THEATRE GOSSIP #479: Sondheim's Bad, Sondheim's Good, Sondheim's People Leave You Halfway Through The Wood

The only into the woods in New York I'm interested in is the Ramble.

Oh let’s not do two threads. This other one has more action, let’s use it

Picking this one up, unless anyone wants to start a fresh 480.

Beanie announced her last day is July 31. She will have lasted a whopping three months.

The Instagram post. What's the new direction? Lea?

What is this? The fourth #479 thread?

r5, this was the second. The Beanie one was the third. The one spelled "Theater" was the fourth.

So....we're going with this one?

I actually like this title, OP.

There, I said it.

You're welcome!

In other news, THE BEDWETTER is hanging out its sheet to dry....

Anyone see it?

Ugh. I'll keep hoping until 12:59pm tomorrow, but I fear the bitch is back.

Is Beanie copying Boris Johnson's exit strategy, blaming the production for going in a "different direction"? They're going with someone who presumably can sing the fucking score in the way it's supposed to be sung.

The producers did not share my creative vision of Fanny Brice as an unfunny obese girl who cannot really sing.

Acting is all about CHOICES.

But it's all good. We part company as friends.

Is Drew Goehling playing the Billy Crudup role?

I think he's sexy.

Where are the posters who self righteously explained to us why Lea would never do this (she lives in LA and … reasons)

Will they redo the silly falling off the couch and other shtick they added for Beanie to supposedly distract from her subpar singing of the score?

Maybe they can cast a trans person and call it "Funny, Gurrrl!"

Song from ALMOST FAMOUS.

Perfectly pleasant...

A bit dull.

You rang?

r14, no, Chris Wood, who I mostly know from Supergirl, is playing the Crudup role. Gehling is playing the role Jason Lee had in the movie.

[quote] What is this? The fourth #479 thread?

It sure must feel like that to you, Beanie!

It's Groundhog Day, Beanie!

someone pick a damn thread

You are welcome r8 I was also responsible for the Audrey's tits title.

Where are my tits?

Fuck Beanie. Missing performances, leaving early in September, then leaving early in July. She should never work on Broadway again unless her father builds a theatre big enough to hold her fat ass. She's obviously hoping leaving early will close the show, but the producers, idiots that they are, may be one step ahead of her. Get out of town, you lazy cow!

Jesus, Beanie really is a cunt, isn't she?

That snark about "taking the show in a new direction" is so, so.....

Data Lounge-y.

"Going in a different direction" is sometimes used by an agent to tell their actor client for when someone doesn't get a part after auditioning, not by an actor who has been cast and has been substandard but won't admit it to others (or to herself).

I'm not very knowledgeable about these things but I'm assuming that Beanie is leaving early with the ok of the producers? If not, can an actor just quit? Doesn't she have a contract that the producers could hold her to?

Usually not, but if she wants to leave and they want her to leave, they can agree to it and thus modify the contract in writing, too.

r28, yes, likely at least 6 months, if not a year. Clearly they don't want to hold her to it.

Everyone can pick their preferred explanation: either her family members are the producers so they're not going to make her do anything they want her to, or the producers, who are not related to her, are tired of this debacle and ready to start over with someone else ASAP.

***make her do anything she doesn't want to. Sigh

Poor Beanie...her dreams have been crushed, and all in one year.

She gets the lead in a big Ryan Murphy mini-series and...it gets terrible reviews and low ratings.

She gets the lead in a huge Broadway musical revival and....it gets terrible reviews and a quick attendance drop.

Who could have predicted that this would have happened to a very modestly talented, morbidly obese, blatantly unattractive and neurotically self-absorbed she cow?

“Taking the show in a different direction” is such a strange way to put it when she’s the star of the show and opened it. I assume they won’t re-stage the entire thing or change much except to bring in an actress who can actually sing. That’s not really a “different direction.”

I'll end up watching the Beanie Funny Girl when it ends up on YouTube. Lots of Bway shows end up there and the titles for the posts are coded so that Equity has a harder time finding them. Dear Evan Hansen was posted as something like "Troubled High School Student". Look around, you will find them.

The "different direction" is "away from me."

She's priming her fan base for the coming victim narrative.

Look for Beanie's announcement of her enrollment in UCLA's Dept. of Social Welfare in September.

Or maybe she'll travel to an Israeli kibbutz to study to be a rabbi.

Seriously, I'd bet everything I got that she leaves show biz for good.

Beanie has always been a slightly mentally ill brat, spoiled, self absorbed and a “nice” cunt. This implosion is typical of her not following through, what a failure!

This is a WILD turn of events. We all (kinda mostly always) knew that Lea would be replacing in the Fall, but this abrupt departure is a whole other kettle of fish.

It almost has shades of Daniel Davis' abrupt firing after the Sunday matinee at La Cage back in 2005. Only he was met by a group of Nederlanders who gave him walking papers in no uncertain terms.

She can't even complete her run? She really doesn't deserve to be allowed near a Broadway stage again. Every actor has gotten bad reviews, been miscast, or trapped in a shitty production before, but they muddle through it and finish up the run. I'm waiting for the inevitable confessional piece where she says the reviews were toxic and harmed her mental health, making it impossible to go on some days. Everyone else will be demonized, but she'll come out as a survivor and take no responsibility for not having what it took to play the role.

Isn't it funny the perpetrator of this debacle hasn't said a word?

Yet.

Michael, are you there?

Good riddance to bad blubbage.

Rumors are swirling there'll be a new director, too.

Oh yes. The Gen-Z/Millennial "I'm a victim" narrative is already in full swing here. Just you wait. A bratty, passively petulant blame-game is about to unfurl and the Beanie stans are going to prop her up as some kind of martyr.

It's completely unprofessional and I hope some sturdy theatre professionals push back and call out her lack of work ethic. She doesn't deserve to tread the boards again anytime soon.

Harvey, what say you?

Didn't many on here say that once Beanie announced she was leaving in September,that she'd be gone wthin a month? Once the rumors of Lea started buzzing, the public stopped buying tickets. The "different direction" mention probably meant the producers told her that sooner was better than later. The show might not last otherwise till Sept.

r43, I wonder if there's something substantive out there about a new director or are people reading too much into Beanie's "new direction" phrasing? It's hard to imagine they'd restage this mess, or there's anything a new director could do to fix it without tearing it almost all the way down and rebuilding, even with a stronger lead.

Different direction?

Or New Direction?

The British production of Funny Girl is on YouTube in its entirety and is horrible. The actress playing Fanny is dreadful, reminding me of over-the-top performers in the movie Camp who played to the birds at the top of the tallest trees.

I’m told Broadway vet Lee Roy Reams is being brought onboard to give the show new direction with new star to be announced tomorrow at 1pm sharp

THR reviews "Into the Woods":

I'm trying to remember a similar situation to this Beanie fiasco. An actor getting horrible reviews in a highly anticipated Broadway musical yet has to keep performing because the show is turning a profit? Maybe Liza in The Act.....though drugs could be blamed.

And here is Deadline's review:

Can that be true about Leroy Reams? Or is that a joke??

Every review of ITW so far has been positive, and most are outright raves:

[quote] She really doesn't deserve to be allowed near a Broadway stage again.

Gotta love DataLounge. The girl can't get the fuck [italic] away [/italic] from the inept arrogant poseur toxicity that is Broadway fast enough, and you're talking about her wanting to come [italic] back [/italic]?

She won't come near the place for 40 years when she does the fucking Gin Game with Ben Platt, and an ancient but still somehow wrinkle-free Frank DiLala will ask her on Zuckerberg News NY 1 about that time she did Funny Girl for a few weeks.

Chorus members will doubtlessly be able to dine out for years on "And Beanie pulled THIS shit backstage" stories. (And perhaps some with Lea?)

Broadway doesn't go for Beanie, the dope!

Well she can just take that Tony and.....errrr never mind.

The person who got the most money out of FG is Beanie's shrink. Can't imagine that a day went by without a session. As for her, Beanie's demographic knows her from film and really has no knowledge of or interest in Broadway musicals. She'll take a few months off and get a role in a comedy and eventually star in a dramatic film or television series. No one will remember her FG fiasco except theater queens. Her career on the stage might be over, but she's by no means finished.

At least I got mercury poisoning.

Well best friends Beanie and Ben had a shitty year with "Dear Evan Hansen" going down faster than the Hindenburg.

She's not playing leads in anything unless they're planning on remaking The Hindenburg".

At best, she's a minor character actress...and, that's what she's always been.

Stupid cow thought she was so "special" she should be a headlining star.

Beanie was fired but was given the opportunity to bow out gracefully. " Taking something in a different direction" is a euphemism for someone getting canned....and she was. The drama was supposed to be on the stage, but everyone was talking about the drama off the stage, and the producers got fed up and finally fired her.

I don't think she was fired...she would have had a public shit fit if that had happened.

More likely she got called on the carpet for missing so many shows and she had a hissy fit and quit.

What is a typical contract for someone who opens a show as the lead? Would they typically be contracted to stay at least a year?

Bye Beanie. Get Jessica Vosk

"The producers were going in a different direction. They decided they wanted 8 shows a week, and well, I've got weddings and shit to go to, and daddy said, whatever you want, kitten, and besides, nobody really " got" what I was doing with the part, didn't understand my concept, so fuck 'em all, I'm going to take my ball and go home."

Maybe they’ll shutdown for a few weeks and reopen with the new stars.

The chat board on Broadway World is a buzz about this, most of the posters defending Beanie and cursing the mean old producers who "forced" her into playing the role.

I'm not kidding.

This is proof that god loves Datalounge

Do they call themselves Beaners, r70?

Beanie was not fired. Her father and brother are the lead (anonymous) producers.

She just couldn't put up with all the negativity surrounding her awful performance, which I'm sure even she realizes by now is awful, and wanted out asap. And she was purposely being discouraged from singing on her PR TV guest appearances. That's pretty devastating when you're the lead in a Broadway Musical.

And then the box office plummeted 25% last week.....and she's got the anticipation of Lea Michele nipping at her heels. She'd had enough, and when you've been brought up in privilege you just quit and leave town because you have no understanding of burning bridges and other consequences.

It is really wild that she never sang on any tv show to promote it.

Lee Roy coming in makes more sense that a new director. This way they can keep a lot of MM’s “vision” but have someone with super-sharp comedy chops (Lee Roy) to put the two new leading ladies in.

Has hack director Michal Mayer commented yet?

No? Gee, what a surprise.

Will Lee Roy take an official credit?

Or is this more like the old days when Jerry Robbins took over the original FG with no credit (his preference) but a very hefty pay check?

Doesn't Lee Roy like the piss play?

All this talk about the casting of Mrs. Brice when in actuality, they only needed a "star" in the first place to make up for the lack of talent and name recognition of their "leading lady".

Which is an insane proposition for a Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Mrs. Brice is a thankless role, always has been. And if it means being costumed like a light house keeper, well.....all the worse.

[Quote] someone with super-sharp comedy chops (Lee Roy)

are you queens crazy?

Of course, the irony of this fiasco is Lea will not be much of an improvement, the backstage gossip will be out of control, and after about 6 weeks all of her fans will have seen the show and it will quietly close after Christmas at a huge loss for the Feldstein family.

R41- rumor is he’s being replaced too

That’s what I don’t understand about Lea Michele. Theatre queens like her, but she was “cancelled” months ago for racist behavior and talk about defecating into a hair piece.

How is THAT the greatest star?

She was canceled by some no name extra trying to make a name for herself. No one gave a shit, in a wig or otherwise.

What if it's Ariana DeB replacing Beanie?

I think Lea is talented (and a Bway veteran who's been working since she was 7? 8 years old?)

But it wasn't one "no name extra." Numerous castmates on GLEE had stories about her (including the late Naya Rivera, who had been friends with her at one point).

Lea's legacy on that show was toxic. She's older, more settled. She has a child.

I really hope she turns it around.

Is Lea a woman of color?

[quote]Beanie was fired but was given the opportunity to bow out gracefully. " Taking something in a different direction" is a euphemism for someone getting canned....and she was.

Yes, but the phrase "going in a new direction" (or similar) usually refers specifically to firing one person and replacing them with another. What Beanie wrote made it sound like SHE chose to leave AFTER being told that the producers were somehow going to take the show in a new direction, whatever that might mean in this case. Of course, it probably doesn't mean anything because it's all bullshit.

‘The role should be open to everyone regardless of color’. Wonder if that person feels the same way when it comes to casting MJ or Strange Loop.

^Including the Public Theatre's all-White production of "A Raisin In The Sun".

But after the disaster that is "Richard III" in the park, I'm surprised Robert O'Hara is allowed anywhere near Lafayette Street.

I included the response because it sounded like a DLer.

Also, I see people tweeting that she was bullied because of "fatphobia." It's taking every iota of my existence not to respond with, "You type fat."

Ariana DeBose is actually not a terrible idea as Fanny.

She's a rising young star who just won an Oscar. And, the fact she's Black would help with any anger about replacing the Beanster.

I mean, who is gonna bitch they replaced the untalented white cow with the shitty voice with the talented new black star who can sing and just won an Oscar?

Ariana would be great. So would Gaga. But it is Lea's time.

Apparently she's had 35 missed performances since April

[quote]Beanie was not fired. Her father and brother are the lead (anonymous) producers.

Right. And also Jewish space lasers!

Yes, R46. The moment it was officially announced she’d be leaving by September I said she’d never make it past July 31st.

Thank, you Criswell.

[quote] Ariana DeBose is actually not a terrible idea as Fanny.

Who are the #1 supporters of live theater: the Jews? Great choice to piss off the Jews. See R89.

How do you go in a different direction after the show has opened and played for several weeks?

What do we think Beanie got paid? What do we think Lea will get paid?

I’ve noticed a lot of this from the gen Z brats on Twitter. They are outraged that Lea might replace her - one threatening to “never step foot again in NYC” if that happens. Honestly more power to Lea - fuck these people.

Reminder, queens. NY Public Library has some 2019 interview with Angela Lansbury today at 5 EDT

R101, that tweet is stupid, but it says nothing about Lea or refusing to step foot in New York. Did you mean to post a different one?

R103 sorry I wasn’t clear. It seems there are 2 camps of outrage on Twitter (which intersect) - the ones who are hysterical about racist bully Lea Michele taking over and the ones who are upset about the horrible treatment Beanie received (the one I linked was an example of that). One girl was praying that the July 31st show is sold out and everyone can shower Beanie with love and appreciation.

I had clicked on “funny girl” because it was trending and this is largely what I saw. Crazy. Plus a smattering of young gays talking about how Ryan Murphy must be involved in this.

Adam Feldman @FeldmanAdam FWIW: I have received an anonymous tip claiming that Jane Lynch will be replaced in Funny Girl by…drum roll please…Tovah Feldshuh! No idea if it’s true but it certainly seems like good/plausible casting

Imagine Tova + Lea backstage! Sell tickets to THAT

r37 Your mouth to the sky fairy's ear.

Will Tovah flash her bloomers?

Try and stop me!

R52, are you nuts? Liza got great reviews in The Act. Who wouldn’t want to see Liza Minnelli in peak form? The musical was a thin guise but not the performance.

If a girl isn't pretty, flash your cooter and you tittle.

I've never thought of Lea Michele as funny. She can sing and act, but play Fanny Brice?

Asking honestly, how much of an improvement will Lea be? I'm not seeing her being able to pull off campy, fun filled, silly etc. She takes herself too seriously and doesn't have a joyful bone in her body. So where is the major improvement? The vocals?

R111, if you don’t count using a desk lamp to give a gay guy a tour of your vagina as funny, I don’t know what to tell you.

The new direction the producers are taking the show in is "Good".

[quote]She takes herself too seriously and doesn't have a joyful bone in her body.

She sounds like my kinda dame.

Tovah Feldshu has requested a special dance during “If a Girl Isn’t pretty” where she flashes her panties.

I’m told the first row will witness FULL Feldshu bush with all the fixins

Sometimes people leave you halfway through their contract

Beanie likely had her contract bought out--meaning she got paid for her full contracted run

Really, R117? Do you think her father and brother just added it to her weekly allowance?

Gavin Creel as the Wolf is delicious.

But will we be able to smell him from the stage as we did in HAIR?

[Quote] Gavin Creel as the Wolf is delicious.

Gavin Creel as the Wolf is gay. What a concept.

Gavin Creel as the Prince is gay. What a concept.

Gavin Creel is never delicious in anything. And as the Prince and Wolf? Lol.

^^^^

Lea was actually quite funny in Scream Queens. She played a real freak of a character and I remember laughing outloud despite my wanting to hate her.

Agreed, R124. I thought Lea was hilarious on Scream Queens. She is fully capable of being funny.

And oh la la... What's the scoop on the ultra-inclusive Richard III?

Gavin Creel is terrific in both roles in ITW.

He does camp up his role as The Wolf, which helps negate the "ick factor." Otherwise, The Wolf comes off as a creepy sexual predator with young Red Riding Hood. (It didn't help that he had a visible wolf penis in the original production. Ewww.)

Paradise Square closing on Sunday

He must have heard wrong - Tovah is playing Fanny’s grandmother

ITW brought the swings and understudies on stage for last nights curtain call and everybody got flowers. Very classy.

[quote] Really, [R117]? Do you think her father and brother just added it to her weekly allowance?

Every Bway contract of a "star' performer has a clause about being paid the full contract if fired through no egregious fault of their own. Beanie must have that in her contract too.

Yikes, if they’re asking Tovah Feldshuh, how many others turned them down?

[quote] Otherwise, The Wolf comes off as a creepy sexual predator with young Red Riding Hood

Isn;t that the point of the Wolf in Into the Woods?

[quote] Yikes, if they’re asking Tovah Feldshuh, how many others turned them down?

And that casting will bring in zero new ticket buyers

Beanie should sue. She might get a swimming pool out of it.

Have we heard from Actor’s Equity on the Beanie situation? They’ve been mighty quiet as of late.

The end of Paradise

PRODUCERS: "Beanie, we're taking the show in a different direction. We are going to try a Fanny who can actually sing the score and doesn't pop her eyes and mug at every laugh line."

BEANIE: "What an outrageous approach!"

Does Fanny have a snack purse?

Easy to see why she and the repulsive Ben Platt are besties.

Are people not getting paid at Paradise Square?

They're slaves. Of course theyre not getting paid

Richard III being filmed for PBS r126. Set your TiVo now

I’m told Tovah Feldshu has requested producers add that old chestnut “Stop, Time” from Big:The Musical so that she has a number in act 2 after “Who Tought Her Everything she Knows”

[quote] And that casting will bring in zero new ticket buyers

And Jane Lynch was packing them in?

List of people who have been asked to replace Jane Lynch as Mrs. Brice:

Idina Menzel

Rosie O’Donnell

Harvey Fierstein

Randy Graff

Faith Prince

Debra Monk

Rita Moreno

Blythe Danner

Harriet Harris

Jackie Hoffman

Lin Manuel-Miranda

Adele Dazeem

John Travolta

Tommy Tune

Whoopi Goldberg

Carol Burnett

Hologram Barbara Cook

Myra Lucretia Taylor as Mrs. Brice -- TINA is closing, she got a Tony nom, and she played Italian in Antonio Banderas' "Nine", so why not play Jewish?

Happier times, nearly a year ago

[quote] And Jane Lynch was packing them in?

Likely no--but one would think going in a "new direction" means finding stars people want to see

Unlike Beanie, Jane has actual talent, but boy was she miscast.

Canned Beanie. All the rest in kerfluffle! "Roll the beautiful Bean footage!"

The Jane Lynch casting was a huge misfire. What was anybody thinking? And how desperate is Jane to have accepted the role?

Saw the first half of Richard III Thursday. Dear God what a fucking mess.

Lord knows I'm not adverse to modern takes on Shakespeare or color blind casting. But this shitshow felt like a third of the cast was doing Shakespeare, a third was doing a TV thriller and a third were doing a bus and truck version of "Brigadoon".

I knew we were in trouble with Queen Anne. I LOVED Ali Stoker in "Oklahoma!". But somebody looked at her performance of Ado Annie and thought she'd make an amazing Queen Anne. They were shockingly, time-and-space-warping, wrong.

Danai Gurira as RIII was.. not terrible. She was one of 4-5 actors who actually knew how to play verse. Sharon Washington was terrific fun. But overall just a icky, fake-goth congealed mess.

Maybe Jane figured she could get a recording contract like Kay Medford did and do her own recording of Rose in "Gypsy" like precedent?

AIN'T NO MO' is an amateurish overhyped piece of nonsense. Ten years ago it would barely pass muster at second-rate MFA program. In the year of our lord 2022, it goes to Broadway. The state of the art!

I was aiming for a new recording of Minnie's Boys!

I loved Ain't No Mo when it was done 35 years ago as The Colored Museum.

This didn’t age well.

[quote]Face the facts, you don’t got it.

r[148] before it all went wrong. It’s like the Handmaids Tale before the catastrophe in DC

[quote]Isn;t that the point of the Wolf in Into the Woods?

No, R133. I'm not sure what fairy tales you read as a child, but the Wolf EATS Grandma and Red Riding Hood. Red then cuts her way out of his belly.

The Wolf doesn't rape/sexually assault Little Red Riding Hood. Or her grandmother.

The only assaulting Gavin Creel does as the wolf is to the olfactory senses.

Shouldn’t there be a tranny Fanny?!

For the slowpokes like r160/r137, Little Red Ridinghood has always been a cautionary tale about men taking advantage of young women and girls.

[quote]Isn;t that the point of the Wolf in Into the Woods?

Of course it is, r133. r160, you seem oblivious.

20 minute to the big announcement!!

🥱

[quote] The Wolf doesn't rape/sexually assault Little Red Riding Hood. Or her grandmother.

Sondheim actually ramps up the sexuality of these fairy tales. He meant the Wolf to highly sexual and predatory

Not to mention that hot giantess!

But enough about Beanie, R167

When I saw the original ITW in previews in 1987, Robert Westenberg’s Wolf costume included obvious male genitals, which seem to have been pretty much eliminated in the released video version.

Fuck I'm so tired of lazy fucking Beanie-like cows like r169. Read the damn fucking thread. It's right there at r127. You just come here to blab and not to see what anyone else has to say. You're bad particpants treating this like some masturbatory place for you to entertain yourself getting off by typing your own shit.

[quote] When I saw the original ITW in previews in 1987,

Yes you're SO impressive you saw it in fucking PREVIEWS. You piece of lame self aggrandizing shit. Were you 80 even then. You so fancy. Fuck you.

If the past few years are any indication, Lynch doesn't turn down any chance to make a buck.

here it is

It's Lea and Tovah and their high school headshots

So the cunt dipped out earlier on her own accord. Surely they would have sold more tickets for Beanie than for Julie. Don't cry for her too hard.

The comments on playbill’s Instagram from the people horrified that they would cast a “racist bully” are 🙄

Yeah, all those twitter people who didn't buy tickets to beanie's run are suddenly outraged

All these “justice for Beanie” comments by fools on social media who don’t seem to understand that she’s a wealthy Hollywood brat who wouldn’t give them the time of day in real life. Fat and unattractive does not equal oppressed and kind. Justice for the privileged white woman who never showed up to work. SMH.

So....nothing about replacing the hack director. But I wonder if it's actually happening without any credit?

[R170]:

Well, aren’t you a resentful, infected cunt.

What’s the matter? Are we disturbing your adoration of the shit that passes for theater nowadays?

Go scarf pizza in your mother’s basement.

OH GOD, NO... NOT TOVAH!

Lea doing 7 shows a week with Benko playing Fanny on Thursday nights.

Interesting discussion of Victoria Clark and her career. Any Sondheimites wanna guess who the bitch in the SUNDAY IN THE PARK cast was?

[quote]Vicki did recall how one of the women in the company tried to sabotage her. They were in the wings and the other actress said, “We enter now." Vicki told her that the notes said her entrance was later, but the woman ignored her pushed Vicki onstage. It was Showgirls, but without the staircase!

Dana Ivey, no doubt, r182.

[Quote] Interesting discussion of Victoria Clark and her career.

Not possible

Had to be Dana Ivey. She knows a thing or two about cunty behavior.

Poor Vicki. Always being bullied.

I suspect you're right about Ivey. An elder actress friend knew her (and her mother) from regional theatre back in the day.

Both horrible, horrible cunts.

Ivey is talented but her behavior explains why she never had a bigger career, even as a character actress.

Dana Ivey, world class cuntessa.

Will there be a cast album with Lea??

Julie Benko better check her wigs regularly.

I remember Bernadette’s contract kept Reba’s AGYG from being recorded.

R190 you beat me to it!

So how good do the Lea advances need to be to make up for an August of Benko?

I wish the “racist bully” bullies would STFU already. Move on.

Fat girls stan for Beanie. I was talking to my fat friend in NYC last week and she started talking in concerned tones about Beanie and how awful people have treated her.

I was like, “Bitch can’t sing!”

I said, let's give the fat girl a chance.....

August is still a big tourist month and I’m sure the show will be heavily discounted so it might be ok. The show itself sells tickets and they have a tv name with Lynch.

I met the feared yet very talented Tovah (Terry) Feldshuh once at an event I was working. Her mother who was about a hundred years old, was friends with people I'd worked for so I recognized her and went over to say hello, and make sure she was being well taken care of.

Before I knew it her son and daughter came over and we were all chatting, they were super nice and grateful we were giving the very old folks at the event extra attention and early access to hot tea and homemade brownies. At one point, I recognized the daughter was Tovah, but I said nothing until the conversation was ending and she introduced herself. She was really nice and very charming and regular people as was her brother (maybe it was her cousin). I was...surprised!

This replacement is probably going to be more Lucci than Rebba

The only person having a worse day than Beanie Feldstein is Steve Bannon.

Tovah's very handsome brother Dr. David Feldshuh wrote an excellent play called Miss Evers Boys that I don't think ever received a Broadway production.

[quote]The only person having a worse day than Beanie Feldstein is Steve Bannon.

You mean that there is something right in the world?

I've met Tovah, as well, and had a very good experience. And I was not in a position to do anything for her, nor did I fan gush over her. She was just naturally friendly and kind.

I, too, was surprised.

The Bean/Benko stans are in full meltdown, and on TikTok flyovers are trying to spin the narrative that she was driven out because she was fat.

No dears, it’s because she’s NOT TALENTED ENOUGH.

All I’ll say about several time Tony loser Dana Ivey is it always speaks to a performer’s reputation in the business when they are nominated for a bunch of awards but NEVER win.

I haven't seen so much talk about a performer's size since the discussion of Roger Bart's cock

I worked with Dana Ivey once.

It won't happen, but I think Sara Bareilles could do Fanny. She's got the singing chops, and it turns out, she's very funny too.

Producers are starting to spill the tea on Beanie.

r209

they should... Beanie has acted quite unprofessionally through this whole thing

I am only moderately resilient, and barely at all when it comes to my work as a performer.

If this series of humiliations had happened to me and I had Beanie's year, I'd likely dig a hole and climb in it, or move to Vermont.

But Reba did record a few ANNIE songs for a sampler album. Why were those allowed?

Beanie could have handled this all in a way that would have had her come out of this whole experience as a hero, even though she was giving an utterly horrible performance. But instead, she chose to be a spoiled, entitled cunt and stamp her feet and take her toys home with her. She deserves nothing.

Promotional, r212.

When Terry Sue Feldshuh replaced Andrea Martin in “Pippin,” the cast and crew referred to her as “The Scottish Actress.” As in, bad luck to utter her name in the theatre. There’s a reason she does mostly one person shows.

People on Twitter really think they are hilarious with the Lea is illiterate jokes. And the horror that she wasn’t “cancelled” permanently.

It’s interesting the same people who would call her a racist bully have no problem mocking the illiterate (which I don’t believe she is).

I never would have predicted rooting for Lea Michele and yet here we are.

Peter DeBruge of Variety makes an idiotic comment in his review of the new film version of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris:

Much as Lansbury’s Broadway version of “Mame” had nothing to do with the earlier Rosalind Russell incarnation, Manville borrows nothing from Lansbury’s performance.” Angela Lansbury played the title role in a 1992 TV adaptation of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.

where does the illiterate rumor come from?

Didn’t Tovah manage to last a couple of seasons on Walking Dead? It was the biggest show on TV at the time. At least someone wants to work with her.

Someone asked if Lea will get a Funny Girl recording. If she does, I hope she springs for the orchestra to be filled out and they go back to the actual orchestrations. Also, a good recording space, not the shit ones currently used by Broadway that sound like people are being recorded in my gramma’s closet.

OK, I'm dumb. What is the Lea can't read business about?

[quote] Also, a good recording space, not the shit ones currently used by Broadway that sound like people are being recorded in my gramma’s closet.

With the current tiny budgets, I bet they are actually recording in closets

R209 where?

I'm sure Lea is full of many conflicting emotions now that the news is out there... happy that she is finally playing the role on Broadway BUT pissed that she didn't open the show and be eligible for that tony. I'm sure a cast recording would make her feel much better

[quote]Producers are starting to spill the tea on Beanie.

Any specifics?

I heard she's fat

I haven't seen any tea getting spilled on Twitter. Do you have any specifics, R209?

From Page Six

"Producers of the Broadway revival “Funny Girl” were “blindsided” by Beanie Feldstein’s shocking exit announcement on social media, Page Six has learned.

A Broadway insider tells us that producers were planning on making the announcement on Monday – but Feldstein, 29, beat them to the punch when she posted on Sunday evening.

...

“She clearly doesn’t give a s–t,” the insider said of Feldstein, noting that it wasn’t a savvy move to ambush the show’s producers."

Curious who all the Lea Michele stans are who've suddenly emerged here and are rooting for her. The stories about her from people in the business have been going around for years, long before her so-called cancellation (which, as usual, wasn't). She was a nightmare as a kid in Ragtime. She was horrible to people during Spring Awakening. She treated people like shit on Glee. I'm not even convinced she's a racist so much as absolutely terrible to anyone she wants to be, regardless of race. There's a reason her career slowed down so much that she went from the lead of a show, to a sidekick on a short-lived ABC sitcom, to barely working at all, years before being "canceled." Sorry, someone who's that heinous to people for that long doesn't simply turn around in a couple years. That asshole hasn't learned a damn thing.

From her co-star on that short-lived ABC sitcom

I'm not a Lea Michele stan, but the fact is that this whole saga is a really good story with some genuine show biz crackle. People seem to be responding to that.

People do change. She’s married and has a kid. And I’m sure she learned a lot after her antics were made public. I’m not a fan but give her a break.

Yeah, let's not rewrite history just because the girl got the job she wanted. She's a fucking horrible person.

I'd love to see the addendums to the contract she had to sign. I have to think there was something added about code of conduct for her run.

r221 So basically it boils down to "she was on Broadway when she was a kid, so didn't get an education". Seriously, that's it. From there the "proof" has been photos of her at book signings where the pen doesn't touch the book, her book being photo-heavy and prose-light (like every celeb book then), and that she uses emojis on social media.

As others have said, it's really interesting that the kind of people who whine about Beanie getting sacked for being fat - when she wasn't even sacked - are willing to joke about adult illiteracy.

[quote]but the fact is that this whole saga is a really good story with some genuine show biz crackle

That's exactly it, r231. We've been starved of them the past few years.

I find it hard to believe that anything in Bernadette's AGYG contract could prohibit Reba from coming out with her own album of Annie's songs if Reba so desired. Frankly, I find it hard to believe any Broadway star could have such a stipulation in their contract.

Whatever's going on backstage at Funny Girl seems much entertaining than what's made it on stage.

Don’t Rain on My Parade comparison across 4 Fanny’s

Beanie has been a screeching nightmare since day one, her fear drenched mania during previews should have halted everything, this was an unhinged young woman, it was already too much for her zero stamina dna. Throw in the tepid reviews and major awards snubs, bullseye, ya got a seriously unhappy brat who had a VERY different idea of how this dream was going to turn out. Most of the cast hates her as well…

R238, Benko actually isn't bad

Nor is she distinctive.

Beanie didn't cast herself...

She signed the contract. Next we’ll be hearing how she was forced to play the role at gunpoint, and she had no choice but to give a terrible performance.

The oddest thing about Beanie costumed and wigged as Fanny is that she looks very dowdy and matronly....and yet, at the same time, seems like a little girl playing dress up. Either way, not a good look for Broadway 2022.

Who here didn't know from the moment that stupid TV ad came out with her reveal in costume, uttering "hello, gorgeous..." that she'd be in big trouble??

The wigshatted Glee actress is triggered anew but not beyond promoting her current show.

[quote]Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again.

[quote]Also. My name is not Amber Riley or Alex Newell. Their experience was not mine and mines was not theirs.

[quote]Meanwhile, I’m working on one of the most safest & inclusive sets I’ve ever been on. I finally feel seen from the moment I step into the hair&makeup trailer to the last line of the day. Ness is back tomorrow night. Tune in. #AllRise

Ugh, that cunt sounds exhausting. I would have shit in her wig, too.

R242, Sounds like she kind of did if her family did, indeed, help bankroll the thing.

Benko's fine--if Beanie had sung at the well, she wouldn't have quit. That said, Lea does have the vocal chops for the thing. She just does.

Beanie did cast herself. She saw the revival in London and persuaded her family to finance a production on Broadway. No one else auditioned for the role. She was offered it supposedly after singing a couple of songs on Zoom to Sonia Friedman and Michael Mayer.

Beanie's family bankrolled the production that will now star Lea Michele. That makes no sense. If they were behind the production, they'd just close it. It will close soon enough anyway.

Lea Michele replacing Beanie is not something the Beanster's family would put her through. Beanie was in way over her head but the creatives behind Funny Girl are to blame for that. Beanie's parents did not make them cast her, as much as you might enjoy that claim.

The Feldstein family are major investors but not enough to control the future of the show. Also, they'd like get some of their money back for this fiasco so there's that to consider.

I'm just concerned at how Rex Reed will take this change. Will he now embrace Lea as Broadway's newest star?

They should have had Jonah replace her, then.

CDAN posted a blind today saying it's intentional that an A- actress is leaving a production just days before her former TV co-star is joining. Most of the guesses are Lynch/Lea.

Bankrolling it doesn't mean you have ongoing control of it. It means they put up cash with the understanding Beanie would star, but it doesn't mean they can just close it.

This is such a millennial story. When the going gets tough, the millennial goes walking and whining. Though I still don't understand the hubris that Beanie had to think she could manage that score eight shows a week. No amount of vocal training was going to take a small voice and turning it into a big voice.

Streisand didn't have a big voice, though, which isn't to say Beanie was up to singing the score.

Because R229, whaddaya think we are, a bunch of angels? We’re a bunch of fucking bitches who are glad to see this fucking bitch get a third or fourth chance.

Understand now? And Lea had nothing to fear while they were dragging the lake for Naya Rivera’s body so STFU. And she never actually used the n-word she just threatened to shit in that girl’s wig but it’s nothing compared to what goes on at Juilliard. And yeah, maybe she bought drugs for her boyfriend Cory but it was never proven (they never proved Courtney killed Kurt either!) so shuddup about it.

Since then she married some Jew schlub and had his schlubby baby and she’s going to knock it out of the park on the 6th of September and people will kill to get a ticket! No pun intended.

THAT’S why we stan Lea Michele. Bitch is gonna slay this shit. People who need people, my ass. We’re the LUCKIEST people in the world!

[Quote] This is such a millennial story. When the going gets tough, the millennial goes walking

I'm a millenial?

This is the best of all possible worlds for Lea Michele. If she’d opened the show, they would’ve compared her to Barbra. Now they’re just gonna compare her to Beanie.

[Quote] she’s going to knock it out of the park on the 6th of September

Like she knocked it out of the park at the Tonys with her assault on "Don't Rain on My Parade"? Funny Girl remains a shitshow.

No. Lea will be compared to Babs too.

Gawd, that Sammie Ware person is the new Dylan Farrow, professional victim.

To be fair you would come out well to be compared to Beanie as long as you weren’t a baked potato

I’ll bet the first thing Lea does is fire that Julie Benko bitch and I am here for it.

Even I'd come out well, r263.

Bad scripts, bad directors!

Dear Sammie Ware: Your 10 minutes are officially up.

It seems a whole generation doesn't feel they need to do anything notable to get a platform. Professional victimhood is a far easier path! "Someone said something shitty to me once, so allow me to be triggered from here to eternity. Hopefully with a slew of Twitter likes to reinforce my plight in life!"

The racist misogynistic idiots fired Beano for being a BBW

Anyone with eyes, much less eyes, could see that Beanie Feldstein was going to SUCK in Funny Girl.

The end of delusion. THAT’S what’s so satisfying.

^^ much less ears

I don't understand why people pay attention to these yammering infants on social media platforms. It's like giving credence to the ravings of the insane. Ignore them and they'll shrivel up and blow away.

Anyone know if ITW will be inviting the Tony committee to be eligible for Tonys? Would Brian be eligible since he missed opening night?

Adam Feldman on Twitter: "FWIW, an update from my Funny Girl source (who so far has not led me wrong): “It’s really hitting the fan…There’s a lot of screaming…So get the popcorn because the next two weeks are gonna be messy and wild.” This does not seem to be a peaceful transition!"

Maybe Funny Girl will have its own January 6th with angry fans storming the theatre chanting "Hang Jane Lynch!"

I am so fuckin sick of everyone talking about Beanie. Seriously. Send her back to LA and lose her number.

Omgomgomg R273!!

🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿

I actually think Jane Lynch is the most telling. She was slated to leave AFTER Lea came on board, but then changed her date to leave just before Lea opens as to not work with her again.

I think that speaks volumes about Lea Michele

r277

again... how are they people just changing the dates that I would think are in a contract?

Those things can be renegotiated, r278.

r279

I understand that but the producers could just say NO

Yes, r280, of course they could.

Jane Lynch is hardly exiting FG smelling like a rose.

Her reviews were generally poor (if not as poor as Beanie's). As was the word-of-mouth.

Leaving early makes her look like a sore loser.

Jane Lynch was miscast and probably looking for an excuse to leave. It speaks more to the production as a whole than to Lea. Also, in what world would Jane Lynch be Lea Michele’s mother? She looks like an old WASP.

Bring on Tovah. Bye Jane.

Frankly, everyone BUT Lea Michele looks fucking terrible in this debacle.

[quote]Leaving early makes her look like a sore loser.

No, it doesn't.

I'll go one further, R284. Barbra's been a champion throughout all of this.

Jane's fine. She was miscast but she did her job and you never heard of her bitching or complaining.

In the photo I saw of Tovah she looks REALLY old. Must be a still from The Walking Dead.

I'm placing bets that Beanie won't last until July 20th... anyone wanna take that bet?

R289 = Jonah Hill

fuck I don't think she will be on tomorrow... she will claim an hostile workplace now

Will Vulva Toadstool show us her panties like she did down at the Pocono Playhouse? Or was that Joyce DeWitt? I’m so confused.

[quote]Lea was actually quite funny in Scream Queens. She played a real freak of a character and I remember laughing outloud despite my wanting to hate her.

She was also funny in the "Glee" pilot but didn't give her much when it went into full production.

Beanie will undoubtedly be gone by next week. She's a discontented bitch who would do everything in her power to kill the show she sucked in.

Let Beanster leave early. Then the producers can temporarily close the show, get a bigger orchestra, some new scenery and re-open with the first class production it should have been in the first place.

[quote]Then the producers can temporarily close the show, get a bigger orchestra, some new scenery and re-open with the first class production it should have been in the first place.

They should also get a feathered hat for the baby, photographs in front of the theater . . .

R205, do you mean like notorious super-cunt Deborah Kerr?

There's no way ITW could be Tony eligible. With such a short-ended run they'd barely be able to get in all the Tony nominators, much less the Tony voters. They also probably don't want to give up so many comped seats in such a short run.

"Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear. Doesn't make me Madonna. Never will".

Great news...the Kessler Twins did a Scopitone!

Beanie most likely won’t last until 7/31, she’s been atrocious since her return from “Covid illness” and the “silent investors” did not pay for everything, so their demands were met with a buyout to get rid of the toxicity of an unhappy misfit who never believed they’d actually go on without her. There is nothing genuine, sweet, appreciative nor dedicated about Beanie The Bomber. It’s worse than even the DL can imagine.

BREAKING: footage of Lea getting the call, then Beanie receives the news

Sheesh.

R303 thanks! keep that free promotion coming, Sam. The ticket sales are rolling in!

I didn't know Dana Ivey was a cunt! This is why I come to DL still, after all these years.

[quote]I'm not sure what fairy tales you read as a child, but the Wolf EATS Grandma and Red Riding Hood. Red then cuts her way out of his belly.

It seems that your shockingly low level of reading comprehension didn't allow you to comprehend that the poster in question was stating, correctly, that the wolf coming across as a sexual predator is the whole point of that character in INTO THE WOODS -- which is a musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, in case you don't know it. The poster was NOT referring to how the wolf comes across in the original tale.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW????!!!!!!

Lea ALLEGEDLY being a cunt is the only reason anyone knows who Ms. Ware is, so she should be thankful.

R306 When she went into Sister Mary Ignatius, she kicked Nancy Marchand in the cunt.

R308 Fuck, I meant R305 R306 seems triggered by wolf cock.

r282, personally I think it depends on if they really do restage or rework the show. If they do, then Lynch leaving a week early doesn't make her look bad at all. Having her learn a new version of the show just to do it for one week is a waste of time. If they don't and the Michele/Feldshuh version is essentially the same, then her leaving early will look more suspect--or at least proof that she doesn't want to work with Michele.

One thing you’ll never hear in your lifetime: “We have to get tickets to the new Samantha Ware show!”

I saw the original ITW twice and that swinging wolf dick was a huge attention getter. It was bigger than in the pic posted above. Both times, half the audience gasped, aghast, and everyone else laughed out loud. It left little doubt about how you were supposed to think about the character and his intentions.

[quote]It was bigger than in the pic posted above

No, it wasn't.

[quote]R131 Every Bway contract of a "star' performer has a clause about being paid the full contract if fired through no egregious fault of their own.

Well, I guess Ms. Feldstein‘s lack of talent is technically “no fault of her own.”

That infamous Tovah "Rose's Turn" clip in the black panties might be one of the funniest, hamfisted, miscast debacles I've seen in 30 years of theatre going.

And yet...I can't turn away. It's glorious in its horrific camp value. Especially the tepid (absent?) applause at the end.

Sure, it was filmed during a dress/run through but MAN. KILLS ME.

Here's your striking visual aid:

There was a more complete and more embarrassing run through of Tovah's Roses Turn but it got scrubbed. This is what is left.

I think I spot some camel Toe-vah...

R318 Who doesn't like panties?

People have totally forgotten that Lawson was the original Rose but during the first Boston preview, she dropped her top before shouting "How you like them eggrolls, MISTER Goldstone?" Then she shimmied her way through the rest of the number, tossing those things around like old tires. The show went dark for a night and Ethel was brought in as an emergency replacement.

Many people now wrongly think ITW is a family-friendly show. It's not. It's meant for adults.

Like how Grease is now done as a squeaky-clean HAPPY DAYS-style throwback. It isn't. It's rife with raw teenage sexuality. It's supposed to be adults looking back on the crude messiness of the teenage years.

Tony nominators definitely invited to ITW. But not while Brian is out.

[quote]R278 how are the people just changing the dates that I would think are in a contract?

[quote]R279 Those things can be renegotiated.

I know all about run of the play contracts!

Thee reviews were so good -- raves, mainly -- I'm surprised ITW hasn't already been extended or announced for an open run.

How are the ITW orchestrations? I assume they used the full originals at Encores. Have they been reduced for Broadway?

Is there an investigative report on how Dana Ivey got so fat? She looked alarmingly enormous at the Theatre HOF event last month.

I don't think Jane not sticking around for a couple of weeks means much. It's pretty clear that the show producers want to make a big splash with the new team of Lea and Tovah, making Sept. 6 a re-opening.

Samantha Ware is doing herself no favors by continuing to complain about someone she hasn't worked with in years. It comes off as sour grapes and a red flag. Whatever else you can say about Lea Michele, she doesn't slag people publicly. She does what her PR people tell her to.

Michele is fake. Go Lea?

R328 More like she has a trace of professionalism. Samantha Ware has told her story--she needs to move on instead of whining that Lea Michele got a job. Because, honestly, at this point it reads as jealousy, no matter how justified the initial complaint was.

If you can't treat your co-workers with respect, you do not have professionalism. Absent Beanie and Lea have something in common in that respect.

Wait, Danielle Melnick is joining the cast of "Funny Girl" as Fanny's mother? I'm so confused... I thought Mrs. Brice was supposed to be a former lighthouse keeper from Maine transplanted into NYC? Tovah certainly doesn't look like she would know how to change a bulb at a lighthouse anywhere in New England!

[quote]Tony nominators definitely invited to ITW. But not while Brian is out.

Why the fuck is he out already?

[Quote] Brian is out.

Gen Z, amirite?!

[quote]Why the fuck is he out already?

Gee, it’s almost like there’s a virus going around or somethin'…

Lost whatever respect I had for Beanie, ( Jesus your an adult now, lose the childhood nickname) when she took off right after opening to go to a friend's wedding. I know it was arranged but Hell, Ellen Burstyn missed winning an Oscar because she was on stage in NY. She was a professional. Goldie was in London making her next movie, she had commitment. That's what pros do. It's 2022, she could have had a friend hold a phone up and she'd be right there only to get Covid and miss more. Someone posted she missed 35 performances, and they only opened in April.

Can't wait to hear the Almost Original Cast Recording of "Funny Girl".

Beanie likely lacked the vocal stamina required. Even Streisand struggled.

It’s odd that no one is questioning why Bway still has a ten day quarantine for anyone who tests positive, even if asymptomatic, which the CDC has not required for a long time. Is this an Equity thing?

[quote]I'm not sure what fairy tales you read as a child, but the Wolf EATS Grandma and Red Riding Hood. Red then cuts her way out of his belly.

NOPE:

"When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. The huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to himself, how the old woman is snoring. I must just see if she wants anything.

So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying in it. "Do I find you here, you old sinner," said he. "I have long sought you."

Then just as he was going to fire at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf.

When he had made two snips, he saw the Little Red Riding Hood shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying, "Ah, how frightened I have been. How dark it was inside the wolf."

And after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Little Red Riding Hood, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed at once, and fell dead."

That can't happen.

[quote]It’s worse than even the DL can imagine.

Well then why don't you give us the actual details, R301?

So done with these ridiculous posters pretending they have inside info. Funny how none of you 'insiders' were able to post about BF quitting before it was announced, despite the cast and crew being told in advance.

Funny Girl is a bad show. And this one is cheap. Close it.

Can you imagine being Ramin Karimloo? To sit around while all your costars (including new ones) reputations collapse at free fall speed into their own footprints?

Ramin cares about #CrossFit. He must have been pretty puzzled by Beanie’s complete lack of attention to her weight. Not an ounce of fat on him. And his wife is a personal trainer.

I saw the second or third preview of the original ITW and the wolf cock was so prominent it was distracting and no one was paying attention to the song. I went back after the opening and it was smaller and more of a bush covering it.

I just think it’s hilarious that Tovah Feldshuh, who had a horrific reputation back in the day, will be paired with Michele, who also has a horrific reputation.

My favorite Vulva Toadstool story-in 1976 she was cast as Juliet in a production in Stratford, Connecticut. She was a cunt and the rest of the cast loathed her, including her Romeo. She phoned her agent and asked him what she could do to win them over. He said “It’s Stratford! Throw them a picnic!” And that night she posted a notice which read “Tovah Feldshuh requests the honor of your company at a very special picnic this coming Sunday.” And in big letters at the bottom she wrote “BRING YOUR OWN FOOD AND BOOZE”

R324, it's not that simple. The Piano Lesson is scheduled to start a few weeks after ITW's current end date. ITW either needs to find a new theater or Piano Lesson would have to move (and they had the theater first since ITW squeezed in for the summer run) for any kind of extension to happen.

[Quote] Can you imagine being Ramin Karimloo? To sit around while all your costars (including new ones) reputations collapse at free fall speed into their own footprints?

Maybe instead of sitting around, he should take some acting lessons.

r354, Be careful about mentioning you saw an early preview of the original ITW. You might trigger r170.

Sorry, that was for r345.

r329

You and a lot of other people seem to have amnesia about the Scott Rudin scandal and all the discussions about the allowing horrendous behavior and abuse on Broadway and that came on the heels of the Harvey Weinstein insanity.

At this point people should be holding anyone being abusive and creating hostile work environments accountable to the fullest extent. If we don't, we are signaling that we only call it out to get past it and go back to business as usual.

So are you saying it's all right to call out the fucked up behavior but do it merely as a palliative gesture. We shouldn't bother to try and actually eradicate it by canceling those are the perpetrators?

r338 That is in place in Hollywood as well for those who are unvaxed. Test positive, be out for 10 days.

Vaccinated people only have to be out for five days. I believe it is for the comfort of the actors and all those who have to be closest to them while working. I would imagine it is also to protect against law suits about being negligent about crew safety.

Dana Ivey for Mrs. Brice!

Dana Ivey for Lea Michele’s dresser!

Dana isn't obese she's just always had a ginormous butt. you can even check her character work in films in the 90s and 00s.

Ware is bullying the alleged bully.

If she has actual complaints, she can cite them. However, promoting actual permanent cancellation with no option for forgiveness for perceived offenses is out of line. Plus no one knows how badly Ware was behaved on set and what Lea was responding to.

Um check out some recent photos, r355

LMAO r349. I hope R170 is feeling better today. He got it out of his system yesterday so hopefully today will be smoothing sailing as long as the wolf cock from 1987 isn't mentioned.

[Quote] Plus no one knows how badly Ware was behaved on set and what Lea was responding to.

Lea's silence speaks volumes.

Just in case any of you missed Ware's statement in response to Lea's casting...

“Yes, I’m online today,” Ware tweeted around an hour after the casting announcement. “Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again.”

Did any of the male cats in Cats have visible genitalia?

Somebody should tell Ware that Jews really aren’t white. Jews descend from Jacob and his wives, who were Middle Eastern and concubines, who were probably Egyptian.

I had no interest in seeing Beanie in FG but a lot of interest in seeing LM do the part, cause she can sing and act it.

Dana Ivey's sour rep is well-known. She's very talented but is a deeply unhappy woman.

That said about both, it's show business. It's a business, and though nice is lovely, it's not required. Talent, discipline and professionalism are what matter most. I'm a playwright and I've worked with a lot of actors at all levels, and most don't become friends. That's okay. When they are offered parts or audition for them, they are not auditioning to be my friend. I do love it when a personal connection occurs, of course, and it often does, but for everyone it's a job, and there are no work places where everyone loves one another. The idea that that should be different in theatre is absurd and is mainly promulgated by those looking to get in, often with the idea that working the theatre is going to magically solve all their problems. It won't, and it can't.

If ITW closes at the end of August and is nonetheless nominated for Tony Awards, a LOT of Tony voters won't be voting in certain categories when Tony time rolls around, cause they won't have seen it. I think that's how Deirdre O'Connell won her recent Tony. A lot of voters didn't bother to see Dana H or missed their opportunity in the fall, and when it came time to vote, only those who'd seen Dana H got to vote in the category.

It's how it should be.

The more unhinged reactions I see about Lea’s casting only makes me support Lea more, and I’m not even a fan to begin with.

Is Ramin on vacation this week?

r356 calling out someone for abusive behavior is not bullying a bully. Continuing to hold them accountable is not bullying. All those women bullying Harvey. All those assistants bullying Scott Rudin. All those drugged women bullying Bill Cosby.

You are mentally ill.

R367, to be fair Ware worked with her 7 years ago. Michele apologized for her behavior. To compare her to Harvey Weinstein and Scott Rudin and Bill Cosby is a bit much (two of them went to prison for Chrissake). Is she supposed to be unemployed for all of eternity because she was a bitch on the set of Glee and a brat when she was in Ragtime in the 90s?

Given what else was going on with Glee (the guy who possessed child porn, the other guy who died of a heroin overdose), it seems extreme to permanently cancel her.

What would make you think that Lea has changed?

For all we know, Lea has... festered.

The larger question is whether a performer with talent deserves to work again after being "cancelled." I honestly don't know the answer, but it seems extreme to permanently blacklist someone for being a bitch.

[quote]“Yes, I’m online today. Yes, I see y’all. Yes, I care. Yes, im affected. Yes, I’m human. Yes, I’m Black. Yes, I was abused. Yes, my dreams were tainted. Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness. Yes, Hollywood does the same. Yes, silence is complicity. Yes, I’m loud. Yes, I’d do it again.”

My problem with this is that Ware keeps trying to frame Lea's behavior as racist, when it has always seemed to me from the beginning that she has behaved badly towards many people throughout her career REGARDLESS of race.

You're fired!... I quit!....You're fired!... I quit!....You're fired!... I quit!....You're fired!... I quit!....You're fired!... I quit!....

If INTO THE WOODS shows signs of being able to fill the St. James for several months or longer, you can bet your butt that THE PIANO LESSON, which is pretty much guaranteed to sell far fewer tickets regardless of how well it's reviewed, will be quickly moved to another theater. Especially because the St. James, which has almost always housed musicals, seemed a strange choice for THE PIANO LESSON to begin with, and was probably only chosen because the theater owners wanted to put SOMETHING in there.

[quote]Maybe instead of sitting around, he should take some acting lessons.

Oh honey, we're talking Broadway. Pretty doesn't need to know how to act.

r368 go ahead and continue to be obtuse about it. Lea's personality malfunctions are reminiscent of Rudin and Harvey. Aggressive, hostile, bullying, violent.

You don't just get over that unless you get some real help and an anyone who thinks an apology settles the matter with personality types like that are fucking stupid and looking to get abused again.

r371 it's not about allowing HER to work it's also about what gives anyone the right to subject dozens of other people to someone who will make their live a living hell.

Would you be happy to volunteer to work closely with Ms. Michele? I wish you could and I would be thrilled to see you get that chance.

The Lea haters are losing their shit on Twitter.

I saw Dana Ivey on the UWS a few weeks ago, She was sitting on a low wall talking to another woman. She was not even somewhat fat. She looked old and shapeless.

Seeing as how it seems Lea Michele's career came VERY close to being completely canceled, perhaps she will behave herself around her co-workers in future not necessarily because she has truly learned the error of her ways and has suddenly become a decent human being, but simply for self-preservation. Don't you think that's a likely scenario?

"Many people now wrongly think ITW is a family-friendly show. It's not. It's meant for adults.'

Except that it has always been marketed as a family entertainment. The boot clomping over the marquee of the Martin Beck in 1987 forever branded it thus. Which is why the wolf bit....

"Yes, Broadway upholds whiteness."

No, no, it doesn't and it never has. Out of all the populist entertainment venues, Broadway has singularly embraced diversity and inclusion from the beginning.

"We shouldn't bother to try and actually eradicate it by canceling those are the perpetrators?"

Take the beam out of your own eye, Goody Apparatchik.

It is to laugh. I would wager that in the great majority of instances "abusive behavior" is no more than some slacker being told to do their job. Conflict Is Not Abuse (to quote a book title).

What is amazing is everyone is saying this situation is this generations Sunset Boulevard, the problem is Glenn Close never shit in someone’s wig, and Patti LuPone could sing the score, so this is a whole new situation.

In the original key, Doll! And we know very well who couldn't sing it in any key...

The question about ITW being family entertainment has me wondering, is the musical Pretty Woman supposed to be for the same Legally Blonde, Mean Girls crowd?

I'm guessing the movie was PG-13 but was seen by an older crowd right? No one sees an issue with the whore get prince charming for young women? Or does Vivian reject the marriage offer in this version and move to Hollywood and become "Heidi Fleiss".

We should print up t-shirts and mugs that say "In the original key, bitch!"

If " The Piano Lesson" is delayed, then Broadway is truly racist and upholds whiteness.

Interesting, R379... what was her cunt like, tho?

Someone should probably clue Bernie in on what furries are

[quote]Thankyou Sutton my friend for lovin ‘ the furries and co hosting Broadway Barks with me this year💜🐶🐾🐶🐾😻🐾😘😘😘😘❤️❤️💜💜💜💜💜

r360 see r245

R376 and R377 - I hear you. I’m just wary of cancel culture and putting her in the same breath as Cosby and Weinstein. As far as I know, she wasn’t a serial rapist.

Lol R377 - if you want to get me a volunteer job with her sure - just make sure there is no NDA so I can report back.

Those ITW sets are sublime, so worth Broadway prices.

ITW has already invited all the Tony voters. They are definitely going for it.

No Emmy For Beanie....

Comparing Lea Michele to Harvey Weinstein or Scott Rudin is utterly ridiculous. Shut up. You sound like an absurd Bean/Benko stan.

[quote]Those ITW sets are sublime, so worth Broadway prices.

They look pretty great to me.

David Rockwell is aces.

Jane got an Emmy nomination. Beanie didn’t. Uh oh.

Re: design... I don't know what ITW looks like at "The James."

The sets, props, and costumes at City Center were clever, effective, and charming (with a couple of exceptions). They worked wonderfully well on a wide, shallow stage (with the orchestra behind the performers).

I've seen half a dozen different productions, including the original. This is the best Milky White I've ever seen. Just delightful.

Dana Ivey was just pissed that she was sometimes being compared to Maggie Smith. She did look a lot like her. But there’s nobody better than Maggie Smith.

Beanie's line about the producers taking the show in a different direction was lifted from Star Jones' 2006 playbook.

R370, we can only hope so!

Do you think part of Lea’s rehearsals will include responding to hecklers sent by Sammie Ware and Beanie?

Was her spawn birthed by breaking forth from Lea's chest cavity?

Cheyenne replacing Gavin for a week

Came to post that, but here's the story for those who can't view Instagram.

Eh. I'm underwhelmed. Is he even that much of a name anymore? Might as well just see Forbach.

Hmm. That's when I'm going. Cheyenne could be great.

Who are these "Bean/Benko stans" r394 is screeching about? Are there really people who stan both of them? Wouldn't Beanie's stans be opposed to her standby and give her the same cold shoulder Beanie is? Would the Benko stans really stan Beanie?

/ usually means or.

[quote]I've seen half a dozen different productions, including the original. This is the best Milky White I've ever seen. Just delightful.

Hard to beat Chad Kimball's who was in costume not just a puppet.

The Beanie stans are out there, and can be easily found in the Broadway Remembered group on Facebook. This is the group that booted out anyone who said anything mean about Beanie. Here's a recent post: "Beanie wasn’t the best we all know that. Her voice is great, but she wasn’t the best best. But as an actor/techie/artist in a larger body. This was a big deal for me and other plus size artists in the theatre community. Seeing someone with a little bit of a larger body do something like that was iconic. It was different…….Beanie has gotten so much hate and it makes me sick to see what some of the people in our theatre community say about her."

Two thoughts. First, a LITTLE BIT of a larger body?? Second, that word "iconic" sure gets tossed around easily nowadays.

Yes R407, you do. It’s obnoxious. Shut up.

BREAKING!

Beanie to appear in INTO THE WOODS

as

THE WOODS!

Oh lord R410, I’m sure that larger bodied actor/technie/artist is a whole lot of laughs to be around…..

How did this happen?

r414

Controversy in a Garth Drabinsky production? Surely you jest

[quote]r371 The larger question is whether a performer with talent deserves to work again after being "cancelled”… it seems extreme to permanently blacklist someone for being a bitch.

Well, we do this with friends and acquaintances - who wants to be around that? It’s the same with companies or artists, and politicians. If they are offensive, why reward them by buying a product or a ticket, or voting for them?

In this case, it’s not like there’s a shortage of talented performers. Pay someone who’s not making the world a worse place.

If Beanie had just done "Once Upon a Mattress" instead, she'd probably be having a fabulous time.

No shortage of talented performers? Oh boy. In any case, we judge performers by what they do on stage, not off stage.

Isn’t Beanie’s weight the least of her issues as Fanny?

I agree. A fat Fanny is fine.

For all of the cancel culture people.......... don't go to the show. Stay at home and tweet until your fingers fall off. No one will miss you.

r417 that would have been a much better idea for his skills and strengths. Probably not big box office but a better match. Comedian before vocalist.

[quote]R418 No shortage of talented performers? Oh boy.

So you think the 95% of unemployed professional actors/singers/dancers are untalented?

And there are new ones arriving in Hollywood and Manhattan every day.

FUCK Chad Kimball. Many chorus boys have.

[Quote] The Beanie stans are out there, and can be easily found in the Broadway Remembered group on Facebook. This is the group that booted out anyone who said anything mean about Beanie. Here's a recent post: "Beanie wasn’t the best we all know that. Her voice is great, but she wasn’t the best best. But as an actor/techie/artist in a larger body. This was a big deal for me and other plus size artists in the theatre community. Seeing someone with a little bit of a larger body do something like that was iconic. It was different…….Beanie has gotten so much hate and it makes me sick to see what some of the people in our theatre community say about her."

Wasn't the Queen of Broadway fat for most of his career?

Okay - I just saw the movie version of Into the Woods. Herein lie my impressions. Disclaimer: I never saw the show onstage. But I used to listen to the album a lot in college. (This of course makes me an expert.)

There were things I liked and it was professionally done - but I wouldn’t call it great. I think a problem for me is while the singers were basically… fine, since most of them are actors rather than singers they’re kind of eking it out rather than delivering that clarion clear Broadway sound. This is a beautiful score and I want it sung beautifully : (

The color scheme for the production is quite drab. I know the show has serious themes, but the film looks depressing. And Jesus Christ, why does the last third or so of the movie feel so long?!

WHY did they cut the Act I finale, “Ever After”?? I love that piece. Surprisingly, the number I thought was done best was “Agony,” which I never dwelled on when listening to the stage recording.

I could go on and on - but I’ll just close with i don’t know what prompted Meryl to disappear into a magical, swirling sinkhole (?)

[quote]it's not about allowing HER to work it's also about what gives anyone the right to subject dozens of other people to someone who will make their live a living hell.

TV shows are run by EPs who are responsible for the set. Lea Michele wouldn't have been able to bully anyone if she wasn't enabled by Murphy et al. at every step.

Naya Rivera's alleged temporary firing came after a dustup with EP Brad Falchuk over what she claimed to be the producers' coddling of Michele's unprofessional behavior on set.

r411, nope. Haven't seen the show, haven't seen any of the performers in question, but have posted plenty of the anti-Beanie stories and reviews here over the months. Seriously, that's the best you can do? Yawn.

If you want people to shut up, since that's the comment you keep making, maybe you should take your own advice from just a few threads back:

"Shut up. You’re beyond annoying. Block the people you think are trolls and stop fucking responding to them. It’s literally why the tool was created. Go read the guidelines of this site and shut up."

Bye.

(I see you're also the troll who kept insisting the Reichard photo wasn't really him. Obnoxious and stupid. There's a winning combination.)

LOL

Michele, the source said, started meeting with producers individually to say she was available and interested in taking over from Feldstein.

[Quote] that clarion clear Broadway sound

Blushes

I want the testy replacements in Funny Girl to wreak a geysering backstage bloodbath the likes of which DL has never seen!

Prada rehearsal. This is not how you get people excited for your show.

Jane confirms she isn't leaving early because of Lea, who she "adore(s)":

"“We have been in touch about it,” Lynch tells Deadline of Michele. “You know, it was just a really strong idea to have Feldshuh and Lea premiere together. That’s the only reason [we won’t appear together.] I adore her. She’s just going to take this show and make it her own. I’m so glad she’s getting the opportunity in real life to do the show and not just on Glee.”"

Deadline also bends over backward to point out Beanie wasn't selling and Lea already is:

Jane Lynch is a class act.

[quote] Michele, the source said, started meeting with producers individually to say she was available and interested in taking over from Feldstein.

This cunt is exactly who you think she is.

I do think it's interesting that Julie will be doing THURSDAY nights... Why Thursday? I would think Lea would want one(or both) of the matinees off

I wonder if Jane got a parting bonus for that "I adore her" crap.

"No one will miss you."

Amen, amen! If it was left to the "woke" (i.e. asleep at the wheel), there wouldn't be a single human being left on the planet free from their humorless, unforgiving and judgmental moral squint. Censuring people and situations they know absolutely nothing about, based on hearsay and rumor. "Well, we do this with friends and acquaintances?" Really? Is that what WE do? Condemn and cancel friends? Is that the fashion now in woke land? What's next? Report them to the Stasi? Lock them in the stocks of the village square?

You're right. Lea Michele is in danger of becoming Anne Frank.

[quote]R437 I do think it's interesting that Julie will be doing THURSDAY nights... Why Thursday? I would think Lea would want one(or both) of the matinees off

Wouldn’t it be to rest her voice for the weekends?

(Or maybe she has a long-standing anger management support group on Thursdays.)

I expect this recast will be about as successful at the box office as Bernie and Stritch in A Little Night Music.

You get the most enthusiastic crowds on the weekends.

r437, maybe because it divides the week almost in half? Three shows Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday off, four shows, then Monday off. Taking off either of the matinees would force her to do either five or six shows in a row.

I don't see this posted, but it's what most of us have been waiting for:

Oh, sorry. r429 posted it but I have them blocked.

The Funny Girl source is full of shit. Anyone who heard Beanie sing a couple of songs would know she wasn't up to the role. It's no wonder she didn't want to talk to any of them directly in the dying days of her run.

[Quote] she had been very light and lovely

What about the screaming and crying jags?

We're being fed a bunch of horseshit.

[Quote] that doesn’t get you away from the brass tacks of ‘You’ve got to be able to sing.’

Shouldn't that have been a casting requirement...?

How fucking tall is Jane Lynch and how short is Ramin?

[quote] Okay - I just saw the movie version of Into the Woods. Herein lie my impressions. Disclaimer: I never saw the show onstage. But I used to listen to the album a lot in college. (This of course makes me an expert.) There were things I liked and it was professionally done - but I wouldn’t call it great.

Saw the original production with original cast a few weeks after opening. Never thought about it until the movie came and I saw it at The Ziegfeld in NY and loved every frame. However I did like the giant boot that came over the theater that producers used again for the Vanessa Williams revival.

Streisand and her voice made FG work. Bad show but everyone wanted to see Barbra in it. Same with the movie. Wyler was first rate director but without Barbra it would have been even bigger mess with no audience. Barbra made it work because she had voice guts and hunger for success.

Mimi Hines also made it work, and in lower keys.

[Quote] Lea’s appointment was so mismanaged. The deal to sign her should have happened in the middle of Wyoming six feet underground in a bunker in the middle of nowhere. Instead, it was front page news from the beginning. It was crazy.”

More horseshit.

R341, several here flat out said she’d quit the show this summer, a few actually called it for 7/31. She has been an emotional wreck during her entire experience with the show. Tears, bellowing backstage in fear during previews and completely detached after the Tony snub.

Gathering where Patti kindly asked a member of the audience to put her mask back. It could be in part 2. I am sure everyone wanting to see the second part will find it.

R455 are you hearing that from people who know or just guessing? I believe you either way but just curious.

Can anyone describe what horrid things Lea did during Ragtime? TIA

R453 She sure did. 18 months is a long time in a starring role. I meant Barbra made it famous.

[Quote] and once we found someone, we should have said to Beanie, ‘You can go now.’

And that's caring for Beanie?

All the repetitition in this article... but there's no holding hands up about the casting process.

Who would want to see Beanie in a production of “Once Upon A Mattress?” She’d have to haul that fat ass up on top of those mattresses and she’d be huffing her inhaler for the rest of the show.

R382 I agree. There is a big difference, because Patti was and is a stage star dynamo. She was mistreated badly, but it didn’t end her career because everyone knew she has talent and works hard. Patti has been very busy for last 20 years.

Mimi Hines spent more time in Funny Girl on Broadway than Barbra did. She was different from Barbra, and maybe not quite as good (or maybe she was), but people really enjoyed her in the role.

That is one long-ass article about a truly trivial event.

R4547 direct from someone involved with the show, a person who has been on the stage with the company, but is not a performer. The Cliff Notes is, Beanie was unprepared for the demands of the role from the first rehearsal, this isn’t doing your favorite show at theater camp, and that was basically her way of entering the production. Her film work never prepared her for the lead on Broadway, her time in Hello Dolly was the polar opposite of this experience, she did no heavy lifting, and her overall attitude is that of a spoiled child. She acts years younger than her actual age, and has a toddlers temperament, especially when things do not support her 100%, she was NEVER comfortable being company leader, Ramin and Jane tried to pick up the slack, but it only made things worse in spotlighting Beanie’s deficits. Bad Idea Jeans from day one…

r458,

Beanie could have come to the first rehearsal off book, sang the score every day for a year before, she still would not have measured up. The casting is down to the creative team who signed off on her.

What did Michael Mayer know, and when did he know it?

That's presuming he knows anything at all.

Thanks R465

At 12, Lea Michele was threatening to have people fired? She didn’t have a big enough role in Ragtime for those types of threats.

[quote]R465 Beanie was unprepared for the demands of the role from the first rehearsal

… almost as if she won the role in a lottery at McDonalds, or something (!!)

It’s unfashionable.

^^ UNFATHOMABLE!

Not “unfashionable”

[bold]: (

r465, thank you for delivering actual gossip in the gossip thread. If you're the one who's posted similar things in earlier threads, it's been very much appreciated throughout. (If not, still appreciated here.)

What’s with all the regrets about not telling Julie to stop posting about going on? It was her performance that people were praising, nothing to do with posts.

RE Beanie's ability to be the lead behind the scenes for the cast. Why does the star need to be the lead if it’s her first show and she’s relatively young? Wouldn’t Jane or Ramin been equally appropriate to serve in that capacity?

Who has the dirt on why Bradley Dean is now gone from Phantom?

[quote]R474 thank you for delivering actual gossip in the gossip thread.

I have a shred of gossip. I was directed by Michael Mayer before he made it to Broadway, and he was great. Fun, energetic, knowledgeable, inventive, open to actors’ opinions…

I’m always confused by what went wrong (if you listen to his critics here.) I’ve been acting on and off since I was a child and he’s one of the best directors I worked with.

I posted this in one of the other threads:

[quote] ‘I don’t feel supported by you while I’m away.’

Then get your fat ass back onstage where you belong.

Beanie is 29. She’s not a baby. I’m sure Sutton Foster knew how to be gracious when she did Millie. She was 27 at the time.

[quote] the Reichard photo

A phrase that always puts a smile on my face

Lea's behavior backstage at Ragtime, firing people left and right, is ultimately what drove Garth to a life of crime.

Well damn it, that Daily Beast article has me feeling very sympathetic towards Beanie.

I mean, Le Cochon should have realized she couldn't do the role or carry a tune.....but the producers have to take some heat for those decisions, too.

r481

what photo?

[quote]I have a shred of gossip.

We're still waiting, R478.

Oh. You mean.... that was it?

Le Cochon 😂😂😂

r484, see r513 here:

And that means pig!

[quote]R485 We're still waiting, [R478]. Oh. You mean.... that was it?

I’ll try to do better : (

Well, Nathan Lane kissed me quite forcibly once when he was drunk. But I guess that’s not groundbreaking.

I was also backstage the night he hurled a chair across a dressing room when a stage manager reprimanded him for nastily ad libbing onstage. But I’ve told that story before.

Much better, R489. What was the Nathan show with the chair?

(You're a good sport.)

[quote]r490 You're a good sport.

Oh, thank you : )

[quote]r490 What was the Nathan show with the chair?

I don’t want to name it directly because I don’t want my quasi-gossiping to catch up with me : ) I don’t work in theater any more but some friends still do.

But it was a night the show didn’t get many laughs and Lane said at the end of his last speech something like, “Aw, let’s all go home and just pretend this whole night never happened.” Blackout. Curtain call.

WELL! The stage manager came rushing backstage and was reading Lane the Riot Act in his dressing room, saying that was completely unprofessional, when [bold]CRAAAASH [/bold]a folding metal chair clanged/[italic]smashed[/italic] across the cinderblock wall and toppled noisily and forcibly across the cement floor and suddenly Lane was really YELLING about… whatever. Basically telling the stage manager to get lost. Which he promptly did. I don’t know if he complained to Equity.

In retrospect, I don’t remember anyone else’s response during this. I think we all just froze in shock.

I must have more gossip if I dig deeper. Most productions I was in or involved with were rather uneventful, if fun.

^^ oh god. Word is out, and Mr. Lane has sabotaged my formatting!!

Lane was allegedly nasty to Vicky Clark when she was Faith Prince's understudy in Guys and Dolls. Likewise to Mathew Broderick's understudies in all the shows they did together. He evidently didn't like dealing with understudies.

He supposedly has now sobered up, is happily partnered/married and a much nicer person. I doubt it.

DL fave and Broadway hunk of yesteryear Cheyenne Jackson is stepping in for Gavin Creel for a week at Into the Woods

I wish he would work more on Broadway

I have tickets for that week. I'm delighted. Cheyenne is perfect for those roles.

Terrible video quality, but...

What's with all these actors taking off after opening night? Is anyone still a professional anymore?

It’s interesting. It certainly seems like Into the Woods is going to be in it for the long haul, not just through August. And it’s a much better fit for thd St. James, which was an awful choice for The Piano Lesson. Why bother getting a star replacement for Gavin if the show is just going to be closing three weeks later?

And doing a CD - another sign. I wonder how many of the St. James opening cast would be able to stay with it till, say, through the Christmas/New Year holidays?

Well, in Gavin’s case, perhaps he has a as previous gig, like with his show, and he was good through the original June/July dates, but would need to take a week off if the August extension happened.

[quote]It’s interesting. It certainly seems like Into the Woods is going to be in it for the long haul, not just through August.

Stop, just stop.

Thank you for that nice comment 474, the reason I spilt a bit of the Funny Girl madness, is because it really has been something we haven’t seen for ages regarding a major production, just a train wreck from the first “zoom audition”, heck Dance of the Vampires seems quaint next to the wrong moves this revival has taken. I will add, Beanie wasn’t a “bitch” to her cast mates, and overall was an agreeable energy, but she was VERY aware of how bad it all started, and was in a personal free fall with her unexpected reality. Only after the Tony shutout did she become truly unprofessional as far as having real dedication for forging ahead, she basically shut down.

Brian is Gen X

[quote]Stop, just stop.

Why? Does it bother you that ITW appears to be a huge hit? It’s nice that we have a benign second tier gossip subject since the main one is so toxic.

I wonder who the “senior show source” was for the Funny Girl article. Harvey? Jane? Julie?

R501 so what I’m getting is Beanie knew she was, let’s just say, not a good fit early on but stuck with it until she didn’t get a Tony nod and then basically checked out? So it seems to be a prime example of efforts not being awarded with the expected acclaim. So in other words, millennial behavior.

As far as leading a company, not surprised that she failed in that. An actress friend of mine, who had a successful West End career before returning to the states, was excited with her first lead in a production the states and looked at it as part of the job: the tone for the company while looking out for the other actors.

It will be interesting to see if Michele can rehabilitate her reputation, though I doubt it.

Exactly R505, it’s not a written rule, but when you’re THE LEAD, especially in a musical, it’s sort of expected you become the “leader” and act accordingly, you don’t vanish backstage and keep your dressing door closed(ish), there were some attempts to at least have fun. A friend many years ago went out on tour in the lead of a MAJOR ALW show, he was all ready to be the company leader and be proactive creating events and an open connection, but the cast wasn’t interested and just wanted to shop and sleep when not performing!

When I worked with Tyne Daly she would make the rounds of all the dressing rooms after she was dressed and wigged before each show and wish each actor well. That's how you lead a company and set the proper tone.

Can someone please link a way in to that Gawker FG article? It seems to be behind a pay wall for me. TIA!

[italic]You are not alone / No one is alone…

R508 does this work?

The Gawker info is outdated. DL really was the first to call the fat girl's leaving in July.

Can we work “it’s not over till the fat lady sings” into this somewhere?

No One Is Alone is one of the handful of times Sondheim has been successfully accused of lifting someone else's melody. The opening bars are identical to The Candyman from the original Willy Wonka film.

LICK ‘IM UP!

OMG -

that was supposed to be “lock ‘im up”

I think I must log off for a rest (!)

Nathan Lane On Setting Emmy Guest Actor Record With First ‘Only Murders’ Nom:

It’s fitting, as he already won all the awards in the Best Thrown Chairs category

[quote]But it was a night the show didn’t get many laughs and Lane said at the end of his last speech something like, “Aw, let’s all go home and just pretend this whole night never happened.” Blackout. Curtain call.

That was a bad habit that he (over) indulged in, r491. When he didn't get his laughs, he lashed out, He's a talented man, but is also an asshole who got away with way too much.

Is the Tony bump over for A Strange Loop? Their sales have been increasing since but starting to decline last week.

[Quote] r518 When he didn't get his laughs, he lashed out. He's a talented man, but is also an asshole who got away with way too much.

I will say 95% of the time he was charming and professional . But that night… wow.

As I think people here know, the theater really is a workplace environment. Everyone you’re working with has been doing it for years. Even the child actors have done soaps or commercials. So when someone hurls a chair across the room it’s… startling.

Like, “Where are we?!?”

R409 = Wayman Wong.

[quote]"Beanie wasn’t the best we all know that. Her voice is great, but she wasn’t the best best. But as an actor/techie/artist in a larger body. This was a big deal for me and other plus size artists in the theatre community. Seeing someone with a little bit of a larger body do something like that was iconic. It was different…….Beanie has gotten so much hate and it makes me sick to see what some of the people in our theatre community say about her."

This quote made me throw up in my mouth a little.

R522 me too! Not to mention the grammar and punctuation issues.

It’s a bit unkind to point out but that poor author is also unfortunate in the looks department. Either accept you will either be typecast or do something about it.

As I repeat “either” I suspect FG may limp into a year long run but I don’t think even with Lea Michele there’s an audience for it beyond that. The reviews will probably focus on the recasting with backhanded praise for Lea as saving the day but I doubt even she will be anything more than adequate in the role.It will be interesting to watch out how it all plays out.

Lea seems awful… but I want her to get the greatest reviews and adulation in Broadway HISTORY for this!

We can settle her personal hash later.

I expect Lea will mind her Ps & Qs simply because she knows people will talk if she's not and she's not going to get any sort of pass at this point. She was a very talented kid/teen and clearly was an enfant terrible as a result.

But at least her success comes from talent not from nepotism and an unexamined sense of entitlement. Immature behavior was an issue with both women. Right now, I'm willing to give Lea a second chance because she is older and people can learn. She is talented and you know she'll work damn hard to make her part work.

I'm also willing to give Beanie another chance--in a role which suits her somewhat limited talents--even though I can think of a number of chubby girls with more talent and much better voices who will never get past regionals. I'm kind of hoping that this debacle reminds a few people that talent actually does matter--it's not just representation and who you know. At some point, the show has to work and the score has to be sung.

But I'll still watch Merrily We Roll Along in ten years or whenever.

I think the argument here is that fat, queer, Jewish representation should trump mediocrity.

Oh, please, writer linked at r527.

Yes, let's let one's intersectionality trump having ACTUAL talent/star-quality/it-factor.

The lunatics are running the asylum.

Erm, Jennifer Holiday was as big as a mobile home in Dreamgirls but she brought down the house every performance, won the Tony and every other award going and is a Broadway legend.

Take that, Beanie.

Well, after reading that r527 article, two things might be true at once: Many do like to see fat people fail AND she was not-great in the part.

There would be a stronger case for Beanie being driven from the role due to her weight if she got great reviews, but that’s not what happened. I’d think being hefty helps the role, actually. Fanny’s supposed to be an unconventional wallflower. Her weight was one of Beanie’s strongest assets, here.

Also, I don’t get the whole “Beanie shut down after the Tony shutout”. It’s like, DO YOUR FUCKING JOB! Your job isn’t to accept awards, your job is to do 8 performances a week - that’s the reward. You’re working!

She said it was always her dream to play Fanny Brice but it sounds more like her dream was to win awards for playing Fanny Brice. What a numpty.

She was rejected by the critics and then the industry. Dems some pretty big knocks. I think it's easy to criticise her for not being a leader but it's clear that the producers were scrambling and not acting as one united force. It's not surprise the Beanster retreated.

She should not have been cast. That's on the producers.

Can you ride a horse? "Yes!" all actors say. It's up to the producer to find out if that's true. There's nothing wow about Beanie's singing voice. The producers knew that.

R532, Yep and if you're not doing a good job, figure out how to do a better one.

R527, what a whiny article--I'm not going to buy a ticket to a crappy performance just to make so some fat woman writer has someone with whom to identify on stage. The writer even admits Beanie's voice wasn't right for the part, though she conveniently skips why not having the right kind of voice is a problem--and it is, particularly over a long run when you have to sing the score every night. Live.

And she conveniently skips the thing which irks me--it's not the weight, though Fannie Brice was a thin woman and the jokes in the show are about that--it's the nepotism that meant a girl who didn't have the chops for the part got to open the revival on Broadway when much more talented performers had not. I am truly sorry that Idina Menzel never had a shot at it.

Standards have changed, but Ethel Merman was not considered a thin woman most of her career. Broadway's always made room for big bodies with big voices. It's the little voice thing in the wrong part that's a problem, not Beanie's weight.

Idina Menzel was set to do the revival at one point.

[quote] Why? Does it bother you that ITW appears to be a huge hit? It’s nice that we have a benign second tier gossip subject since the main one is so toxic.

Look at the other shows runnings. It might be the best of bad choices. Broadway is on life support right now. It isn't fully up and running as before yet. ITW will probably extend but it will be gone on the traditional New Years Eve bloodbath.

It's weird how award shows keep dropping in the ratings, and largely because it seems like the Millennials and Gen Z don't seem to care for watching award shows yet the actual younger actors are all still very keen to WIN awards. Everyone wants to EGOT now!

I totally believe Beanie "checked out" when she didn't get the awards love she was hoping for....she did Funny Girl to raise her profile, supposedly fulfill a childhood dream AND win a Tony.

I actually know of a young theater actress who is "Broadway Bound" and she's made it clear one of her big goals is to win a Tony. Which is understandable...awards ARE nice, but it seems to be a key part of her success plan. And, frankly, I see her falling apart when she doesn't get that Tony as quickly as she seems to think she should be getting it.

It's all very Millennial.

I suppose ITW could extend. Chicago was supposed to be a limited run. Wasn't it just filling a theatre (the Richard Rodgers?) until something else moved in, but it proved such a big hit they moved it into the Shubert?

I don't think awards hunger is millenial. Debbie Shapiro tells people at the supermarket checkout that she has a Tony.

Kander & Ebb ( "Chicago" & "Cabaret" ) run, Sondheim, well not so much.

There should be two periods in that sentence.

How about some ancient gossip? No idea if this story is true, but it made me laugh.

One night, after a stage performance of My Fair Lady, an elderly woman was standing alone in the rain outside the stage door and asked for Rex Harrison's autograph. Rex told her to "sod off", which so enraged the old woman she promptly rolled up her program and hit him with it. Fellow actor Stanley Holloway, who witnessed the scene, remarked that it was the first time "the fan has hit the shit!"

Rex Harrison was a horribly crotchety person.

What must Barbra think of all this? It’s all so…ungainly.

Does anyone know what changes Harvey made to the Funny Girl book?

[quote] I'm willing to give Lea a second chance

We do not do that anymore.

NO ONE CARES R428, you fucking moron troll. You really think you did something there. BYE. Blocked. Permanently. So tired of these fucking idiots here.

Article at r527 conveniently doesn't talk about all the absences. Being out, scheduled or not, the first weekend after opening was a bad PR move. That's not what we want from entitled girls doing their "dream" roles.

I think her dream was to get cast in Funny Girl, become the star of Funny Girl, and do it a couple of times, like in camp. That was fun. Responsibility, not so much.

r539 No, absolutely no-one was ever awards hungry, or entitled, or expected an easy ride until Millennials. All of the previous generations were entirely hard-working, honest and modest people

Oh, and Millennials also raised themselves, obviously.

r432 "Iconique"? Jesus christ.

The anti-Cancel brigade are annoying as fuck. Many people get second, third and fourth chances.

OK one more theory - she wanted/envisioned what her bestie Ben Platt got with his debut in DEH.

But Ben Platt could sing the score of Dear Evan Hansen.

r552

very plausible... she seems shocked that no one has raved about her

Rex Reed is not no one.

The Daily Beast article is hilarious. The producers thought the London production was “not good” (it wasn’t, and that Sheridan girl was awful) but decided to basically transfer it lock stock and barrel with a completely ill equipped C lister as the star? I mean, it really boggles the mind.

I saw Smith at the Menier. She was winning. Not remotely Jewish. She had the audience in the palm of her hand.

Ethel, Mary and Carol would be there for their fans when the curtain went up if they had to crawl onstage to do it. And now there's Beanie.

I think this topic is more exhausted that Beanie at the end of a 5-show week.

[quote]I saw Smith at the Menier. She was winning. Not remotely Jewish.

Barbara Cook did the part in summer stock to rave reviews. The Jewish aspect is traditional but not absolutely necessary.

Can we start the talk of Lady Gaga coming into Funny Girl when Lea is done? A limited engagement would sell out immediately.

r559

5-show week??? Isn't it closer to a 5-show MONTH?

[Quote] Barbara Cook did the part in summer stock to rave reviews.

Are any of them online?

No way would Gaga replace.

R364 I can tell you from experience that a good chunk of voters that do “see shows” give their tickets to other people and don’t bother to go themselves. Awards mean nothing, particularly in such an insular business. Every now and then an award will go to a deserving nominee, but it’s usually about rewarding your friends and in more recent times, an attempt at regaining relevancy in the culture at large.

As one can see by the ratings for most awards shows, they’re failing spectacularly at the latter. Hence, the rise of LMM and Hamilton. It put Broadway back in the zeitgeist for a moment, but now we all have to pay for that sin any time someone sets up a camera in Duffy Square and we have to listen to the freestyled complex multitalents of that bug eyed sentient bottle of Adderall.

LYNNE TRANS-SMELL ESMERELDA!

Where in the World Is Greg Kinnear?

R544 Barbra can sit back and sip her tea, gloating that no matter what happens NO one will ever top her performance which is preserved on film forever.

I’m tempted to go see Lea in the role, she can at least sing the songs and she is a Broadway pro who likely won’t be skipping performances left and right. Tovah was a good choice too. Hope the show becomes a real winner.

I think she’ll be great. Also, I don’t cancel people.

For the sake of all the people who will have to work with her on the show, I hope Michele is worthy of the second chance so many are demanding she receive.

If not, I hope they have their phones ready to capture every any and every screeching fit and nasty comment she tosses out, and I hope they all leak. The lack of footage of Beanie's backstage behavior has been very disappointing.

[quote]There should be two periods in that sentence.

Then it would be two sentences.

R558 Just read how Patti was almost unable to walk sit or stand at the closing night of War Paint. Her husband Matt stood by her side and hold her when she was off stage. But when she walked out in high heels she showed none of her pain to the audience. The video is here because it tells the story better than I could.

R567-My guess is they'll bring TKAM back in the Fall with Richard Thomas and run through the holidays.

R572 where did you read that?

I was got to add Patti and Harvey F to r558’s list

^going to add

Well, Lea has already decided to skip Thursdays.

R565, I'm not doubting you, but I thought voters had to pick up their tickets at the box office and show ID, so how are they able to give their tickets to others (unless they themselves go and pick them up beforehand and give them to their friends, which sounds like a super pain in the ass)? And please correct me if I'm wrong.

Lea is still doing seven a week. Most stars who have alternates only do six a week.

An example of professionalism was Bernadette Peters resuming her concert tour literally days after her husband was killed in a plane crash.

Probably old news, but I hadn't heard some of this before. The story of the guest actor who was invited to eat with them by Darren Criss...until an assistant director came up and told him he had to leave because Lea felt he didn't belong there--that's shitty.

But this one isn't nearly as bad as any of the others, to the point it probably shouldn't have been included with actual bad behavior. Honestly, I laughed:

[quote]But stardom went to her head, insiders say. A guest at the Time 100 gala in 2010, where Michele was feted, told The Post: “Lea was such a brat!” When society photographer Patrick McMullan approached her to take a photo and asked her name, Michele allegedly rolled her eyes and replied: “Sarah Palin.”

Laughing, McMullan said: “No, really, tell me your name.” to which Michele said, “Taylor Swift.” McMullan, according to New York magazine, told her: “F–k you.”[/quote]

I went to that show R579 (already had tickets and was sure she would cancel it but alas). It was pretty intense, but she powered through. She's a treasure.

And my first attempt at using quotes has mixed results... Oops.

R578, Is Thursday the least attended evening?

No reports on Beanie's return last night?

New thread for when the time comes (and to avoid four threads with the same number like this case)

The story continues to spread. Now Vox has an article:

[quote]R558 Ethel, Mary and Carol would be there for their fans when the curtain went up if they had to crawl onstage to do

Carol Lawrence? Because I thought I read here that Carol Burnett missed performances of Fade Out / Fade In, hoping she’d be fired (?)

Carol Channing, R587. But I'm guessing you knew that.

New thread, in case anyone wants to try to confuse us with multiple 480's.

oops, didn't see the post above but honestly the more times it's said the better

r561 I don't know if Gaga has the mental strength and intestinal fortitude to deal with the pressure of Broadway.

She would probably be great with the right director but I think she'd crack.

[quote] Well, Lea has already decided to skip Thursdays.

Thursdays and matinees, honey! That's my girl!

Is Daniel Reichard's dick really bigger than MINE?

[quote]r591 I don't know if Gaga has the mental strength and intestinal fortitude

I thought this said MENSTRUAL STRENGTH. Which I imagine she has.

I can understudy Gaga!

Has anyone mentioned FOLLIES?

bye bye

beanie

buh

bye

now

Pousse Cafe!