THEATRE GOSSIP #326: Here's to the Ladies Who Munch Edition

Thank you, OP.

Is Roberta Maxwell in 'Company" too?

Didn’t Roberta Maxwell die ascending to her palatial and unfairly rent-subsidized digs in the sky?

Phantom of the Opera?

Jan Maxwell could have played Joanne, but Heaven needed another rent stabilized angel.

You're awful, R5.

Marry me, r5.

Jan got that rent-stabilized flat as revenge for hearing all the time growing up "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha"!

Jan really would have been a killer Joanne. Sometimes, I get really angry that she died so young. I had a feeling that she'd be one who'd croak on stage at age 96 while giving a brilliant performance.

Saw The Inheritance in London this week - incredible play, literary and intelligent and, at 7 hours, long! Some more political speeches have been added since the Young Vic version was published (one comparing Trump to AIDS got huge applause).

Timothee Chalamet was at the opening night photographed with one of the leads - funny because he’s named in the play during an argument (“Timothee Chalamet, Ben Platt and Lucas Hedges all turned down that part before you got it!”)

Any buzz on a New York transfer?

Have the black characters now been given more to do other than snap their fingers while 'Hey gurrl-ing', R10? Is the line 'I was temporarily HIV+' still in it?

While I hate to shit on something that clearly brings a lot of other people a great amount of joy, I *LOATHED* The Inheritance at the Young Vic. I thought it was nothing more than SEVEN HOURS of white nonsense of worst kind. It's message seems to be that one can only achieve empathy and an awareness of history when you INHERIT A FUCKING ESTATE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK. Oh, please.

My eyeballs still haven't quite recovered from all the eye-rolling. And I hated the turgid, cheap, cloying, undeserved finale of the first part with a burning rage.

I saw The Inheritance at The Young Vic last spring and I'm seeing it again when I visit London in a few weeks. Brilliant production. Can't Wait!!

Oh, and also, Company. Really can't wait!

Any other theater recommendations from those over there? Has the play about Hans Christian Andersen (by Martin McDonough, I think) opened at The Bridge yet? What's the buzzzzzzzzz?

What kind of role would be suitable for either Timothée or Ben or Lucas? Or Ben or anybody at all?

Ben Platt is cancer

DC is normally a theatre backwater (the last big thing to start here was... Bernie/Follies?), but this year DC has been really killing it. The recent How to Succeed was great and miles more sensible than the Radcliffe revival. Beetlejuice is a fun rollicking good time. Dave was fine, but just isn't really going to fly in the current political climate. I went to see the Cheek by Jowl Russian language Measure for Measure on Friday, and it was by far the best production of Shakespeare I've seen since... before the Sir Ian King Lear. The exchange about nobody believing a woman who would claim a politician raped her was absolutely harrowing in a way that was absolutely unbelievable a 400 year old play could be so topical. The show got 5 curtain calls. When was the last time that happened for a play, let alone one as disregarded as Measure for Measure?

r15, if I'm not mistaken, Dear Evan Hansen started at Arena Stage.

Plenty of great theater in DC all the time. R15 is just wrong

Agree, r17. I rarely feel deprived.

[quote]Plenty of great theater in DC all the time. [R15] is just wrong

Agreed. That was a really weird comment on R15's part.

Yeah with the line about Ben, Timothee and Lucas I did think the same thing.

I do wonder if Chalamet would be considering the role of Adam/Leo (one a rich up and coming actor and the other a prostitute). The guy playing the role in London is in amazing shape with a great cock. His understudy is a very skinny twink.

Anyone have an update on how Tootsie is doing in Chicago or see DEH in Denver?

It's not doing well. Expect a failure in NYC.

R22 is that the LaChiusa fellow?

What’s the difference between The Old Vic and The Young Vic apart from the fact they’re only a few blocks away from each other?

One didn't have a famous sexual harasser running it.

I resemble that remark!

carryover from prior thread: re "The LIfespan of A Fact" liked it a lot but thought the ending was a copout. Given that it is a true story based on true events and with the actors playing real characters (Jones excepted) why the ambiguous ending? Anyone with access to the internet can find out how the real story ended, and what actually happened is more interesting than the way the play ends it.

And now.....

I saw Tootsie last week. A bit of a boring evening. Santino Fontana is great (though he channels SNL Church Lady) but the score is generic, bland, recycled and plain bad. Pity.

That's too bad. Yazbek usually writes interesting songs, and usually has some good melodies.

Santino and the hefty Cooper girl have ZERO chemistry, and her songs are truly awful. Ending needs to be fixed, overall a meh show with a terrific lead.

FALSETTOS. What was Marvin's career?

r30 I would agree with your assessment about Yazbek but not for "Tootsie." The opening number is so bad that you do not know if it irony, tongue in cheek or straight up presentation (the number seems to take place in the 80's, and we know how awful that look was). The loser girlfriend number is a copy of the Model song in Women. Some kind or rhythm and lyrics. I think the audition song is nice but they were bland, bland. Unfortunately.

Yazbek really is a wildly inconsistent composer. I thought his score for The Full Monty was bland as hell.

Tootsie got rave reviews in Chicago. The score got great reviews too, except for one song (I think the last song, whatever it is). How could it flop in NY? Even if the score isn’t great, that hasnt stopped any number of other shows from becoming hits these days.

Interesting. Those clips of Chicago must be from a runthrough out of town, because it includes the original finale where they sing “Loopin’ the Loop,” rather than “Hot Honey Rag.”

R28, I love you.

We need revivals of all the old comedy chestnuts: Charley's Aunt, Arsenic & Old Lace, The Importance of Being Earnest, Everybody Loves Opal

r39 I saw a production of curious savage where different characters were replaced by dolls and mannequins in different scenes for no apparent reason. Maybe Ivo Van Hove can take it to Broadway.

Any word on American Son?

R39, what about Life With Father? That’s never had a major Broadway revival, not even by Roundabout. I’m guessing the Lindsay/Crouse estates are the reason.

Tootsie is average like all of Broadway these days.

"Yazbek usually writes interesting songs, and usually has some good melodies. "

Um, no.

I want to see Lifespan of a Fact, but not for $169. (And they seem to have half empty houses and no discount codes and no tdf. ) Just 4 months ago a full price ticket for Three Tall Women was $130.

How far are these prices gonna keep jumping??

Roberta Maxwell hasn’t just gone lez, she’s turned into a little old man!

Um, yes, r44. I like his scores better than whatever the latest dreck by Paseck and Pitiful is, including the awful Dear Evan Hanson.

[quote]I’m guessing the Lindsay/Crouse estates are the reason.

I’m guessing the fact that no one is interested in that tired old play anymore is the reason.

R47, sorry, don't agree that Dear Evan Hansen is awful. It's a lot better than Hamilton or any of those stupid jukebox shows. It has the best score for new shows for several years.

I liked the score for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".

That rehearsal footage of the original Chicago was shot from the house without Fosse's knowledge. There is very little film of Fosse's original productions because he refused to allow it, thinking that film could not capture what he actually accomplished onstage. That Chicago footage is a treasure.

r18 I bet your favorite show is Shear Madness.

R48, you are an idiot and an ass. Life with Father is not produced because it is an exceedingly expensive play. It has a cast of 16, including several children that need to be double cast nowadays. It requires a very detailed period set and expensive period costumes. And, it requires expensive wigs because the the entire Day family are redheads. It is as expensive to produce as many small musicals. I have actually budgeted it for a regional theater. (too early in the AM to find a synonym for "expensive.)

R40, well, the use of a doll is built into the script; so, it isn't that far off. Other than the young boy, which is in the script, how else were manikins/dolls used in the play? Curious.

I saw "The Ferryman" yesterday and was completely gobsmacked by it. This is the big one this season and far and away, so much better than that Harry Potter piece of shite.

Jez Butterworth has written a modern masterpiece. The cast is uniformly excellent and Sam's direction is brilliant.

Reflected Glawry is overdue for a revival.....

[quote]I want to see Lifespan of a Fact, but not for $169. (And they seem to have half empty houses and no discount codes and no tdf. ) Just 4 months ago a full price ticket for Three Tall Women was $130.

I got a 30% discount tix at the TKS booth for this past Sat. eve. There were virtually no empty seats downstairs. Couldn't see the mezz.

Saw Betty as Dolly yesterday. Not sure she will have the stamina to do the entire tour, since she was clearly exhausted after the " Hello, Dolly" number. And this is the tour's first stop. Maybe she needs a good understudy.

Faith Prince is available

Life With Father may have a cast of 16 with several children (but only a few under 18) but currently The Ferryman has twice the cast with children and a real baby.

Life With Father, Tobacco Road, Angel Street, Arsenic and Old Lace. Have any of these record breaking runs had Broadway revivals in the last 50+ years?

Or what were we thinking back then?

Arsenic and Old Lace had a flop revival in the early 80s with Jean Stapleton and Polly Holliday.

The Girl from the North Country is great theater.

[quote]Life With Father may have a cast of 16 with several children (but only a few under 18) but currently The Ferryman has twice the cast with children and a real baby.

And a relatively simple set and costumes, plus no wigging requirements. It is like comparing apples to pancakes.

Life With Father gave those touring Gish gals some employment.....

R63, it is a shame they did not get a chance to do Arsenic and Old lace together.

Oh, indeed, r64! I wonder how Lillian's Camille was....

A friend of mine is in Network. They had their first day of rehearsals today and everybody had to be off book. Only 3 weeks rehearsal.

[quote]The Ferryman has twice the cast with children and a real baby.

Is there a feathered hat involved?

If not, r68, they better get one...get one....get one...get one...get one...

The Mo & Liz Show.....

In the London production I saw there was a real baby and a live goat (?).

From the summer stock thread, apparently Lainie Kazan was get a feathered hat for the baby. Rita Moreno's goof was... "AND ALL THE PLACES I HAD TO GO TO AND ALL THE PLACES I HAD TO GO TO AND ALL THE PLACES I HAD TO GO TO Hey June, Twenty-three SKIDOOO!"

Pretty snappy trailer.....

The Ferryman even has a live goose. And not simple sets. I don't know where the above poster got that idea.

Life With Father has never gotten a Broadway revival because it stinks. But then many cultural things that happened during WWII are questionable today.

R72 confirmed it was RIta and the 23 Skidoo! Same production that changed little lamb into a dramatic poem with underscore and where mama Rita pulled a chair out intentionally to teach her real life daughter a life lesson to pay attention onstage (daughter was cast as Gypsy) poor girl fell flat on her ass in front of a packed house.

Life with Father, Arsenic & Old Lace and similar shows are of a bygone era. They were purely commercial theater and the commercial tends to not age well....unless it's also great art.

(To be fair, both those plays are great entertainments and perfect shows for community theaters.)

Tobacco Road was just exploitative trash.

I'd think Trump voters would appreciate a Tobacco Road revival, r76!

I'm watching Route 66 guest starring Miss Julie Newmar. Standing there with Mr. Maharis....why.....I haven't seen such a height differential since Dustin and Vanessa in AGATHA!

R78, while your post is somewhat amusing, how does it fit in this thread? BTW - if we want this to be the "Ladies Who Munch" thread, I suggest an Anything Goes revival where Billy Crocker becomes Billie Crocker. Billie's a sly lez who had a sapphic fling between Hope Harcourt's legs in Central Park. She's lookin for more labia lovin - hey, a girl can Hope can't she? Billie's onboard the SS American where she crosses paths with Reno Sweeney (a big ole Mama Lez) - yes, Billie and Reno were sissor sisters for a short time, but have moved on.

The rest of the show plays out as written because Sir Evelyn Oalkey really is an Evelyn (passing herself off as a man in order for... oh who cares? It's a Cole Porter musical, so start another song and dance!

That wasn’t nearly as amusing as you think it was, r79.

But thank you for clearing up the meaning of this thread’s title. The lesbian inference was lost on me, but now I think it’s clever.

OMG, that’s Elizabeth Patterson from I Love Lucy in Tobacco Road!

And awful "songs..."

Miss Julie Newmar has been in the legitimate Theatre, r79.

r53 It was really awful. In addition to the boy/doll, there were mannequins representing each of the characters. The mannequins started out so that you thought they were just unrelated mannequins, but slowly they became more and more like different characters on stage (one of the big "moments" was the one mannequin was moved so that it appeared as though it was trying to hide its face like their was a scar), and then by the end sometimes characters would say lines directly to the mannequins.

It was a truly dumbfoundingly awful production. Curious Savage is such a strange case of a show that's probably all-in-all legitimately bad, but has some moments of wonderful writing. The "take an umbrella with you" exchange is lovely.

I haven't seen a production of Curious Savage since the early 2000's. That, The Foreigner, and Forever Plaid seemed to be in every regional theater every season for a decade, and then poof, gone.

Hey y'all, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is on TCM tonight! I wonder if it’s any good.

In fact, Miss Julie Newmar even has a Tony Award, for 'The Marriage-Go-Round' in 1959!

Still fabulous at 85!

Tisn't, r85.

Beyond fabulous, r87!

Reminding everyone how annoying Danny Kate could be.

[quote]Saw Betty as Dolly yesterday. Not sure she will have the stamina to do the entire tour, since she was clearly exhausted after the " Hello, Dolly" number. And this is the tour's first stop. Maybe she needs a good understudy.

It's part of the shtick. Bette was out of breath and stopped on the side of the stage and the chorus kept going around once without her and she rejoined the line when the came around. It was funny and staged.

I saw Julie Newmar when Encores did "Lil Abner." She was great!

R91 yup. You are correct. She is not tired. It is staged. Sheesh. Betty is great in the role.

Tobacco Road was written by Gelsey Kirkland's father.

I bet she got a kick out of doing it, r92.

It wasn't the staged part; that was obvious. tI was the scene after the number. Her voice cracked badly and it was well into the scene before she caught her breath. Maybe she has a cold. In all, the production is first rate.

I saw a production of Life With Father in the mid 1970s, with Leon Ames and Lurene Tuttle.

It was dated and dull even that long ago. I finally saw the movie a few years ago. It was better, but it’s just not an interesting story. That kind of blustering asshole like Clare is is an ancient relic.

[quote]how annoying Danny Kate could be.

Hey! “Danny Kate” was MY private name for him!

It was cheap and tacky and not at all what Dolly would be experiencing as she comes fully back to life.

How has the public response to Kong been? As tepid as Spiderman Electric Light Brigade!? Will it run just as long and lose just as much money?

If Betty can’t finish the tour, Brie Larson is still itching to bite into that role again.

[quote]Reminding everyone how annoying Danny Kate could be.

Is he the transgender Olsen triplet no one talks about?

"That kind of blustering asshole like Clare is an ancient relic...."

...whose kind still walks the earth. It's called humanity. And that's what makes drama.

I've always thought RuPaul would make the best Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Reno is a seven foot black drag queen with ATT-I-TUDE

[quote] Saw Betty as Dolly yesterday. Not sure she will have the stamina to do the entire tour, since she was clearly exhausted after the " Hello, Dolly" number.

The schedule is brutal. In Cleveland they're doing a 5-show weekend: Friday night at 7:30, Saturday at 1:30 and 7:30 and Sunday at 1 and 6:30. In Chicago there's two weeks of 9 performances. Is that even allowed?

Is that the new touring schedule? Those poor chorus boys have barely slept off their hangovers by 1:00 on Sunday.

But yeah, the huffing and puffing was staged

Although, he couldn't sing it, RuPaul really would be hilarious as Reno.

Faith Prince passed on the DOLLY tour because the offer was embarrassing. Both Sally Struthers and Andrea McArdle/and or their representatives called desperate to be seen but were rebuked.

Poor Andrea McArdle just isn't funny at all. I mean, that woman really doesn't have a funny bone in her body. Everyone always talks about Betty Buckley's infamously humor-free performance as Rose in Gypsy, but Andrea might have been worse. Not that she wasn't trying, mind you, but her timing was weird. I'd compare it to watching Cybill Shepherd on her TV show in the 90s. She was always trying SO hard that it made you cringe. She just had no idea how to land a joke, but she'd always act like she'd just landed the best punchline in the world. Andrea was like that. Very awkward. At least Betty didn't even attempt to land the jokes.

[quote]Tobacco Road was written by Gelsey Kirkland's father.

Jack Kirkland adapted Erskine Caldwell's novel "Tobacco Road" for the stage.

r108 Preach!

When you're out on the road touring, you're very happy to be busy performing, especially in a town like Cleveland, Ohio, where there's nothing to do. And you're paid well for the extra performances (beyond the usual 8/week).

Sleeping is something to do. No one has ever been happy to do an extra performance in a week.

R97, Ames and Tuttle were the parents in the Life With Father tv series in the 1950s. Are you saying they reunited for a stage production?

Fascinating. Where was this?

[quote]whose kind still walks the earth. It's called humanity. And that's what makes drama.

There's no drama in "Life With Father," and precious little comedy. Oh, will Clare ever actually get baptized?! What a dilemma! Oh, will Vinnie actually die? (That takes up about ten minutes, of course she won't). Oh, will Clarence ever fuck his cousin?

Dull, dull, dull.

All the boys in the movie, by the way, INCLUDING William Powell, dyed their hair red. No wigs. Same with all the boys in the production I saw. All the boys were the Bottoms Brothers (Joseph, Sam, can't remember if Tim was in it. How many of those were there anyway?) They all dyed their hair too.

It's not an expensive show at all - there's only one set. It's just that no one would be stupid to pump money into something no one would want to see. Oh, maybe if Hugh Jackman decided he wanted to play Clare, people would come running for six months. But that's about it.

[quote]Are you saying they reunited for a stage production?

Yes. I can't remember exactly what year, early 70s. Some theater in Santa Barbara. My junior high drama class got tickets and we came up on a bus to see a matinee. Our teacher had known Lurene Tuttle. This was not long after "Julia" so she did seem like a big star to us. Leon Ames, too, from all his movies and TV. I didn't know who the Bottomses were until much later when they started getting films.

[quote]Poor Andrea McArdle just isn't funny at all.

Being funny was the least of her problems. She simply can't act. At all. There used to be videos up on YouTube of her Mama Rose (I think most of the cast was amateur). Her big confrontation scene with Gypsy at the end was unintentionally hilarious because it was so badly acted. I'm pretty sure she's the one who had them taken down because there were so many snarky comments on all the theatre chat boards.

R115, that sounds wonderful. I used to watch the tv series when I was very young. In fact, I was obsessed with it.

Now I don't remember anything about it, except there were scenes in the backyard, which the one-set play of course doesn't have.

I guess Ames and Tuttle were a draw for audiences that recalled the tv show. Extra credit for your knowing how to make a plural out of "Bottoms."

R111, haven't been to Cleveland recently, have you?

[quote]Extra credit for your knowing how to make a plural out of "Bottoms."

Call me when you’ve got plural tops.

[quote} [R111], haven't been to Cleveland recently, have you?

I've been to Cleveland recently. It's not true that there's nothing to do. One prime example is running to protect yourself from the aggressive panhandlers and escaped mental patients.

Sounds like San Francisco.

FINALLY, a vehicle for Hugh and I! Ta, R114!

That's "Hugh and me".

Now, now. Deborra-Lee isn’t known for her brains. She’s strictly there to be my arm candy.

7 Brides for 7 Brothers has all red-headed brothers too so it would work well in rep with Life with Father.

Can anyone articulate why Life With Father was such a long-running hit back in the 1940s? What was the appeal back then?

Is Girl From The North Country really going to transfer? Good reviews aside, there doesn’t seem to be much hear behind it. Anyone hearing anything?

I can STILL play Dorcas, r125!

Lens Dunham and Chrissy Metz in Company - what roles would they play?

Miss Newmar....

Marin in King & I. THIS is how it’s done, Kelli!

Made my annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last week. One new play was such a mess it's not worth discussing. In their Sense and Sensibility, Mrs. Dashwood was caucasian, Elinor was latina, Marianne was Asian-American and Margaret was African-American (as were Col. Brandon and Edward Ferrars). Lovely production, though, and the Mrs. Jennings ran away with it. The Book of Will (about the King's Men trying to publish the collected works of Shakespeare) will have a long, long life at regional Shakespeare companies. Pretty good play (with one very good scene about Why Theatre Matters), but it's one of those plays that makes the audience feel good about themselves for getting all the Shakespeare references and "inside" jokes (see also: Shakespeare In Love, which has a better plot).

[quote]but it's one of those plays that makes the audience feel good about themselves for getting all the Shakespeare references and "inside" jokes

That's why I like the sitcom "Upstart Crow".

r132 Did you see the Bedlam production of S&S with the roller skates? Everyone raved about it, but I found it quite underwhelming. That being said I didn't like Bedlam's Twelfth Night either. It played Boston around the same time Filter Theatre's version of Twelfth Night was also touring, and Filter's was so full of life and whimsey, Bedlam's seemed staid by comparison.

Who saw TAMARA.....

I loved The Girl from the North Country, but not sure if it would do well uptown. I wish the tourists would embrace it, but it ain't Kinky Boots. It will not get them on their feet.

R129-Ottomans.

r129 In the Lens Dunham production Tick Tock will be replaced by a scene of her just standing still on stage to bring awareness to the plight of people with Fibro who every day have to deal with chronic pain and sometimes cannot move.

R134: The only production I've seen of Sense and S. is the wonderful Emma Thompson movie (perfect, except I'd recast Hugh Grant). I saw the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Pride and Prejudice a few seasons ago. Again, well-performed and designed, but it just kinda sat there. It's hard to dramatize all those letters, I guess, and it needed a director who could give the script a good shake to knock some of the Jane-ite period dust off. (My go-to page-to-stage literary adaptation is the RSC's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a production I don't think will ever be bettered. However, adaptors should feel free to steal heavily from it.)

Andrea McArdle has dead eyes. Nothing there.

I SOOOOOO wish someone would repost those clips of Andrea McArdle's Gypsy. Am I making this up or were there other people on stage during "Rose's Turn?"

Hey, someone finally reposted Tovah's panty-showing, titty-slapping "Rose's Turn." Anything is possible. People, stop hoarding your collections. Share!

Jessica Sheridan who understudied Dolly on broadway is covering Betty and playing Ernestina. When I heard she was doing the tour my first thought was 'wow, great that she'll finally get to play Dolly' because you know miss Betty will be out at some point.

Jane Austen never works for me onstage. The stories are just too episodic and light; they never quite have the bones for a great theatre story. It’ll be interesting to see if the Clueless musical has this problem.

I saw it, R135. The curry chicken and creme brulee served during intermission was divine and Jack Wetherall’s naked body was a thing of beauty. Those of us smart enough to follow him got to see him towel off in the nude. And Roma Downey was very beautiful, too.

[quote]Jessica Sheridan who understudied Dolly on broadway is covering Betty and playing Ernestina.

How old is this woman? Ernestina is probably the youngest woman in the cast and Dolly is probably the oldest. That's quite a stretch.

[quote]My go-to page-to-stage literary adaptation is the RSC's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, a production I don't think will ever be bettered.

This was excellent. I think its equal was Frank Galati's The Grapes of Wrath. Both were excellent.

I agree about Tootsie. Saw it last weekend. I sort of head-scratch at the over-the-top Tribune review. The problems are major. It's an entertaining show but it makes its own case that it doesn't in any way need to be a musical. Every time they start singing you just just down because you don't care, and you know it won't matter to your understanding of the show or the characters. And Yazbeck is in real poor form here. You have to wonder if he was really into this. The book is funny, but its like watching "Come Blow Your Horn. " You just wait for the next gag, and most of them have very little to do with Tootsie. They're all just general one-liners. Toward the end, he/she begins singing some song about how amazing and important "Dorothy" is, and you think, Really? Where was I for all that? I think it will run because it is funny at times, and we all need a good laugh now. But the whole thing ducks the idea of Tootsie.

But you can rent the original for $2.99 on streaming. Why pay $150?

[quote]Lens Dunham and Chrissy Metz in Company - what roles would they play?

Chrissy can play another hundred people.

nicely done, r149

R145 Correct me if I'm wrong, but maybe you are thinking of Ermengarde, Horace's young niece. In this production, Ernestina Money is middle aged--younger than Buckley but not the youngest.

OMG, r149. Post of the year!

Oops, you're right 151. I always think of the character as Mrs. Molloy and forgot she had a first name.

I saw "Tamara" in LA, where it played for something like four or five years before NYC. I honestly don't remember who was in it, except for Michelle Marsh, who had been Hodel in the movie of "Fiddler." She was the maid, and she was brilliant. The whole thing was exceptional, I could see why it had run such a long time. I must not have followed the chauffeur at the right time, because I don't remember a nude scene. I think. Actually, maybe I do. He was tall and handsome, that's about all I've got. Loved how at intermission we had to show our "Passports" and if you didn't get one, the brownshirts took you outside.

What's the word on Beetlejuice in D.C.?

Oh, wait, I get it. She's playing Ernestina. Geez, my mind is in a fog. I always forget the character Ernestina.

Well I should think so, R67 …rehearsal isn't a time to learn lines.

Thank you, r154! I vaguely remember Barbra letting them use 1 (or more) of her Lempickas....or am I mis-remembering....

Ariana Grande managed to make the Wicked15 reunion of Idina and Kristi-Dawn all about her. That is some high quality diva skills right there.

(But I still would rather have seen the backstage elder-witch reunions ...)

Idris Elba to play Macavity in "Cats" film:

Bedlam's Sense and Sensibility wasn't bad it just... didn't really have any need for existing? I just don't find their productions to be anything extraordinary. I saw their St. Joan while it was touring before (or perhaps after?) Condola did it, and again. It's a good play, but I didn't think Bedlam's production was all that great.

Natasha Pierre is a wonderful literary adaptation. Then again, it's adapting maybe 50 pages of a 800 page novel, so its not exactly the same thing. Fiddler, likewise, is an excellent literary adaptation, but it wisely ends with the leaving of Anatevka and omits the 4th daughter's suicide.

Speaking of having no need for existing.....Apologia at the Pels.

Some of the most annoying characters ever written.

Ugh. Sounds like I'm gonna have another shitty theater trip this week.

Torch Song (a friend went back and said it's become a total sitcom since moving to Bway with horrible over the top acting and he walked out.) The Waverly Gallery (not hearing good things) Apologia (see above) Daniel's Husband (this one i'm looking forward to as I have a friend and an acquaintance both in the cast and both are good actors.)

Are we really going to play violins for pampered actors and the horrors they endure having to do 2 performances a day occasionally? They aren’t working shifts in a coal mine or an oil rig or an assembly line for God’s sake. At most it’s a 6 hour work day. Most people would kill for those kind of job hours. Basta!

r164 And its not like Dolly! is particularly draining. Dolly herself gets tons of breaks and there's no dramatic heft so its not emotionally or physically taxing. I'd imagine having to do something like Night Mother or asking Billie Piper to do Yerma 9 times a week might be a lot to ask, but walking through the motions of Hello Betty! is not something I would describe as particularly taxing.

Performing anything twice in one day is mentally and physically exhausting

R164 Wow...it's been ages since we've had one of those "acting is soooooo easy/they aren't real workers like brick layers" kind of idiot assholes on a thread!

[quote]Fiddler, likewise, is an excellent literary adaptation, but it wisely ends with the leaving of Anatevka and omits the 4th daughter's suicide.

If it were written today, her suicide and its aftermath would take up the entire second act.

Waverly Gallery. Where is Eiledn Heckart!?!

R159 - I'm confused, I don't see Ariana Grande in that video??

Curtain call for Company

I think most people will find GIRL a bore, as I did—and I'm a Dylan fan. Also, no stars = no big audiences.

I saw "Tamara" 3 times - once following Jack Wetherall (oh, yes, that was nice) and once with Elke Sommer!

The obligatory standing ovation has arrived in London.

R170

It was video of a bunch of the actual Elphabas backstage while Ariana was either in her star dressing room or onstage. Overall they got 10 out of the first 20 Elphabas to come out and sing 'For Good' with a handful of ElderGlindas at the end of the show. Jackie Burns reportedly sang 'The Wizard and I' for the run through when Grande missed the dress rehearsal (while Ariana was tweeting about her anxiety and her big green penis.)

Apparently Kristin and Idina did do their songs 3 times - and Kristin encouraged people to go ahead and video during her first Popular. Most of the video that has been posted for the concert is of Ariana doing a very pop version and getting all the screams you would expect.

So is LuPone a shoe-in for the Olivier?

R175 Maybe or then the audiences love Patti. This is first musical after Sunset fiasco in 1993/94 when audiences gave her strong support. This is also probably her final musical in London. They might show their love for this stage legend this way.

Sunset wasn't a fiasco for Patti in London. She got great reviews from the London critics (much better than the actual show) and was nominated for an Olivier. (Which she rightly lost to Julia MacKenzie for Sweeney.) But it was still a big hit in London. It was the Callas show that was a disaster.

R178 I meant the entire Sunset saga was fiasco for Patti.

[quote]Sunset wasn't a fiasco for Patti in London.

Webber got star struck when Close said she was interested. He chose an inferior Norma because she was a movie star.

[quote]Webber got star struck when Close said she was interested. He chose an inferior Norma because she was a movie star.

One of the lowest of his low points. I'm glad he had to pay for it, even if it was just a drop in the bucket of his unimaginable wealth.

[quote]And its not like Dolly! is particularly draining. Dolly herself gets tons of breaks and there's no dramatic heft so its not emotionally or physically taxing.

Do you know how difficult it is to eat all of those dumplings?

I just got back from Toronto, where I attended the premier of the new Rufus Wainwright opera, “Hadrian.” Production was stunning, with some beautiful stage pictures. Singing was wonderful, and the acting quite good. And the book told a fascinating story, with an intriguing denouement. The packed house sat rapt the entire three hours, with one intermission.

But, good people, don’t go for the music. Almost total dissonance, with only rare moments barely approaching melody. I could understand a Hadrian grieving for his dead lover, surrounded by dissonant sounds, but, during their scenes together, I really wanted some kind of soaring arias, which could have taken this score into the stratosphere. Unfortunately, t’was not to be.

Performances and voices were all around admirable, with Thomas Hampson as Hadrian, Isaiah Bell as his lover Antinous, and Ambur Braid as Hadrian’s wife Sabina, all standing out.

There were sublime moments in this production. Even the music began to grow on me. The standing ovation it received was well-earned. If Wainwright could just tweak the score, and maybe tighten a simulated sex scene at the, you’ll pardon the expression, top of Act II, this could be quite great. But, even with flaws, I’m very glad I saw it.

(BTW: I happened to meet a man who said he was a friend of librettist Daniel MacIvor, who related he and Wainwright had a terrible time working on this, as Wainwright is a peevish, self-centered, demanding diva, expecting everyone to do as he says. Even the New York Times review related how badly the two got along, actually needing counseling. I’m amazed they were able to get anything done.)

R183, you advise people not to go to the Wainwright opera for the music, you describe the music as "almost total dissonance, with only rare moments approaching melody," and then you say the opera could be "quite great" if Wainwright would "just tweak" the score? Confusing....

Can we expect any future performances of Wainwright's "Prima Donna" opera -- the one the Met turned down because he insisted on writing the libretto in French rather than in English?

Gee, do you think Company will be another Sondheim SMASH HIT, and run......um, well....7 months?

[quote]So is LuPone a shoe-in for the Olivier?

Oh Dear! maybe a pump-in?

I do wonder what they made the dumplings out of for poor Bernadette. Everyone knows that, if she's been good all day, she eats half a Kind bar.

The video is titled "Ann For A New Era," which I assumed would be a thoughtful discussion/explanation for the non-traditional casting of a black woman in a role that has always been cast with a blonde. But nothing about that. Instead, they talk about delving into Ann's psyche, as if it's something new, but it has been done before. It's very strange that they want us to be color-blind when casting people of color but color-conscious when hiring whites.

Does Kong have a dong?

I seem to remember that BP had half a kind bar once a week!

Channing's dumplings were made of tissue, which she sstored in the side of her mouth. Total no-cal.

Betty's dumplings are made from the semen of chorus boys.

[quote]The video is titled "Ann For A New Era," which I assumed would be a thoughtful discussion/explanation for the non-traditional casting of a black woman in a role that has always been cast with a blonde.

Why would you assume that? I expect the casting was just done as a facile, knee-jerk nod to political correctness, with no real thought behind it.

How do I get to be the understudy, R 192?

Interview with Betty about Dolly

[R184]: At the rate “Hadrian’s” music is now, it seemed almost entirely dissonant. What I meant by “tweaking” was to suggest Wainwright re-write the sequences between Hadrian and Antinous to have some kind of melody. This would musically not only refer to their love, but also set them apart from their dissonant world.

Not that Wainwright is likely to listen to anyone’s suggestions. Who knows? Maybe others have already tried to tell him this.

It’s still worth seeing, but not as much worth hearing.

I want to pinch King Kong's buttocks!

Thanks, R197. I guess I wouldn't call that "tweaking," but whatever, thanks for your report on the opera.

R199, welcome back , buttocks pincher!

I'm terrified that Sutton Foster will be cast as Bobbi if Company transfers to broadway.

Sutton Foster *IS Bobbi

Patti LuPone is Joanne

Robert Fairchild *IS* Donna McKechnie

Well, Jesse21 adored it, so there you go.

Ben Platt *IS Beth Howland

k.d. lang *is* Charles Kimbrough

Kristin Chenoweth *IS* Bobbi.

Alec Baldwin's new talk show, interviews De Niro and Baldwin does all the talking

Brooks Ashmanskas *IS* Barbara Barrie

Julie Taymor *is* Harold Prince.

Ugh, that suggestion that Sutton will be Bobbie in the inevitable transfer of COMPANY is sort of terrifying. I bet you are spot on, though, R201. Yikes. She wasn't bad in ANYONE CAN WHISTLE at City Center, though, I must admit... what a criminally underrated score that is. "See What It Gets You" is magnificent, ditto so much of the material. I suppose Laurents's estate won't allow the book to be rewritten top to bottom like it needs to be to come close to working dramatically, alas. Perhaps I'm wrong and Sondheim could oversee it having a second life, strong-arming whomever needs to be strong-armed.

Bobbi needs to be black

[quote]Kristin Chenoweth *IS* Bobbi.

Watching KChen melt down over turning 35 at this point would turn it into Theatre of the Absurd.

Kristen Chenoweth is about ready for Mama Rose these days. Actually, that idea is so nuts it just might work. Imagine a Rose as cheery as Chenoweth know for being is. TERRIFYING! She really would play it as if Rose has no idea why people keep leaving this little bundle of deranged cheer.

R211 Already happened Jada, keep up love

But was it hip-hop, R214?

R197 -- I've often thought that about Wainwright's music. A lot of his melodies sound like recetatif (sp?); meandering and formless, in search of a melody. I can never tell if it's from lack of talent, laziness, trying to expend the definition of pop song, or just plain indulgent arrogance. My money would be on the latter. I know it's silly, but I liked him -- or at least gave him a chance -- until his version of Hallelujah. His insistence at pronouncing the line "you don't really care for music do you" as "do YOU" instead of "do YA" subverted cadence of the verse, and completely lost the rhyme of YA and HallalejUH. The song was so ubiquitous for a time, and the mispronunciation so annoyed me, that I lost taste for all things Wainwright.

I absolutely cannot stand Will Smith. He is the only actor I absolutely loathe. That said, he would've made an interesting Bobby once upon a time, I think. That ship has sailed unless they updated it to Bobby turning 40. If Sondheim's willing to make Bobby into Bobbie, I wouldn't doubt him allowing Bobby to be 40.

R216 - I think Wainwright's first two albums are wonderful. He kinda lost the plot after that -- with the exception of a song here or there.

recitative

Speaking of Will Smith (SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION), I heard today that they're making a film version of CATS?! I thought that was the most absurd idea when I first saw SIX DEGREES back in '94 or so. But here we are.

Bobby is hard to cast. You really do need the boy next door or else he comes across as smug as fuck and not very likable.

[quote]Speaking of Will Smith (SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION), I heard today that they're making a film version of CATS?! I thought that was the most absurd idea when I first saw SIX DEGREES back in '94 or so. But here we are.

After next year, nobody will be able to do Six Degrees because that joke will be ruined.

Thanks, R219, but for some reason I thought that they used the french pronunciation and spelling for opera, non? I subscribed to an opera class at the Lyric in Chicago years ago, and the instructor used the french pronunciation. I didn't know if that was what was preferred, or if he was affected.

[quote] or else he comes across as smug as fuck and not very likabl

r221 is that you, Raul?

Raul did sometimes come across as a bit of a smug Bobby. It almost felt like Chandler on Friends playing Bobby.

R225 LOL! Great description. I too thought he came off smug, even a bit douchy, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Is that why he lost?

Felt the S&S was collegiate in...well...sensibility, r 134. And I hate anything that caters to navel-gazing millennials and the 'tween set. That said, I appreciated the whirlwind staging that concluded Act One.

"But, good people, don't go for the music."

That could be said for nearly every Broadway musical of the last forty years.

I wonder if Guare has a substitute recurring joke for SIX DEGREES or if he will keep it in as CATS? Is the play done as a period piece set in the early 90s still? Either way, it will be jarring (if amusing) if he doesn't change it to something else. WICKED, perhaps (too au currant)?

Does SIX DEGREES even get productions anywhere anymore? I saw a few regional ones in the mid-90s but haven't noticed it advertised since the movie came out.

R229 there was a Broadway revival with Allison Janney last year that was nominated for a couple of Tonys.

And it barely eked out 2 months of performances so I can understand why the previous poster missed it. I don’t see it performed often anywhere either

It was only intended for a limited engagement.

Yeah, so says Allison Janney.

Where is the video of Patti doing Lasies who Lunch?

It closed before the limited engagement was supposed to end though, no?

R213

Cheno as Rose has been mentioned before. If she could handle the songs not fitting her voice (never getting to use her voice the way she likes at all would probably be a deal breaker for her) she would be an amazing choice. Her forced cheerfulness hardly comes across as sincere in the best of times so having it be a passive aggressive survival strategy would be in character.

I also think that there would be a visceral impact to having a Rose who weighs less than 90 pounds dragging around her healthy sized daughters hinting at a time in American history when poverty and starvation went together. An underfed Rose who resents the existence of her well built daughters would add a touch of balance to the central issue of her unfitness to be a mother.

[quote]Alec Baldwin's new talk show, interviews De Niro and Baldwin does all the talking

And that would be wrong?

[quote]Alec Baldwin's new talk show, interviews De Niro and Baldwin does all the talking

At least his interviews didn't kiss ass, like another interviewer I could name.

I love hearing showtune queens attempt to describe contemporary music. So gloriously out of their skillset.

It isn’t just CATS that dates Six Degrees to the 80s. He’s also pretending to be Sidney Poitier’s son, and that Poitier is going to be directing Cats. If you update the musical reference what do you do about Poitier now? He’s 91, and not likely to be the father of anyone that young, or to be directing anything.

What would be funny would be for him to claim he’s Will Smith’s son. Smith just turned 50, so he’s old enough. But he doesn’t have the cultural cachet that Poitier had, which made the idea of him doing Cats absurd.

Who has the better face lift: Stockard Channing or Elaine May? And whose wig is better?

"contemporary music" = oxymoron

[quote]Does Kong have a dong?

yes, with it's dedicated handler/puppeteer

[quote]Thanks, [R219], but for some reason I thought that they used the french pronunciation and spelling for opera, non? I subscribed to an opera class at the Lyric in Chicago years ago, and the instructor used the french pronunciation. I didn't know if that was what was preferred, or if he was affected.

I believe it's recitatif in French, recitativo in Italian, and recitative in English.

Re "Six Degrees," the Broadway failure was such a big flop that I'll bet money we're not going to see a major production anywhere again. And as for updating the action of the play, it simply can't be done, because the plot just doesn't work in the age if the Internet and Google.

Good thing they made the movie just in time 'cause my family had Internet connection by 1996, so just 3 years later. Not even. I believe the film was released in Dec. 1993.

Six Degrees can not be updated, because if it were set in modern times, a quick internet search would reveal the ruse. Information was not as readily-available when it was first produced.

Speaking of that, how *would* Tootsie work today? An actress doesn't just fall out of the sky.

On a side note, BEFORE SUNRISE is another film that was made in the nick of time. (1995, I believe.) They were acting like it was the end of the world when they were saying goodbye, but the Internet was practically at their doorstep.

Me, R421. "Goop's mom" as you scamps may say.

Meaning R241, blame the Pinot...

Did Blythe Danner really take out an ad to announce her departure from SIX DEGREES?

Is "Hadestown" transferring to Broadway after the National?

I've always hated Will Smith because he swore to the producers of the film of Six Degrees that he would have no problem with doing the gay kiss near the end that is a major plot point. He was only known then from his TV show, a newbie to films, and the producers knew he was closeted and were so worried he wouldn't do it that they put it into his contract he'd do the kiss. Well, with 90% of the film in the can, meaning the producers didn't have the money to recast and start over, the time came to shoot the kiss and he refused. Just wouldn't do it. Calls to agents, managers and lawyers ensued but he still refused. He finally agreed if he was shot from behind in an embrace and the kiss was implied but not actually seen, which is what appears in the film.

Totally inexcusable, even for the time. I never understood why he had a career after a stunt like that.

If the stories are true, you can also blame Denzel Washington for that homophobic stunt, R253.

Is Tovah singing the correct notes in the clip at R141. Something about it sounds off. It already looks ridiculous. Who staged that shit? I hope she wasn’t serious

Tovah was farting

Will there be a Broadway revival of Seesaw before I die?

Probably no Seesaw revival, possibly Encores might do it someday.

I just can’t believe some director let Tovah forever be known as “Black Panty Rose” in modulated Gypsy

Seesaw has been one of Encore's most requested shows for years. I wonder why they've not done it. It's not going to get a commercial revival.

R253 Everyone knows Denzel told him not to be seen kissing a man. Why be coy?

R261, I hadn't heard the part about Denzel until r254 posted it. Yes, I was ignorant for years.

Janney did it for an EGOT but that doesn't always work out

[quote]Does SIX DEGREES even get productions anywhere anymore?

Just middle schools.

Six Degrees of Separation has one of the greatest theater moments. I saw it when Kelly Bishop was playing the best friend and she delivered the line and it was the perfect actress with the perfect line, and it was a moment where you could feel the entire audience as one collective just completely stunned. Moments like this make live theater so astounding.

Husband: I read in the paper that a homeless man froze to death last night in Central Park.

Wife (Kelly Bishop): Was it that cold?

R259 The director is also the artistic director and sometimes functions as the music director/conductor.

Does anyone still wear too many hats?

excellent, r266.

The original cast of "Six Degrees" were read a letter from Blythe on the first real day of rehearsal, in which she stated she had to withdraw due to family matters.

The following week she was announced for the cast of "Prince Of Tides" in a full page ad in Variety.

[quote]Speaking of that, how *would* Tootsie work today? An actress doesn't just fall out of the sky.

I believe I've heard this is addressed in the script of the musical. It's not that difficult to create fake profiles on social media.

[quote]I've always hated Will Smith because he swore to the producers of the film of Six Degrees that he would have no problem with doing the gay kiss near the end that is a major plot point. He was only known then from his TV show, a newbie to films, and the producers knew he was closeted and were so worried he wouldn't do it that they put it into his contract he'd do the kiss. Well, with 90% of the film in the can, meaning the producers didn't have the money to recast and start over, the time came to shoot the kiss and he refused. Just wouldn't do it. Calls to agents, managers and lawyers ensued but he still refused. He finally agreed if he was shot from behind in an embrace and the kiss was implied but not actually seen, which is what appears in the film. Totally inexcusable, even for the time. I never understood why he had a career after a stunt like that.

That was a douche bag move on his part. But on the other hand, "Six Degrees" is a homophobic play on the whole, so in this case, I couldn't care less.

Is that why Blythe Danner never really returned to Broadway? I know she did Follies but her departing Six Degrees kinda killed her b-way career didn’t it?

From a previous thread regarding the Gypsy Robe name change:

[quote]So, what will we be doing about the next revival of GYPSY? Will we be changing the name to ROSE? It'd certainly make more sense. Let's face it, no one these days even knows who Gypsy Rose Lee is in the first place. It's not like it has name recognition anymore.

[quote]When Gypsy Rose Lee made her deal with Merrick and Hayward for the rights to her memoirs, she said the authors could do anything they wanted as long as the show's title was Gypsy.

The title has a double-meaning. 'Gypsy' also refers to someone who lives a nomadic, unconventional life, which describes Rose perfectly.

[quote]But on the other hand, "Six Degrees" is a homophobic play on the whole, so in this case, I couldn't care less.

How is it a homophobic play? I don't remember it well enough.

[quote]Does anyone still wear too many hats?

I only need ONE for the baby, Poppa!

Lainie needs lots.

I remember how quickly that clip of Tovah was pulled. It was originally contained in a montage of other clips from the show. A few days later, they re-uploaded the montage without the "Rose's Turn" clip. It was all the talk of the chat boards during those few days and for good reason. I'd still like to know if it was the director or Tovah who decided to pull it. I think it was right before the show was starting, too, so I wonder if they ended up changing anything. From what I heard from people who saw it, they didn't and, like many have also noted, she did a cartwheel during the instrumental break before "ready or not, here comes mama!"

Why hasn't Seesaw ever gotten an Encores staging? It's one of those shows that's meant for something like Encores and two of the songs in the score have become standards, so it seems like a given.

R271-Only with Jerry Zaks and LCT.

[quote]Why hasn't Seesaw ever gotten an Encores staging?

There's a lot that Encores could and even *should* stage and haven't. I think Rob Fisher and Kathleen Marshall chose everything they wanted to do rather than what needed to be staged.

R276, "It's Not Where You Start" may be known by a handful of eldergays sitting around at piano bars, but I'd hardly call any of the songs from Seesaw "standards."

I'm pretty sure Jack Viertel is calling the shots on what shows get done at Encores now.

Continued endless dissonance is work. Soaring melodic arias today are literally impossible.

Their secrets have been lost to the ages.

Wasn't Walter "Standby Murderer" Bobbie the Artistic Director of Encores for a few years?

Patti must be enjoying her time in London to have agreed to do this.

Patti is being feted as the greatest broadway star ever to draw breath. Of course she's having a fine time.

I saw Seesaw when it opened. After the performance as we were walking out some elderqueen was mocking the song It's Not Where You Start.

What in the world are the two standards from that dreadful score?

That horrible one and the other about the horny receptionist?

And now...

sporting a Karen Carpenter hair-do.....

Patti talks in her autobio about putting things into her contract. What do you think she asked for in the Company contract?

Andrew Lloyd Webber can not be allowed to buy a ticket or attend a performance.

Glenn Close can not enter London during the run of the show.

I have a feeling she would have done anything to get this part. Betting she has a standard contract.

"Nobody Does It Like Me" used to be done a lot by women at auditions.

I forgot City Center was even doing ACL and it's opening in a few weeks! Casting isn't bad. Tony Yazbeck should make a sexy Zach and it's nice to see the fabulous J. Elaine Marcos switch from Connie (which she played in the revival) to Val. She'll be a hoot. And Leigh Zimmerman will get to recreate her Olivier award winning Sheila in NYC. I'm excited.

Interesting that Patti opened in Company last night while Glennie (Norma #2) opened in Mother of the Maid.

I'm sure Patti has waited her whole life for reviews like this in a show like this. Much better to retire after this run (unless it transfers) than to go out on a mediocre show like War Paint.

No matter what Patti says, she will not be retiring from musical theater if the right role comes along.

And that's as it should be.

She proved that when she took Company.

I assume her bionic hips have given her a whole new lease on life!

[quote]I assume her bionic hips have given her a whole new lease on life!

Oh, new hipsh give a girl a whole new leash on life.

I have it on pretty good authority that Encores! will be doing LOVE LIFE next season. Fingers crossed.

[quote]I have it on pretty good authority that Encores! will be doing LOVE LIFE next season.

I'd rather see "What About Luv" and "The Life".

r255 She wasn't, and not just because she's singing in a lower key. The melody goes up on these capitalized words: Someone tell me WHEN is it my turn, DON'T I get a DREAM for myself, after going gradually down on the four (or so) notes before them. (Same thing with Starting now it's gonna be my turn etc.) She sings the capitalized words flat, and the result is jarring. It almost sounds as if she's singing in monotone.

But who will they get to replace Nanette in our hearts, r296?

Patti's not retiring. Although, are there really that many good roles for a woman over 60 in musical theatre or theatre in general? It seems like from 30-60, the women easily get the best roles in musical theatre (Rose, Mame, Dolly, Desiree, Mrs. Lovett, The Witch, The Baker's Wife, etc.) but after that, what is there? Madame Armfelt? I guess Mrs. Lovett and Dolly could be any age. There's really not that much for Patti to play unless someone composes a great new score in a great new show for her. I'm sure they'll trot her out in 10/20 years to play Hattie in a new production of Follies.

Well, that may happen, but she did say that War Paint was her last musical but that Company was an offer she couldn't refuse.

I'd rather see Here's Love.

A 70 year old can't effectively carry a musical 8 times a week. It's sad but true. Dolly is off stage for much of the show--that's a different story.

Never saw the show but wondered what "It's Not Where You Start" was doing in a show about two sad sacks.

I can see Patti in a new production of Roza.

Baz Bamigboye just tweeted that Dame Judi Dench is playing Old Deuteronymy in Tom Hooper’s film of Cats.

Interesting. Dench was supposed to have played Grizzabella in the original run, but she sprained her leg or foot or something, and Elaine Paige got in at the last minute, mostly because she was fucking Tim Weber, who, even though he wasn't involved in the show, was still in ALW's orbit at the time.

ALW's memoir is really a witty, joyful read, and I abhor his musicals. If only his musicals had half the levity of his memoir!

[quote]"Nobody Does It Like Me" used to be done a lot by women at auditions.

Is this the same song Carol Burnett and Alan Alda sang in that Christmas sketch on the "The Carol Burnett Show"?

What's the over/under on the London Company being recorded? Or possibly "live" broadcast to movie theatres?

Elaine Paige was not Grizabella because of Tim Rice. The show was a risk, they couldn't raise all the money and when Dench was out, they ditched looking for an actress and went for a voice that could put over the (not yet finished) 11:00 number - and Paige was a BIG star in London after Evita.

King Kong is extraordinary theatre! Bravo, Kong! Bravo! Bravo!

Nah--seriously?

When the fuck will the National Theatre’s Follies cast recording be released? It was done in January.

Two comments:

1. I didn't mean to imply that Paige got Grizzabella because of Rice. I meant that she was already in ALW's world and they knew each other because of her affair with Rice, so he did not need to look beyond his circle to find he replacement for Dench, and she had the comfort of already knowing whom she would be working with.

2. I doubt that the National will stream Company, because the NPH version was streamed, what, two years ago? Three? I hope they do it -- i would love to see it, and it is hard to get bootlegs of British plays; security there must be tighter than American theaters -- but I wonder if they will bother to stream something that had been done so recently. FWIW, those streamers are almost always empty here in Nashville, but that was the only one that had close to a full house. I don't know if the draw was the play or NPH.

Elaine was fucking married Tim Rice for many years. I think, on Tim's part, it was due his infatuation with Eva Peron. He became deeply obsessed with the woman upon hearing about her and then researching her. I wouldn't be surprised if her jerked off to Eva's actress cheesecake photos. Then Elaine was the first to play her on stage and become an overnight star and they immediately began a longterm affair.

R313 It's not a National production. Also, they've just extended until March 30. And the NPH version was in 2011.

Anyone listen to the Graham Norton podcast with Patti and Sondheim? They're only on for 20 minutes or so, but Sondheim actually shades Patti. I don't think he really intended to, but he totally does. Graham asks a question to him about whether the era of stars being able to carry shows is over and if we're more in an era in which the show or even the director, like Marianne Elliott is the star. Sondheim basically says that the only "stars" who bring in audiences these days are TV stars (I think he was using that as shorthand for TV AND film stars) and that there aren't any stars in the theatre anymore like Ethel Merman or Mary Martin. Patti tries to butt in and say that she begged to differ because her career has largely been in the theatre and Sondheim cuts her off by saying, yes, but beyond theatre people, most people in the country don't know who you are and aren't coming to see you. I'm paraphrasing, but it's definitely worth a listen. I'm impressed at how well Patti held her tongue. Or perhaps it was well edited.

[quote]they knew each other because of her affair with Rice,

Uh... I think Lloyd Webber probably knew her because she stared in Evita, not because of her affair with Tim Rice. HAnd no, she and Rice were never married).

I've tried to think of a great revival role for Patti but I can't. It's true. There are no decent roles for her besides the ones mentioned above and It's doubtful she'll be doing Dolly or Mrs. Lovett on Broadway any time soon.

Well, maybe Sally Adams in Call Me Madam if there's ever a revival of that one. Is it time for Encores to do it again?

Isn't Encores doing Call Me Madam again next year? Sutton Foster IS Sally Adams!

[quote]I've tried to think of a great revival role for Patti but I can't. It's true. There are no decent roles for her besides the ones mentioned above

I think it's time to revive this. It really needs a Sicilian woman in the lead.

War Paint was new. People can write new material. Bankable 'new' material if they insist on adapting something from movies or TV.

I think a musical based on The Golden Girls would be awful. But it would also have a nice big role in it for Lupone.

Can Patti be sarcastically condescending?

[quote] I think a musical based on The Golden Girls would be awful. But it would also have a nice big role in it for Lupone.

As what? The lanai?

Saw Torch Song yesterday. Once again, Moises Kaufman proves he has no clue how to work with actors. Michael Urie was just. plain. awful. Embarrassingly bad. (And he is not an untalented actor whatsoever.) In the opening monologue, his drag makes him look like Rhoda Morgenstern, and he does a total vocal imitation of Harvey in the film version. It's unnerving. It's as though Harvey shoved a copy of the DVD in his hand and said- memorize EVERY inflection or I'll beat you to death. I was rolling my eyes through the entire thing. Little did I know how lucky I was. After that scene, Urie basically played Arnold as Snagglepuss.

The rest of the cast reminded me of the Raul production of Company. Raul, Barbara Walsh, and the Cincinnati Smile Time Community Theater Players. All this talent in NYC and that's the best you can do? I was so fed up I didn't bother to stay for Act 2. I know it, I've seen it, and it was patently clear they were going to bring nothing new to it. I hope it flops. Harvey deserves to be taken down a peg or two, he's such an insufferable asshole.

Saw The Waverly Gallery tonight. Also not very good. Saw the original w/ Eileen Heckart, and though I remember liking the play, I honestly can't quite remember why (outside of Heckart). It's a really poorly written and structured play. And Lila Neugebauer, whoever she is, is about up there with ol' Moises in terms of directing. The cast was shockingly lethargic. I have a feeling Elaine May directed herself, and if the woman who was responsible for Ishtar could do better than Lila Neugebauer, you can guess how dire this thing is.

Apologia is up next on Saturday.

I desperately want r324 to review King Kong now.

Hahahaha.

I'll be honest, I actually really want to see King Kong, but only for the stagecraft and puppetry. That part of it looks amazing. I'm not even sure I'd consider the rest of it or be annoyed by it because I'm expecting it to be bottom of the barrel dreck. I'm fairly certain the producers even get there's no show there, just a puppet that's really, really cool. I'd grab a tdf ticket if the Broadway wasn't so cavernous and I could pick where I sit.

Sondheim is correct.

r324 I thought the woman who played Amy in that Raul production acquitted herself quite well, but other than that I agree, how could that group of unattractive horn playing misfits be the best you could scrounge up? Another hundred people was shockingly bad, and that's such a hard number to fuck up.

The Raul version was very hard to watch because when you hire actors to play the score, you're limited in the acting pool to people who can play somewhat (most likely not up to the standards of union 802) and so, you're also not considering people for the cast who are much better singing actors because they don't blow their own clarinet or trumpet. You're also not getting a top-notch rendering of the orchestration either. A Lose-Lose proposition, which is why I hope these actor playing instruments fad starts to retreat. Plus Raul sounded not that much better than Katharine Hepburn in "Coco", though he did sound better in something in Central Park a few years later.

[quote]Isn't Encores doing Call Me Madam again next year?

Yes, and a bunch of us have been saying that Encores! would not have scheduled a re-do of CALL ME MADAM if they didn't have a big star attached. So I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that star is Patti and they just haven't announced it yet.

[quote]Once again, Moises Kaufman proves he has no clue how to work with actors.

He is one of the biggest frauds in show business, and that's saying something. He got incredibly lucky with GROSS INDECENCY and THE LARAMIE PROJECT, both of which he co-created as part of a large team. He somehow managed to almost destroy THE HEIRESS with his non-direction, and he did an equally inept job with that bad play that starred Jane Fonda (I can't even be bothered to look up the title) and now with TORCH SONG.

[quote]I hope it flops. Harvey deserves to be taken down a peg or two, he's such an insufferable asshole.

Amen to that.

Nanette Fabray sounded lovely in that clip. Thanks very much. She was very, very charming, though it sounds like she didn't have a very big vocal range. Still, I'd love to see"Love Life"; I think Kate Baldwin would do very very in Fabray roles such as this. Btw, there are also clips from that show of "Green Up Time" I believe also by Fabray, and a rather weird one by Lotte Lenya, in a sense because it seems to be about Americana and she's so exotically German.

R289, Is this JAJ's first hire since his sex tape?

R331, Nanette and Alexis Smith were classmates at Hollywood High School, where they competed for roles.

[quote]Is this JAJ's first hire since his sex tape?

I'm pretty sure he was hired for PHANTOM after the sex tape. Don't remember if that McNally play opened before or after the release of the sex tape. And anyway, if you're wondering whether that tape is having a negative impact on his career, I highly doubt it :-)

[quote]He is one of the biggest frauds in show business, and that's saying something. He got incredibly lucky with GROSS INDECENCY and THE LARAMIE PROJECT, both of which he co-created as part of a large team. He somehow managed to almost destroy THE HEIRESS with his non-direction, and he did an equally inept job with that bad play that starred Jane Fonda (I can't even be bothered to look up the title) and now with TORCH SONG.

You should have seen the mess he made of “Bent” in LA a few years ago

Why isn't anyone reviving "City of Angels?" (Encores or otherwise.)

Alexis was always professional and beautiful, but it wasn't until "Follies" on Broadway that she really had a great role in which she made a big impact. Bette Davis, who pretty much reigned at Warner Bros. around the time they were there together, remarked after seeing Alexis in "Follies" along the lines that she had never seen Alexis with such fire and verve in any of her previous work. I mean, Alexis had been requested by Cole Porter's wife to play her in "Night and Day", but mainly because of Alexis's looks. But watching those clips of her in "Follies", she really was terrific. But Nanette in the 40s through about the 60s was a big musical star, unfortunately without that one show that might have put her over the top, though she was very talented.

R337 and significantly, she never had another project of any importance. They tried and tried on Broadway but she flopped again and again. She had nothing on TV or movies.

Hugh Dancy's ass looks fantastic in APOLOGIA

R338, If not for FOLLIES, Alexis never would have been cast as Melina Mercouri's lesbian lover in "Once Is Not Enough".

R335, Still, audiences got to see Tom Berklund's big cock in the opening scene.

I somehow really doubt that Warner Bros gave a rat’s ass who Linda Porter thought should portray her in Night & Day. Alexis Smith was a contract player for the studio.

The three finalists for Mame, after every really big name star turned it down, were Dolores Gray, Nanette Fabray and Angela. I forget why Gray didn't get it, but Fabray refused to audition, telling the producers they knew what she could do and considered the issue settled. Meanwhile, Angela flew in from LA 3 or 4 times to audition and in the in between periods she took voice lessons and was coached by Herman, who had decided he wanted her after being convinced that Garland wasn't insurable.

After her last audition, Angela made a speech to the producers and creatives who were there, saying she had prostated herself before them and she demanded a yes or no before she went back to LA or they could rule her out. An hour later, at her hotel, she got a phone call offering her the part.

[quote]I desperately want [R324] to review King Kong now

Why? He or she appears to be a jealous humorless harpy who thinks no one can do anything right. Sounds like a complete bore to know.

[quote]I think a musical based on The Golden Girls would be awful. But it would also have a nice big role in it for Lupone

The whole score will suck and the show will come alive during the curtain call when they play the original theme song.

Here is an audio recording of Lansbury singing Love Is Only Love during during a piano rehearsal of Mame before it was cut and later reused in the film version of Dolly. So much more unaffected and better.

Review

"Call Me Madam" is the first show of the Encores season, opening Feb. 6th. If she were really considering it, she'd have to leave "Company" on the original closing date to be back in time for rehearsals. One supposes she could then go back into the show for the final five weeks or so if she wanted to be with them for the newly-announced closing.

It would be a hoot if they got Elaine Paige to play Joanne for a month till Patti came back.

I saw it in LA R135 when I was quite young. I loved it at the time, but I would expect my eyes would roll a lot now.

[quote] Why? He or she appears to be a jealous humorless harpy who thinks no one can do anything right. Sounds like a complete bore to know.

Awwww, you probably led last night's standing ovation at Pretty Woman, didn't you.

I like r341

The recent LA production of Bent was dreadful. I badly wanted to walk out but I had a friend in the show who knew I was coming. My performance lying to him how much I enjoyed the show was better than any actor on that stage.

R346, thanks for the link. “Love is Only Love” wasn’t used in the film of Mame, though. Herman wrote a new song called “Loving You” for it.

They'll be announcing Bette Midler for Call Me Madam.

The interview with Sondheim and Patti LuPone was heartbreaking to listen to. She’s always claimed she felt he didn’t like her and she has always been open with times when he publicly humiliated her (Passion being a prime example) but then to have him say to her face that she isn’t a star and outside of theatre folk, no one knows her name was really awful.

I know Patti is the QUEEN of unnecessary feuds, but I feel bad for her on that one.

Meh. It keeps her ego in check.

I think Sondheim didn't intend to shade her. He's been mis-speaking a lot lately--or at least being less careful than usual.

To a huge majority of the world, Patti LuPone is not a star. If you say, "Evita," you will just see a blank stare or ," I thought that was Madonna." If anyone remembers her, you will hear," Was she the mother of that retarded boy on tv?" The problem here is that Patti is a household name amongst gay theater mavens, who just assume that everyone has the same interests. Patti might be a goddess to the theater circles, but she wouldn't sell a ticket to a show she was in to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, you'd get much more ticket sales if you announced " Company" with Kris Jenner.

Given that Sondheim really likes the new Company and has apparently said it can exist as an alternate version if others want to use it, there should be a good chance of a cast recording. Jonny Bailey's Getting Married Today is even getting a bigger cheer than The Ladies Who Lunch, apparently, but I'm sure Patti's being a good sport.

In spite of never starring in a long-running Broadway hit, Nanette Fabray was a HUGE TV star playing opposite Sid Caesar in the original Your Show of Shows in the early 1950s. Yes, Imogene Coca may have preceded her in that role, but Nanette was charming, hilarious and beloved by TV audiences across America.

While that credit may be forgotten by elders or unknown by the young, she was a true pioneer of the Golden Age of TV and was a household name for at least a decade. Not to mention her costarring role in MGM's iconic That's Entertainment.

Check out those Caesar/Fabray skits on youtube. They put SNL to shame.

I'd bet money on Company coming to Broadway. And I hope it comes with the London cast intact.

And when it does, DL will light up with questions and reports of the post-show activities of Jonathan Bailey.

I think it would be terrific if they (whoever "they" are) brought the show here with the original cast for a limited run, then cast a longer run with NY actors. It could be Sondheim's 90th birthday celebration.

Like we wanted to know Charlie Stemp’s extracurricular activities?

I know he’s technically right. Lupone isn’t a “name” Still though, it’s embarrassing to say it to her face as matter of fact. He doesn’t even word it in a way that opens debate. He says it like it’s so-

Patti was replaced by a “star” in Sunset. It must burn to have it said to her face 25 years later by another composer.

his point is that Broadway doesn't make celebrities anymore. Patti, Nathan, Bernadette and maybe Idina and Cheno and a few others are the last we have but most of them except Patti have had starring film or Tv roles to raise their name recognition outside of theater avids. he's 100% right but said it in a way that sounded more harshly minimizing to her than he probably intended

now let's take about r341 some more

r343, Angela couldn't have prostated herself. She doesn't have that gland.

Agree about Urie in TS. Everyone in the play speaks of the character's irresistible charms; I wouldn't spend 10 minutes with him.

R368 what gland?

Pituitary? I love that word if not the gland.

R367

Patti LuPone is a star. Oddly enough she is most well known at the moment for her outbursts (taking the phone, going off on Trump) -- but she has definitely made her pop culture mark on the 21st Century in a way Sondheim could only dream of. She is still acting and acting out while he is left to fiddle about with all those revivals of his shows while his less talented and focused rivals are left to fret over how dated their long running hit productions have become.

Sondheim is correct in his own way that there is no star today who could turn one of his works into an actual hit. But there has NEVER been a star who could make Sondheim a real winner. I suspect that he just doesn't have it in him to create a show with an emotionally compelling narrative that makes for a full two acts of satisfying theater. He just loves to wind up an idea to an interesting place and then pick it apart as if he is cleverly making a profound statement but in actuality is just undermining himself and disappointing his audience.

Why, my goodness r372: aren't you pompous?

Not to mention mistaken.

Love Is Only Love did make it into a movie, but it was Hello, Dolly!, not Mame.

[quote] Little did I know how lucky I was. After that scene, Urie basically played Arnold as Snagglepuss.

That made me laugh out loud. I usually enjoy Urie, but I didn't like his portrayal of Arnold and you hit the nail on the head.

I saw Fierstein in the original production in 1982 and I just wanted to rush up and hug him. He was so vulnerable and sweet. Urie made me want to slap his face. (Of course it may be that I'm 35 years older and much more cynical now).

I just noticed ALADDIN is on TKTS (40%).

Is our darling Telly not selling tickets?

Unless there are aerialists nightly dropping to their deaths in the orchestra seats I have no desire to see King Kong: Turn Off the Dark.

Nanette & Sid.....

Isn't ALADDIN closing in London? I don't think that show on their side of the pond has been much of a hit. Certainly not LION KING smash.

Nanette co-starred in "The Band Wagon" where she sang "That's Entertainment" with the other principals. She was really very good, too. I'm surprised that didn't lead to other film roles. But Broadway starred her in "High Button Shoes", "Mr. President", "Make A Wish", and "Love Life" among others. Didn't "Love Life" debut during a newspaper strike? "Mr. President" had a big advance but didn't live up to hype. "High Button Shoes" was a hit, but a medium hit, not the "South Pacific" kind of hit that would have made her a really big star though.

"Mr. President" had a slightly bigger problem, r380.

[quote]Patti LuPone is a star. Oddly enough she is most well known at the moment for her outbursts..."

It remains to be seen whether she's mostly known for her outbursts only "at the moment," or if that's what she'll be primarily remembered for after she's gone. If the latter, it's her own doing.

[quote]...but she has definitely made her pop culture mark on the 21st Century in a way Sondheim could only dream of.

However much of a cultural mark Patti has or has not made, I can't believe you really think this is true.

She's made ZERO pop culture mark on the 21st Century. 99.9% of the pop culture audience has never heard of her or seen her in anything.

Wow. Did Sondheim really say that to her face? Is there a video?

r372's rant seems almost....personal. Hmm.

r384: Audio of the Sondheim-LuPone interview by Graham Norton should be easily googled. I'm at work and can't go looking at the moment.

I saw TORCH SONG at Second Stage. It's been badly rewritten and Urie is playing Arnold as though he were a cartoon character. Snagglepuss is pretty much on the mark, but not one member of the audience buys this guy as a fierce drag queen. He has no qualifications for this role. He just looks like he was cast because he was fucking an investor.

Funny -- although I thought Urie was painfully miscast and I really disliked his performance in TORCH SONG at Second Stage Off-Broadway, I seem to remember hearing and reading only positive reactions at the time. Interesting that now the tide seems to have turned, at least judging by DL comments.

[quote]Awwww, you probably led last night's standing ovation at Pretty Woman, didn't you.

Nope, have no desire to see it but don't begrudge anyone who does and actually enjoys it. A trait apparently you lack.

[quote]I'd bet money on Company coming to Broadway. And I hope it comes with the London cast intact.

Well, the males in the cast will be.

I saw a very good bootleg of the Second Stage Torch Song, and, although I usually like Urie, I thought his performance was annoying. He used an affected voice as though he didn't believe the material, or couldn't find a way to make it sound sincere, so he went full-cartoon character. It was amusing in parts, but it robbed the character of real humanity. It sounded like he doesn't trust the material, so he makes a joke of it.

R355, Didn't Sondheim feel the same about Barbara Cook?

Sondheim loved Barbara Cook. He may have believed that she didn't have much name recognition outside B'way and concert venues, but that's just a fact.

I doubt Cook would have disagreed with that assessment, r391.

r368 True, but her Vera had one to spare.

A friend of mine saw both the OB and Broadway productions of this round of Torch Song and said the show changed a lot in the past year and is much more cartoonish. Who knows why?

I'm another one who normally loves Urie (recently saw him in The Government Inspector and even his Hamlet in DC) but found him kind of unbearable in Torch Song (at 2nd Stage). It seemed like Moises or Harvey knew he was too attractive to play Arnold so have encouraged him to play the role with a funny and annoying sing-song voice that can't sustain for the length of those 3 plays.

And Mercedes was just meh and totally predictable....nothing special whatsoever....I don't get her raves. And that plastic surgery! She's in Stockard territory now.

Nanny was a sweet person and had a lovely voice, but she didn't become a Broadway star because she has no nose. People sitting in the mezzanine thought they were looking at the elephant man when she turned profile.

Who's Nanny?

No-nose Nanette (Fabray).

Nanette Fabray, dear. Try and keep up.

What made the exchange awkward was that Patti disagreed with him at first saying her fame came only from the stage, only for him then to say to her face that she was, in fact, not famous.

I saw Nanette in WONDERFUL TOWN somewhere in the 1970s and she was brilliant. Did she ever have a classic sitcom like Lucy and and Joan Davis? Would seem to be a perfect fit.

To the confused poster above, look up the difference between "prostate" and "prostrate."

[quote]Did she ever have a classic sitcom like Lucy and and Joan Davis?

Why would anyone want a sitcom as unfunny and insipid as the one Joan Davis had? Nobody even remembers her as a comedienne because the show was so awful.

So if I'm understanding Angela Lansbury's Mame audition correctly, at the end of the audition, she unzipped her pants and pulled out her penis? And Jerry Herman was so thrilled, he gave her the role?

Fuck you Lucy. John Simon might have called me an androgyne, but he said at least the bottom portion of myself was female. And I did Positive Moves so everyone could see my stunning camel toe.

When I posted the link to Angela singing Love Is Only Love, I said it was cut from Mame and then used in the film of Dolly. So I don't understand why people have been correcting me that it was in the film of Dolly, not Mame.

I remember her, r404, and the sitcom, which was formulaic and boring even to my (probably) 7 year old self. I think her husband was played by Jim Backus. who was quite famous.

[quote]Did she ever have a classic sitcom like Lucy and and Joan Davis?

She starred in her own domestic sitcom, "The Nanette Fabray Show" (also known as "Westinghouse Playhouse") in 1961, in which she played a Broadway star named Nan who marries a widower (played by Wendell Corey, not Jim Backus) with kids. It was canceled after one season.

I meant that Joan Davis' husband was played by Jim Backus, and I'm pretty sure that's correct.

[quote]When I posted the link to Angela singing Love Is Only Love, I said it was cut from Mame and then used in the film of Dolly. So I don't understand why people have been correcting me that it was in the film of Dolly, not Mame.

Because their reading skills are poor.

Sorry, R410. Yes, Jim Backus played Joan Davis's husband, a judge.

"I Married Joan" was second-rate "I Love Lucy," but it remained in syndication for years and had a fabulous opening theme song.

Urie was miscast in THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR, IMO. Another overhyped (and silly, not funny) production that didn't even compare to the Danny Kaye movie in mirth.

Didn't Mr President have the biggest advance in Broadway history up until that time and then the day after it opened ticket sales immediately stopped?

I saw Mr. President. Complete turkey, including the score. Anita Gillette was good, though; I wonder whatever happened to her.

Sondheim was known privately to be a bitchy queen but publicly he has always been a gentleman(except for the remark for publication about Richard Rodgers while he was still alive which was quite the whopper.)

I guess he's tired and is beyond giving a fuck.

It was that Richard Rodgers remark that caused Sondheim to stop trashing anyone still alive. On the whole, he's been nothing but gentlemanly in public. I think he was so intent on the point he was making that he lost sight of Patti's feelings.

[quote]Didn't Mr President have the biggest advance in Broadway history up until that time and then the day after it opened ticket sales immediately stopped?

Yes. But it ran for months anyway on the advance sales.

^^which is how I ended up seeing it. It was meant to be the smash hit of whatever season that was ('62?)

[quote]I think he was so intent on the point he was making that he lost sight of Patti's feelings.

Patti doesn't have any feelings.

Sondheim did not like Merman but did he like Martin? I know he did not do a show with her but he must have been around her a fair amount.

Why ever would Sondheim have spent any time around Mary Martin?

Can someone please remind what Sondheim said about Rodgers?

TIA!

I doubt he was around her that much, and he was a kid for at least part of that time.

Merman had some tenuous connection to his mother, among other irritants.

The only negative thing I ever read about Nanette Fabray: during tryouts of Mr. President, she supposedly insisted that one of Anita Gillette's dresses be changed because she felt it overshadowed her own.

And I may be in the minority but (at least as a kid watching endless reruns) I always thought Joan Davis was every bit the equal of Lucille Ball as a comedienne, even if her sitcom wasn't of the same high quality. And I much preferred the oddly sexy young Jim Backus as her husband to Desi. I guess I'm just quirky.

Lucy had funnier sidekicks.

Joan Davis had her own real-life daughter as one of her sidekicks-- but playing her younger sister! At least Lucy let her kids play her kids.

I know a few folks who thought Joan Davis and Betty White's comedic skills were the equals of Lucy back in the 50s; in fact, my brother liked DL fave Vivian Vance more than Lucy on her show.

The definitive production of Company was the one staged at the Barrington in Pittsfield, MA in August of 2017 and starring future Tony winner Aaron Tveit.

I saw it the same night that Sondheim was there, sitting in the last row of the Orchestra, dressed like a homeless person with food stains on his shirt.

Vivian Vance was the first of the actors to win an Emmy for the show. I think Lucy won a year or two later. Desi and Bill never won.

For r424, In an interview for Time or Newsweek, Sondheim described Oscar H. as a man of limited talent but unlimited soul, and Rodgers as having unlimited talent but a limited soul.

re the food stains, r430, I have the impression that other than a chef, he doesn't have much household help these days. I think he used to have people whose job it was to neaten him up before he left the house.

[quote] I think he used to have people whose job it was to neaten him up before he left the house.

So what the hell does the boyfriend do? I thought he had a regular partner?

Lucy's predicaments were no less silly than Joan's, but Lucille was so much more adept at that kind of physical comedy and it's funnier when it happens to a stunningly beautiful woman.

The partner is now a spouse (at least they wear wedding rings these days), but maybe tidying up his elderly hubby isn't part of the marital arrangement.

Robert Ryan as a President? He usually played villains though. Was he considered box-office/? I also like Nanette's "They Love Me" and of course, DL fave Anita Gillette's "The Secret Service Makes Me Nervous". Was it just the somewhat less than stellar score that accounted for the show's fairly early demise? Had it been closed already before JFK was killed?

It opened and closed before the assassination, r463. It wasn't a terrible show; it just wasn't a very good show. The cast was fine (including Ryan) and the score was fine. It was kind of like eating a Nilla Wafer, you know?

OMG....I had no idea there was this televised production! And with Greer, no less....

Nanette and Robert Ryan in the inevitable WML? appearance the night after their flop show opened.

Sad that Hugh Jackman is too old now for Bobby. He would have been perfect and it would have been the biggest box office hit ever of a Sondheim show.

Greer/Regina

[quote]On the whole, he's been nothing but gentlemanly

I wish he’d been gentlemanly on *my* hole.

Just returned from Company’s performance. What a SHOW!! I went to see LuPone but she wasn’t the only shining star of the evening. The cast is superb. The orchestra played well above the stage. Dance number was brilliany and clever. The director has found the story behind the scenes and been able to connect the songs to the story. Patti did’t steal the show nor she tried. She got huge applause after Ladies Who Lunch and it was perfectly put into a context. She sat throught the entire song. Equally huge ovations got handsome cute and excellent Jonathan Bailey for his Getting Married Today as a husband to be of a gay couple. The scene was cleverly staged and very funny.

This was smart and funny show with many long applauses after each number. The cast got well deserved standing ovations, which began long before LuPone entered. I stood up when Jonathan walked in. This has hit and Broadway written. By the way, a gay couple and several gay kisses on stage.

How did Patti take it?

Thanks for posting this, r443! The reviews were wonderful, but the naysayers on ATC and elsewhere aren't buying it.

R444 very well, she even applauded with big smile to Rosalie, who came in last and they walked off the stage together. R445 I really don’t care what others think of it. I loved it and if others don’t like it I assume they won’t buy ticket and see it. Or they sit through it hating it. Tonight’s audience seemed to like it a lot.

r443 How was Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do without You staged?

^Also, does Act 1 end with Marry Me a Little?

R447 it was smart dance number with tables chairs funny party scenes. R448 yes it does. Another Hundred People has another dance routines. Those cubicals turn to subways and people dance inside them kissing each other. There are several hot guys in the company and George Blagden is one of them. He sings it and he has perfect hairy pits I wanted to lick. He also played Louis XIV in Versailles but was nowhere near as hot as here.

And then there was hot muscled Richard Fleeshman in his blue underwear nicely showing his package. He is also very good actor. He got his clothes off in Barcelona.

What are the lyrics now in Barcelona for the "June?" "April" joke?

R436, It's not that well known that Robert Ryan and Maureen O'Sullivan were engaged to be married when his cancer was diagnosed in 1973.

I listened to the Patti/Sondheim podcast on the way home from work without reading the updates here and ouch. I winced on her behalf. He’s correct that there’s no Broadway actor who has name recognition among tourists. He’s also correct that tourists make up so much of the audience that a jukebox musical like the Cher show will do better than a Pulitzer Prize winning play. But still.....ouch he came across so harshly and didn’t give Patti any kudos for being a star within the theatre community who can absolutely sell some tickets and has a following who will always see her work. I wonder how she took it? Not well I’d imagine.

[quote] Tonight’s audience seemed to like it a lot.

An audience these days would cheer, scream and stand if you fed them a shit sandwich. Microwaved.

R454 Whatever you say. You must know better.

R453 It will be fodder for her next autobiography, or in a revised version (added chapters) of her existing one, depending on if the publishers decide to publish it again.

Well, it's too bad, r453. I feel sure he was intent on making his point and didn't think of how insulting it would seem, but based on interviews, Patti does seem very insecure about what he thinks of her. This is almost certain to make her feel lousy. I hope he apologized.

I listened to a podcast where Jenna Russell, who’s been in several highly acclaimed productions of Sondheim’s work, pronounced his last name “Sahn-dime.”’ In other words, no “h” at all. Is this a British thing? I think some of them over there still pronounce Streisand as “STREI-sund.”

Barbra has been known to, and has on television, pointed out that the last syllable of her name is pronounced "Sand" like sand on a beach; she hates the "z" as in "zand" how lots of folks, including lots fans, say.

It goes both ways, doesn't it? Gerard Butler's first name is never pronounced correctly on American television. Craig Ferguson became "Creg" etc.

If I were going to be in London, I would definitely catch this production, but this is exactly what I fear from a British Sondheim production (from the otherwise positive Guardian review):

[quote]my only reservation about an exhilarating evening is that the musical, in Marianne Elliott’s production, has lost some of its specific Manhattan identity.

Brits rarely seem to get Sondheim right -- or as well as their American counterparts.

(Well, that, and these new orchestrations that sound a bit neutered...)

I think it depends on the listener to a degree. No Brit thinks another Brit is saying "Obalmer" (Obama). Similarly an American might perceive Russell to have dropped the h in Sondheim, whereas a Brit hears it as de-emphasized.

I'd rather a production that can't capture Manhattan not try to do so, rather than do it badly. I thought it was clever how Piaf used Cockney.

[quote]What are the lyrics now in Barcelona for the "June?" "April" joke?

Randy/Andy

"Randy/Andy"? Ugh. Damn the calendar for not having another male name to go with August.

And let us not forget that Nanette Fabray played Mary Richards' mother on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (And Grandmother Romano on One Day at a Time.)

Losing the April/June joke is pretty tragic; it really can't be replicated by two rhyming names. But I'd still love to see this, just for the energy.

[quote](And Grandmother Romano on One Day at a Time.)

On which Nanette's niece, Shelley Fabares, also became a regular.

Randy Andy is Prince Andrew's nickname in England, especially years ago. That might get a chuckle there.

And even when they do them well, the Brits rarely get American musicals quite right.

Randy/Andy is super weak. Something like Oscar/Tony would have been a lot better and in line with the original clever joke.

Nannete Fabray had profound hearing loss.

Nanette had been intended to be an occasionally recurring character on MTM, but neither episode with Mary's parents played especially well and the idea was dropped.

Ant/Dec

Are the Company cast all playing American?

Is the Christie Metz Another Hundred People post on this thread?

DL at its bitchiest best.

Since we're doing gender-swapping, perhaps my beloved Steve could throw Glenn a bone and change it to "The Husbands Who Lunch" so she could play it as a man. Just a thought.

R453

Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster, Lin Manuel Miranda.

Sondheim is wrong about how much TV stars or taking a few years to make it in Hollywood (like Bernadette had to do and Cheno tried to do) can make a Broadway show work in the 21st Century. TV no longer works like that.

But Sondheim has never had a massive hit either. He has shows that get revived over and over and over again -- but he never had his Lion King, Phantom or Les Mis before 2000 when TV stars could help keep a Grease alive or a Chicago going after the talent moved on and he certainly never had a Wicked or Hamilton.

He is simply wrong. And his track record actually shows how stupid his belief was that a TV/Movie star could make his musicals more marketable.

Did the London Company keep "Tick Tock"?

How did Gypsy do when it was over there with Lansbury and Staunton? Did it do better than any productions over here have? I guess the Merman production did decently, right?

Having seen her Angels in America revival I'm not all surprised that Marianne Elliott was not interested in creating a realistic NYC.

[Quote] how stupid his belief was that a TV/Movie star could make his musicals more marketable.

The Yvonne DeCarlo musical tryout suggests otherwise...

R476, LMM and Sutton Foster are still unknowns to the general public. Adele Dazeem is more famous than Idina and none of the three are BO names outside of NY.

Lansbury only did about four months in London.

Should I know Rosalie Craig from something before Company? Has she starred in any of those Brit series that have been hits here?

She used to star in a sitcom in the 80s named Butterflies.

I think Broadway needs a production of "Miss Gulch Returns."

Would someone pretty please repost the pictures of the apes with Nanette Fabray faces?

Who knows who Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster are? Or Linn for that matter. The theatre crowd sure but as Sondheim said a tourist family looking to see a show see “The Cher Show” and “Sutton Foster in X” which are they going to pick. From the creator of Hamilton would grab the public better than Linn Manuel Miranda.

I’m the only person in my circle who goes to the theatre. The only name that my friends/family would recognize is Nathan Lane. My now deceased grandfather knew who Bernadette Peters was but I got blank stares from friends when I told them she was taking over from Bette and sadly nobody wanted to go with me to see her. I went alone and my friends went to see Chicago.

Rosalie Craig was also in that musical movie starring Olivia Colman about the five murdered prostitutes.

R481

My point exactly. Those three names are pretty much Broadway famous and obscure as movie/TV personalities. Yet they sell tickets on Broadway. Sondheim's point was that Broadway stars can't star on Broadway because you need TV stars to really sell a show to tourists. But he is 20 years behind the time. US TV isn't as great a way to become bankable as it used to be. I actually suspect that to make it as a bankable name on Broadway they new requirement is a successful music career. Sara Barielles, Josh Groban etc are the famous names that bring in an audience when a show doesn't have the buzz it needs to survive. The Tony Shaloubs of the world manage to sell tickets to shows when they manage to get in REALLY GOOD shows - but not when a mediocre show assumes the tourists will show up to see if Monk can sing and carry a show alone.

"Cute and vulnerable, in a deliberate sort of way."

Millions of people under 25 know who Idina, Sutton and Lin are, grandpa at r487.

Lol I’m R487 and I’m 23 and nope here in Indiana and Florida (where I go to school) they really don’t.

Has Anita Dobson ever done GYPSY?

And God knows every 23-year-old knows everything there is to know about everything!

It's hilarious how theater queens are so aghast as the concept that the world has changed and Broadway has changed. LMM, Sutton and Idina are not names that even sell on Broadway. When was the last time Sutton Foster, LMM or Idina ever had a hit not named Hamilton or Wicked? And of course, everyone went to see those shows because of their names.

R492

People who are interested in theater tourism -- the people Sondheim is talking about -- know who Idina, Lin and Sutton are. A LOT of those people are young. You clearly hang out with people who understood the Bortles joke was more than a funny sounding name in *The Good Place* -- and that is great. I had to look it up. But you said yourself that none of the people you hang out with goes to theater. So basically you are limiting your argument to people who aren't even part of the discussion.

Didn't If/Then do solid business?

Harry Potter suggests it's not just name but match. How to Succeed was a bigger success than Equus.

“You clearly hang out with people who understood the Bortles joke was more than a funny sounding name in *The Good Place* -- and that is great. I had to look it up”

Huh? No idea what this means.

[quote]When was the last time Sutton Foster, LMM or Idina ever had a hit not named Hamilton or Wicked?

Anything Goes and In the Heights were both hits. Not Hamilton-sized megahits, but they were hits.

They’ve already reached out to Anne Hathaway for the Broadway transfer of Company.

I wouldn't be surprised if Anne Hathaway took the offer. Her film career seems to have stalled and she would be wonderful. But why do I get the feeling Patti would hate her?

I think the big difference with stardom today, whether it's on the screen or on the stage, is that audiences won't blindly go see their favorite stars unless they are in particular films or shows that appeal to them. And that they perceive as the appropriate fit for their image of those stars.

Yes, R497.

If/Then recouped on the road.

Sondheim is simply wrong and probably very self destructive about this issue. Does he seriously think 'War Paint' would have been a hit if only they had thought to get Debra Messing on board? He has shot himself in the foot his entire career chasing famous 'bankable' people when his work would have held up better with top talent.

Anne Hathaway is too prissy/sterile to play Bobbi.

Are you saying AnnE Hathaway is the female Boyd Gaines? And we all know how that turned out. Charlotte d'Amboise said on some podcast that producers wanted to move the Roundabout production of Company to broadway but wanted Gaines replaced. Producers and creative team refused and that was that.

R477 yes

Yes. Dorothy Collins may have been an EGOT but she ruined the balance of Follies with her outsize persona.

I’ve read some reviews on other boards that said Rosalie’s voice wasn’t up to NY standards but she had been out sick so maybe it was a bad night for her. Also complaints that it didn’t feel like the show was taking place in Manhattan. So I wonder if they’ll transfer anyone from the London cast? I would assume Patti won’t allow herself to be replaced in the transfer but how would she take playing second banana to Anne Hathaway. She’s another one Patti could easily consider dead behind the eyes and a movie killer!

What about Laura Benanti for Bobbi?

In the early 1970s, the name on everyone's lips was... Glynis. And of course, she stunk up Night Music.

NY standards?

They should get Donna McKechnie for Joanne.

Speaking of CZJ, 32 could pull off 35, right?

R509

I am really kind of a fan of Laura at the moment. So ... yes?

What we've created in London is so special. Lightbing doesn't strike twice. I'll pass.

Again the point wasn’t if there are legit stars in theatre, if anyone is a “name” or if Sondheim was right.

The problem was he said to Patti LuPone’s face that “no one knows her name” outside of theatre. That was what was so upsetting. I agree-Sutton Foster isn’t a name. But you don’t have a conversation with Sutton Foster and tell her to her face that she is not famous.

Speaking of Company and the Roundabout, wouldn't a London transfer be perfect for Studio 54 and, dare I say, a Roundabout production? Subscription? Limited run?

Patti herself has said herself that she's a hard sell. I believe she's also been honest about her commercial clout relative to A divas. There's a reason Babs Streizund's recordings were played in the foyer at Sunset Blvd...

Yup the way it came across on the podcast it was like the creator of Modern Family being interviewed with Ty Burrell and saying “this is an ensemble show, nobody tunes in to see Ty Burrell we could have used John Smith” Some things you just don’t say. I’m sure Patti accepts that she’s not known outside the theatre world but she also has people wait at the stage door nightly to tell her they flew in from all over the world just to see her so he could have yielded a little especially when Graham Norton came to her defence and said he went to see WarPaint just for Patti.

I saw Torch Song and the miscasting is appalling. Urie simply is doing overblown clownish shtick. Poor Mercedes’ face is frozen as if she’s wearing an inexpressive mask bearing no resemblance to the quirky and daring actress she used to be. The actor playing David looks 26 instead of the 15 he’s supposed to be. The other male actors are hot which is the best that can be said about them. But damnit if the play on the whole doesn’t somehow still work. It’s a seminal piece of theatre. Brava Harvey for creating this!

R478, believe it or not Angela Lansbury was the first to play Rose in Gypsy. It took 14 years for Gypsy to actually get its UK premiere.

No, Anita Dobson has never played Rose. Very nice lady, great actress but a surprisingly light, weak singing voice. I did like her big song in Budgie (“In One Of My Weaker Moments”) but she seemed to struggle with it.

Wendy Craig starred in the sitcom Butterflies, not Rosalie Craig, who might not even have been born yet.

Who dances Tick Tock? Is it the cute guy with glasses? What was he wearing?

Angela was indeed the very first Rose in London. But the production was originally announced with Elaine Stritch, who had been living and performing there since the sixties. She had been successful there both onstage and on TV and was considered a star.

Nonetheless, the producers couldn't raise the money needed on her name and quietly persuaded Angela to take over to make their bank. If you search long and deep enough, you can finds ads for the production starring Stritch.

[quote]I listened to a podcast where Jenna Russell, who’s been in several highly acclaimed productions of Sondheim’s work, pronounced his last name “Sahn-dime.”’ In other words, no “h” at all. Is this a British thing?

I know a few theater pros in New York who are close friends or colleagues of Sondheim, and they pronounce his last name with a silent "h," so I think maybe that's considered the correct pronunciation even if few people say it that way. Has Sondheim himself ever made a point of this in an interview?

But does he say Streisand with a "sand" or a "zand"?

R523 I think it was enseble dance number. The cute guy Matthew Seadon-Young along with hot Blagden and Fleesham guve perfect performance of You Could Drive A Person Grazy. It was funny well danced sang. His picture is not from Company.

Tick Tock isn’t danced in the show - r527 is confusing it with You Could Drive a Person Crazy.

What is referred to in the programme as ‘Tick Tock’ (but doesn’t have the music/dialogue from the original show) is a scenere where Bobbie sits up in bed and watches multiple Bobbie clones acting out scenes on a loop - Bobbie lugging a baby carriage around, Andy coming in, taking a piss and leaving. Fears of motherhood/living with a guy.

Opera great Marilyn Horne sang with the Roger Wagner Chorale and you can hear her mezzo voice in the "I Married Joan" theme song.

Jenn Colella as Bobbi.

R528 yes, now I remember. Fleesham wearing towel walking around.

Just as many people know who Patti LuPone is as they know Stephen Sondheim...

Was it Merman's choice never to have taken one of her hit shows to London?

[quote]but I'm sure Patti's being a good sport.

"Good sport" isn't in Patti's wheelhouse.

Does the guy who dances Tick Tock do it bottomless?

[quote]I wouldn't be surprised if Anne Hathaway took the offer. Her film career seems to have stalled and she would be wonderful. But why do I get the feeling Patti would hate her?

Her film career didn't stall, she had a baby and chose to stay home for a while.

There has been no offer to Anne Hathaway or anyone else. If it's going to move, it won't be for awhile, but at this point, nothing's definite.

He pronounces the "h" r 525.

Benanti is too old for Bobby/i but more to the point has too much personality

Most 35 year old actresses and actors “read” too young to play Bobbi/Bobby. By the early 40s they are too old. Does anyone still look 35 today?

Meghan McCain *is* Bobbi

Rosalie Craig looks like she has plenty of personality. The requirements may be somewhat different with the genders reversed.

OTOH Bobby is typically played as/by a cipher but John Barrowman was one of the most - or the most - successful Bobbies (which Sondheim himself has said) and he has plenty of personality ... it became more about his unwillingness/ambivalence about giving up freedom and partying for a conventional "adult" lifestyle ... that approach brings out the ambivalence (more than the faux happy ending affirmation) of Being Alive and makes Marry Me a Little more the fulcrum

This nonsense about Bobby not having any personality is as stupid as the conversation about whether Sally Bowles should be able to sing.

Perhaps, but it does seem that in creating her vision, Marianne Elliott gave Bobbie a stronger personality than the Bobbys have had. The Atlantic's review of this production makes the point that Bobby was originally created by Sondheim, Furth, and Prince as a foil, or a device to connect the couples' scenes; this was originally a show about married couples, not about their unmarried friend. Elliott has shifted the focus, so it seems natural to think about Bobbie in different dramatic terms.

So now that Sondheim has created new male lyrics for formerly female roles, why can’t someone mix and match the two scripts so we get an all-male Company? Sondheim attended an an all-male reading done by director John Tiffany a few years ago but it didn’t proceed beyond that.

Miss Dobson for r521....

[quote] Her film career didn't stall, she had a baby and chose to stay home for a while.

No, dear. Her film career has stalled. She's had a couple few bombs or indies that barely made a scratch, and her all female remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has gone through two name changes and is currently sitting on the shelf, having passed two pulled release dates.

Right now Patti wont hate anyone who has the balls to openly oppose Donald Trump.

Another Bobbi to suit Sondheim's requirement of being a Big Well Know TV/movie star could be Evan Rachel Woods.

Wow, thanks, R547! Doing a search using “Budgie” never brought up thr song!

I’ve met Ms. Dobson several times. Incredibly nice lady. Adored her on EastEnders. I only wish she had a powerhouse voice so she could play the likes of Rose. I know she played Dolly on tour a few years ago.

As I will be seeing Company when I'm in London in a couple of weeks, Id vote for an all new all-male production of it in NY, directed by Joe Mantello. He could probably use the Boys in the Band set and most of the costumes and cast.

And Matt Bomer is the perfect beautiful cypher to play Bobby. With Zachary Quinto as Joe (Joanne) and Robin de Jesus singing Getting Mmarried today as Emory (Amy...they won't even have to change the labels in his costumes). I'm sure Andrew Rannells (Marty) could knock Another 100 People out of the park.

And Jim Parsons as the flight attendant. Perfect casting!

In what universe would Jim Parsons be thought of as a flight attendant? He's a dorky nerd and that's not what airlines hire.

Horrible idea, R551.

NEXT!

Cast the Broadway COMPANY company with high school actors!

[quote] No, dear. Her film career has stalled. She's had a couple few bombs or indies that barely made a scratch, and her all female remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has gone through two name changes and is currently sitting on the shelf, having passed two pulled release dates.

Gee R548 you seem really invested in some stranger's career. How creepy of you.

Oh, if only Farrah Fawcett was still with us. Bobbi *is* Joanne!

It would be really funny if Company ended up being a long running hit for Sondheim actually outliving him and enriching his estate all because of LuPone.

Really - no one wants to see this without her.

Listening to the Graham Norton podcast, Sondheim seemed to immediately regret his comment about there being no Broadway stars today, especially after Patti objected. He appeared to soften his comment as Norton was signing off.

R555

Being overly invested in an actress' career on the theatre gossip thread is considered creepy to you?

OKLAHOMA at St. Anne's is a must-see for several reasons. But it will bomb big-time if it transfers to Broadway.

Prepare yourselves to be envious. Yesterday on Route 66 the guest star was Miss Elizabeth Seal! Now I know you think it can't get better....but it does! In the pivotal role of Maxine (two lines, I think), none other than that show biz and DL super-icon.....Miss Elaine Joyce!

Dean Jones' hairy chest had plenty of personality!

I hope they bring Company over with the entire British cast. Except they probably need to cast a bankable TV star as Joanne. Who’s the TV equivalent of Glenn Close?

Meryl "HBO" Streep?

There’s no way they would be allowed to bring the entire cast. LuPone, of course. And I could see them making a case for Rosalie Craig and the one who plays the Marta character, since that’s a Brit now.wybe Jonathan Bailey, but that’s it. These are American roles in an iconic American musical, and they should be played by American actors. We’ve already had our fill of no-name crappy Brits in AIA.

I’m hoping the Oklahomo from Ashland comes in.

Laurey can be played by the same guys who play Laurie in "Little Women".

[quote]Who’s the TV equivalent of Glenn Close?

Wilford Brimley.

Bobby is such a tricky role. There's not much on the page, yet it's been hailed as one of the great roles for men in musical theatre. It's definitely a role that requires someone with build in likability and charisma to make it work. It's one of those roles where the actor is required to make it great and worthwhile.

I'm seeing the St Ann's OKLAHOMA next month...and am absolutely DREADING it. It sounds like a parody of every pc twitch now devouring the country in its maw.

Heather Headley for Bobbie.

[quote]It's definitely a role that requires someone with build in likability and charisma to make it work. It's one of those roles where the actor is required to make it great and worthwhile.

I know just the person. MEEEEEEE!!!

Lady Gaga is slow in returning my calls for Funny Girl, so until that happens, I've got some time on my hands.

How about Sherie Rene Scott for female NY Bobbi?

The "I saw it in London last night" person is the one who claims everything is great until the rest of us see documentary evidence to the contrary.

This show and this production could run for a few weeks at most in NY.

r573 Yes, Patti would love that idea.

Sherie is in her 50s, so nope.

I should know this, but has Christine Baranski ever played Joanne?

I know Sherie is in her 50s but she could pull off late 30s since it isn't like there's such a thing as a close-up. Do you really think Joanne is supposed to be 70?

Waverly Gallery is likely to get stellar reviews and have a good run. The casting is spot on - everyone gets a chance to shine. The subject matter is painful, and it is not a tightly plotted kind of play. When I saw it, the audience was very moved and vocally appreciative of the quality of acting.

America Ferrera is N.Y. Bobbi

[quote]OTOH Bobby is typically played as/by a cipher but John Barrowman was one of the most - or the most - successful Bobbies (which Sondheim himself has said) and he has plenty of personality ... it became more about his unwillingness/ambivalence about giving up freedom and partying for a conventional "adult" lifestyle ... that approach brings out the ambivalence (more than the faux happy ending affirmation) of Being Alive and makes Marry Me a Little more the fulcrum

Yes, and Barrowman also really fit the bill because I've always thought it's a big plus if Bobby is played by an actor who's exceptionally good looking, really gorgeous. That would help explain why all of these couples are so invested in him, and why he's dating three women at one time. Also,it's said that gorgeous people often tend to have inferiority or security issues because sometimes they feel others are only attracted to their physical beauty and not to who they are as people. That could certainly help explain Bobby's fear of commitment. Of course, this applies to women as well as men, but that's immaterial to me in this case because I just do not "get" the idea of a female Bobby(ie).

[quote]There’s no way they would be allowed to bring the entire cast.

It would certainly be possible to bring the entire London cast of COMPANY to Broadway for a limited run, as long as an equivalent exchange was worked out, and an equal number of actors from a Broadway show were allowed to open in a London production. What could happen is the London cast could come to Broadway with the show for six months and then be replaced by Americans if the run were going to continue. Obviously, Patti could stay longer if she wanted to. I'm not saying this WILL happen, but it could.

The St. Ann's OKLAHOMA is like much-needed medicine. You won't love it but it's good for you.

Seriously, it's worth seeing just for its audacity but I agree it would be very mistaken to move it to Broadway. It's a shame there isn't an open non-profit flexible space with about 500 seats in Manhattan that's affordable these days as that's where it needs to move.

The other thing about gorgeous people not being able to commit to a relationship is they always know there will be another (possibly hotter) opportunity waiting right around the corner.

Megan Mullally as Bobbi.

50 is the new 35. And the theater is big -- so we can pretend 50, right?

Lens Dunham as Bobbi

Megan is 60. Keep these excellent suggestions coming.

The clock's ticking for both men, but do we think a Chris Pine or Chris Evans-led original recipe Company would sell?

Barbie as Bobbi!

[quote]I'm seeing the St Ann's OKLAHOMA next month...and am absolutely DREADING it. It sounds like a parody of every pc twitch now devouring the country in its maw.

Why are you seeing a show that you are "DREADING"? What's wrong with you?

Sutton seems inevitable and yet so depressing

r546: Sondheim attended the John Tiffany workshop and declined permission to do the all-male version; he said it "didn't work." I'd be surprised if he rethought it, but who knows?

To the poster who suggested Baranski for Joanne, I think she'd be fabulous.

Baranski is such an obvious choice for Joanne, there's simply no point to bothering.

IMHO.

Hugh Jackman really would have nailed Bobby.. God knows he’s far more ingratiating than John fucking Barrowman, who defines the term “obnoxious” in every way.

The British company of Company could be brought here, even for a limited run? Absolutely ridiculous. It won’t happen. Equity wouldn’t allow it.

Jane & Dinah

[quote]Hugh Jackman really would have nailed Bobby.. God knows he’s far more ingratiating than John fucking Barrowman, who defines the term “obnoxious” in every way.

Obviously, some people disagree with you about Barrowman as Bobby. Did you actually see him in the part?

R570 could you elaborate more on your post regarding the St Ann's OKLAHOMA production? Why are you dreading it? I'm so busy all the time that I don't follow theater or the movies anymore like when I was a teen, so I'm very in the dark about these things. TIA

I can think of a few reasons why someone might be planning to see a show even if they're dreading it -- curiosity about a newsworthy production, or whatever. And it's possible the person was invited by a friend and doesn't have to pay.

Is this the production where they serve chili and and cornbread to the audience during the box social?

I would dread seeing any production of Oklahoma...or The Sound of Music...or Grease...or...

[quote]Yesterday on Route 66 the guest star was Miss Elizabeth Seal!

Oh, you mean that actress who was fired from "A Chorus Line" in London because she didn't have what it took to play my part?

[quote]The British company of Company could be brought here, even for a limited run? Absolutely ridiculous. It won’t happen. Equity wouldn’t allow it.

Ahem...

Who the fuck is Elizabeth Seal?

R601 And a big BO flop, so lets not use that as an example

Weren’t we talking about Tom Berklund’s big dick?

There is not going to be any NY transfer of Company.