THEATRE GOSSIP #329: “I DIDN’T MEAN TO KILL DADDAYYY!” Edition

BREAKED NEWS!

Jo puts her perfectly pitched spin on this tune from Beggar's Holiday....

If Company moves to Broadway, but Equity insists on Americans, do you think that Patti LuPone has cast approval in her contract?

WEHT Harry Groener? I realize he may not be as limber a dancer as he was in "Oklahoma" "Cats" and "Crazy For You" but he hasn't been on Broadway in over 10 years. Surely he could get a gig as the Wizard in Wicked or Billy Flynn in Chicago?

I talked to someone who saw the Ashland, OR, Oklahomo!, and she'd enjoyed it. Said it "wasn't trendy," although I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that. I had a chance to see it and passed. It's not my favorite R&H, although I enjoyed the National Theatre's production with Hugh Jackman.

Interesting and opposing reviews for American Son between the NY Times and NY Daily News. The Times is a rave, the News points out what reads like gaping holes in the plot.

Kerry Washington can do no wrong however (she goes for the opposite look from Olivia Pope) and for those of you who miss him on Supergirl, you get to see Jeremy Jordan (but you're forewarned - there's no singing or dancing).

[quote]do you think that Patti LuPone has cast approval in her contract?

Only her usual “No Klausner” clause.

[quote]Only her usual “No Klausner” clause.

I'm sure she also has a "No Glenn Close" clause and maybe even a "No Christine Ebersole" clause. Maybe a "No Sherri Rene Scott" clause?

Jo Stafford is splendid as always, but she should have shot whoever talked her into wearing that nightmare of a dress.

I think LuPone would have a no Sherie Rene Scott Claude after the Women on the Verge fiasco

Variety HATED "Beetlejuice". I don't think those idiots would dare bring this crapfest in.

Enough with the movie musicals. Why can't people do like Hal Prince and turn a book into a musical like The Pajama Game?

Am I the only one who's never enjoyed a production of Oklahoma? I've seen quite a few (and the movie) and I can't get into it. Lovely score, but I just find the story so dull. I don't care about this people at all.

[quote]If Company moves to Broadway, but Equity insists on Americans, do you think that Patti LuPone has cast approval in her contract?

Would Patti do it? She already did it in NY and filmed it, and she didn't want to come over with Les Miz which was a easy role and she would have had a guaranteed Tony.

She was interested in coming over with Les Miz, but only if the role of Fantine were to be expanded. Cameron Mackintosh told her she'd have to speak to Victor Hugo about that.

I think she will jump at it. She really is having quite the triumph in London, and coming in with a smash hit in which she's a major player will, I think, be irresistible. And she might want to do it for Sondheim (and he might want her to).

I saw the 1979 revival of OKLAHOMA and it was sublime. Romantic, comic, high-spirited, mysterious (the Many A New Day and Dream ballets remain strange) and EXCITING. The only other production that came close was a recent university effort (was it Ann Arbor?) that utilized the original design elements, staging and orchestrations---it was stunning. Both productions make clear what the original fuss was all about.

No Christine Ebersole?

WTF. They got along.

If Company comes over they really need to recast the 4 husbands. None of them remotely seem like they could be Bobbie's friends or that she would sing Someone Is Waiting referencing them. Even the actor who plays hottie Jonathan Bailey's husband is homely and dreary. And with the Bobby/Bobbie gender reversal, the husbands now have more to do and sing than in the original version.

The 3 wives (besides Patti) are pretty good but nothing special. Hard to imagine there aren't better musical theater actors in all of London.

Jonathan Bailey and Richard Fleeshman were both hilarious. And I loved Rosalie Craig though I guess others have found her a bit wanting.

I don't know what Marianne Elliott was thinking.....but then she got raves so what do know? And I did enjoy myself enormously. It just could be so much better.

What do you think would improve it, r19? Different casting, or more tweaks to the book? I'm not fond of the few revised lyrics I've heard/read; is that what you mean?

Mainly, the casting. The book and lyric tweaks didn't bother me much.

I thought even Patti (who I normally love) was not great. She was simply waaaaaay too vulgar and constantly winking or rolling her eyes to the audience. But I suspect Elliott let her do what she wanted.

But after all that, I don't really mean to sound so negative. It was great fun.....but, again, frustrating as it just could be so much sharper.

Thanks, r21. I love her, too, but I guess it's not surprising that Patti's running away with this. When she's given free rein, that's often what happens. Based on your description I'm imagining her repeating her role as the Old Woman in the Lonny Price Candide. I hope I'm wrong.

Maybe the show would benefit from NY performers; several people have complained that this production is missing that edge.

I just wrote a reply to r21 (which was eaten for some reason) in which I wondered whether Patti was channeling her performance as the Old Lady, and lo and behold someone posted it! I hope that's not what she's doing as Joanne.

It's there, r24.

It was UNC School Of The Arts that did the restored 1943 OKLAHOMA with John Mauceri supervising. They filmed it for PBS. It’s interesting to see what passed for a Broadway physical production back then.

Thank you so much for posting that R26.

As an old geezer who wishes he'd been alive to see original productions during Broadway's 'Golden Age', it is thrilling to see this.

I hope I live long enough to see a staging of the original SOUTH PACIFIC someday (although the recent Lincoln Center production was pretty amazing)

R26, that’s what passed for a “budget” production back then, which Oklahoma definitely was. There were other shows that were quite lavish.

I really hope Company isn’t like the London import of Angels in America, where there was virtually no sense that the characters were in America, let alone NYC. I find James McArdle to be very attractive but they should have recast with Americans.

Do we know if McArdle is gay or straight?

Anna Kendrick has dead eyes and is bland. But she was great in High Society 20 years ago

Yikes, R25 -- the version was definitely worthwhile but what an annoying song.

Anna Kendrick as resting bitch face, not dead eyes, R30. She would likely be good in Company and might even make Sondheim believe he had a box office draw movie star. Which I guess would be good for his stress levels or something?

How many Companys does one need to see it a lifetime? It's like fucking Gypsy, all the time, everywhere.

Stop it already!

I think The Simpsons should do Follies.

Helen Lovejoy is Phyllis Rodgers Stone

Marge is Sally Durant Plummer

Homer Is Buddy

Ned Flanders is Benjamin Stone

Selma Bouvier is Hattie

Mrs Van Houten is Who’s That Woman

Krusty the Clown IS trans Carlotta

Kent Brockman seems more like a Ben to me. Or even Mr. Burns Too bad Troy McClure isn’t around anymore.

Oh, come on, WE ARE WOMEN is a fine, singular number, as only Lenny could write. It's that production that was annoying.

Whatever the budget of the OKLAHOMA designs, they were, as Rodgers noted, all of a piece with the rest of the show and framed it beautifully.

That NCSA production was cool! I'm watching the video now - thanks for posting it!

I saw the Broadway revival of Oklahoma with Patrick Wilson. After the first two songs (Oh What a Beautiful Morning and Surrey with the Fringe on Top), I turned to the woman I was with and said "we could go home now and I would feel like I had gotten my money's worth."

For [R27]

r37 - loved that opening sequence and Patrick Wilson is the real deal. I wonder if he'll ever do another Broadway musical.

The problem with that, r38, is the black and white. If you’ve ever seen any of the color photos of the original production, you know how stunning the use of color was.

I think Company is more like Follies, not Gypsy, R32. We suspect that there is a masterpiece in there somewhere, but every production falls short of the mark. Ergo, we keep hoping the NEXT production will restore our faith in the play.

I think the National Theatre's production of Follies finally gave it a production that properly showed its genius, and we keep waiting for one that does the same for Company.

The tempo of MORNING is unnecessarily rushed in that clip, sacrificing the charm of the number.

The Arena Stage Oklahoma already went down this road of reimagining the frontier as racially diverse and doing a more intimate staging ... and it also already went down this road of moving to Broadway until it wasn't

God, I had completely forgotten that Arena production, and I liked it very much. I have no idea what happened to the transfer.

R41 "I think the National Theatre's production of Follies finally gave it a production that properly showed its genius, and we keep waiting for one that does the same for Company."

We don't need to keep waiting for a production to show Company's genius. That was already done in the original 1970 Broadway production.

Patty Duke was extraordinary as Aunt Eller in the Broadway revival. As with Reba in AGYG she would have won a Tony if she hadn’t been a replacement. Btw why didn’t she win for Miracle Worker? It seems unfathomable.

Patty wasn't even nominated for Miracle Worker, which seems unbelievable now.

[quote]I think Company is more like Follies, not Gypsy, [R32]. We suspect that there is a masterpiece in there somewhere, but every production falls short of the mark. Ergo, we keep hoping the NEXT production will restore our faith in the play.

I think because directors don't know what to do with it. It is firmly entrenched in the 1970s and that time period's culture is firmly planted in it.

I think also, it takes strong actors, which the US doesn't put strong actors in their musicals. It would take a genius director and we're not seeing any of those anymore. So, I doubt we'll see a perfect production anytime soon. I wish we could have a definitive production in the next ten years, but I doubt we will.

I have no need (or desire) to see Oklahoma or Carousel ever again.

I feel the same way, r49. Glorious scores, but the stories and characters do nothing for me.

Lena Horne also an exceptional version of Tomorrow Mountain.

Patrick Wilson has a much better voice than High Jackman. Too bad that version wasn’t recorded.

Hugh Jackman is a horrible singer.

I thought I was the only one who thought that r53.

He doesn't really SING. He yells on pitch.

Through his nose.

God, I hated the Broadway revival of Oklahoma with Patrick Wilson form the moment the Mr Rogers toy train crossed the stage. Also, what the hell was Aunt Eller doing in the first scene? Churning butter? Washing clothes? Making Ice cream? I know she was supposed to be making butter, but it was a highly unusual butter churn. If the audience has to stop thinking about the play to figure out what a prop is, even for a second, it is a bad choice. The production was full of such bad choices. Having Laurie in overalls was one of them. Clearly, they tries to make the most eccentric or unexpected choice every time. Sometime a choice is unexpected because it is just plain wrong.

The female lead was a triple threat, but there was not much threat there. She was more of a triple "just fine". Wilson, I thought I was seeing the understudy. Nice voice, but he comes from the Botox school of acting. Shuler Hensley was wonderful.

Agreed that the Broadway production was highly underwhelming. Patrick Wilson is dull despite a nice voice and face and body.

[quote] It was UNC School Of The Arts that did the restored 1943 OKLAHOMA with John Mauceri supervising

Interesting (to me anyway) was that they didn't have a blonde Laurey, necessitating the change in the lyrics to 'Lonely Room':

[quote] And her long, yeller hair, Falls across my face, Jist like the rain in a storm!

It became 'long wavy hair'.

They were so meticulous about the costumes, dances, and orchestrations, they couldn't have bought a blonde wig?

R59, maybe they felt it wasn't worth it to try a blonde wig or to dye the girl's hair blonde, which might have looked unnatural. What's the big deal about changing "yeller hair" to "wavy hair" -- or "raven hair," which is what it was changed to when Christine Andreas played the part?

[quote]Patty Duke was extraordinary as Aunt Eller in the Broadway revival. As with Reba in AGYG she would have won a Tony if she hadn’t been a replacement. Btw why didn’t she win for Miracle Worker? It seems unfathomable.

Got to meet Patty while she was in the show. Just her working was amazing as just three month before she cracked her skull. I asked, weren't you just in the hospital and she told me the story, but she felt great enough to come to NY and do the show. She truly was an incredible person.

[quote]maybe they felt it wasn't worth it to try a blonde wig or to dye the girl's hair blonde, which might have looked unnatural. What's the big deal about changing "yeller hair" to "wavy hair" -- or "raven hair," which is what it was changed to when Christine Andreas played the part?

Because the idea behind that UNC production was to try and recreate the original production as closely as possible. So starting to change lyrics really worked against that purpose.

They should have cast Suzanne Somers as Laurie then.

[quote]Because the idea behind that UNC production was to try and recreate the original production as closely as possible. So starting to change lyrics really worked against that purpose.

Yes, but for heaven's sake, it's just one word that doesn't have to rhyme with anything, and if the original Laurey hadn't been a blonde, the word would have been "raven" or "wavy" or something else in the first place. Do you seriously believe it makes that much difference?

And I'll be they had to change it for some of those replacements in the original production!

"Long yeller hair" is sung at St. Ann's and, momentarily, it gave me pause....till I recalled that the body of the song is Jud recounting his dream, and the woman conjured up could arguably be any kind of fantasy woman, not just Laurey. That's how I think they justified that choice of lyric in that production...for what that's worth.

Oklahoma is just dated. All productions of it suck at some level. Why do directors keep dusting off this dingleberry and sticking it back on the stage?

Just to annoy you, R67.

Because it's strange and singular with a glorious score and part of our heritage and legacy, that's why.

bravo, r69.

Stockard Channing on Apologia.

I just looked at the cast of the Patrick Wilson 2002 Oklahoma and Aasif Mandvi was in it, as Ali Hakim. How weird is that?

Anna Kendrick's stock plummeted when she signed on for those horrid Hilton commercials. Eek.

Somebody's got to pay the bills, r73. I believe she's been the primary support of her family since she was 12.

Good god it looks like Stockard’s face is melting in [r71]

That can't be a bad lift. She must have some sort of skin condition or allergy.

Something that people have not yet revealed about Company that I thought was pretty funny....When she is with the Flight Attendant (what a body!), and all the husbands start singing "Poor Baby," you only see her head while the flight attendant is eating her. I thought it was a riot. She had the look of "Why are you here???"

r58 it was between him and Jarrod Emick who would have been so much better

As someone mentioned in the other thread, Stockard has recurring knee problems and may be getting cortisone shots which could be making her face puffy. That's not bad plastic surgery. If it was her skin would be too tight, not too loose.

It's not at all weird that Aasif Mandvi was in Oklahoma. Everyone who saw it realizes that he was in it.

I saw it, R80, but didn't know who the hell Aasif Mandvi was in 2002.

How glad are you that you’re not on the creative team of Beetlejuice after those reviews?

Who the hell IS Aasif Mandvi?

The NT Follies was about as good as that show will probably ever get. You can say you didn't care for this actor or that costume choice or whatever, but the production as a whole was easily the finest and most moving that I've seen since the original. No easy feat. When are they supposed to be bringing that back again? January or February or something? I wish they'd move it to New York, but if Bernadette and Elaine couldn't sell tickets for that show nearly a decade ago, I doubt anyone else could either. They'd need BIG names.

I'm excited about the new Company. I've seen quite a few productions over the years that have attempted to modernize it via clothes, set designs, props, etc. but it's never worked because the book and the lyrics are so firmly set in the early 70's. I'm interested to see how it changes things.

The NT Follies will be back on in February until March, but in repertory.

Imelda Staunton was the weakest link in that Follies. She was a bit too "hard" for Sally. I didn't feel she was fragile enough to sing "Losing My Mind." Otherwise, it was perfection.

The NT Follies was very effective. You could practically smell Phyllis's wringing wet panties.

[quote]You could practically smell Phyllis's wringing wet panties.

You saw it when she was having sex in the balcony with that black guy!

Better to smell Phyllis’s panties than to see Tovah’s Rose’s black ones

Imelda is usually the weakest link in anything she does on stage.

I know it's early but let's see if #330 can go 600 posts without a Follies mention. Just to see if we can.

Imelda's strength is playing earthy, working class women. She was excellent in Vera Drake.

Was Vera Drake onstage? No.

I'd like the NT to rework the Loveland transition -- it should be gasp-worthy -- but, other than that, I agree with R84 in that it's probably the best production we're going to get of Follies for a good while.

The Loveland transition was the weakest moment of the show for me. Were those LED lights? It wasn't grand enough. Maybe it's the space they had to use or something. I really don't know, but I don't think it worked very well. Everything leading up to it was magic, though.

Staunton was a bit miscast, but I didn't hate her as much as I hated her in Gypsy, which is odd, because her style and singing voice were more appropriate for Rose than for Sally. I've heard audience recordings of her in Gypsy where she's landing every laugh, singing her ass off, and bringing the scary and pathetic qualities out of Rose like gangbusters. From those recordings, she's a damn near definitive Rose. You'd never know it from watching the filmed version. Christ, she was awful - screaming every line, draining all the charm from the character, building her eyes, and walking around like a manic nutcase. It could have worked in act II, but to start the show like that right out of the gate was just bizarre. There was no build, no arc. One day, maybe someone will explain what happened right before they started filming, because that performance was nothing like what I'd heard on those audience recordings.

Was Vera Drake about how that slow woman performing abortions willy nilly killing young women in the process?

I've often thought the awful BBC taping of Gypsy was a result of an actor getting bored in a role and just trying something new to keep themselves amused and engaged. I've seen it before, but usually, they're not filmed. You'd think they'd tell Imelda that this night (or nights) are not the time to try new things and she should stick to what's worked in past performances. Not only did she read too big for the screen, but too angry, too dour, too humorless. These are things that have nothing to do with performance style and being too over the top or giving too much. It was a completely different performance from what I'd seen on stage in London a few months before. And the previous poster was right - she was damn near definitive in the role. I have no idea what went wrong in between that and BBC taping, but that wasn't the performance I saw.

Nonetheless, she stank to high heaven. Fuck Imelda.

I read that one thing that happened at the taping was that everyone was told to speed up their performances, sometimes substantially, to keep the show under two hours without making cuts. True or not, I don't know, but that would cause a lot of subtlety to go out the window if they had honed their performances to a more relaxed approach.

Every revival of Follies has made the fatal mistake of skimping on the set to allow more money for the costumes.

Now, while that may be understandable on some level, it nevertheless ruins the look of the show.

Of course, the Roundabout revival simply skimped on everything.

You always know a show is in trouble when they keep changing the leading lady's wig during previews.

When what really needs changing is the writing and the direction. But that's just so much harder.......

The Laurey in that recreated OKLAHOMA is wearing a brunette wig (a rather dreadful one), I guess because Joan Roberts who originated the role was a brunette. Jud is not singing about Laurey's blonde hair in his song.

And Ado Annie was the appropriately blonde soubrette, of course.

[quote]Of course, the Roundabout revival simply skimped on everything.

Tell me about it. I barely had enough chorus boys to bump into.

James McArdle bends with the wind, to answer the question about him above. Patrick Wilson on form is anything but dull -- he remains far and away the best Joe ever in the Mike Nicholas ANGELS.

On a separate topic, can someone please SPILL what the spoiler is at the very end of the Lauren Gunderson two-hander I AND YOU -- it is on here in London and sounds awful but I am intrigued as to what surprise is pulled at the end -- are we meant to think that she imagined the whole thing?

Ethan Slater is playing Joel Grey in the Fosse/Verdon miniseries. I hope he gets to perform “Two Ladies.”

r102 - Cram it, Celeste!

And someone please spoil American Son, while you're at it, please!

The lyric change that had me saying 'huh?' in the UNC production of OKLAHOMA! , was in "People Will Say We're In Love':

'Your hand feels so grand in mine' becomes 'Your hand looks so grand in mine'.

Why in the world would they change it? The original lyric is so sensuous and meaningful it conveys that Curly is lusting after Laurey, that the very touch of her hand excites him. 'Looks so grand' is about as exciting as admiring a new hat.

I am still trying to figure out what kind of audience would know an unusual butter churn from a normal one.

[quote]As someone mentioned in the other thread, Stockard has recurring knee problems and may be getting cortisone shots which could be making her face puffy. That's not bad plastic surgery. If it was her skin would be too tight, not too loose.

I have no idea what the deal is with her face, and I'm really sorry to hear if it has something to do with drugs she's taking for some chronic illness, but I will say her place looked completely different in IT'S ONLY A PLAY as compared to APOLOGIA.

R108, I'm thinking that lyric "change" was probably just a flub by the kid who played Curley, who was cute but really bland and plastic in the part, I thought.

Doesn't Aunt Eller say something like -- "you couldn't hire me to be as skinny as I am!" How does Mary Testa bring this line to life?

[quote]I am still trying to figure out what kind of audience would know an unusual butter churn from a normal one.

We former Butter Queen candidates would know!

[quote]They should have cast Suzanne Somers as Laurie then.

And then a few months later, her new show: "The Blonde in the Surrey."

[quote] How does Mary Testa bring this line to life?

The same way she does with every line. By mugging the fuck out of it.

R113 made me laugh and smile.

[quote]Ethan Slater is playing Joel Grey in the Fosse/Verdon miniseries.

What an insult

Wasn't it posted above or in the last thread that the costume designer and one of the other creative staff of the Fosse/Verdon series had quit the show because they weren't given the budget to produce what needed to be done?

Speaking of costume designers, WHET to the accusations from that the actor about William Ivey Long? Did the accusations have merit? Did it just go away?

R118

I suspect the accusations didn't make Long's actions seem that threatening. It is possible that no one else has come forward because his being kind of a queeny flirt who doesn't keep a huge staff employed or have much sway in the careers of others made it seem like one guy's bad experience.

Yeah, Long's accuser's accusations had merit but weren't, at least at this point, legally actionable. The point was to publicly shame Long and that happened.

Isn’t WIL into some kind of extreme kinky shit?

I hadn't heard that, r121, he seems like a run of the mill molester/abuser of power. Do tell what you've heard.

The driver who was responsible for the deaths of Ruthie Ann Miles daughter and another child committed suicide today.

Is Ruthie still using a cane in the King and I? I hope she has healed enough to perform without it as it took audiences out of the world of the show.

Here is a link to R123 story. If I were here I would've done the same thing. No way could I live with myself after that

That woman had been diagnosed with epilepsy or some sort seizure condition as well as other mental conditions. She had also been cited many times before for both speeding and speeding near schools. Her doctors had told her not to drive. Her defense was always she had blacked out or didn't know what happened when she was cited. Yet her license was never revoked.

I hate to say "good" that she has died.

But good.

R124, the reports from London were than she made the use of the cane part of characterization, brilliantly. I hope she never has to use it again.

At least the families will be spared a trial

A motorized wheelchair might take the audience out of the show but I can't imagine using a cane would be that distracting. The show has closed but we have the broadcast of that filmed performance to look forward to.

R121, WIL is into very young boys, but does not act on it. He also spent a lot of money on Joey Stephano

"it nevertheless ruins the look of the show."

More important, it ruins the very meaning of the show.

Harry Groener is around r4.

He played the Trump character in a Jon Robin Baitz play in LA last year and did Henry IV with Tom Hanks out there too.

And Patti still sings ".....clutching a copy of LIFE....." Present day NY?? They couldn't change it to VOGUE?

She also doesn't sing "....and Jesus Christ, is it fun!...." in Little Things You Do Together. I think she says "....and OMG, is it fun!...."

Some strange choices indeed.

Ron Rifkin and Jon Robin Baitz are selling a house they co-own in Bridgehampton. Are they just friends and co-owners?

"Vogue" doesn’t rhyme with "wife".

R117, yes, wardrobe and hair/make-up department heads for Fosse/Verdon all quit in pre-production. William Ivey Long was replaced fairly early in pre-production by Melissa Toth. My friend on the crew says FX is still not throwing enough money around but they’re thrilled with the footage they’ve seen so far (most of it deals with Fosse shooting Cabaret in Germany) and will most likely pony up soon.

'Here's to the girls with a brogue/Aren't they too much?/Keeping house but clutching a copy of Vogue/Just to stay in touch...'

Yeah r136, that lyric would put butts in seats.

Plus there's irony in clutching a copy of Life oh no you've roped me in I'm actually talking about Follies MAKE IT STOP

I MEAN COMPANY

Please say that's not really a replacement lyric, r136.

OMG King Kong opens tomorrow

[quote]OMG King Kong opens tomorrow

And will be closed by New Year's.

Of course not, r140...except for the Dublin production...

'Here's to the girls who watch Minogue/Aren't they too much?/Keeping house but clutching a copy of Vogue/Just to stay in touch...'

'Here's to the girls who MeToo/Aren't they too much?/Keeping house but joining the queue/Just to stay in touch...'

Which one is Joanne?

[quote]Ron Rifkin and Jon Robin Baitz are selling a house they co-own in Bridgehampton.

It's a fucking $3,495,000 trailer.

[quote]And Patti still sings ".....clutching a copy of LIFE....." Present day NY?? They couldn't change it to VOGUE? She also doesn't sing "....and Jesus Christ, is it fun!...." in Little Things You Do Together. I think she says "....and OMG, is it fun!...." Some strange choices indeed.

Almost every bit of info I read about this show makes me NOT want to see it. So, it IS set in present day NY? A present day NY in which a bunch of married couples are continually prodding one of their women friends to get married, thereby implying there's something wrong with her if she doesn't? Sounds extremely annoying and stupid.

r148, you put your finger right on the problem with updating Company. In the 1970s, it would have been perfectly fine for married couples to prod a friend to get married. But what the 1970s gave us was couples forgoing marriage for living together. So the musical doesn't make any sense in modern day.

I'm Not Getting Married Today. In 2018, so what? Just live together then and stop whining. It makes no sense for couples to push marriage.

Can't we all just agree that the Toulon Follies was the definitive version

It's less about marriage than about making a connection. And having Amy become Jamie is a stroke of genius, especially as performed by the amazing Jonny Bailey.

[quote]It's less about marriage than about making a connection.

I think you mean a commitment. So, okay: The new COMPANY is about a bunch of present-day NYC married couples continuing prodding a single female friend of theirs to get into a committed relationship with someone, implying there's something wrong with her if she doesn't?

[quote]And having Amy become Jamie is a stroke of genius, especially as performed by the amazing Jonny Bailey.

Even if some specific moments and scenes in the new COMPANY work well, that doesn't mean the new concept makes sense in general.

It should really be "Verdon/Fosse" rather than "Fosse/Verdon"; she was the bigger star at first who was responsible for him getting his first directing gig by helming her show "Redhead". But maybe Gwen herself wouldn't mind giving Bob first billing.

I thought Peter Forbes, who played Buddy, in the NT, was really excellent and hasn't gotten as much positive feedback as some of the ladies in the cast. His acting and singing was very good indeed, and I thought he was one of the standouts in the cast. Janie Dee was good, but had some horrible costumes, especially for "Lucy and Jessie".

The thing about Peter Forbes is that I thought he really looked like what I would imagine a "Buddy" to look like.

I'd like to see a production of "Oklahoma!" seen through Ado Annie's eyes, as I always thought the secondary plot was much more palatable and interesting with her, Will Parker and Ali Hakim than the story of Laurey, Curley and Jud. The show can open with Ado Annie at the side of the stage with binoculars spying on Curley, who is showering full-frontal on an on-stage outdoor shower,singing "Oh! What a Beautiful Morning" while Ado Annie affirms by nodding. Aunt Eller can be churning her butter and talking to Curley as he towels off behind some kind of barrier. There must be more ways to incorporate Ado Annie and nudity into the show. The score is great -- the plot, kind of humdrum as usually done. Ado Annie, a nymphomaniac, has always been the most interesting character in the show. Maybe a three-way could be in a new dream ballet with Will and Ali during a dance break in "All 'er Nuthin'"?

" Can't we all just agree that the Toulon Follies was the definitive version?"

I'm rather fond of the Madrid production myself.

Is Sally wearing (gasp) green in that clip?

I'm pissed off that murderer committed suicide. I wanted that cunt to rot in jail.

Don't you mean verde, r158?

[quote]r9 Jo Stafford is splendid as always, but she should have shot whoever talked her into wearing that nightmare of a dress.

Stafford as half the duo [itslic]Jonathan & Darlene Edwards [/italic]is one of the true pleasures in life.

[quote]There must be more ways to incorporate Ado Annie and nudity into the show.

Only on the DL kids, only on the DL.

Once heard, never forgotten...

Thank you! That's the very very very best Jonathan and Darlene "song", r163.

I believe Jonathan & Darlene granted a single interview in their lifetimes.

She said, for all her musical experience, STAYIN’ ALIVE almost killed her. They also commented:

[quote]JE: Darlene resisted doing "Stayin' Alive." She thought that the words were too fast. But I was pleased because a lot of young people now will know what the words are. Although Darlene was out of breath most of the session, she got through it okay.

[quote]DE: Well, I felt just as Jonathan has said. Some of the 7/4 bars tend to be constricting, and they weren't suited to my particular talents as a vocalist. I was just trying to get through that song. I didn't really have enough time to let my vocal talents come through because there were an awful lot of words. I think I'm pretty well pleased with the result, and if Jonathan is happy, so am I.

And then Jo could turn around and sing this heartbreaking beauty....

It’s quite hard to sing intentionally off pitch, just like it’s hard to clap off beat.

Because Stafford had such perfect pitch and control, as Darlene she could place the notes and rhythm just enough [italic]off [/italic]to be disastrous : )

Thank you for that, r166. I love Jo Stafford.....she's not as well-remembered as she should be.

Girls, GIRLS, you’re BOTH dried up old spinsters!

Okay.....that was meant for a completely different thread!

DL is letting me post for the first time in weeks, and all I can think of (replying to an old thread) is that Encores! Call Me Madam is intended as a vehicle for Oklahoma-born Kristin Chenoweth.

#RockOn!

Thanks, r171. Anyone want to buy my ticket?

Thanks R171. I've been saying since it was announced that Encores! wouldn't be reprising CALL ME MADAM unless they have a pretty big star lined up. Some people had guessed it would be LuPone, but if it's true about Chenoweth, I guess she hasn't been announced yet because the show is still many months away, and of course something could happen in the interim as far as her availability.

Why would Chenoweth do Call Me Madam? That show needs a brassy voice in the lead. Unless Chenoweth is playing a gender reversed Russell Nype?

[quote] Unless Chenoweth is playing a gender reversed Russell Nype?

For that, you'd need a man in the role.

Irony....

The only Grammy Jo won was for a Jonathan & Darlene record.

Here's a Broadway tune to keep it on-topic, r166...

[quote]R177 Irony....The only Grammy Jo won was for a Jonathan & Darlene record.

[italic]NOBODY puts Darlene in a corner!

"Girls, GIRLS, you’re BOTH dried up old spinsters!"

That may be true, but at least my dessicated va-jay-jay is MELODIOUS!

Uh, I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen IS on-topic, r178. It's from the Broadway musical THIS IS THE ARMY.

I sit sprawled, corrected, r181.

You may approach Mother on her divan and refill her cocktail., r182

Betty Lynn has missed a bunch of Dolly performances in Chicago. She posted a pic of herself in doctor's office on Insta.

[quote]Betty Lynn has missed a bunch of Dolly performances in Chicago.

Miss Buckley does not get up on stage in crime ridden cities. She will resume full schedule when the tour hits Iowa.

That Rifkin/Baitz house looks like the changing rooms at the local beach club.

[quote]R184 Betty Lynn has missed a bunch of Dolly performances in Chicago.

Well, that didn’t take long.

Jonathan and Darlene at about 6:30....

You know, maybe Suzanne Somers could do DARLENE EDWARDS: THE FINAL YEARS

Here’s to the girls who go rogue

Aren’t they too much?

Keeping house but clutching a copy of LIFE

Just to keep in touch

I mean VOGUE!!!

Here’s to the girls who suck cock/aren’t they the best?

[italic]Here’s to the girls who suck cock

Aren’t they the best?

When they say not to come in their mouth

Spray it on their chest...

r 192: Thank you - that's one of the GREAT numbers in a Hollywood Musical, by Arthur Schwartz and Frank Loesser. And Ann Sheridan is heaven.

Ann Sheridan would have been a FABULOUS Phyllis.

God, I love Ann Sheridan.

Is that actually Ann Sheridan’s voice? I thought she was dubbed.

[quote]The only Grammy Jo won was for a Jonathan & Darlene record

I had a Grammy Jo!

Sutton Foster is doing Call Me Madam. She loved doing AG and is eager to try another Merman role without having to commit to a long run. Lest you think she’s too young, she’s actually a couple of years older than Merman was in 1950.

What hasn't been explicitly stated above was that the divine singer Jo Stafford's only Grammy Award was for Best Comedy Album for one of her Darlene albums.

From the richly deserved award winning album

The Jo Stafford assholes need to go start their own thread.

We Are Legion

Does Will Swenson still sleep around with his costars?

Is Will well hung? "Will hung" LOL?

[quote]Miss Buckley does not get up on stage in crime ridden cities. She will resume full schedule when the tour hits Iowa.

Well, Iowa voted for Trump and if that ain't a crime.....

[quote]Is Will well hung? "Will hung" LOL?

Who knows, he managed to do a nude scene every night and no one ever saw it. Playing the most uninhibited character to ever walk on a Broadway stage and he hid behind the rest of the cast like a virgin on her wedding night.

Jeri Southern at r202.

[quote] Sutton Foster is doing Call Me Madam. She loved doing AG and is eager to try another Merman role without having to commit to a long run. Lest you think she’s too young, she’s actually a couple of years older than Merman was in 1950

Merman was 42 in 1950

Sutton is 43

Yes, Will Young doesn't exactly mirror Ewan McGregor when it comes to showing dick. Maybe WS was envious of Gavin, who IS hung but didn't have to disrobe in HAIR

Rubin should have found not only a better Dolly but also a better understudy

UTA fires theater agent Christopher Highland

R212, why?

Call me madam isn’t just about age. It’s about type. And merman was one type and Sutton is another

r197: Yes, that's Ann's voice. In most of her films she sang in her own voice but in SHINE ON, HARVEST MOON (1944) she was dubbed.

Betty Lynn will not finish the tour of Dolly; I wrote that when she opened in Cleveland., but I was told the exhaustion on stage was fake. When she staggered to her seat after the Dolly number and had trouble breathing, which continued throughout the entire scene, ruining any charm to the eating part - that was not planned. They'd better be finding her replacement.

Of course they didn't dub Bette, either!

Is Reeve Carney gay? British minds want to know !

[quote] Betty Lynn will not finish the tour of Dolly; I wrote that when she opened in Cleveland., but I was told the exhaustion on stage was fake. When she staggered to her seat after the Dolly number and had trouble breathing, which continued throughout the entire scene, ruining any charm to the eating part - that was not planned. They'd better be finding her replacement.

Time to call on Carol

I had tickets for yesterday’s evening performance and Batshit Betty was not in.

Art Carney was Reeve Carney's great uncle.

I'd never thought of Kaye as Dolly, r219. I wonder if she ever did it.

Rita Moreno turns down the movie version of "In The Heights." She's already EGOT so she doesn't need the movie.

She probably saw the show and said “no thanks”

[quote]I'd never thought of Kaye as Dolly, [R219]. I wonder if she ever did it.

No, but she's probably done Carol.

Moreno could not handle the flashback

Why are movies being made from 'musicals' that have no scores?

Finally saw Come from Away Great show Chad Kimball insanely hot. Is he packing or padded in those rockin jeans? Dayum.

R228, you have low standards. You must actually get laid.

Any of the other Brits/visitors seen the new musical Six at the Arts Theatre? I don’t tend to see many new musicals but I’m completely obsessed with it.

Wouldn't it be great if they got Chita after Rita turned down the part? AND IF CHITA WON AN OSCAR FOR IT! Just watching curtain call footage of Betty makes me think the same thing. She ain't in shape for this and she looks disoriented and tired just walking across the stage. Midler was in good shape and Peters and Murphy seem to be in great shape. Betty looks a tad overweight and out of shape. I hope they have someone on speed dial because Midler ain't gonna step in, Murphy would never leave her daughter to go out on tour and Peters has other commitments. It would be a shame if the tour had to shutdown because, from what I've read, audiences are loving it.

[quote]I hope they have someone on speed dial because Midler ain't gonna step in, Murphy would never leave her daughter to go out on tour and Peters has other commitments.

I see you didn't mention me. But I have a commitment as well. Why don't you see if Ebersole wants it?

Has anyone seen Jessica Sheridan as Dolly? How is she?

Calling Faith Prince!!!

Please don't call her 3 times r234!

Get Madeline!!!

Jessica Sheridan is getting raves from several people who posted on one of those chatboards. They said she's very funny so she must be doing the exact opposite of what BB's doing.

Imelda Stauton will WOW them as Dolly in the provinces.

This must be awful for Betty Buckley. First she opens to less than stellar reviews in Cleveland and now she’s missing shows on her second stop, while her much younger standby is getting raves.

Will this be what finally makes her total batshit Betty?

Betty needs to stop calling chorus boys at 3:00 am. She's no longer virile enough to be partying all night with them. Miss Buckley needs to *sleep* at night.

Come on. Dolly's not that exhausting a part. Carol still managed it at the age of 103!

Sadly, Madeline is not available.

I heard audio of Betty in the show and she definitely sings the shit out of it, but she's just not funny (as we'd all assumed). Sounded like the rest of the show was in great shape, though. Maybe she's looking for a way out. Like Gypsy, having a great voice isn't enough. One must possess a sense of humor or the entire night is an awful slog. In fact, it's probably even more important for Dolly. At least Rose can be played dour for act II and it'd work.

Call on Suzanne Somers. She could do a monologue to her DADAAAAYYYY instead of to Ephriam.

Chita has aged as well as and doesn't look as "witchy" as some DLers used to say she did, but I'd be surprised if she wanted to do it

[quote]R243 Call on Suzanne Somers. She could do a monologue to her DADAAAAYYYY instead of to Ephriam.

Brilliant!

Suzanne Somers IS Hello, Dolly! could fulfill so MANY of our needs in this thread!!

(Maybe even the Darlene Edwards ones)

Suzanne Somers would make a fine Desiree. She looks Swedish.

She looks deranged. Desiree with two giant ponytails--oy.

Honestly, I can think of worse people to play Dolly than Suzanne Somers. At least she'd probably land a lot of the laughs and anyone can sing that score, so that wouldn't be an issue.

Remember when Cybill Shepherd was about to play Dolly in some regional production in North Carolina about 6 to 8 years ago? THAT I would have paid to see.

Could Baranski do it?

Baranski could pull Dolly off in her sleep (but would she make her too regal/cold? She's not good at playing every day women), but I think she's committed to The Good Wife spinoff and I don't know if she'd tour.

Faye Dunaway’s Dolly would be a dilly.

[quote]Carol still managed it at the age of 103!

And that was 25 years ago!

I'd pay damn good money to see Faye touring the boonies as Dolly. If she'd gotten that far into rehearsals for Sunset Boulevard, she has to be able to at least carry a tune and that's about all you need to sing Dolly.

[quote]I think she's committed to The Good Wife spinoff and I don't know if she'd tour.

The Good Fight has a short season - the first one, they shot ten episodes, the second one shot thirteen. It starts airing, usually, in February or March, but I don't know when they start filming - it could be now.

I would imagine Baranski would play LA, DC, or Chicago or even SF, but I can't imagine she'd be interested in any more of a tour than that, assuming the schedules worked (which they don't). It's no surprise they couldn't get anyone starrier than Betty B, because it's practically like a bus and truck schedule with a few longer (two or three weeks) layovers.

Sally Struthers is supposedly a terrific "Dolly," and really, she's probably a bigger name in some of those places on the tour than BB is. Plus, she knows the part. I imagine it wouldn't take more than a few rehearsals to get her up to speed.

I saw a video of Sally Struthers in Dolly. Too hammy. Hammier than Midler (if that's even possible). She would throw the show off balance.

Interesting that someone who posted about Betty's absence on BWAYWORLD chat said that the majority of the audience stayed and very few people asked for refunds. Maybe sending a recognizable but not huge name on the road was a wise move because you know they would have stormed the box office if Reba or Bernadette were out. I think the critics have, so far, agreed that the show is the star.

R254, The Good Fight started shooting last week and continues until April. They’re shooting 13 episodes for Season 3.

[quote]Merman was 42 in 1950. Sutton is 43

Yes, but she'll be 44 by the time Call Me Madam happens.

[quote]merman was one type and Sutton is another

Agreed, and yet Sutton managed to carry off Anything Goes right to a Tony Award. Merman was one type, but the characters have some wiggle room in them, both Reno Sweeney and Mrs. Sally Adams. I mean, please - Elaine Stritch couldn't be further from Merman, and she was her understudy and did the tour. Billie Worth (London) is different from both. Chita has also played Mrs. Sally Adams, as have Karen Morrow and of course, Tyne Daly and the awful Kim Criswell, who was probably closest to Merman.

Holy shit!

A 40 piece orchestra? Holy shit, musicals never get that kind of sound anymore. In fact, even in the Golden Age, Orchestras were usually in the upper 20s and rarely over 30-31.

My god, somebody stop this. Fleming will be a complete disaster.

[quote]r251 Faye Dunaway’s Dolly would be a dilly.

[quote]r253 I’d pay damn good money to see Faye touring the boonies as Dolly.

Oh my. And they say BUCKLEY shows no humor in the role...can you imagine ? ?

r261 On the other hand, you get Renée Fleming.

Does anybody care what Perle Mesta was like??

My fabulous new Gucci campaign keeps me so busy, I couldn't possibly entertain the notion of a stage tour. But thank you for asking!

And fuck off with your damn fagotty questions about that film which shall not be named. I worked with Brando, why don't you ever talk about THAT?

Fleming will ruin this role.

Could Renee Fleming step in for Betty Lynn before she heads to London? Now THAT would be something to see.

What about ... Fran Drescher?

I want a musical version of The Eyes of Laura Mars starring Lady Gaga.

I saw SIX and thought it was horrendous. Like a bad Spice Girls convention.

[quote]Does anybody care what Perle Mesta was like??

Well, she certainly wasn't like Merman, that's for sure.

Doesn't PHANTOM have a huge orchestra still, even now? 29+ players or some such? ALW is a big proponent of big orchestras... I think the SUNSET BLVD revival had even more than 30, did it not? Interesting, though, that SUPERSTAR works perfectly with a 5-piece rock band and TELL ME ON A SUNDAY just a piano/violin. I think he is the only composer to still supervise/co-create his own orchestrations. No denying the concept/OLC EVITA orchestrations were way better than what Hershey Kay wrought on Bway, ditto the JCS concept/Broadway versus the Andre Previn orchestrations in the film. Curious what he does with CATS for the film and how much they contemporize it (or don't)... those original orchestrations and the synths are so iconic, they can't really eliminate them.

[quote] No denying the concept/OLC EVITA orchestrations were way better than what Hershey Kay wrought on Bway,

Well, I'll deny it. The concept Evita orchestrations were a rock concert. Hershy Kay, at Prince's request, helped it sound like a stage musical. And those orchestrations were used for the OLC with Paige, as well.

Then the whole thing was redone for the last revival to make it sound more Latino, but that didn't work. The concept album orchestrations have not been used on stage.

Agreed that the EVITA concept album was a rock concert. It was a rock opera concept album, so... that was the point. I'm not a fan of Hershy Kay's work on EVITA. I actually prefer the movie orchestrations to any (especially compared to the last revival), which ALW did himself along with David Cullen. They are sumptuous, exciting and have enough of a Latin flair to work for the film as it is. I'll also stick up for the PHANTOM film orchestrations, which are similarly gorgeous (especially the reworked title song and the new material).

Well Fleming will easily sing the hell out of it, but yeah I'm not sure she can act the role. In my wildest dreams this would have gone to Judy Kuhn and I would have flown to London in an instant. Fleming gives me a little pause, but I love the score so it might be worth seeing yet. I do wonder if they'll revise the orchestrations to include some brass/more woodwinds, or if they're just beefing up the strings.

[quote]I actually prefer the movie orchestrations to any

Marred only by the weak vocals of its leading lady, which is why I can't listen to it anymore.

'Developmentally disabled due to an unfortunate encounter with a birthday pony.'

If only it had been about that it would have had at least some interesting entertainment value.

Renée Fleming doesn't seem to realize that limited acting ability is a more serious handicap in musical theatre than in opera. Having retired from opera, she might be better off doing recitals instead.

You can't attempt to distract an audience with overwrought ham acting in a recital from a total vocal collapse.

[r280] could easily also be a pull quote from Hello Dolly Betty Buckley

[quote]Any of the other Brits/visitors seen the new musical Six at the Arts Theatre?

Is it about the Brady Bunch or a biographical look at Jenna Von Oy's career?

ALW’s “co-creating” of his musical’s orchestrations consist of him saying, “make it lush.”

I saw Betty Buckley in Cleveland. She was pretty terrific

I find Sutton Foster so boring. I hope it's not her in Call Me Madam. I don't want to picture her in any of Merman's roles. She's not a broad. I mean, can you imagine her in Gypsy? Unfortunately, I can and it looks terrible.

I'll say this about Chenoweth - she's interesting to watch. It's weird, because I could picture her in a lot of Merman's roles, despite being very non-Merman-esque. I don't know why that is. I guess because they both have strong personalities. It's like how Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone are far from the same type, but have played the same roles. They both have strong personalities and can make something their own. I might have had my own nitpicks with each performance but they were certainly never dull. Foster is just dull. So many Broadway performers of the last 20 years are.

[quote]So many Broadway performers of the last 20 years are.

Because all the ACTING schools train the personality right out of them. Many character actors often relied on personality to carry their performances. You look at the old movies and see personality all over the place in character actors. Today, character actors barely exist. You never see any bossy battleaxes or balding drunkards. You don't see lesbian spinsters or flamboyant bachelors.

r276, I agree Fleming can sing it; what worries me is that I'm sure she'll over-sing it. And she can't act, and Margaret requires some acting chops.

But man oh man can she fuck! And HAS she ever !!!

r276 Judy Kuhn is no stranger to Guettel.

Lovely.

Ben Brantley and Jesse Green double team in a devastating and funny review of King Kong.

GREEN The camp here is all accidental. The Skull Island jungle looks like green spaghetti with phlegm balls.

And that's one of the nicer remarks.

Now that's a spit-roasting. But informative enough to avoid being mean.

Brantley: I kept hoping a higher camp factor might kick in. When poor Ann is taken to Kong’s lair, and makes quips about his housekeeping and bachelor ways, I longed for the reincarnation of Madeline Kahn, who made such blissful hay out of similar material in “Young Frankenstein.”

Maybe this is what the producers should have done.

If anyone read ALW's surprisingly candid and witty autobio UNMASKED, he is anything but uninvolved... especially as far as the music/orchestras go. His over-involvement is actually more of a detracting factor than anything else. I can only imagine what rows he and Barbra had during the "one take" recording of "Memory". I have no doubt ALW approves each and every line of orchestration and argues for more/different/better at every pass, unrelentingly. You can dislike ALW, but one thing he does not skimp on is the orchestrations, ever. Certainly the actors with kazoo productions of Sondheim, as well as the ALNM abortion, shows he couldn't care le$$. Respect where it is due.

The stuff about very few character actors these days is right. To me, Chenoweth is definitely a character actress type. Foster is not. She always reads as a Sandra Bullock wannabe everywoman type. She's like the "cool girl" archetype Amy describes in Gone Girl. You can imagine her hanging out with the guys in sweatpants, eating hot wings, drinking beer, and having burping contests and shopping at Target.

Are character actors told to pack it in and move back home if they don't fit some certain ideal? I just can't figure out where they went off to. It's really making the shows dull these days.

I agree that Foster has a lot less personality than Chenoweth, LuPone, etc., but I will say that Foster is at her best in comedy. Unfortunately, there has been little of that in some of her more famous roles. But she was a lot better in the funny parts of ANYTHING GOES and ANYONE CAN WHISTLE than she was in TMM or LITTLE WOMEN.

[quote]She's not a broad.

She's not even broad where a broad should be broad.

Sutton Foster has talent, but she’s not really charismatic. And that’s the problem.

Kelli O’Hara is kind of the same.

Kristin Chenoweth may not look like her or sound like her, but she is kind of like a soprano Nancy Walker.

Loretta Swit might make a fine Dolly, and Sally Struthers is supposed to be a hoot and a lovely lady to boot. Both of these ladies are well-known as their reruns still play to this day on tv.

What's Randy Graff up to? She was really funny in "City of Angels" and the revival at Encores of "Do Re Mi", much better than she was in more dramatic things like "Les Miz". Has she every done "Dolly"?

The tendency now is to cast bland pretty people for everything....lead roles and supporting character roles. Which is dumb. You cast for unique talents. Pretty is almost always boring.

Randy Graff did Dolly at St. Louis MUNY about ten years ago. It was also the first time that Kate Baldwin played Mrs. Molloy.

If they want another full figured gal to replace Betty, I'm available!

Geez that red dress looks like an old carpet in a Chinese whorehouse.

[quote]Marred only by the weak vocals of its leading lady, which is why I can't listen to it anymore.

Butcha ya did listen to it Blanche, ya did listen to it.

Trivia, but is Winston-Salem mentioned in the stage version of Light in the Piazza? I only saw the PBS broadcast, which I enjoyed, but I don't remember. I grew up in Winston-Salem and still remember that when the original film showed there in the early 1960s, all the newspaper ads screamed "WINSTON-SALEM IS MENTIONED FOUR TIMES IN THIS FILM!"

You all ask: where are the character actresses? but then make fun of us when we appear.

If you put Sutton Foster in the chorus of any broadway musical she would bland right in. I mean BLEND right in. She got lucky with Millie which, to me, wasn't the star making performance it was said to have been. She was fine. I'm sure she's a lovely person but I never understood her success. But, if an American ends up playing Bobbie on broadway it will most likely be her.

[quote]You all ask: where are the character actresses? but then make fun of us when we appear.

[quote]—Mary Testa

The term "character actress" suggests that you be able to, ya know, act.

r304, Winston-Salem is a lyric line in "The Beauty Is." Clara's in the museum looking at the statues and sings "These are very popular in Italy; It's the land of naked marble boys. Something we don't see a lot in Winston-Salem....." I'm sure it's mentioned in book scenes as well.

Sutton is a really strong dancer, probably the best out of the current leading ladies. That’s what made her pop in Anything Goes. But in something like Violet, she’s fine but In kind of a generic way.

Kelli O’Hara was radiant in Light in the Piazza but she’s been muted and bland recently. I don’t have high hopes for her performance in Kiss Me Kate. Her Tony for The King and I is still shocking to me. Sure, Kristin Chenoweth was full of schtick in On the 20th Century, but she was really funny and full of charisma and charm.

I think Kelli is really miscast in KMK. It's not a question of her singing. I'd have preferred Donna Murphy.

R285

I definitely SEE our Chenoweth Gypsy now. Dove Cameron is campaigning for the opportunity to get Cheno as MammaRose in a way that Lea Michele never did for Idina.

Besides her current push to prove she can do 8 shows a week (Clueless and now this) Dove has kept Chenoweth's good will.

Everything's coming up Starved and Angry little Mamma.

The "King Kong" reviews have not been kind.

Kristin Chenoweth should have starred in King Kong. It would have been a hit.

Worth....it?

Sorry, but what to what does this thread title refer?

[quote]Sorry, but what to what does this thread title refer?

Suzanne Somers ill fated Broadway musical "The Blonde In The Thunderbird."

R316, thanks. Probably the first time I was glad to have not got a reference.

[quote]Kelli O’Hara was radiant in Light in the Piazza but she’s been muted and bland recently.

I'm not sure about her in Kiss Me Kate, but she's anything but mute and bland here.

Chenoweth would be our best bet for the next annual revival of Gypsy if a big movie star doesn't want to do it (Catherine Zeta-Jones has expressed interest in the role before and she's the right age now). She'd nail the funny parts, sing it beautifully, be charming enough to keep a Herbie around, and I can see her being very disturbing in some scenes. It'd be a slightly different take than usual, but I think she'd be brilliant.

Have we had a beautiful Rose yet, r319?

Bernadette?

In her youth, yes. Now, although she's very well preserved, she's not beautiful.

Same with Angela. By the time they played Rose, their beauty had turned to character actress pretty.

Is this British Sound of Music that's on PBS tonight worth watching? Somebody must know.

[quote]Is this British Sound of Music that's on PBS tonight worth watching? Somebody must know.

It's very, um, British. I thought it was quite bland.

Bernadette has been our sexiest/prettiest Rose and it did add a different dimension to the character. All of a sudden, you could understand why these people would stick around as long as they would. If Rose is as hot as Bernadette, you'd probably stick around, too.

Chenoweth should have a burger and a milkshake or two.

Bernadette also had hot daddy John Dossett as her Herbie which helped sell the relationship. For the first time, I felt like this was a Rose and Herbie who left the Chinese restaurant and had hot, animal sex afterwards.

Chenoweth's beauty has always had an asterisks beside it because of her size. If she were two inches taller the forehead and short waist would have dumped her into 'character actor' territory.

It is a shame about her friend Craig Zadan's death -- surely he could have been convinced to have Chenoweth and Dove Cameron do a TV Gypsy Live...

I'm not really sure why, but I remember being really unimpressed with Bernadette when I first saw her as Rose. It seemed like she was screaming every line. It was beyond annoying and made me think she knew she was in over her head and couldn't deliver. Worse than Imelda on that BBC version. I saw her later in the run with a friend who dragged me there and she was one of the best Roses I've ever seen. I guess some performers need more time to find a character than others. I couldn't believe what a complete 180 it was. I've never quite seen that before or since.

Out of the crop of “leading ladies”, I agree that Chenoweth is the only one that I’d be interested in seeing take on Rose (and Sally in Follies). I’d love to see her do Aunt Eller once she’s in her sixties, too.

I like Sutton Foster more then most posters here, but there is quite a bit of “counsellor at sleep away performing arts camp ” about her. That being said, I think she could have made a terrific Louise in her twenties and if she’d do an ensemble piece, I think she could work well as the Baker’s Wife in ITW maybe opposite Borle and Audra as the Witch?

Kelli O’Hara will almost certainly do Margaret in Piazza one day. Idina is the one I can’t see in anything - maybe as Golde in the next revival of Fiddler?

I'd rather see Kristen as the Witch, r331.

I’d also like to see Chenoweth as Joanne, R332.

R330

Good point.

It would be much better for Chenoweth to do Gypsy on Broadway because she would change and develop and then continue to react to every audience through the run. Chances are that a character like that would bring out something interesting and possibly even insightful from her as well as an opportunity to make the audience laugh. Also there is the fact that her sense of humor has this slight malicious streak on stage -- she could be so wonderfully fascinating as Rose. If only the music suited her voice enough for her to be interested...

R332

Maybe for a TV Live -- but I don't see Chenoweth doing an ensemble role like that any time soon. Even if the reality is that everyone who had ever worked with her loves her -- she appears to have been convinced by the critics that she isn't welcome in shows where she might be seen to be stealing focus from others the way she did in You're a Good Man.

Anyone see THE CHER SHOW previews????

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I have no desire to see anyone but Vicky Clark play Margaret Johnson. She was superb.

Kristin as Joanne in Company??

Not with all those lines and business about smoking and drinking. I really can't see it.

I know, R337, it’s definitely not intuitive, but I can totally see Chenoweth nailing it.

You can't see Cheno play a role because of smoking or drinking?

When did you stop following her career? 1999?

Now if the role included actually consuming sandwiches....

Well, it looks like the Kristin Chenoweth Fan Club is represented well on DL. None of the roles suggested are right for her.

She's too short for Gypsy. Her kids would tower over her like King Kong.

And Joanne in Company? Joanne has to be somewhat repellent (she's been married three or four times). Kristin is more like a lady who lunches rather than one who sings an acerbic song about them.

I don't think Kristen has had lunch in quite a while. Or even dinner.

My understanding is that she ate half of a communion wafer in 2006.

Bernadette's performance shifted in Gypsy because once the idiot director was out of the picture she felt free to explore and grow and she found her Rose. Kelli surprised me and seemed to be having fun in Pajama Game and I'm hoping she'll do the same with KMK.

Kristin is perfect for Charlie Brown characters. That's about it.

[quote]Bernadette's performance shifted in Gypsy because once the idiot director was out of the picture

I don't think the director was an idiot. I think he had a vision that Arthur Laurents stomped all over and had to drop his vision and go with what Laurents wanted. So his vision was never realized and it affected Bernadette's performance.

[quote] Who knows, he managed to do a nude scene every night and no one ever saw it. Playing the most uninhibited character to ever walk on a Broadway stage and he hid behind the rest of the cast like a virgin on her wedding night.

Why is it always assumed that he has a small cock because of Hair? Maybe he has a freakishly large cock and was embarrassed about that.

Yes, most men are embarrassed by their large cocks.

follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy

I liked to brit SOM live because it's different from any other production of SOM I've ever seen. Much darker and a little glum but I liked it.

[quote]If you put Sutton Foster in the chorus of any broadway musical she would bland right in. I mean BLEND right in. She got lucky with Millie which, to me, wasn't the star making performance it was said to have been.

I think a LOT of that was about the producers and the press wanting to revivify the "understudy takes over the part and becomes a star" myth.

[quote]I know I'll get flamed for this, but I have no desire to see anyone but Vicky Clark play Margaret Johnson. She was superb.

She was indeed superb in the part, but I also saw Patti Cohenour and Christine Andreas as Margaret, and they were equally great. It's the kind of part that would never be cast with anyone who can't really deliver the goods as far as both legit-soprano singing and excellent acting. I really doubt Renee Fleming is a good enough actress for the part, and even her singing voice is not quite right for it.

[quote]Kristin is perfect for Charlie Brown characters. That's about it.

Kristin has been fabulous in lots of different parts, including some she might have seemed miscast in. But she is REALLY wrong for Rose in GYPSY in many ways -- body type, vocal timbre, personality, and so on.

R341

Your protests are confusing. Of course her fan club is represented on DL. She is the single celeb most likely to call you at 3AM (pretending to be Amber) because she is America's tee-tiny fag-haglette.

There isn't a height requirement for Rose. A tiny starved mother with larger, well fed children is both a trope that fits well with the period the story is meant to represent and would actually add some degree of tension. Even if Dove Cameron doesn't actually tower over her much.

As for being the sort of lady who lunches -- that is exactly what Chenoweth has never been able to convince anyone that she is. She is a weirdo who has made her career trying to pretend that she is just another bright (or stupid) tiny blonde Reese Witherspoon/Dolly Parton hybrid. She is wrong as Joanne because it would simply be painful watch her April Rhodes her way through the production...

Jonathan and Darlene Edwards did four tracks of more contemporary material including "Stayin' Alive," "I Am Woman," "Copacabana," and this "Tie a Yellow Ribbon."

[quote] She's too short for Gypsy. Her kids would tower over her like King Kong.

So? Nancy Walker terrorized her kids on MTM and Rhoda and she barely came up to their tits!

Sunset Boulevard. In Peoria.

I'm putting my money on Miss Jamie Goodson for our next Rose!

Her Norma is rather....um.....Madame Arcati, r355.

Aren't both Patti LuPone and Imelda Staunton tiny in stature? I don't remember it being a requirement that Rose is tall. The tallest was probably Angela Lansbury at 5'7 or 5'8.

I remember really loving the image of tiny Rose being drawled by statuesque Louise in the final moments of the Staunton version. It was a great, powerful image. I remember her running to catch up to her like a child runs to catch up to their mother in the supermarket. If anything, it helps.

[quote]follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy follies and gypsy

And COMPANY, damn it.

Miss Goodson does give it her all, even with only one ROSE sign.....and that unfortunate rip under her arm!

[quote]Aren't both Patti LuPone and Imelda Staunton tiny in stature?

Not Chenoweth tiny. Chenoweth is like Elaine Paige short. Like 4'8".

[quote] For the first time, I felt like this was a Rose and Herbie who left the Chinese restaurant and had hot, animal sex afterwards.

Ew, gross! Leave me out of this!

lots of Broadway types on Twitter who are aghast that the NYT gave King Kong a bad review. Telly Leung and Alex Brightman are up in arms to defend this glowing and eternal example of musical theatre!

Next Broadway jukebox musical is a retrospective of the Del Rubio Triplets career. Three girls, three guitars. The laughter, the tears, the fight over whether their art would be mocked on the Pee Wee Herman Show. The hurt when Edie and Elena were considering doing a bus and truck tour of Side Show and how to tell Millie that she wasn't being considered for their understudy. And the shock when the Pointer Sisters were hired to do the Ain't Misbehavin' tour over them.

The laughter, the tears....

Yes, R355, but will it play in Peoria?

Chenoweth is smaller than Elaine Page in spite of their being the same official height (4' 11') -- because her frame is impossibly narrow and tiny rather than slightly stout like a normal short person. On top of her tiny frame she is also emaciated. All of that would actually be interesting rather than an excuse to not cast her.

The real reason producers should be mulling this idea over is that if they signed Chenoweth the potential Gypsy options include people like Ariana Grande and Dove Cameron -- which would sell tickets.

Will there be any nudity r364?

The real Golden Girls....

The next Broadway jukebox musical will be The King Family. 4 blonde Aryan sisters embark on a showbiz career and produce Christmas specials which they use to force every one of their children to perform in, whether they are talented or not. And the *shock* when one of the sisters marries a Mexican!!

It'll be fuckin' spectacular, r370!

[quote] lots of Broadway types on Twitter who are aghast that the NYT gave King Kong a bad review. Telly Leung and Alex Brightman are up in arms to defend this glowing and eternal example of musical theatre!

So now critics are not allowed to give bad reviews? Or is this because King Kong is black?

[quote]The "King Kong" reviews have not been kind

Did you think they would be? It's just an amusement ride like "Starlight Express", no one is advocating missing a chemo appointment in lieu of it.

In Brightman's case, he may be defending KK because it’s the same composer/lyricist as Beetlejuice. Eddie Perfect is making quite the name for himself this season.

[quote]Lots of Broadway types on Twitter who are aghast that the NYT gave King Kong a bad review. Telly Leung and Alex Brightman are up in arms to defend this glowing and eternal example of musical theatre!

Oh, please. I don't see anything inherently disrespectful in having Brantley and Green review KK as a conversation. Sounds like they gave credit in the few places where they felt credit is due, and treated the rest of the show in the manner that MANY people (not just them) feel it deserves.

As for Alex Brightman, he should keep quiet and consider himself lucky that he got a Tony nom for SOR even though he missed LOTS of shows (which is probably a big reason why he didn't win the Tony, I hope he realizes that).

The next Broadway jukebox meeting will be The Lawrence Welk Story. How a German speaking musician got an American syndicated show and used his accordion to send secret messages to the Nazis. How he seduced America's senior citizens and war heroes while playing "their" music and how American-as-apple-pie Bobby and Cissy were duped into believing their dancing helped keep America great.

Buy tickets to "Lawrence!" today.

God. I remember the Lawrence Welk/Hee-Haw hour.

[quote]lots of Broadway types on Twitter who are aghast that the NYT gave King Kong a bad review.

Like everyone else gave it a good review? Worst reviews since "Gettin' the Band Back Together."

Christian Borle should do a Cole Porter biopic. And in this one, they should actually tell the truth unlike the other Porter biopics.

Imelda Staunton’s no taller than 5’1”. And she’s hunched over a bit. She made a great Rose onstage. Rose can be any height within reason. So can Dolly. I don’t think Mame should be played by someone short, though. Judy Garland would have been a notable exception.

The only diva who would justify Encores repeating "Call Me Madam" is Reba McEntire. Thank about it: Miss Sally Adams was born poor in Oklahoma and rose to the top, the role was written by Irving Berlin as a vehicle for Ethel Merman as "Annie Get Your Gun" was. She is a woman of a certain age, not an ingenue. Has to be spunky, likable and unpretentious down to earth and funny. Reba doesn't sound like Ethel Merman but more like Billie Worth in the London company who has spunk and personality. Reba. Not Kristin. Not Sutton. Reba.

[quote]Reba. Not Kristin. Not Sutton. Reba.

Reba was given the concert version of South Pacific and messed up the lyrics. We're not trusting her with any more classics from the American Musical Theatre.

I'd rather they throw Lempicka up somewhere on Broadway to any of the revivals being discussed today.

'Call Me Madam' - please no.

Who was made privy to the investigation Actors Equity was doing into the Mary Sunshine murder? And the producers commissioned one, as well.

Did they just end up 1 page summaries that got filed somewhere in-house without anyone else reading them?

And does Dykey McDykeDyke still have her conducting job with CHICAGO?

Is this a young Stockard Channing?

Doubtful. Channing was in her thirties before the camera was invented.

That looks like a photo of Dana Wynter.

What is sexy John Dossett doing these days?

The reason I ask about the Stockard Channing photo is that it's listed here as being her. Of course this website could be wrong, but when I saw this photo, I thought, "Damn girl, what happened to your face?"

In the movie “The Big Bus,” they really played up Stockyard’s slight resemblance to Liz Taylor (and that pic is Liz).

John Dossett is still looking hot as he enters his 60s this year.

Oh, please, there's more musical value, integrity and wit in one measure of CALL ME MADAM than in ANY contemporary score today.

La Fleming was truly awful in Carousel. I have loved some of her performances at the MET. That glorious early sound but lately....yikes. And her "Fable" in the Broadway album approaches camp, and not in a good way.

That London Light in the Piazza is being done by an opera company and not in the West End.

Instead of casting Chenoweth in all these roles as she matures into leading character lady, I'd rather see Rebecca Luker being cast again. I don't know if she did much belting, but with a beautiful technique, she probably studied how similar sound-a-like Barbara Cook did it when she was bleting "Where's My Shoe" in "She Loves Me".. Luker has a very lovely voice too and should be working more.

Luker would be great in "Light in the Piazza".

Alex Brightman made up a little bit for missing performances in SOM by at least going full-frontal on some tv series, if you cute cubs.

if you like, that is

Ironically, Mame is the one role that Kristin really would nail.

Alex Brightman was in Sound Of Music? Weirdest casting for Maria ever.

ok, SOR, sorry. So long, farewell! :)

He could have been Friedrich!

[quote]Ironically, Mame is the one role that Kristin really would nail.

No. No, she couldn't. Chenoweth is too "plastic" to be Mame. She couldn't pull off the warmth needed to show Mame's affection for Patrick.

WTF R403

Plastic?

Also chemistry is one of Cheno's strong points.

She could pull off zany a lot better than Angela, Lucy and Christine did.

[quote] WTF [R403] Plastic?

Kristin, please, go find something else to do besides praising yourself on a chatboard for gay men.

I've seen Kristin in "Steel Pier" "Charlie Brown" "Epic Proportions" "Wicked" and "The Apple Tree (Encores)". She doesn't handle warmth very well. She can be funny in that broad, silly way (more like a less talented Madeline Kahn), but she doesn't have the warmth or gravitas in her to play Mame.

If they really want to cast CALL ME MADAM, get Melissa McCarthy!

How about Kathy Bates?

Why would they make the overweight actor playing Joe go shirtless with his big belly hanging out to sing the title song in SUNSET BLVD? Even in Peoria? They didn’t do it that way on Broadway/West End, though the script specifies it and it’s often done that way. As Valerie Cherish would say, “I don’t need to see that!” He couldn’t have been comfortable and it kills any sexiness with Norma as a kept man if Joe is fat. Ugh.

Tyne....

Suzanne Somers is "The Blonde in the Embassy."

Just came across this....

B'way insiders have been scratching their heads for years at Warners Theatricals. They have now screwed up "Charlie" three times, and everything they've done has flopped. I know three people who saw Beetlejuice and they all say its theme park. What is going on?

Speaking of Sunset Boulevard's swimming pool number, Lewis Cleale looked terrific in his swimsuit.

Does anyone know anything about him? He seems a nice fellow, posting in a friendly way on YouTube even after various commentators ripped him to shreds for his intense reading of the title song.

Who's the Norma?

[quote]Who's the Norma?

I think it's Petula Clark.

As far as I know, the number was never staged in the original productions (West End, Broadway, Toronto and tour) directed by Trevor Nunn with Joe in a bathing suit (he always wore a white suit), but the script as published in the official MAKING OF SUNSET BLVD book and the official libretto both specify he emerges from the pool to sing the song at the top of Act II. Was it ever staged that way in OLC previews or elsewhere that way before the 2nd tour (directed by Susan Schulman I believe)? I can't imagine John Barrowman or Rex Smith would have an issue appearing shirtless, but maybe Kevin Anderson or Alan Campbell weren't so hot on the idea? Inquiring minds wish to know.

I thought in the London cast that Joe was wearing a shirt but it was completely unbuttoned so you could see his chest. But maybe I'm mixing that up with one of the other productions I saw.

R406

I'm sorry - which one of those roles required maternal warmth? (If you answer Epic Proportions, I will have to concede because I don't know anything about that production except that generally I like Ruth Williamson and the whole idea sounds very thrown together.)

I'm thinking it is regret and self awareness you are thinking she couldn't bring to Mame. I agree that she doesn't have the personality of Angela -- but she is better than Lucy. It would also be a nice experiment to make her practice considering southern 'Dixie' types to be aliens to be won over rather than 'her people.' I can't really think of anyone else who would be better to handle the terribly out of date Dixie stuff.

Who would you like to see as Mame -- I was thinking that you needed someone with a hard enough satirical edge to make the outdated script interesting as uncomfortable comedy.

Oh...my....gawd. There's a Sunset Blvd Jr. version! Who knew? Norma pops in at 14:00 and Never Said Good-bye at about 1:25:00. Such a...a... youthful Norma!

[quote]Who would you like to see as Mame

Catherine Zeta-Jones. Mame is sophisticated, witty and charming. All of the satirical comedy is left to the actress who plays Vera.

Joe changed costumes. He was in a tux at the end of Act I for starters.

When I saw SB on Broadway, I think Joe was wearing a white linen shirt (open) and matching shorts. I think he was laying on a pool chair and even smiled and shrugged to the audience to acknowledge how different he looked and how accustomed he'd grown to his new life.

Yikes R421

Someone is probably going to listen to you.

Who do you think should be the Vera who could somehow manage the satire from offstage?

And the Dixie stuff in Mame can work if you plop sophisticated Mame down into the cornpone South. If the Southern scenes are played with exaggerated earnestness, it can be hilarious.

MAME just don't work no more.....

Lady Gaga for Mame.

She has probably got lupus and would be best served if given a vehicle that promises to close before her health gives out.

Angela had to sing AND dance quite a bit in the original. Go to 23:00 for Young I Feel.

She's a bit too old now, but I would have loved to have seen Ellen Greene play Vera. We would have had not so much an acerbic Vera but a more gin-soaked, addled Vera. Maybe Stockard Channing could have played Mame with her more patrician persona.

Now, I'd like to see Catherine Zeta-Jones as Mame and Veanne Cox as Vera.

Patricia Clarkson for Vera.

Vince Rodriguez 3rd as Ito

Cheno as agnes

Does Megan Mullaly have a Mame in her?

[quote]Cheno as agnes

Give it up, Kristin. Nobody is going to believe you could get pregnant at your age.

Kristin has discussed doing a musical about Tammy Faye Bakker. This seems just about perfect.

[quote]Does Megan Mullaly have a Mame in her?

She could do it with a very strong director who would knock the "Karen" out of her. But the director would have to be on top of her every moment to keep that persona out of the character.

[quote]Kristin has discussed doing a musical about Tammy Faye Bakker. This seems just about perfect.

Kristin also discussed playing Dusty Springfield and Dolly Parton. She keeps throwing projects out there, but no producers take the bait.

Wasn't she also attached to Soapdish, too?

Due to her height and with a dark wig, she'd be a good choice for The Susan Cabot Story.

And "best little Whorehouse" revival!

If we could change Mame to be more like Madam C.J. Walker, Audra could do it. And when she goes to the south the Klan could serenade her. Book it at St. Ann's and Ben and Jesse will co-write the RAVE!!!!!

Laugh me off the internet here, but Kristin's career trajectory reminds me a little of Carol Channing. A couple of pitch-perfect stage roles (we're still waiting on a second for Kristin) and keeping herself afloat as a professional personality-character actress.

R433, Jane Connell did it in the wretched Lansbury revival and she was in her 60s.

I really do want a new Mame. The book needs a few tweaks, but someone like Zeta Jones, Toni Collette, or even Chenoweth really would be great in the role.

Kevin Anderson wore a full white suit (with tie) for the title song in the OLC of SUNSET BOULEVARD.

And so did Alan Campbell on Broadway.

Just out of invited dress for Network. It’s MUCH stronger than it was at the National. It looks amazing in the Belasco. Bryan Cranston continues to be out of this world magnificent and the more intimate theater only heightens his performance. Tony Goldwyn is rock solid as Max. The supporting cast is, in general, leagues better than in London. Tatiana Maslany needs time to grow into her role. She’s not bad, it’s just that she falls flat a lot of the time. She looks wonderful, though, far more distinctive than the totally blanded out Michelle Dockery. And the wife Louise here is a THOUSAND times more effective than the one in London-her one big scene got a round of applause at its completion. I don’t see why this won’t be as huge a success as it was in London. It will be pretty much impossible for anyone to challenge Cranston for the Tony. And I can easily see Goldwyn up for a Tony, too.

WHET hottie Craig Bierko, the MUSIC MAN of 2000? Has he been back to Bway?

Bierko found success on a Lifetime Channel drama about a dating reality show.

And Bierko is dating Tony Award winner and Ex-Mrs. John Caird, Frances Ruffelle, who looks absolutely incredible at 50-something besides (because of?) the $$. They often perform together in her ongoing Green Room 42 act.

Ruffelle’s daughter, Eliza Doolittle (yep), was a one hit wonder. Is she still singing.

In the recent revival the tall brit who played Joe wore teeny swim trunks then slipped into a robe while singing the title song in SB.

If Faye plays Dolly will they let her smoke on stage?

Thanks for the report, r446.

Cheno as Agnes of God

TITANIC!

It's the show Bway NEEDS right now.

Cheno as Titanic!

Pia Zadora must be available for Dolly.

Cheno as Agnes Gooch of God

[quote]WHET hottie Craig Bierko, the MUSIC MAN of 2000? Has he been back to Bway?

Unfortunately, yes. Let's just say his Broadway career has not gone well since then. He's lucky to have found TV work.

His longtime girlfriend is Les Miz Tony winner Frances Ruffelle r459

I’ve heard Bierko has dabbled in the homosex.

Can you read, R459?

And R460.

Why do we never discuss "Lady in the Dark?"

R464, actually we have and not that long ago.

Christine Ebersole will be starring in Lady in the Dark at City Center. Hopefully it will be more thrilling than her performances in Applause and Mame. Can she carry off a charismatic leading lady role?

Anyone have an opinion about Marnie at the MET?

R385, I guess it is easier to post here than to do a google image search?

So squeaky clean!

R46 R47 r46 I totally agree she was excellent as Aunt Eller and the reason why she wasn't nominated (which I think she would have one( for the Miracle Worker was that her managers at the time the Rosses did not put her name forward. I guess they didn't think she would win which is a shame 🤔

Get up, r467.......

"Tina" in the wholesome King Cousins clip at R469 is Tina Cole, who played Katie, who married Robbie (Don Grady) on "My Three Sons."

No, R372, no one was allowed to give "King Kong" bad reviews because the Ann is black. She was also terrible.

^^Apparently you didn't read any of the "King Kong" reviews.

no one is upset that the Kong reviews are bad, they're only complaining that the bitch dialogue format between Ben and Jesse is tacky, beneath the Times and a new low for theater criticism for the paper of record.

How much longer can waitress hang on? I don't think June Squibb (as talented as she is) is going to give the box office a big boost.

To quote Valley of the Dolls, “you know how bitchy fa*s can be”

Would like to see the Ann Sothern "Lady in the Dark". Maybe they'll add it to Amazon Prime since they right now have the Alfred Drake/Patricia Morison "Kiss Me, Kate", the Barbara Cook/Keith Andes "Bloomer Girl" and the Janet Blair "One Touch of Venus", all terrific. Janet Blair had a wonderful singing voice.

Marilyn Maye would have been a brilliant Mame, Dolly, Rose, Joanne, Vera...you name it, she could have done it.

Other than Russell Nype stripping down to a wifebeater in that clip of "One Touch of Venus", he hadn't very much sex appeal, although he did look pretty nice at one point when he took off his glasses. I guess they were his trademark, kind of like a early male Nana Mouskouri, He was a talented singer, and Ethel Merman adored him.

For no reason......

Here is Russell Nype and Pat Stanley singing in their Tony-winning roles in "Goldilocks".

Ann Sothern and Carleton Carpenter (still with us at 92) in "Lady in the Dark."

[quote]no one was allowed to give "King Kong" bad reviews because the Ann is black. She was also terrible.

Thank you Mr. President.

That "Lady in the Dark" looks great. I have the CD and musically it sounds great, with a terrific orchestrations as well. If Ann had been in better shape, she would have made a terrific Phyllis in "Follies" years ago.

I saw that "Lady in the Dark" eyars ago, and it's fun but he transitions from scene to scene were hilarious. They would film the stand in for Ann from the back dancing as Ann changed for the next scene. Unfortunately, the stand in was significantly thinner than Ann.

My first introduction to Lady in the Dark was the Risë Stevens recording I checked out of the library in my....distant...youth.

I've always been inordinately fond of this Ann/Jane duet.

[quote]Give it up, Kristin. Nobody is going to believe you could get pregnant at your age.

If they could believe DL fave Arlene Francis could get knocked up (by Edward Andrews, no less) in "The Thrill of It All," Cheno should have no problem.

Cheno is so thin it doesn't look like there's room for the kids to pop out.

R449, I can read just fine. What is it in my post about Bierko that makes you think I can't read? Maybe you have your own problem in that area.

On another note, the dance stand-in for Ann Sothern in "Lady in the Dark" -- or one of them, at any rate -- was Gemze de Lappe.

This Thursday, I saw Betty Buckley in Hello Dolly and I thought she was great. She handled the comedy well, sang well, and genuinely looked happy to be on stage. I saw Dolly with Bernadette, and I thought it was the best performance that I've seen Bernadette give. Between the two I preferred the show with Betty. I definitely preferred Lewis J. Stadlen over Victor Garber, and Nic Rouleau was excellent.

“Handled the comedy well”? That’s a back handed compliment if ever I saw one. The bitch ain’t funny and can’t land laughs to save her life.

Bierko appeared in an episode of "Blue Bloods" a few weeks ago and I hardly recognized his big bloated face. I knew the voice was familiar.......

Re: 494: Did you see the performance or are you projecting?

More details on Bierko and the homosex?

I, too, thought Bernadette in Hello, Dolly was some of her best work. I thought she was even funnier than Bette, looked stunning, and sang beautifully. One of my favorite theatregoing experiences of the past decade at least. Probably of all time. Garber wasn't an ideal Horace, but he had phenomenal chemistry with Bernadette that sold it.

If Hello Dolly is a favorite theatergoing experience of all time, I hate to think what else you saw.

[quote]If Hello Dolly is a favorite theatergoing experience of all time, I hate to think what else you saw.

R499: If you have such a poor opinion of HELLO, DOLLY!, I hate to think what kind of shows you like....

I thought Vicky Clark was supposed to do Lady in the Dark at City Center. Christine Ebersole did it at Encores in their early days (1994 or so), and I don't think it was considered successful.

I definitely want those Lady in the Dark and One Touch of Venus DVD's for Christmas, though, so thanks to the posters who provided the clips.

One Touch of Venus and Lady in the Dark are 2 Encores that I left at intermission. Deadly dull.

But then Encores' Call Me Madam, Pal Joey, Out of This World, The New Moon and Paint Your Wagon are some of my favorite CDs and I didn't see any of them.

I think Vicky Clark is no longer a thing.

Thanks all for discussing "Lady in the Dark"

Feelings on the Judy Garland Radio version?

Wasn’t “Thou Shall Not” after “The Music Man”?

Someone posted that video of Maria Friedman. Anyone know the story of why her “Golden Girls” (with Lesley Garrett and Bonnie Langford) album and tour was cancelled before it got off the ground? I imagine low interest.

I’ve seen the Frances Ruffelle show. The venue is too cool for school, but the show is offbeat and terrific.

Patti ruined the Encores! Pal Joey.

I want a musical version of "Lisa Bright & Dark". But I want it played camp like "Reefer Madness" was.

Of course Biekro dabbled in the homosex! I mean, he attended Northwestern, after all, didn't he?

[quote]Christine Ebersole will be starring in Lady in the Dark at City Center.

Are you reporting in from 1994, r466?

r467 - looks interesting; sorta Mad Man esque. BTW, I THINK I met Nico Muhly at a kinda-sorta sex party in Chinatown 7 or 8 years ago. Ed Droste was there. Everyone was in that hipster with a dad bod mold.

Don't forget Patti's Can-Can....

Actually it's sorta Marnie-esque, r510.......

R496, I don’t need to see Buckley pmay Dolly to know the bitch can’t land laughs with an audience. Her failure to get one on “Now GO.” in Sunset Blvd is a prime example. And she landed a total of zilch laughs in Gypsy at Papermill. She can’t play comedy for shit.

R510, what is a "kinda-sorta" sex party?

[quote]Don't forget Patti's Can-Can....

I can certainly try-try.

My mistake. It is Vicky doing Lady in the Dark. Can she do a stylish big star role?

Well then to hell with, "Lady in the Dark!"

When will NYC see a first rate, " Johnny Johnson"?

[quote]I think Vicky Clark is no longer a thing.

What about Vicki Lawrence? Can she replace the ailing Betty Lynn in DOLLY?

r518 Sorry, but I have a hit TV series now!

I love that Risë Stevens recording of Lady in the Dark but it was advertised as the first complete recording despite the fact that there are cuts.

The score of Johnny Johnson is a string of pearls.

Risë Stevens was the first Mrs Anna I ever heard, on that Lincoln Center King and I.

I'm quite fond of the NT recording with Miss Freidman, r520.

Everybody Rise!

[quote]Everybody Rise!

That's what I used to say everytime I entered the bathhouse.

Look up fat chance, r523.

I think Clark will be very good in that role.

King Kong has a 70 rating on show-score which means audiences are hating it. Will it run through the holidays and play only to tourists? Or could it be the most expensive flop of all time?

Maybe they can have the puppet appear at the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony and drum up business that way.

Isn’t Liza Elliott supposed to be glamorous? Buttoned down at work, yes, but ultra glam in her dreams? How on earth will poor dumpy 60 year old Vicky Clark pull off “glamorous”?

Maybe she'll put in bigger dentures

[quote]Or could it be the most expensive flop of all time?

Bitch, please.

At any age, she is a simply hideous ugly woman.

The Menken/Zippel "Hercules" -- this summer for Shakespeare in the park?

You have to be kidding, Comrade Eustis.

I've always loved HERCULES as a movie. It's got a terrific gospel-tinged score that could really be put to good use with some fleshing out.

Buckley had a good director in Zaks. I saw her in Cleveland and she was charming and funny.

Yes R467. It was terrible. Muhly is a joke, but there’s no one else composing opera, so...

R33 remember when The Simpsons did a musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire?

Marge Simpson as 'Blanche'

Ned Flanders as 'Stanley'

Helen Lovejoy as 'Stella'

Lionel Hutz as 'Mitch'

Apu as 'Paperboy'

R347 Will Swenson is/was Mormon, so that probably had something to do with why he was shy about being nude on stage.

R372 it's because the leading lady is inexplicably black and the show is about female empowerment or something. You're not allowed to criticize them these days.

I wanted to post two or three numbers from Johnny Johnson but whoever posted the classic 1958 Matlowsky/Lenya recording on youtube posted the tracks in groups of twos and threes and mislabeled every single one of them.

^ Sorry, 1956 recording.

We know how to use Google if interested

What is The New One? Is it actually a play or just a stand-up show? Did it move to Broadway as placeholder for the Cort (known to those in the business as the Cort) until something else opens in January?

R537 OMG....thanks!

I’ve never seen that before : )

[italic]“Stella, STELLA! / Can’t you hear me yell-a? / You’re puttin’ me through hell-a....”

I wonder how “Go the Distance” will be staged at the Delacorte. I really like that song, it had an Olympics-type feel to it.

I’m watching an interesting Piper Laurie interview, where she says she was fired from a Broadway production that was in rehearsal in 1958. Being suddenly free is what let her do the original TV presentation of THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES.

Does anyone know what play this was, and why she was let go?

Might be in her book...

A striaght Mormon?

R536

What a shame.

Jut watched the bootleg of the Stratford production of Carrie. I didn't think it was so legendarily awful as it was made out to be. I wouldn't call it "good" though it had elements of talent in it. Barbara Cook sang beautifully and Linzi Hateley was fantastic. Their songs were really something.

Above everything, the show was just kind of boring. A lot of unnecessary numbers. It felt like it took three separate numbers for them to decide to play the trick on Carrie. Mrs. White was very underdeveloped. In fact most of the characters were just...there. The show wasn't scary or thrilling. A good rewrite could have easily made the show into something. How was the revisal at the Lortel a few years back? Any improvement?

Just leave Carrie alone, please. Let her be a legendary flop.

I loved Carrie when it played in downtown LA about five years ago.

The thing about Carrie is that attitudes about youth bullying have changed so much. Even if the kids were assholes to Carrie, by virtue of being kids, they (with the exception of Chris) come across as sympathetic. That's what I took away from the revisal.

I wanted to see the production of Carrie in downtown LA but A- It's downtown, which is a shitbox, no matter how they try to spin it, and #2, the ticket prices were outrageous, especially when they weren't offering any cast members of note.

Downtown LA rocks, and I bought my tickets on Goldstar.

R553 I think it's the opposite. There's less tolerance for bullying/bullies nowadays than there was 40 years ago. Even 20 years ago.

I looked for tickets on Goldstar and they were only offering them at full price (which was the first time I noticed Goldstar was doing that). I didn't bother going back to check. I guess some of us have better things to do than stalk a ticket price obsessively.

[quote]How was the revisal at the Lortel a few years back? Any improvement?

I never saw the original, but I did see the revisal. From most accounts, it was better, but let's not confuse "better" with good. The show I saw still didn't know what it wanted to be. Margaret White was played more "realistically," which only made me miss Piper Laurie and left another hole in a show that already had too many of them.

I got half priced tickets first try.

And I actually got to see it, so I’m actually able to have an opinion on it.

I felt Barbara Cook played Margaret White very realistically, though I have to confess, I only know "of" Barbara Cook. I'd never even heard her sing before I watched that bootleg. Her voice was AMAZING and I wish there had been cast albums of both productions, but (and it could have just been the writing), there wasn't much characterization going on with her.

[quote] And I actually got to see it, so I’m actually able to have an opinion on it.

What a victory for you. You should carry it with you always for those times when life isn't quite so triumphant.

Oh, I do, r561, I do!

Cook’s characterization was that Margaret White was very hungry

Are we still waiting on any productions to announce theaters or openings this spring?

How is Kong doing at the box office? And where does one check for grosses like that (e.g., Box Office Mojo for films).

BroadwayWorld.com publishes the weekly grosses for all Broadway shows every Monday afternoon, r565.

And while you're there, check out the chat room. It's hilarious. And can be very informative when shows are previewing or doing out of town tryouts.

I want Whizzer, etc. to be the Times' new critic.

R566 thanks! Will check it out.

R567 whose Whizzer?

Sorry, WHO'S Whizzer?

Whizzer is one of the Broadway World commentators, who traditionally reviews either first or early previews of just about everything in New York.

Kong is hemorrhaging money. It supposedly has a big advance, but you wouldn’t know it from previews. A friend of mine who worked on the Marsha Norman/Jason Robert Brown version said the weekly break-even was well north of a million.

Even though it was a flop another missed opportunity was to have DL fave Patti LUPONE do a studio album of the Carrie mother songs.

I was discussing the Bway CARRIE on CraigsList a decade ago, and a theater queen posted he thought it was awful, and still had his ticket stubs somewhere

He mailed them to me : ) I wish they were dated the final performance, but they’re still a super neat keepsake I love.

Look at it this way, r536...if you don't care for Muhly, you have Tesori to look forward to.

With all due respect to Marin Mazzie and Betty Buckley, only Barbara Cook can wring emotion out of this by just singing the fucking notes.

I did it better than Babs. AND in bare feet.

Buckley’s knife edged voice is much more chillingly appropriate for the character. She’s also a more committed actress.

Cook sounds like she’s singing for a Girl Scout assembly.

Barbara Cook's voice is beyond gorgeous in that clip, but what does it have to do with the character? When she sings the line about taking Carrie's life away, she sounds like she singing about the birds in the trees. Even in the pretty moments (perhaps especially in the menacing moments), we have to sense the danger in her. Buckley, a steely loon if there ever was one, was an ideal piece of casting.

I'd never heard the score before. That 'When There's No One' song is fairly decent.

One thing I'm curious about. How does someone like Michael Gore sustain himself over the years? Did he come from money? I know he's the brother of Lesley Gore. But, his last credit as a film composer was Molly Shannon's Superstar from 1999 and, of course, his last Broadway credit is Carrie. Is he just coasting by on 'Fame' residuals?

Residuals and good investments?

[quote]Kong is hemorrhaging money.

How much of that has to do with the leading lady being black? I've seen online many people complaining about that, because the role in the original and remakes has been traditionally cast with a blonde, including the early incarnation of this musical. One guy thought they should've set the story in the '70s (like the Lange version), because by then there were several high profile actresses of color. Remember when people threw a fit when Will Smith was at one point considered for a Superman reboot? People don't like their nostalgia being tampered with. But you don't hear/read anything about this in reviews. It's like this big elephant in the room.

I really don't think race is a factor here. I think it's just a stupid idea for a show with little to no audience appeal.

That Buckley clip of When There’s No One is stunning. I was lucky enough to see the original production in previews. It was a train wreck, but the mother/daughter numbers were thrilling. The other numbers with the teens and they gym teacher not so much.

R581

Exactly 0% of the problem is the leading lady's race.

The revised Carrie was a bit better, but managed to take away a lot of the danger of the Carrie/Margaret relationship. Even the recent remake of the movie with Julianne Moore made Margaret more realistic, which makes her a lot less scary. When you start painting Margaret as the victim as well as Carrie, the story loses a lot of its power.

I think it's always important to think about how a character is supposed to function within the story and, if they're supposed to be a scary villain, you play them that way. Piper Laurie understood this, which is why she's never been topped in the role. Yes, as an actor, you're always supposed to find the good in your character and a reason to admire them and relate to them, but Margaret doesn't do one single decent thing for her daughter in the entire story, so let's not make her out to be some misunderstood woman who's doing the best she can given her misguided beliefs.

The Destruction will always be an issue for any production of Carrie, because there's only so much any production can do without millions and millions of bucks to spend on pyrotechnics and elaborate blood effects. The one that worked the best was the LA production. The entire show builds up to that moment and, on stage, it's hard to make it exciting. I'll tell you what doesn't work - those awful choreographed death scenes where all the students move to the same beat and fall down, writhing on the floor. It's so cheesy.

The Carrie/Margaret material can still be very exciting (although, those new orchestrations try their best to take away the excitement) and a few of the other songs aren't too bad (I like "Do Me A Favor", "In", and "Unsuspecting Hearts" well enough), but the teen material is still kinda meh. "The World According To Chris" isn't too bad, either.

I honestly think that, if they turned it into a movie musical, it could soar. You could eliminate some of the songs that don't quite work and you could really make the Destruction scene work as a glorious, operatic piece of filmmaking. De Palma's film always felt so musical and operatic to begin with.

[quote]Kong is hemorrhaging

Pics please.

I missed the Riverdale episode where they performed Carrie -- did it give any compelling argument for the musical?

Yes, Riverdale is well known for its critical analyses of Broadway musicals.

R584 yes, the musical is crap, regardless, but there are people who are outraged that they cast a black actress in a traditional white role. You can't bury your head in the sand about that.

[quote]r583 That Buckley clip of When There’s No One is stunning. I was lucky enough to see the original production in previews. It was a train wreck, but the mother/daughter numbers were thrilling. The other numbers with the teens and they gym teacher not so much.

I didn't know anything about the London production, and just remember opening the New York Times to a full page ad for CARRIE. Something inside me immediately shut down, right after my jaw hit the floor. Of all the material to musicalize for the stage...CARRIE???

Now I wish I had seen it, but I just felt contempt. Even at first glance, you know there's no way to make the events in that story work seriously in a big musical (or even as a play) without it becoming campy or utterly ridiculous. The L.A. production sounds much more interesting, as it took a more environmental theater approach...apparently you somehow felt you were right in the White's house, then the audience bleachers unexpectedly moved and carried you into the decorated gym for the prom.

But....that's not Broadway.

What I *mean* is, did Carrie seem better as performed by the Riverdale cast? I'm thinking like when Glee did Grease (no better, no worse) or Rocky Horror (not even close).

[quote]The Destruction will always be an issue for any production of Carrie, because there's only so much any production can do without millions and millions of bucks to spend on pyrotechnics and elaborate blood effects. The one that worked the best was the LA production.

How did they do it in LA?

As mentioned, the bleachers shook and I remember Chris running up to Carrie and Carrie using her powers to literally throw her into the air and up to the rafters. It was pretty epic.

Why in the HELL did we never get a Bonnie Franklin GYPSY?

[italic]"Damn it[/italic], Louise!"

I hate exercise ... but I love burlesque

"there are people who are outraged that they cast a black actress in a traditional white role. You can't bury your head in the sand about that.' "Exactly 0% of the problem is the leading lady's race.: , Perhaps you should consider that it makes hash of the rather daring subtexts and resonances that are the only thing that give the story any interest. Literary considerations like metaphor, ESPECIALLY in the theatre, are more important than bowdlerizing a text, IMO.

I love the Babs Cook version of that song, better than Buckley. Cook’s is filmed all in a long shot, and Buckley’s is all in closeup, so pf course her acting seems more nuanced. You can’t even see Cook’s face in that clip, only the voice tells you it’s her.

next thread, no gypsy or follies PLEASE we can do it!

So, how's that troll-based marketing of King Kong working out?

The leading lady’s race has NOTHING to do with the fact that it’s a bomb. Try looking to the awful book and absolutely dreadful lyrics before casting your racist rants.

Lest we forget this thread's honoree. Just in case you were wondering how The Blonde in the Thunderbird would play in Branson. Or Vegas, close enough.

BAJOUR!

Where in the fuck is the person asserting racism is Kong’s problem hanging out?

Besides Matt’s bedroom, I mean.