn't she doing it around the same time Carolee Carmello was doing it in Sacramento? I've only heard her do "Everything's Coming Up Roses", but she sounded great.

[quote]Hal Prince loves JAJ so maybe the Phantom gig was a “master’s favorite” type bone throw

I think it’s JAJ who is throwing Hal the bone ...

Morrow says essentially the same thing about Hal Prince in that intervew with David Levy as LuPone said in the Guardian.

Ugh, Leavel sounds just dreadful on that tape, both her voice and the way she’s acting it. The director who encouraged her to do that should be shot.

Miss Carolee.....

Miss Carolee.....

I thought the broken record "feathered hat..." was Lainie Kazan...

If only Susan Johnson had done Rose at some point and recorded it! A great voice, though she was usually typecast as a waitress or the owner of a saloon in her career. She usually sounded real friendly, but it's an open question of what kind of acting range she had. But I would've loved to have heard her in the role.

Susan Johnson did play Rose.

A few years back, there was an article on BWW about a regional theatre where the owner's archive of production recordings were set to be exposed tp the public - but not online, in person only - at a library in the town, perhaps. One of the recordings mentioned was Susan Johnson starring in... a Merman show. It was either GYPSY or AGYG.

God, I wish Gypsy had never been written.

Who the hell are you? MockingbirdGirl?

I'm watching an episode of Naked City with not only the divine Miss Natwick but also the ebullient Miss Bulifant!

Did the ebullient Miss Bulifant get to play Rose? Likr, maybe in dinner theatre.

Karen Morrow and Susan Johnson had exactly the same singing voice.

Both brilliant and neither became a star.

No, I think Susan's voice was warmer. Karen was a bit more towards the pushy. Both great belters though. Dolores Gray had a huge voice, apparently bigger than Merman's back in the day, but she had a very creamy, lush sound to it as well when she wanted to.

Kelly Garrett was a great belter as well but her career never went anywhere.

She was fired from "Mack and Mabel". I think she was on a tv reboot of "Your Hit Parade" as well that featured Chuck Woolery?

To show you how much of star Patti LuPose is not.....This video documentary of her life has been on youtube for 5 years, and it is has a whopping 15,000 views.

No one cares.

R457, she was regularly featured on this show called "Musical Chairs" which featured Broadway performers doing bits of songs and the contestants had to figure out the rest of the lines. She also did a show called Headliners with David Frost which was a current events type show. It was produced by her then boyfriend.......Roger Ailes! I didn't know she'd been around for almost a decade when she got fired from Mack and Mabel. Like many others, her voice didn't translate to recordings.

I didn't think she was all that hot -- she was pretty, but I thought with all these appearance she must be shtupping someone.

Hey! I got fired FIRST!!!

Patti's son Josh filmed all those Patti documentaries and apparently also filmed a Jim Steinman tribute concert which is on the same account and has Jeremy Jordan's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" clocking nearly 800,000 views, among others (Josh Young at 70K, Ellen Foley at 20K). The most any of the Patti vids have is 90K (when she reprised the SUNSET songs for the first time). All the vids are great (especially the Steinman concert).

Beth Leavel's Gypsy was funny, warm and then terrifying. Well worth the trip.

Forgot to mention, DL Fave Instatwunk Jeff O'Donnell (aka Mrs. Taylor J. Phillips) is Jeremy's backup singer in that clip (he and the girl with him remain unscathed, though the other two are less appreciable).

is Tyce Green back in everyone's good graces?

[quote]Chita was definitely a smoker for many years.

Not after she gave birth to Lisa, she wasn't. Lisa had asthma as a small child, and per Dr.'s orders, Chita quit cold turkey. When she saw the improvement it made in her life, she never went back even when Lisa was grown. That's why her voice held out a lot longer than Gwen's did. Gwen had almost nothing left vocally by Chicago (though she maneuvered around it pretty well). Chita kept her pipes in good shape through at least the early to mid 2000s, though it was pretty much gone by The Visit.

[quote] Kelly Garrett was a great belter as well but her career never went anywhere.

That's because she had a kindergarten-level acting ability. Couldn't move much, either.

I don't know about Leslie, Rita, or Lainie, but Liza has the best jazz hand for "Get a feathered hat for the baby".

[quote]Both brilliant and neither became a star.

Well, in Johnson's case, her career was derailed by a series of tragedies (a bad motor scooter accident, a fire which destroyed her NY apartment, her husband coming out as gay right after their daughter was born). That and the thickest legs this side of Totie Fields. Susan definitely had a "character" look. Karen Morrow was much more attractive in her prime. She delivered a spectacular "I'm Still Here" in the fabled Long Beach "Follies," and she looked beautiful and glamorous. It was the best "I'm Still Here" since Yvonne De Carlo's.

Another role that Karen was spot-on for

The high belt on this is very, very good. And when did this guy turn into a hottie? I could do without the baseball cap, but damn. (There's also a clip on YouTube of a very good Later.)

What the fucking fuck is going on with those backup singers?

I posted the above as a follow-up to r462.

Josh Young sang Linda Eder's "Bring On the Men" at one of those "Broadway Backwards" concerts for Broadway Cares. Some straight guys, like Tony Yazbeck, for instance, have a great time doing a female song and singing, in effect, "gay" versions at those benefits, but Young was clearly uncomfortable with it.

Carol Hall is dead to me. I wonder what was on her iPod.

Aaron Tveit was also no fun when he did "Take Me or Leave Me" with Gavin Creel.

David Burtka and his Plus One were more fun doing the same number several years before.

But they weren't as hot.

Burtka is obese.

Tveit isn't hot to me at all. Never was.

Miss Johnson.....

Danielle Ferland (sp?) IS Susan Johnson!

So who exactly is meant to be forcing these guys to do songs they don't want to at Broadway Backwards?

Well, there's a certain cachet to doing a number there, and of course, there's the goal of pitching in and helping raise money for BC/EFA. But some straight guys are not threatened by the whole routine (Tony Yazbeck's "Forget About the Boy" comes to mind, as well as "Hot Honey Rag") while others aren't able to get away from the "does this make me look gay?" thing. Josh Young was in the latter camp.

Danielle Ferland, ready for that Susan Johnson biopic.

R482 So he could've chosen a different song, that is unless someone forced him to do Bring On the Men, so who is it who forced him to? Who forced Tveit to do Take Me As I Am?

Who said they were forced? They may have been game but got cold feet onstage. It's not like these one offs have much rehearsal.

I tihink the Susan Johnson recording referenced above was AGYG and the audio archive is at a theatre in Cincinnati.

R485 Or you two are seeing something that isn't there. Tveit's done a number of women's songs and doesn't change lyrics, so doesn't seem like he has a problem. And Bring on the Men would've taken some rehearsal just to get the steps right.

I've heard the backup singers in the Steinman concert were a last-minute add-on and not really wanted, but the show went on. They just weren't prepared, obviously. Honestly, Steinman's songs are probably the hardest pop catalogue to perform so it's astonishing how well they made it work given time constraints. It's especially striking to see how effective the performers were doing the songs... Steinman himself had casting/arrangement approval, besides making a rare appearance at the shows, and he provided many tweaks to new songs (note in Josh Young's "Making Love" there is a totally new verse, ditto the "Anything For Love" rewrite involving Ellen Foley). Justin Sargent is another stud who deserves a better career. Gotta love Ellen Foley cougar-ing him.

Except those back up singers were requested by Steinman as they'd backed Jeremy Jordan in the original clip that got attention. So they got to sing terribly behind Jeremy Jordan on at least two separate occasions.

I said Tveit was no fun opposite Creel. Is that really an opinion that needs to be challenged? Post the clip if you like. I'm not interested in defending my opinion.

Facts, R489. I think if it was just Jeff and the girl with him it would've been fine, the other two are what made it muddy/pitchy/messy.

[quote]So who exactly is meant to be forcing these guys to do songs they don't want to at Broadway Backwards?

It's all fun and games when you're tweaking with Miss Roth. But reality bites you in the ass when you come down and realize you signed a contract to sing a woman's song in front of a bunch of eldergays with camera phones.

Also, Steinman wrote on FB that his fav performance besides Ellen Foley (his muse) was the new "Holding Out For A Hero" that Jessica Hendy did. It's very Stevie Nicks arrangement-wise (which I guess was the point)... but, amazing vocals. Girl can sing. Good for her to at least be matinee Grizabella in CATS last year, but she deserves better. Didn't she replace Idina in AIDA, too?

R380 / R382 -- Thanks for chiming in on Phantom. I thought initially I was being a little harsh on it but 10 minutes in, when I realized it wasn't about to get any better, I began admiring the shape of the physical production, the updated lighting and David Lai's soulful conducting of one of the largest orchestras on B'way -- despite him getting absolutely nothing back from the performers on stage. (That's the real marvel here!) I agree that the minute Cam and ALW decided to start casting a younger, 'sexier' (WTF?) Phantom that the gothic romance and 'other-worldliness' of the role went out of the window. I think it also really hurt the already-flawed movie version.

The Phantom *should* convincingly be a father-figure to Christine in age and gravitas...it's actually prescribed in the lyrics for chrissake! McGillin had this quality -- and yet could amp into the crazed outcast too. (I would agree his passagio has a distinctive mix-y/breath-y/hoot-y thing going on but I've actually always dug that quality) They really need to stop casting these bland CCM cookie cutter grads and go back to the original concept. While Crawford was definitely an eerie tenor, his subsequent replacements were actually darker/dramatic baritones like Tim Nolen, Steve Barton, Davis Gaines. Gaines in particular was super effective in Los Angeles for years (even if some of the upper range was a little 'pinched'). Phantom caught on because of it's romance, and it's devoid of it presently. FWIW, the audience I was with refused to stand...which was refreshing!

Broadway needs to do a show based on Atlantis Morissette.

No. No, it doesn't.

LA did a musical revue years and years back on Joni Mitchell. She loved it and said she wanted to write a Broadway show because of it. Hinton Battle and Ren Woods were in it.

Isn't there already one called Jagged Little Pill?

What was the concept of this number? The chorus girls underline that the number is lacking a Lorelei. And he's dressed like the chorus boys... Is he supposed to be a Tiffany's shopbottom?

[R471] I couldn't take my eyes off Josh Young when he played Che in the Evita tour several years ago.

(Josh starts at 3:15 if you don't care to watch the entire clip.)

JAJ has the bad sick....

"Broadway needs to do a show based on Atlantis Morissette."

And call it, what? You Oughta Row?

Someone said that they thought the director of Company would have been able to cast whomever she pleased and then someone else said that the composer always has the right of approval and then someone else said just because he has a right of approval doesn't mean he's going to get who he really wants and then someone else said that's exactly what Patti's point is. If you don't understand that conversation, you're stupid.

R435 FASCINATING that Joyce deHalfWitt has played Rose!! Can Suzanne Somers be lured to Vegas to costar as Louise?? WhatsHisName who played Larry (?) can take the role of Herbie (?)

Of course, some new, fresh face as June will make it all cutting edge [italic]au courant.[/italic] And maybe they’ll even INVEST in order to share the stage with these legends??

A 71-year-old Louise is a great idea.

I guess that WOULD be potentially awkward if they hired a real-life ingenue like CZJ as June[bold] : (

[quote] And call it, what? You Oughta Row?

Atlantis Rediscovered!

[quote]Hal Prince loves JAJ

Can't imagine what he sees in him....

Oh, and....

[quote]tihink the Susan Johnson recording referenced above was AGYG

But she did do GYPSY. I’ve seen a picture, probably on one of those FB groups, of her doing “Rose’s Turn.”

[quote] Can't imagine what he sees in him....

Hopefully nothing because his face looks like inbred hillbilly.

[quote]FASCINATING that Joyce deHalfWitt has played Rose!

I know people here are snobs but my friend recently Joyce in "Nunsense" and says she was good. Like Sally Struthers who gets no respect here either, they are both funny stage performers.

Sally Struthers was actually incredibly funny as Dolly, even if she wasn't the world's best singer. It's not like she was being asked to sing Evita.

Mike millan isn’t very attractive. Is that really the best Jay AJ and his huge package could do?

[quote]his face looks like inbred hillbilly.

A huge cock can make up for a multitude of facial sins.

R515, While you were rotting away on your deathbed, Bogie, I was riding Sinatra's huge salami in the next room.

[quote]Broadway needs to do a show based on Atlantis Morissette.

Chrissy Metz IS Atlantis!

[quote]Going back to Woman on the Verge, Danny Burstein’s mother is Costa Rican, but I don’t think any other leading players in that show were of Spanish or Latin descent. Speaking of him, he seems very low-key normal, particularly in comparison to most actors. What is he like in real life?

Pretty much as you describe him, r402. Very sweet, down to earth guy, wonderful to work with. I have done a few shows with him, and he seems to get along with everyone.

R518, Danny will finally win a Tony when Moulin Rouge opens on Broadway.

No, he won't, R519. If Aaron and Karen "I can't dance peoples!" Olivo make it to Broadway, they are only Tony bait. Burstein doesn't even get "Like A Virgin" as in the movie. Yet. Please.

If they can throw Gavin a career Tony for Dolly, they can do the same for Burstein

Was just listening to Liz Callaway’s solo album The Story Goes On, which is pretty terrific. She’s got a great voice, but she’s never really had a star-making role. I’ve never seen her onstage. Can she act?

and exactly who are you taking to task, r503? I realize it's early in the day, but I'm confident that at the end yours will have been the stupid post I've read.

only on DL could the swollen package photo in r509 be immediately followed by a "but she did do Gypsy" comment.

You all know that Karen Ziemba played rose a few years ago. How was she?

Joyce DeWitt was surprisingly good in Gypsy, low rent production at Bucks County Playhouse but her Act One was especially solid.

I understand she pulled out her banjo during Rose's Turn, r525.

Nene Leakes was the best Rose I've ever seen. She did speak/sing her musical numbers, and her acting was inappropriate and over the top for the most part, but boy, did she nail the character of Rose.

Surprised that some director hasn't cast Gypsy as the story of a mother who forces her son into show business by making him a drag queen.

The video is annoying, but this is a great rendition of a great song.....

If Marianne Elliott reads this board, it might happen.^^

R520 has not seen the show, R519 has.

Len Cariou was also fucking Roberta Maxwell back when they worked the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Way before Roberta crept out of her closet.

Would a black version of Gypsy ever make it to Broadway?

[quote]Len Cariou was also fucking Roberta Maxwell back when they worked the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Way before Roberta crept out of her closet.

Maybe's Len's fucking is WHY Roberta decided to creep out of her closet.

Stick to GRIND, Tonya.

R534, actually, Pearl Bailey would have been a hell of a Rose.

Here ya go, r537!

[quote] Esparza as Hamlet? Good grief.

indeed, quelle horreur!

any word on The Lifespan of A Fact? presumably neither Danny nor Bobby show dong.

Cherry shows scrotum.

R540, I had lunch with someone this week who saw it. He said he liked it a lot.

I saw The Ferryman last night. 3 hours but really great. The audience went wild - immediate standing ovation. Could win tons of awards if anyone remembers it in the Spring.

I guess Leslie Uggams is, so far, the only major black name who's played Rose so far. I know some will sneer that it's not historically accurate, but neither is the book. It's called a musical FABLE after all. I don't see why Rose can't be black. Just not fucking Audra McDonald, please. No one wants to hear Rose sing in head voice.

Can Viola Davis sing? Octavia Spencer? With our luck, we'll end up with that awful Jennifer Hudson or that mean, white-hating bitch Cynthia Errivo.

Len Cariou not only fucked Roberta Maxwell, he married her.

[quote]I know some will sneer that it's not historically accurate

Historical accuracy really doesn't have to be considered. There were black entertainers in the time period and they suffered when vaudeville began to wind down. I think some hotshot director might make the mistake of taking the story away from Rose and Louise and try to focus it on the dangers of performing on the Chitlin' Circuit. The story can play with black actors exactly as written. Don't try to make it about a black woman empowered or how black performers were victims.

I think that's the big problem with these concepts and reimaginings of classic shows. Don't change a fucking word, people. If you want to cast a trans sex worker of color in the role of Gypsy Rose Lee, do it, but don't make it into something it never was. Don't make it about the plight of trans sex workers of color. That's not what the story is about. I hate seeing that kind of bullshit. Cast whoever you want if they're able to transform into the character, but don't change draw a big arrow to the performer as if saying "aren't we inclusive and brave to cast this person?" That's one of the main reasons I didn't care for that last Glass Menagerie production with a legit handicapped Laura. That's not the character, people.

I wonder if Tonya Pinkins would play Mama Rose the way she played Mother Cour---oh, wait.

Handicapped Laura was worse than Laura oozing out of the sofa cushions in the other production, but both were very misguided directorial decisions.

A chorus boy once told me that it was rumored that Susan Johnson was a nympho, that she had to be fucked during intermission of her shows in order to get through the second act. Love that story.

Company photos

Would you rather the sofa cushions had oozed out of Laura, r550?

Who’s the cute nerdy guy on the park bench in the Company photos? Is that "Kathy"? I’m assuming he doesn’t do Tick Tock.

There are more colors in those Company costumes than NYC has seen since 1957.

R553, Chrissy Metz IS Laura in Glass Menagerie 2020.

Chrissy Metz IS a streetcar named Desire!

I'm loving the sets and costumes for Company. Is it just me or does Rosalie Craig look like Cate Blanchett a bit?

She does, sort of. I wish I could see this.^^

[quote] Burtka is obese.

His ass is phat, not fat

I loathe show curtains (let alone actual sets) that feature the title of the show. I sorta get how that kind of meta technique can work in a show like Company, but it still feels tacky to me.

Roberta Maxwell played Jill in the NY premiere of EQUUS opposite DL should-be-fave Peter Firth, so a lot of NY saw an awful lot of both of them back in the 70s.

Liz Calloway’s wheelhouse is jazz and she is exquisite there. As soon as she sings theatre songs, she becomes studied and boring with none of her daring.

you mean her sister r563

BFF saw Company in London last night. He said he thought the staging was a little weird at first because the scenes take place in boxes around the stage but then got used to it and thought the way they staged it ended up being inventive. He hated that the only color on stage was in the costumes. He thought Rosalie Craig was very good. Very natural in her performance. He hated the way the guy who sang Not Getting Married Today performed the song. Way too queeny and over the top. He said that the guy who sang Another Hundred People sang it slowed down and he didn’t care for that. The guy who plays Joanne’s husband wasn’t very good, according to him. He found the whole gender switching very interesting but wasn’t completely sold on the premise. Too many line changes and he said they dropped some dialogue. Patti was fantastic and he said the audience loved her. Every laugh line she had was met with huge laughs from the audience. He really enjoyed her performance and he’s not a huge Patti fan. Overall, he said he liked the show except for a few performers in it. He said he could see it playing a short run on Broadway like they are doing in London but they have to have a really good actress as Bobbie (Bobby).

That would be ME, then! I’ve even played FLOTUS!

Fuck gender-bending . Get your own show.

r567 We did.

A very nice Barbara Harris tribute...

I don't think I want to see the Cats movie now that I know Taylor Swift is in it. I get that she's only playing one of the Macavity girls, but still. The music isn't written for her country twang. I guess if some friend drags me to see it, I'll get up and go take a piss when that song comes on.

I wonder if Scarlett Johansson would do COMPANY: #metoo Edition. She's the right age... they'd need a *BIG* star and she's been desperate to do a musical for a while (ALW courted her for SOUND OF MUSIC before the reality show and she was also in final running for LES MIZ movie). She just bought a house in upstate NY and obviously is in deep with Colin Jost, so to do a short run on Broadway (with potential to win another Tony) might be alluring to her. I can see her working in the role. She's not the greatest singer ever, but I think she could be a great fit. I know DL hates her, but I think that could be something special.

or Amy Adams, just don't give her a Wilma Flintstone wig like they did in awful Central Park "Into the Woods".

I think we all know who the perfect Bobbi for Company is. Someone who has emotional depth, someone who is early 30s, someone who has carried both Broadway and West End musical leading roles.

LOL! R573, I was gonna say (jokes aside)... CZJ would be an amazing Joanne. Stritch was 7 years younger than her when she did it originally. And, you know she would kill "Ladies Who Lunch" and the nightclub/disco scene. I wonder if she'd do it? If you had Scarlett/Amy and CZJ it would sell out instantly. Even Scarlett/Amy with Patti would be gangbusters. West End is one thing, but on Broad-way it has gotta be a "STAH" to play Bobbi if they're gonna reinvent the wheel like this revival purports. I'd even settle for Audra, actually (Rosalie's understudy is black) so perhaps her?

R538 that is FANTASTIC! She’s so loose and powerful and natural, all at the same time.

Thanx : )

The only thing I’ve ever seen Pearl Bailey perform is in the movie CARMEN JONES, with her big number at the [bold]33:00 mark [/bold]HERE:

The trend of directors to experiment with gender bending is starting to get tedious. For the most part, it just doesn't work. A good example of this can be seen at this year's Stratford Festival with female main characters in Julius Caesar and a total waste of money clusterfuck called A Comedy of Errors. Oh look how forward thinking we are! Hey, how about a female Bobby in Company? Yes, we'll show everybody how intellectual and daring we are! Bullshit. If you're going to do it, make sure that it with a purpose, not just doing it for its own sake. Or, how about we encourage writers to write plays for women that's not just a musical about ceasing menstruation.

Shakespeare is dead, R576. And, all the female roles were played by boys originally anyway.

Sondheim himself rewriting COMPANY (book, music and lyrics) gives this production a special meaning, love it or hate it... especially in the #metoo era, with him at 88. I think Audra would be a great choice and guarantees her Tony #9 (10?). I don't know if they will even transfer it, but it would be foolish to not do so... whomever they cast as Bobbi/Joanne. Given that Audra and Patti are famous friends, having done umpteen Ravinia productions together of almost all of Sondheim's oeuvre, it's not a fantasy. I guess money/timing will count most. I think the female director/female Bobbi/gender-bended cast gives it a good shot, plus if Audra does it you cross racial lines too. It's an easy win.

I have always wanted to see KING LEAR redone with Kathy Bates, or some powerful dame. There was a famous version like that around 1990 (?) that was set in the south. I think the Fool actor got great reviews, along w/ Lear.

I just don’t want to see yet another craggy old blowhard man in that chestnut. The great thing about reimagining the casting in these classics is it makes it bearable to sit through yet another revival, seeing different concepts and interpretations.

R578 You'll get your wish, Glenda Jackson is bringing her Lear to Broadway next year. Got rave reviews in London.

The age difference between Audra and Patti is pretty close. And while you can fudge about Bobby/ie being 35, s/he really can’t be 50.

[quote]The age difference between Audra and Patti is pretty close. And while you can fudge about Bobby/ie being 35, s/he really can’t be 50.

Black don't crack, honky!

I’m not white, and you look every one of your 48 years.

The theatre world, like the rest of society, has gone stark-raving mad.

Really enjoyed "The Lifespan of a Fact" this evening. Radcliffe, Jones and Cannavale all very good.

[quote] Speaking of him, he seems very low-key normal, particularly in comparison to most actors. What is he like in real life?

I knew Danny at the very beginning of his NYC theater career and he was the sweetest, kindest person. He'd give you the shirt of his back. Got reacquainted with him after the marriage to Rebecca Luker and the first Tony nomination and boy had he changed. Very "theater people trip" (as Sandra Bernhard would put it). Completely fake and annoying. I was sort of surprised because it took him a damn long while to achieve the (well deserved) success he's had and when that happens to people later in their career they usually take it in stride a bit better. I'm not saying he's not grateful for it or that he's a monster, but his incessant humblebragging will drive any sane person up a wall.

I don't think The Waverly Gallery is such a head scratcher being on Broadway. The past few Lonergan revivals on Broadway have been very successful, and he seems to have found his new muse in Michael Cera so it would seem to follow they'd keep going.

Reply 586: Yes, on paper. But the play is weak, and anyone could play the nothing part Cera is in. I gather word is out: the mezzanine was half empty Thursday night. This play won’t run, even if Elaine May gets raves.

I also enjoyed “The Lifespan of a Fact.” But even putting aside the terrible title (which is obscure, complicated yet forgettable) this play treats a provocative theme in a very shallow way. Cherry Jones, Daniel Radcliffe and Bobby Cannavale are all fine, very watchable, I was never bored. But by the last third (the play is less than 90 minutes with no intermission) I realized they were not going to really deal with any of the serious issues about journalistic “truth” which were raised in any serious way. Ten minutes before it ended I had a sinking feeling I knew how it was going to wrap up and I was correct (unfortunately). It’s much ado about nothing with a name cast that is completely wasted.

[quote]Sondheim himself rewriting COMPANY (book, music and lyrics) gives this production a special meaning, love it or hate it

I agree that Sondheim's active involvement in the rewriting makes this a special revisal, but not necessarily in a good way. Some people might actually have more negative feelings towards this revisal than, for example, that godawful PORGY AND BESS precisely because one of the original creators hopped on board for a reconception of the show that's ridiculous on the face of it.

Oh, and...seeing how Sondheim came out so strongly against that PORGY because those arrogant fools decided to rewrite Gershwin and Heyward, I wonder if he stopped to think or if he even cares that George Furth might be rolling over in his grave over this gender-switched COMPANY nonsense.

My guess is that he both stopped to think AND cares what Furth might feel about the revisal. They were very close friends.

At the very least, Sondheim was in a position to reckon how Furth might feel about those changes because they worked together on the original and, as pointed out by r590, they were close friends. Paulus and company had nothing but the foolishness of arrogance to guide them.

R589 Company is the worst piece of dreck no matter what incarnation.

For fans of stage nudity, Mike Faist (from the original cast of Dear Evan Hansen) gets naked for a few minutes in Second Stage’s Days of Rage. He is revealed sleeping naked on a couch and jumps up. He keeps his back to the audience but he’s got a cute smooth butt that he jiggles as he hops around. He pulls on his boxers, and you get a glimpse of his big balls.

R579 They are not bringing the British production of Lear with Glenda Jackson to New York. It will be a completely new production with a different director and creative team.

R594 I didn't realise that - seems ridiculous to reinvent the wheel, especially given how well received the London production was.

Betty White is the NYC Lear.

She's doing the musical version at Encores, r596.....

I think Company should be rewritten to include three Bobbies. One young Bobbi, one middle aged Bobbi and one old Bobbi. It would really open the story up.

What COMPANY really needs is.....

Bajour

Bajour: The Sequel