THEATRE GOSSIP #480: The Beans are Spilled, The Bitch is Back, and Barbra is Above All This Shit Edition

Previous thread:

Comparing Bab's Dont Rain on My Parade to Lea's. Bab's is light, airy, and easy. Lea's is a bulldozer, willing itself to make it through to the end.

That's actually a pretty darn good title, OP!

Thanks, OP.

Maybe we can have just one #480 if sensibility prevails.

Broadway bros love Bernie!

And Sutton... you're, um, real okay, too.

From the previous thread: “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.”

I saw JH in DREAMGIRLS twice. Original production and later on when she reprised Effie in a one off production in Atlanta. Left to her own devices, without a Michael Bennett manipulating a performance out of her,she really can not act. At all. It was rather shocking

But yea, her Bway performance is legendary

LMAO R7. So I guess they are going there now too.

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

He made Fanny fat and her Mother a tall skinny Irish woman.

Jane Lynch has spoken . . .

[quote]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.

She's toured the world in her own show. By George, SHE CAN DO IT!

She can go back to Dancing through Life with the fiancee and her best friend Ben Platt...

Did the rumor referred to in r7 start on DataLounge?

Will Funny Girl maintain that silly curtain call bit when Lea takes over?

Well, everyone knows Jews never make it in the theatre.

THIRTEEN trailer drops.

[quote]Rex Reed is not no one.

From the previous thread. Rex Reed has been no one for quite some time. And if that wasn't true before his ridiculous review of Beanie, it certainly is now.

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

Not very good ones, would be my guess. He added some anachronistic gag about men in raincoats, according to one review.

He added the whole Eddie being in (unrequited) love with Fanny. Ugh.

I like Harvey but outside of name/fame, there's no reason he should be the "go-to guy" for rewriting classic stage musicals. He's a very mixed bag as a librettist. (He takes un-official credit for HAIRSPRAY in his biography.) I really disliked his book for KINKY BOOTS and didn't see A CATERED AFFAIR.

Jane Lynch is a pro and the production is asking her to say that to save face.

Jane Lynch and Lea Michele aren’t close friends

[quote] Left to her own devices, without a Michael Bennett manipulating a performance out of her,she really can not act. At all. It was rather shocking

Even with Bennett doing all he could, she couldn't act. She barreled her way through--being angry on stage is the easiest for an actor so that's what she did. It was her volcanic voice that won her the Tony

Some Like It Hot previews a song and this is way better than the Prada preview from yesterday.

[quote]Jane Lynch is a pro and the production is asking her to say that to save face

Most likely, r21, but it still makes sense for Lea and Tovah to start at the same time.

The SOME LIKE IT HOT song is fun and charming.

Waiting for certain heads to explode over the fact that Sugar (the Marilyn character) is lovely, talented... and black. As is the other male lead that's not Christian Borle.

I’m pretty sure they’re paying out Jane’s contract

I doubt they’ll pay out Beanie’s

If you're going by the logic of the link at R7, and "stargirl" who's suggesting that antsemitism is the issue, Jews don't "pay their way" into anything, right? If you're going by the antisemitic cliche of Jews being cheap? And stargirl herself has found "zero evidence" that Feldstein's family helped produced the show--what's her source of info, anyway? Finaly, oh, dear to "stargirl" for typing "women" when she meant "woman," though Beanie is as big as two women.

What won her the Oscar, R22--the same thing?

I think R28 is confused.

You're right, R29--I had the wrong Jennifer.

what are you talking about r28? JHud won the Oscar, r22 is talking about JHol

The song at r23 is a B and the orchestration is an A

That Some Like It Hot chart is pretty swinging. But lyrically, it states its premise and then repeats it and repeats it again, so it has nowhere to go. It's one of these Shaiman-Whittman pastiches that sounds great and says nothing.

It's certainly no Backstage Babble, r33...

R31, hunty, see my comment at R30.

On Stage Blog's Chris Peterson is NOT having Lea's return!

[quote]It terrifies me that this is the first step towards erasing any progress we’ve made in terms of making this industry better and safer.

Mary!

Lea is unsafe! MARY!!!!

Has Jen Tepper weighed in on the discrimination faced by overweight Jewish women in New York theater?

The article at r36

[quote] I know there are good people working in this industry who are trying to impact change.

What the fuck is "impacting change"?

[quote] A couple of days ago, I wrote a piece about the situation where I stated that it felt like “watching a Karen win a Nobel Peace Prize.” I caught some flack for that, but I don’t take it back. I meant every word. Because it really does feel like that.

Good argument.

R6, I agree. Jennifer Holliday gave a totally amateur performance. She had the voice but then used it to keep showing off the only song she knew in the most amateurish way. That final gasp kept getting bigger and bigger year after year. I was never impressed with her.

[quote]What the fuck is "impacting change"?

No expert here, but it sounds like a job for a dentist.

More men in dresses! Can't wait.

Re: R7 Twitter quote:

It would never occur to me whether Beanie was Jewish or not. Feldstein sounds like a Jewish name, but… it could be a married name, a stage name, an adopted father’s name… really, anything. It’s not like she’s some huge STAH everyone knows everything about.

And why would Bway persecute Jews? There’s a long history of Jewish performers and producers working (if not founding) American stage and screen.

[quote] It's certainly no Backstage Babble, [R33]...

"Backstage Babble" has a point instead of just marking time. It reduces the type of inane banter spoken by first nighters to actual nonsense words, with Bill Sampson half-heartedly responding to what is said to him, like any creative must endure on an opening night. I've always thought it was an inventive opening, not worthy of derision.

[quote]R27 Oh, dear to "stargirl" for typing "women" when she meant "woman," though Beanie is as big as two women.

It’s [bold]womyn[/bold].

Telling you now, cuz I couldn’t tell you then!

From R36 article:

[quote]A couple of days ago, I wrote a piece about the situation where I stated that it felt like “watching a Karen win a Nobel Peace Prize.” I caught some flack for that, but I don’t take it back. I meant every word. Because it really does feel like that.

I can’t disagree with him. The article’s valid.

" Impacting change" means turning Broadway black at the expense of all other minorities.

Well, smell Heeby Deeby Doo at r44!

R45, no one knows what any of those is anymore.

Being cast in the lead of a famed but so-so Broadway musical is not comparable to winning a Nobel Prize.

Jesus Christ - the histrionic online discourse around this whole weird saga is just so dumb and juvenile.

I think that the solution for Funny Girl is that Lea should perform Act 1 and Beanie should perform Act 2.

Will Lea Michele shit on the stage as an encore during her curtain call?

The Some Like It Hot song isn't half bad. Maybe there's hope for it.

The SOME LIKE IT HOT song sounds completely generic.

That blog at R36 was written by a woman, no doubt, but it is the nelliest, pearl-clutching bit of nonsense I've read in a while.

In my opinion, American Theatre magazine lost its credibility years ago, but this article is a new low.

What "historic casting" are they reeferring to? A Jew was hired to play a Jew.

*referring

r55, nope, a man, and I'm assuming a big queen.

[quote]He added the whole Eddie being in (unrequited) love with Fanny. Ugh.

Not really true. There is some of that in the original script of FUNNY GIRL, though Fierstein did amplify it, or you might say, harped on it.

The woke need to start building churches and congregating there weekly. It's all scripture and doctrine. But it's also academia run amock (which is where all this regressive, illiberal horseshit began ironically)

It's the new religion for would-be atheists, and they're too narcissistic to even see it.

[quote]A couple of days ago, I wrote a piece about the situation where I stated that it felt like “watching a Karen win a Nobel Peace Prize.” I caught some flack for that, but I don’t take it back. I meant every word. Because it really does feel like that.

The fact that this fool falls back on the incredibly stupid and childish "Karen" meme gives us all a pretty good idea of the extent of his idiocy.

“It terrifies me ….”

That is one unnerved guy.

That article suggesting the Fat phobic angle on the Beanie firing/crap reviews/bullying is such a crock of shit. It's SO emblematic of our current culture. This person wasn't/isn't qualified in their skillset, but let's make it about some aspect of their intersectionality and some "__-phobia" on the powers that be's part that explains why they've wound up where they have. It's such a childish, bratty blame game. And because you have a bunch of childish brats running Twitter, these ideas rise to the top and flourish and spur ridiculous Op-Ed pieces like the one above.

People would rag on her if she were RAKE THIN! She couldn't sing the score, she couldn't create any body heat between with her leading man, and she was a shit company leader from day one. THIS is why she was dismissed by critics and now contractually, by her producers. In 2022, professional victimhood is easier than facing your own shortcomings!

I don't think anyone's posted them, but Feldman's tidbits today were juicy

More:

Is this what Walter Winchell was like?

Man. Adam Feldman is really serving up some tea! That Daily Beast hit piece really did feel like some very carefully constructed damage control. Especially trying to paint Benko as some kind of instigator with her (benign) social media posts.

The producers would actually be wise to temporarily close the show in August for 2-3 weeks and return with new branding, a fresh PR angle with Michele, photos in new costumes, etc. Just wipe the slate clean.

But is Mayer sticking around? Or will a ghost director step in to punch it up?

[quote]The producers would actually be wise to temporarily close the show in August for 2-3 weeks and return with new branding, a fresh PR angle with Michele, photos in new costumes, etc. Just wipe the slate clean.

That's what they did with ALNM when Bernie took over

Why hasn't DL's fave hack Michael Mayer stepped up to fill in for Beanie for a couple weeks? It's the part I'm sure Ms. Mayer feels she was born to play. And she's just as fat as Beanie!

That VOX article was delicious. My favourite bit:

[quote]The Tonys telecast did take the time to honor someone else, though. Appearing with the original cast of Spring Awakening in a special anniversary tribute performance was none other than Lea Michele.

Yeah because that's what a musical called Some Like It Hot needs is a number called Some Like It Hot.

Who the hell died and left prisspot Chris Peterson in charge of Lea Michele's redemption?

I feel bad for Julie. She was excited to be given a wonderful opportunity…and everyone shit all over her.

This whole mess has been such a shitshow for everyone.

Beanie is humiliated

Julie is humiliated

Jane Lynch is humiliated

Lea is coming across as a bitch

And why?

No Tony’s and awful reviews.

I can't wait until Lea crashes and explodes.

Wouldn't you like to know how Ramin really feels about all this?

[quote]R74 I feel bad for Julie. She was excited to be given a wonderful opportunity…and everyone shit all over her.

Wut?

Hardly anyone knew who she was before. She got great press, lots of positive attention, and a solid credit.

Bernadette did not get new costumes when she replaced in ALNM. Let's hope Lea does.

R78-If she doesn't she'll look like a Weight Watchers "after" photo.

I asked this before, but hasn’t Lea Michele’s cumulative plastic surgeries lifted her out of the “gawky wallflower” category? Fanny’s supposed to be homely (?) Or failing that, fat.

Exactly, r77. She and Jane are coming out of this just fine. The only criticism about Jane was that she was miscast.

Bernadette did not get new costumes when she replaced in ALNM. Let's hope Lea does.

Oh, yes she did, r78. The *design* was the same but she didn't wear Cathy's sweaty rags.

[quote] she didn't wear Cathy's sweaty rags

I don’t sweat, dear. At most I glow.

Um….Julie isn’t coming out fine. Did u read the tweets from Adam Feldman and the article??? The producers are blaming Julie for upsetting Beanie with her social media updates about her performances and the producers said they regretted letting Julie promote herself

Yes, r84, I did. There isn't blame put on Julie, they're putting the blame on themselves.

[Quote] Wouldn't you like to know how Ramin really feels about all this?

I would just like to know how Ramin really feels.

Does Ramin even know what’s going on? He’s dumb as a box of hair.

Lea can wear Beanie’s costumes. They just need to be altered. A little.

Why then, R84, did they give Julie a month to star in the show in between the other two? If they're so irritated by her and all?

It's Beanie's own fault: She just had to take those four performances off at the end of the second week so she could attend a wedding. Those absences were announced when tickets first went on sale. So the entire world knew well in advance that Julie would be going on at those performances, thereby allowing all of those interested and able to attend.

Had Beanie never announced any absences in advance, no one would have known when Julie would be going on, at least not until Beanie came down with covid.

Exactly, if she had never announced people would have just assumed she came down with the 'rona. She could have totally played up sympathy at that point.

[quote]I wrote a piece about the situation where I stated that it felt like “watching a Karen win a Nobel Peace Prize.” I caught some flack for that, but I don’t take it back.

The odd thing is, until I thought twice about this comment, which I saw out of context, I thought it referred to Beanie getting the role in the first place.

All this drama for some tired revival of some musical from 60 years ago that's famous for one thing: Barbra Streisand. She must be relishing this in her dotage.

Ramin is a CrossFit bro - I bet he ignores it. Bunch of squawking hens to him.

The Post says The Piano Lesson is getting shoved over to the Barrymore (now that Paradise Square is ending) so that Into the Woods can extend.

I'm completely enjoying the Funny Girl meltdown and gossip. I'm kind of rooting for Lea Michelle just because her haters are such humorless self-righteous lot, but I won't mind a disaster either. Just think it's unlikely.

And Lea and Tovah in one show? Two crazy divas in one backstage--do they cancel each other out?

[quote]He added the whole Eddie being in (unrequited) love with Fanny. Ugh.

I'm genuinely surprised that Harvey didn't turn Eddie into a flaming homosexualist who becomes Fanny's gay BFF.

Vox has a timeline of THE DRAMA

The Post says that Piano Lesson is moving, but it doesn't say that ITW is extending.

R99, from the article:

"The downgrade comes because St. James landlord Jujamcyn would prefer to extend its hugely successful — and twig-cheap — production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” with Sara Bareilles and Patina Miller as long as it possibly can.

The critics’ reviews of the fairy-tale show were stellar, and the revival is doing business that the late composer rarely saw during his life.

My advice to the upcoming musical “New York, New York” — featuring songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb — that is also produced by Sonia Friedman and is supposed to go into the St. James in the spring: Don’t start spreading the news just yet."

The Fanny understudy was gifted a fannypack:

[quote]The most thoughtful gift from our incredible and kind #beaniefeldstein ❤️ (a welcome into #thefannypack )

Is that where Beanie stores her walking papers?

Did Julie Kazan get a Fanny pack?

A Fanny pack????? It’s a fucking snack purse!!!!!!

Hmmm...someone on the BWW threads, who usually knows which theaters shows are going into before they're announced says the Post is wrong. Moving The Piano Lesson to the Barrymore was explored, but the cost was too high. Stay tuned, I guess...

The Post also finds it surprising she's still showing up

What's all this talk about Fanny? I thought she, FDR and the dog were kind of cute together.

When in the hell are theatre producers gonna realize it is called Theatre Business? And, in business you hire the best person for the job. And, Beanie was nowhere close to being the best hire for Fanny. Did they watch her mediocre, “I’m a Freshman majoring-in-musical-theatre singing” at the Kennedy Center Honors? She could not hold her own against the other Broadway actors. The producers should have taken action then and replaced her before they even started rehearsals for FG. This would have already been forgotten at this point.

Where were the adults in the room when they were planning this production?

The drama is unending with this shitshow:

[quote] Lea and Tovah in one show? Two crazy divas in one backstage]

"Funny Girl 2.0 aka "Bring in 'da Bitch, Bring in 'da Cunt".

No, I mean "Fanny", the one Florence Henderson did. Really I did.

James is Jujamcyn, Barrymore is Shuberts’. How does that work?

When Bernadette Peters didn’t join the rest of the cast of Follies to LA and was replaced by Victoria Clark there wasn’t any tabloid drama. Why here?

This is now quite boring

Too cunty to rehearse on site.

“Lea is going to rehearse off-site, then come to the building to play the performances,” the source said.

How do you rehearse by yourself? Don't you need to have the other actors in the room?

She has such a rep as a gash no one will work rehearse with her?

*That's* your comparison, r113?

Is strange loop going to be the second-shortest-running best musical winner, after passion?

So, sounds like Beanie was not happy about those leaks, thus the revisionism of the People article. Nothing to see here, folks, move along, Beanie's Instagram was *totally* expected. Of course it was.

I expect Lea will show up to rehearse at the theatre a couple of weeks before her opening.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1977, a power failure caused black outs throughout New York City, halting several Broadway shows in the middle of their second acts.

I'm still baffled by the casting of Tovah to replace Jane (both bad decisions). Tovah can't sing for shit - hell, she can't even talk-sing all that well.

Ugh, that article at R56 is vomit-inducing. Nothing but victimhood all throughout. It's quite annoying because it's clear in the subtext that the writer agrees that Beanie sucked in the role. [italic]But all the criticisms were of course simply because she's fat!![/italic].

R106. I love that photo of Jane hugging Beanie. Just look at the facial expressions and body language of everyone else in the pic. Thisclose to eye rolling. Ramin looks annoyed.

SARAVA!

I saw 1776 at ART. Shouty. The colorblind casting of women in all the roles doesn’t have much impact after the first few minutes; it’s as if the director thought that choice all by itself was going to provide some kind of meaningful irony or something, but you mostly just feel like you’re watching a show at an all-girls school.

That godawful clip at R125 is before Tovah's voice dropped 17 octaves to where it is now.

Cunt

What does Mrs. Brice sing? Aren't they character-voice numbers? Does she actually have to sound good or is just staying on the beat, more or less, acceptable?

Mrs. Brice is a nothing role! Even Mrs. Strakosh has funnier lines and better lyrics to sing.

By the time Lea opens in this turkey nobody will give a rat's ass.

I didn't realize that Find Yourself A Man was cut from the revival, so I guess Mrs. Brice's big number is Who Taught Her Everything? with Eddie.

I had a voice student who went into "Dear Evan Hansen" when one of the understudies went on vacation. (And yes, they did get to go on). It was in their contract that they were not allowed to post on social media if they were going on for the role they were covering. I found it odd, but this sort of thing does happen.

If only social media were around in MY day, fuckers!

Okay, forgive my ignorance. I only know Feldshuh from TV--L&O and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and she was fine in those (even if her face seemed frighteningly tight on the latter). I've seen that cringeworthy Gypsy clip. Is she considered a bad actress in general? Or just bad in musicals? Or onstage?

Tovah Feldshuh can be terrific -- check her out in KISSING JESSICA STEIN or DANIEL or, yes, LAW AND ORDER and CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. But this is DL, where single moments caught on video and/or rumors they've dined out on for years invalidate an entire career.

She's technically too old for it (she could be Lea Michele's grandmother), but she's an accomplished Jewish actress with strong stage credentials (including 4 Tony nominations). This certainly isn't stunt casting, and she might very well be superb. Certainly she won't have far to go to surpass Jane Lynch, who phones the role in with no compensation by way of vocal quality or musical comedy skill.

[quote] She's technically too old for it

I recently watched her playing a young twentysomething in a 1976-77 era episode of FAMILY so yes, she's a bit too old. We'll see if she's got stamina at 73.

R130-Are you crazy? Tovah is on DL. Now you've screwed the pooch.

[quote]Samuel L. Jackson’s Broadway play ‘The Piano Lesson’ gets shafted.

Actually, if this rumor is true, it would be a win-win situation for everyone, because it was absolutely ridiculous that THE PIANO LESSON was booked into the St. James Theater -- almost always a musical house, with a second balcony -- in the first place. If THE PIANO LESSON had opened there, I'm sure the number of empty seats per performance would have been tremendous, but obviously, far less so at the Barrymore.

From R106:

[quote]Added a wag: “Maybe Sonia would have been kinder to the actor playing Fanny Brice if it was Mark Rylance.”

I don’t get the reference. What’s the story with Mark Rylance?

[quote]I'm still baffled by the casting of Tovah to replace Jane (both bad decisions). Tovah can't sing for shit - hell, she can't even talk-sing all that well.

Because Kay Medford was known for her fine singing?

The Some Like It Hot song is over-orchestrated and under-composed. Those two can write pastiche until the cows come home but don’t understand what makes moments stage-worthy, dramatically satisfying or actable.

Look for this to be Catch Me If You Can Part 2.

[quote]Because Kay Medford was known for her fine singing?

Kay Medford was perfection as Mrs. Brice.

Why didn’t they offer the role of Mrs. Brice to Babs?

Seems like a natural choice.

UPDATE: Lea will be rehearsing with the full cast at rehearsal spaces in the area, Beanie won’t allow any work to be done at the theater. She’s becoming unhinged, especially negative towards Julie. Unfortunate.

It just gets worse and worse. Has there ever been such a humiliating run by a performer on Broadway?

[quote]Beanie won’t allow any work to be done at the theater.

Does this child who's quitting the show really have that much say in the matter?

[quote]Beanie won’t allow any work to be done at the theater.

Lea doesn’t start till September. Why would she start rehearsals before Beanie leaves in two weeks?

R148, HELLO! When you’re performing eight shows a week, rehearsals are specific and in advance. Beanie is making the transition ROUGH.

Babs offered to do the role of Mrs. Brice if she could also sing Who Are You Now and The Music that Makes Me Dance. But the producers realized that Babs would come across as Fanny's great grandmother and declined.

I call bullshit on the idea Beanie can say where rehearsals do and don't happen.

There's also the little fact that Lea is doing a concert tour at the moment. She's in DC on the 20th, Philadelphia on the 22nd and Boston the 24th. If Beanie was causing so much drama the logical thing would be just to wait her out, which also coincides with Lea finishing her tour (except a few dates in August)

[quote]the upcoming musical “New York, New York” — featuring songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb — that is also produced by Sonia Friedman and is supposed to go into the St. James in the spring

Wait, wha...?

[quote] I don’t get the reference. What’s the story with Mark Rylance?

Sonia Friedman has produced all of Rylance's commercial ventures on Broadway and in the West End, and she treats him well. That quote, which is bitter nonsense, seems to me to imply that Friedman didn't treat Feldstein with the same level of respect as she would Rylance.

R122, That bitch stole my Tony nomination in 1979.

R137, Billy Crystal is doing 8 shows a week at 74.

Did someone say Babs is going on tour again?

If Beanie is actually angry at the standby who seems sweet and benign and painfully bland - that’s beyond. Mad at the woman for what? Posting on her Instagram with 10k followers that she’s excited to go on?

Lainie Kazan still tells the story of how the Funny Girl producers forbid her to alert the press when she was to go on for Streisand, so Lainie had her mother make the calls.

All of the following can be true ... Tovah Feldshuh a) can be good in the right roles (see Crazy Ex-Girlfriend); b) can be difficult; c) was never as bad as suggested by the picnic story, which keeps getting recycled so DLers can pretend to be insiders (see stories about Creel, Gavin and Taylor, Wes); d) has mellowed with age (see Lane, Nathan); e) is not playing a role that requires strong singing (see Lynch, Jane); e) is too old to play the mother of a teenager, which Fanny is at the start of the show.

Kay Medford also appeared too old(though only 45) to be the mother of a teenager and on film no less. Still you went along with it because she was so wonderful in the part. Like Pert Kelton in The Music Man.

From the editorial linked at R36:

[quote]Now, if you think I’m being unfair to Lea Michele, or that she should be given the benefit of the doubt, or she should just be given a second chance - what you really need to understand is that forgiveness and second chances and the benefit of the doubt should be afforded to people that have done the work to earn it. [dramatic paragraph break] Lea Michele has not earned it.

I realize this is an opinion piece, but I still wonder: who is he to decide this? He does to go on to (sort of) lay out what "earning it" would look like to him, which would be groveling to each individual person she's wronged (I guess going back to her Ragtime days). What if the injured parties feel it still isn't enough? How do these things get adjudicated? Is it like the Supreme Court, where the nine people Lea Michele treated worst vote on it, and if a 5-4 majority says she hasn't done enough, she still can't be hired?

How serious should the blacklist be? No leading roles on Broadway? No roles of any kind on Broadway? Complete unemployment?

[quote]So what can we do? I honestly don’t know at this point. We can stay loud on social media. We can start hashtags. We can boycott shows. But does any of that make a difference in the end?

Well, it would keep you home more, having the kind of relationships that probably go best for you: replying with fire emojis and such to people who agree with you but whom you'll never meet.

But there you have it. What CAN "we" do about this very serious problem of a woman who may have treated colleagues badly on a television show and some prior stage productions (some when she was a child, none more recent than 2015) getting to be in a new Broadway show? We can stay loud on social media and create hashtags.

I had no strong feeling on this topic at the start of the week. People like this author are making me root for Lea Michele.

[quote] Added a wag: “Maybe Sonia would have been kinder to the actor playing Fanny Brice if it was Mark Rylance.”

Truth, that.

r157 it seems that Feldstein is an entitled individual. She probably hasn’t heard the word “no” often in her life. She utterly failed in the role and was publicly humiliated for her hubris and lack of talent. She now seeks others to blame for all this. Those closest to her will ensure she learns nothing of value, preferring to shore up her delusions of ability.

[quote] Those two can write pastiche until the cows come home but don’t understand what makes moments stage-worthy, dramatically satisfying or actable.

Did you feel that way about [italic] Hairspray [/italic] ?

Nope, [R155], Billy Crystal is doing just 7 shows a week at 74. No Wednesday matinees for that show at all.

What are the stories of Gavin Creel being difficult?

[quote]He does to go on to (sort of) lay out what "earning it" would look like to him, which would be groveling to each individual person she's wronged (I guess going back to her Ragtime days).

After the original 'shit in the wig' tweet, Amber Riley mentioned that Michele reached out to her privately. Sounds like the author doesn't get that the 'groveling' may be done off social media, and that he doesn't exactly have the right to be looped in on each and every such conversation.

[quote] What are the stories of Gavin Creel being difficult?

Don't know, but I've worked with him and found him delightful. He's a little off-kilter, but not difficult at all. And before a certain troll chimes in, he smells fine.

[quote] Beanie won’t allow any work to be done at the theater.

Lol. This is not a thing. She has zero say over where anyone rehearses.

Will Beanie be filing a lawsuit against the Funny Girl producers?

Tovah can be fine on film and TV, but she has a tendancy to overact A LOT on stage. She also thinks she's hilarious, and she's not.

Didn’t Cicely Tyson do 8 shows a week of Gin Game at age 90?

Isn't it a bit rough to criticise Michele for stuff she did when in Ragtime? She was a kid. Kids act out. Moreover, kids who are on Broadway young (she was Cosette at even younger) probably don't have the most fun home lives.

Look, Lea Michele is a creation right out of Valley of the Dolls and I AM HERE FOR IT.

I think what people are tired of is watching assholes succeed over and over again. It really came to a full circle when Trump was elected in 2016. Everyone knew he was a mean bully, and he was rewarded with the most important job in the United States. Look at Marjorie Taylor Greene? The meaner you are, the more money she raises.

People know Lea Michele is a mean bully.

She is rewarded with her dream job.

This is why people are upset.

Damn you, r125! I now can't get that horrible song out of my head!!!

r173 If it was only Ragtime, then maybe. But she's continued to act like that as an adult at numerous jobs.

I don’t get the whole “the producers could’ve been nicer to Beanie” thing. If they mean by telling her “You’re not up to this, luv,” and not casting her in the first place then fine, they could’ve done her that service. But otherwise they gave her a tremendous opportunity and she fucked it up. I mean, literally, she knew the score. She’s not Phoebe on Friends - more than anybody she knew whether she could deliver the score or not. A good singer knows when they’re hitting the notes, they know when they’re interpreting a song in a meaningful way. If she was deluding herself, that’s on her. She put herself in that position. Her failure to deliver is on her.

Give Tovah a break. She had to get fucked by Ernest Borgnine's dick - the same one that entered Merman.

Ernest fucked Merman?

Anyway, Beanie will still find work. I don't feel sorry for her.

That's a different Tovah.

Oh please R175, anyone who is actually upset about this needs to get a life, stat.

Lea Michele was never POTUS. She’s not a supposed legislator like MGT. What perpetual victims like yourself need to hear is that you can only be bullied if you allow yourself to be bullied, if you don’t claim your own power.

I’m tired of hearing this stuff from equally ambitious people like Sammie Ware, whom for whatever reason, thought she had to take that and willingly compromised herself to further her own career. She could’ve told Lea Michele to fuck off, she could’ve left the set, got on with her life. Instead, she apparently did nothing until years later on social media in the middle of a pandemic - that’s who she is, she’s WEAK. And now she’s going to forever eclipse her own career - though I have no idea who she is anyway - but she’s going to eclipse herself and be the “girl who claims Lea Michele once threatened to shit in her wig.” I guess if you have nothing else going for you, you settle for that kind of notoriety. She didn’t do anything for herself back in the day or for anyone else on that set but, oh well, she claims to be a victim so let’s applaud her for that.

Her only way to get attention, now and forever, will be to rob someone else of their own personality, like the Farrow clan with Woody Allen.

I look forward to the day when Sammie Ware declines to talk about this in an interview. It’ll be like, sorry luv, you made this bed, you lie in it. You’re the girl with the shit in your wig. Well done.

We will never know if Ernest Borgnine’s dick entered Ethel Merman. And that’s a sentence I never thought I would write!

Katrina Lenk didn’t get great reviews for Company and her singing was criticized yet the only performances she missed were due to Covid. That’s a professional.

At least Lea's FG cast will know everything about her bullying cast and likely won't take any crap from her.

That Some Like It Hot song is just so typical of the "Have a bright opening song belted by a fat Black lady" moment every new musical just as to have.

Try to remember the tune even a second later.

Lea Michele is a toxic bullying bitch. She’s not going to change. If she saves the show she’ll be wonderful because she’ll make people money. If not she’ll fade.

The important thing to remember is either way she is and will always be a prize cunt. Success in this role will merely enable cuntitude of significantly more toxicity.

But R185, that SLIH song seems more of a finale/closer. Why would Osgood be in the opening number?

It’s no Doin’ It For Sugar, I’ll say that.

I adore her!

"Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival centers the voices and stories of artists in the Trans, Non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ communities by carving out space and providing resources to explore new works, all the while building community and reclaiming our stories and artistic license," says Strus.

"TNB2S+ theatremakers have long been misrepresented and underpaid for their work in the American theatre. In supporting and amplifying over 100 TNB2S+ theatremakers, it is vital that every creative decision be made by a member of the TNB2S+ community and each artist compensated equitably for their time and labor, making no less than New York's living wage of $21.50 an hour."

FOLLIES!

In San Francisco! Who's going?

Natascia Diaz is not a Sally.

Will people please stop posting that terrifying photo of that woman at r191?!?

Fresh off her Broadway triumph in the Funny Girl revival, Beanie Feldstein *is* Phyllis, a role she had dreamed of playing since she was 3 1/2 years old. Ms. Feldstein will be substituting “Ah, But Underneath” for “The Story of Lucy and Jessie.”

[quote]I had no strong feeling on this topic at the start of the week. People like this author are making me root for Lea Michele.

This "author" is a despicable, self-promoting shit-stirrer who has tried to cancel people for sometimes even the most minor "offenses."

[quote] I don’t get the reference. What’s the story with Mark Rylance?

He's no Daniel Reichard.

I, for one, don't want to see what's underneath Beanie.

[quote] It’s no Doin’ It For Sugar, I’ll say that.

The added title song in the Tommy Steele London version of Sugar/Some Like It Hot has typically garbage West End orchestrations, but I think a more memorable melody.

I think Mark Rylance is still the only Oscar winner who has gotten a real blow job on film -- in another film.

Whether or not Tovah succeeds as Mrs Brice will matter not one whit. All eyes and ears will be on Lea. My feeling: She will sing it better (duh) but will still be found lacking in other areas, especially as compared to Barbra.

I don't know LM's stage experience after Spring Awakening. Has she ever carried a show onstage as a lead?

r46 I'm in the peculiar position of being both a football fan and a fan of Broadway. Unbeknownst to probably all of you that powerhouse institution the NFL has been going through a similar soul searching over a quarterback who has multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him. He's not the fist player to have criminal allegations against him, but after me too his is the biggest scandal and has caused the most turmoil.

Some of you assholes are going to say it's not the same thing, sexual misconduct and Lea's Michele's horrendous behavior but while the actions are not the same it result for those experiencing the trauma is the same. The result is people are being harassed, bullied, traumatized, threatened. Harvey, Rudin, Michele all caused harm using threats, bullying, violence, it's the same behavior.

Some people smart enough and clear thinking enough are saying there should be a zero tolerance policy in the NFL for any player committing crimes. Keep it out of the league because what are we saying to anyone paying attention? We are saying that if you are going to make enough money for someone you can act however you want whether you are on Broadway or in high dollar sports.

No one should be excused for harassment, bullying, threats, violence and if Michele behaves the way she has in the past I think the production should be liable for whatever damage anyone feels they have suffered because of her behavior. Anyone that hires an individual that has proven they are hostile and aggressive toward others should bare the weight of their decision.

To clarify, of course Beanie Feldstein cannot demand where rehearsals take place, it is more of an emotional “boundary” that having everything take place away from the current tension is more helpful for the cast and production. And make no mistake, there is a serious amount of backstage tension at the moment. I’m shocked they aren’t just buying her out because it’s incredibly unfair to the entire cast.

r50 is your IQ higher than your reply number?

R201….. I respect your opinion but saying that the trauma of being raped is the same as hearing that some bitch told someone else that she should poop in your wig? Is that what you are actually arguing?

Call me an asshole all you want, but victims of sexual assault really shouldn’t be thrown into the same class of trauma as the twink extra who Darren Criss unsuccessfully tried to bring to lunch.

r161 it would be great if those of you twisting rational thought and logic in order to defend Michele would just say,

"I care more about drinking in all the juice her insane behavior produces than I do any damage she has done or might do. I don't care about anything except the thrill I get out of watching this shit show and seeing someone as vile as Lea win will bring me unparalleled joy because deep down I wish I could shit in someone's wig and get away with it."

^ Who isn’t that true for?

R188-It's probably the opening number and the curtain call closer.

r204 are you serious or are you just stupid?

I said the actions are not the same. The behavior is the same. Can you understand those words?

Bullying feels the same no matter how it is used. Violence feels the same. Aggression feels the same. They all can cause trauma. When you get therapy as a trauma patient they treat you for trauma they don't treat you for rape. Rape is how you experienced the trauma. Rape is not a condition. They treat you for anxiety or depression. They don't treat you for rape. Rape is how you became anxious or depressed.

The BEHAVIOR get it? How someone BEHAVES. Aggression, bullying, violence, intimidation. BEHAVIOR. Rudin, Weinstein, Michele all have the same BEHAVIOR.

Now if you do not get it you really need some cognitive help.

Hilarious 206 but there are those of us who have more class then to root for someone like Michele and I wish better for our community than to relish someone like her getting a win.

I have rehearsed a lot of replacements on Broadway- it is very common to rehearse the star in a rehearsal room with just the stage management team and one or two principals or principal understudies for the first few weeks and then introduce the rest of the cast into the procedure for the final week. I doubt they would give Lea or anyone else special treatment when they don't for bigger stars. They would never rehearse in the theatre as it is more costly than renting a large rehearsal room.

Maybe they can bill her as "Lea Michele as Rachel Berry in FUNNY GIRL"

[quote]R195 …a despicable, self-promoting shit-stirrer who has tried to cancel people for sometimes even the most minor "offenses.”

There are no secrets anymore. You don’t want to be judged and face repercussions for your shitty acts, don’t do them.

It’s not that hard.

The ticket buying public doesn't give a good God damn if someone is a complete bitch behind the scenes. Lea Michelle can sing and act and Beanie Feldstein cannot. That is all that matters to the people watching the show. It isn't like anyone behind the scenes even has to like each other; I've worked with plenty of people I couldn't stand. That's why it is called "acting."

R210, you are correct, this information was more about getting some advance images and a few specific requests, but everything isn’t urgent, so every effort will be made to keep the cast free from unnecessary conflict. Lea and Tovah will do their work in the safety of midtown’s many rehearsal spaces!

Will the critics rereview Funny Girl in September?

r215

I think one of the articles said they will invite critics back

^Even me?

Jane Lynch will attend Lea's opening night for publicity purposes. But....

From the American Theatre piece (R56):

[quote]The minute [Beanie Feldstein] stepped onstage, before she even spoke, I felt my eyes blur with tears as the audience roared. She looked like me, and she was on a Broadway stage. And the audience was cheering. And soon she’d be romantically pursued by one of the most swooned-over men of musical theatre.

Shouldn't she have wished for the male romantic lead to be "full-bodied" as well, if it's really about representation and opportunity, not just about opportunities for people like her?

[quote]I felt my eyes blur... She looked like me

Enough to make anyone's eyes blur.

[quote]R231 I've worked with plenty of people I couldn't stand. That's why it is called "acting."

You’ve posted “That's why it is called ‘acting’” so many times by now, the list of what it supposedly is or isn’t must be 50 items long by now.

Go open a drama school for tots in Deluth, and lecture them.

You make flounce a little ridiculous when your exit line features a big fat misspelling.

R217-Not you, Rex. Your ego would never fit in the cab.

I wonder why Atlantic Theatre Company has yet to reveal its 22/23 season yet.

Why do you wonder that?

[quote] It's probably the opening number and the curtain call closer.

No way. It wouldn't make any sense as an opening number, no one knows who any of those characters are or what they're singing about. Say what you will, Shaiman & Wittman know how to do opening numbres if 'Good Morning Baltimore' is any evidence. .It set the time, the tone and the I Want. This is either a show within the show number at the club that therefore doesn't need meaning, or it's something later on.

Oh jeez R208, I said I respected your opinion but questioned your logic. You respond by calling me stupid and saying I have cognitive issues. I disagree that the trauma resulting from rape is the same level of trauma resulting from incidents of bullying by another actress on the set of a TV show. There is a reason why sexual assault is a crime and saying you will poop in another actress's wig is not.

I appreciate you clarifying what you meant (with the capital letters for emphasis - appreciated). Got it. We can agree to disagree.

[quote]There are no secrets anymore. You don’t want to be judged and face repercussions for your shitty acts, don’t do them.

I agree, but that doesn't apply to most of the situations about which the particular shit-stirrer in question has become outraged.

let's also remember that no one's version of the Samantha Ware story ever says what transpired before the Lea behavior. Maybe Ward was horrible on set or to someone herself. It's like a little kid complaining that her big brother hit her and conveniently leaving out that he hit her after she broke his model airplane. I'm not saying she DID do anything but the story is completely one-sided.

[quote]Shouldn't she have wished for the male romantic lead to be "full-bodied" as well, if it's really about representation and opportunity, not just about opportunities for people like her?

Excellent point. I imagine this writer would have been a lot less thrilled at Beanie's casting in the role of Fanny if the Nicky Arnstein in this production was also "full-bodied" (in a fat way rather than a muscular way). Which makes her a blatant hypocrite.

[quote]R222 You make flounce a little ridiculous when your exit line features a big fat misspelling

Well, I also used “by now” twice in the first sentence : (

(scrambling) But this is what rehearsal is for.

And SCENE!

Samantha Ware is quite beautiful. She has worked in Book of Mormon and Hamilton since Glee. I would like to find clips of her in Hamilton but none seem to be up.

R159, the Tovah Feldshuh picnic story has been told exactly the same way since I started telling it here a few years ago. I heard it from someone who was in Romeo & Juliet at the American Shakespeare Festival with her. Terri Sue also apparently had a rep as a backstabbing bitch backstage at the musical Cyrano at the Palace a few years earlier. I remember being told it was an Eve Harrington type thing with Leigh Beery who was playing Roxanne. And a crew friend on Law & Order said they all absolutely loathed Feldshuh. As she put it “Nobody could be as cunty as Elaine Stritch was but Feldshuh came close. Patti LuPone was just a pain in the ass.”

Isn't Tovah notorious for seeking personal assistants on a regular basis because they keep quitting?

r208 said all these things

[quote] Aggression feels the same. They all can cause trauma.

[quote] Now if you do not get it you really need some cognitive help.

[quote] are you serious or are you just stupid?

[quote] Bullying feels the same no matter how it is used.

Yes, indeed, r208. It does.

To be clear: the NFL player in question raped no one. Even the NFL admitted that no force was ever used. And, two grand juries refused to indict him.

Part of Tovah’s personal assistant problem is that she expects them to be on call 24/7, but only pays them by the hour and the pay was like an intern. She expected them to come to the theater with her when she was performing and be grateful that they are working for a star. She used to advertise on Playbill.com all the time.

r229, true, just like no one has said what transpired before Lea's behavior in all the many, MANY other examples people have given of her being a jerk. It's certainly possible that all the people Lea Michele encountered were nasty assholes and poor helpless Lea had no choice but to respond in kind.

But the old adage "If everyone you encounter is an asshole, maybe YOU'RE the asshole" seems relevant. If poor Lea was really provoked so many times by so many people, it brings us back to her being the asshole.

There’s something to be said in that Lea was given the biggest platform to audition for Funny Girl, with the show Glee, and nobody stepped forward and offered her the show.

r227 you are a stubborn idiot.

r219 That sounds like the letter David Hyde Pierce used to force the Tonys to give a performance spot to that musical he directed

r237 Ah, the Lady Gaga guide to HR

[quote]R236 To be clear: the NFL player in question raped no one. Even the NFL admitted that no force was ever used. And, two grand juries refused to indict him.

Better safe than sorry.

LOCK ‘IM UP!

Karen Olivio is now known as KO?

This thread needs some Kessler Twins action...

They could have made a fortune hooking!

It doesn't get better than this...

[quote]Better safe than sorry. LOCK ‘IM UP!

Spoken like a true MAGAT

Bidding Farewell to His Theatrical Flock:

Considering the rumor (fact?) that Lea Michele, to many the obvious choice, was not cast as Fanny Brice originally because of her terrible reputation: Does anyone think that disappointment might have taught her her lesson and she'll be on her best behavior now? Or can she not help herself? I wonder.

Thank you R240 - have a good day too.

Has anyone heard anything about The Kite Runner? It's on tdf and I loved the book.

I worked many years as an extra on As The World Turns. Eveyone I dealt with was very nice, with the exception of Rex Smith and Vulva Toadstool.

Spill the dirt on Rex Smith. Were you trying to touch his big manhood?

R224, Atlantic does not have any specific artistic profile or agenda for scripts. It is all just whatever the AD likes. So that makes the selection process more haphazard, with shows frequently dropped or added down to the wire.

So a delay is not surprising.

Neither of these whores are fit to spit shine my heels!

Back in my day we had talent AND drive! We showed up for EVERY performance!

Great point, R219. She doesn’t write “It would be great if Nicky Arnstein were played a 350 lbs. Patton Oswalt type.” These people are so ridiculous.

Damnit! Perinos is MY place!

R188-Actually, I just realized Shaiman's "Some Like It Hot" sounds a lot like "Grand Hotel's "We'll Take A Glass Together"!

R225-Because it's July, they sent out renewal notices in May, and every other NYC subscription theatre company has announced. except LCT, which is a shit-show.

R221, that's the first time I've written it and the first time I have posted on this thread. So you're making up crap in your own head. If you doubt it, block me and see my posts.

[quote]Excellent point. I imagine this writer would have been a lot less thrilled at Beanie's casting in the role of Fanny if the Nicky Arnstein in this production was also "full-bodied" (in a fat way rather than a muscular way). Which makes her a blatant hypocrite.

James Corden IS Nick Arnstein!

Sorry, r256, the only thing left of Perino's is the sign.

I don’t hear that, R257.

[quote]Lea Michele is a toxic bullying bitch. She’s not going to change.

Now imagine if you actually knew or or even met her.

[quote]Considering the rumor (fact?) that Lea Michele, to many the obvious choice, was not cast as Fanny Brice originally because of her terrible reputation: Does anyone think that disappointment might have taught her her lesson and she'll be on her best behavior now? Or can she not help herself? I wonder.

OK what is it? Was it her bad behavior or did Beanies family bankroll the fiasco so Lea was never in consideration?

Ugh, we're in for months now of talking about Lea So Farty. An unappetizing topic.

I cannot wait for Beanie to leave, Lea to come in, sell a few tix, and the not-very-good FUNNY GIRL to close, so we can move onto something more interesting.

Which is to say.... ANYTHING else.

R263, why are you asking me? I've never said Beanie's family bankrolled the production so she'd get the part. And only the second quotation is mine. Are you under the impression that everyone who posts here is all the same person?

R265 Let's talk about something we never talk about....FOLLIES!

I saw Follies a few years ago, it was boring.

Hey, here's another Scopitone for a palate cleanser!

and in other "news"

A community theatre in Brooklyn is casting Into the Woods for an October production. I thought if a show was running on broadway then nearby local productions were prohibited.

[quote]There’s something to be said in that Lea was given the biggest platform to audition for Funny Girl, with the show Glee, and nobody stepped forward and offered her the show.

But there was also the significant fact that many (most?) people feel Lea's other big audition for FUNNY GIRL -- that is, her performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade" on the Tony Awards telecast -- was a big flop. FWIW, I think that fiasco wasn't really her fault, as she never should have been made to sing that song while walking down the aisle of that cavernous theater.

LOL!!

[quote] I cannot wait for Beanie to leave, Lea to come in, sell a few tix, and the not-very-good FUNNY GIRL to close, so we can move onto something more interesting. Which is to say.... ANYTHING else.

You mean like "Into The Woods" is the greatest production to ever been produced and it will run now and forever?

Who else is on the Equity “Do not work for” list?

Karen Olivo?

There are rumours coming out of the August Wilson that someone shit in Beanie’s wig.

[quote]THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1977, a power failure caused black outs throughout New York City, halting several Broadway shows in the middle of their second acts.

Wow, I remember that night well. I was the musical director for a show running on Broadway and during the second act, all the lights west out and the emergency theater lights came on. While there was no panic, it took a while for us to realize what was going on. The stage managers finally came out on stage to say that this situation was city-wide and that everyone should leave the theater and try to get home. And because there was no amplification, many people in the audience didn't quite hear or understand. That's when our lead actor stepped forward and in his best stage voice with full projection carefully explained the situation. He did a great job and everyone was helpful in evacuating the theater without a problem.

One thing happened that I don't often see reported. About 45 minutes later, a group of the cast and crew were standing in front of the theater trying to figure out how to get home, when all of a sudden, all the lights came back on in the theater district - maybe for 3 minutes. I remember the house manager and crew using that time to quickly turn everything off in the house, lower the security gates, and lock up the theater. A problem solved.

A group of us walked up Broadway, in the middle of the street, to our apartments on the Upper West Side (I had a sublet on W 83rd street). It never felt dangerous, but it was a hot, humid night and we were uncomfortable. I've mentioned on DL before, that on that night, my BF and I had incredible hot, sweaty, nasty sex in our un-airconditioned apartment that I still remember to this day.

[quote] I've mentioned on DL before, that on that night, my BF and I had incredible hot, sweaty, nasty sex in our un-airconditioned apartment that I still remember to this day.

Yes! I was just starting to date a gorgeous actor in the summer of '95 in Chicago when we had our lengthy blackout - and we had the most amazing sex I've probably had in my entire life.

Anyway.

^and then he got aids and died

r243, I didn't know what you were talking about, but finally saw this article. Sheesh. She is a mess.

r278, great story with a great ending. Thanks for sharing.

I want a key to the city presented to Lea on her opening night… maybe a scroll stating a street’s been named after her. I want the stage smothered in flowers. And all upon her first entrance - don’t even wait for the curtain call!

I want that Beanster never to forget how she tried to murder Broadway.

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living

So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream

I dreamed

R281 and They are Gender Fluid!

R284! Hilarious! I luff you!!

r285, you're right. I should correct that before anyone yells at me.

THEY are a mess.

Lea wasn't cast in FG initially because the only way producer Sonia Friedman could finance the revival was with the Feldstein family money. And actually, Sonia would have been happy to let the mediocre FG revival she produced in London die there, had not the Feldsteins come to her to initiate the project on Broadway. So there was never an opportunity for Lea or anyone else to be considered for Fanny because it was only ever financed with Beanie as the star.

I know I've said all this here before but I see there are still posters on these threads who are in denial or ill-informed. Someday soon, all the truth will come out.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

KO? WTF is KO?

r290, a mess. Keep up.

This is the first I'm hearing about it. How long has she been going by KO?

Isn't is really, "wtf ARE KO?"

All kidding aside, this is the first I've heard of it too. I see their Twitter and Instagram also say KO now. Maybe this is their KO coming out?

I KO'ed the bitch right out of NYC but she stupidly came back.

How about TKOing KO? Better than that stupid OK, Boomer crap.

OK, KO

I quit the theater because I’m desperate for attention and then I come back to the theater because I’m desperate for attention and then I quit the theater because I’m desperate for attention then I reduce my name to initials because I’m desperate for attention and then I come back to the theater, because I am desperate for some more attention.

My dear KO, why don't you simply try acting?

Oh, right.

Does KO dance, peeples?

What’s the deal with Gavin Creel’s awful bleached dye job? I thought it was for Into the Woods but he had it that way before.

I want to see this Brazilian open air production of Evita.

I love you r278

[quote]The Hollywood Reporter reports that Actors' Equity will place Paradise Sqaure producer Garth Drabinsky on the company's Do Not Work list due to "outstanding payments and benefits, and a continued pattern of abuse and neglect that created an unsafe and toxic work environment. The move to put Drabinsky, who was imprisoned for 17 months in Canada after being convcited of fraud and forgery as a producer, comes after the production failed to pay their salary via weekly direct deposit on Thursday morning.

Holy Christ, how many errors can you spot in those two sentences? BWW is such a fucking joke.

R288 speaks the truth.

The whole "fluid" "non-binary" "queer" thing is so fun because it's just so convenient! You can declare a new identity whenever you want, no questions asked. Go with the more oppressed identity as it suits your needs!

Is KO short for Kaopectate?

A cast member of Paradise Square is shocking to find out Garth Drabinsky might not be totally trustworthy

KO is the kooky hit of next season!

R283, it's the producers who tried to murder Broadway. Beanie was merely the tool.

I just saw that there's yet [italic] another [/italic] Beanie thread

Is this the best thing that has ever, ever happened to DL? Quick search shows all these -- and that doesn't include the ones with her name not in the title like "Is the DL happy now?"

It's been juicy but time to move on, no?

"I recently watched her playing a young twentysomething in a 1976-77 era episode of FAMILY"

I love that episode of FAMILY! Poor Kate got herself into such a mess for being a good friend! And how Doug disapproved of the whole business!

More talk of FAMILY!

"Try to remember the tune even a second later."

You forget it even as you're listening to it.

I've worked with Tovah a few times over the years, going back to the late 1990s, and while I'd never classify her as a harmful bitch, she is a tiresome handful. Just very needy and not terribly sensitive to the temperature in the room, if you know what I mean. She's well-cast as Mrs. Brice, if literally too old, but the problem will be reining her in, as she instinctively overacts horribly onstage.

Jackie Hoffman’s snarky put downs of Feldshuh as Mrs. Brice should be quite delicious.

I will forever defend Tovah because of her performance in the very stellar original Bway cast of the very mediocre Lend Me a Tenor. She and all of those actors were perfection: Phil Bosco, Jane Connell, Victor Garber, Ron Holgate, J. Smith, all when Zaks was at the top of his comedy game.

And while we’re being nice to Tovah, she was sensational in Crazy Ex Girlfriend

Was Jackie Hoffman in the running for replacement Mrs Brice?

Has Sammie Ware weighed in on Lea Michele's Cory Monteith tribute yet? Lea CANNOT be allowed to present herself as human - only VICTIMS are human!!

Tovah played "Yentl" on Broadway.

It is not the end of July yet and Beanie is filming Merrily which will be finished after most of us are dead so there will be open season on her for a very long time.

Tovah was quite good as Yentl, and just fine in Sarava. There are precious few opportunities for her to suck as Rosie Brice.

R318, No, but Dustin Hoffman was.

Tovah was who denied Lucie Arnaz her Tony nomination for They’re Playing Our Song.

Broadway was never the same, quite frankly

Now...

I have the SARAVA! Playbill signed by Miss Tovah. I saw the show as a kid before "stagedooring" was a thing, so she signed it at The Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS Annual Flea Market.

[quote]Tovah played "Yentl" on Broadway.

Everything always comes back to Babs.

EVERYTHING ALWAYS COMES BACK TO FOLLIES.

Stagedooring has always been a thing, r326

[quote]Stagedooring has always been a thing

You’re thinking of backdooring

[quote]Stagedooring has always been a thing

It just hasn't always been a verb.

[quote]Stagedooring has always been a thing, [R326]

But stagedoor appearances have mostly been axed post-COVID, yes?

[quote] Stagedooring has always been a thing

Yes, but it used to be something only theater insiders knew about.

Now hoi polloi considers it part of the experience they paid for. So they overcrowd the doors and ruin it for everyone.

I actually blame eBay for drawing attention to the stage doors, because it first started to get bad when people started bringing multiple items to sign to stage doors, usually without having seen the performance

I remember stagedooring as a gayling teenager from the suburbs. It was wildly exciting lol. I cannot imagine doing it as an adult.

Still isn’t, r331.

If you to see how much our culture has changed, just look at Lend Me A Tenor. It was a comedy about two men in blackface getting confused with each other. It opened on Broadway in 1989, and there was a revival in 2010.

[quote]Who else is on the Equity “Do not work for” list?—Beanie feldstein

Soon, Beanie Feldstein.

[quote]Stagedooring has always been a thing

Eve Harrington knew all about it way back in 1950.

So why are there people insisting Beanie's father had nothing to do with this revival? It has been common knowledge for a long time. And there's no way in hell that somebody so unprepared and unsuited for a starring role was given a Broadway production of their favorite role any other way thereby entering into theatrical history and infamy.

R337, Jeremy Piven

[quote]Stagedooring has always been a thing,

Perhaps I'm just strange but I've never given two shits about meeting the stars at the stage door after a show. I've been going to theater for years and all I want to do after a show is over is get the heck out of there and go home. But of course, to each his own.

By the way, when I was leaving "Girl from the North Country" about a month ago, I was already across the street when I saw Mare Winningham come out of the stage door and greet who I guess were friends of hers because she ran up and hugged them. I assume she then turned to all of the people standing there waiting with their Playbills to be autographed but by then I was long gone.

My friend was shocked when his parents took him to see a tour of The Sound of Music, and the nuns came out of the stage door in full makeup, looking like WHORES!

I have a friend in DC who is the ultimate "stagedoorer". Even though I worked in NYC theater for many years, whenever I go to see a show with him, I program in at least 30 mutes for him to wait for the actors to come out and then to schmooze with each and every one of them. I simply move away from the crowd and sit down somewhere to read my email.

Once, while I was sitting waiting for my friend to finish, one of the actors recognized me from a show we had done together and came over to talk. When he realized that I was with my friend, he laughed and said that all the actors, crew, and house staff knew my friend and affectionately tolerated him, especially because he would often see a show several times. The actor commented that if the others had known my extensive background in theater, they would have preferred to talk with me. That comment made my day.

I think right about now. Beanie is stuffing her fist up her vage

The Butcher Boy!

Beanie can still salvage this. Her dad can buy up the film rights ( if he hasn’t already) and tailor a true superstar spectacular around her, the likes of which we haven’t seen in ages.

It will all be pre-recorded, which takes care of the heavy lifting, and maybe Donna Murphy’s available to sweeten the mix?

Yes.

Young audiences accustomed to the Marvel Comic Universe and Pixar films will simply flock to a lavish remake of FUNNY GIRL, starring box office boffo Beanie!

Maybe if she wears spandex r347

[quote]It will all be pre-recorded, which takes care of the heavy lifting, and maybe Donna Murphy’s available to sweeten the mix?

We're not going with some has-been like Murphy. Adele will be hired to sing the entire score and the notes that Beanie hits that are mostly correct will be layered over Adele's voice.

I wish the comments that include the name "Tovah" could be edited to read Danielle and Daniel Melnick because she will always be jack McCoy's adversary (and stabbing survivor) to me! Plus it would make me to read that the liberal legal eagle from L&O, had done musical theatre.

I work backstage on Broadway and I'm always amused when I exit the stage door after a show to see the crazed smiles of stagedoorers deflate when they realize I'm nobody.

[quote] Tovah was who denied Lucie Arnaz her Tony nomination for They’re Playing Our Song.

It was Alexis Smith who denied Lucie the Tony nomination. Alexis already had won for Follies and that show she was nominated for ran barely a month.

Why do never talk about Nick Barasch

I had a friend who *loved* stagedooring. I used to stand off to the side when she would do it because I couldn't care less.

We went to see "Wait Until Dark" on Broadway. My friend wanted Quentin Tarantino's autograph. The door opens, a stage manager comes out and says, "Miss Tomei will not be signing any autographs." 30 seconds later, Marisa Tomei comes out, acts surprised that there are people waiting by the stagedoor and starts signing autographs. I bet that stage manager wanted to deck her.

For those who predicted Beanie would leave even earlier than July 31... place your bets if she will return at all.

I stagedoored exactly twice as a teen ions ago: Anthony Perkins ROMANTIC COMEDY and Farrah Fawcett in EXTREMITIES. Still have both playbills/showbills (anyone remember Showbill?).

Was she examined by Jeremy Pivens' doctor?

R352, the scandal about Tovah getting nominated for Sarava was that the show never officially opened… another one of those effed up decisions of the constantly fickle American Theatre Wing.

Neni Leaks should be casted as Ms Bryce

Did you comment on how Anthony Perkins' ass was in "Romantic Comedy", as he had a nude scene.

JEEESUSUS, what would Elaine Stritch say about Beanie? So does this tonsil condition take her out until the last week? It's supposed contagious for 5-10 per a web search.

supposedly, that is

No, Sarava did open, but it played endless previews. The producers knew what they had and knew the reviews would be brutal but the previews were selling well, so they kept extending them. It was the first time anyone had tried this stunt and the critics weren't having it. Most of them eventually bought their own tickets and reviewed it anyway. After that, the show closed in a few months.

I'll start. I think Nick Barasch is very talented and cute as hell.

Straight, r363. Pics with his gf on IG.

That's fine, R354. It doesn't make him any less talented or less cute.

IBDB says Saravá played 49 previews and 129 performances.

Wasn't one or both of the main guys in "Sarava" nude or partially nude in the show? Don't remember who played them. Another Tovah show, "Yentl" had John Shea full-frontal from what I've heard. He was a real cutie.

So the Beanster is out this weekend.

Will anyone comfort Ramin while he handles the stress of all this Funny Girl drama?

There goes that backstabbing Julie Benko again...posting on social media! Announcing she's going on! Wishing Beanie well! Will they never rein her in???

Sarava is about about a widow who remarries. Then her first husband comes back as a ghost. The ghost showed his butt during a dance number. At the time it was considered risque but not outrageous.

I thought I heard the second husband showed his butt too. P.J. Benjamin maybe?

I was going to say Sarava sounds like "Dona Flor & Her Two Husbands"...and I see it was indeed based on that.

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen young Tovah. L&O over a decade later was the first time I saw her.

Tovah was quite good in the tv mini-series "Holocaust" playing one of the Jews who fought back with arms against the Nazis. That's the series with Meryl Streep, Rosemary Harris, etc.

[quote]Beanie can still salvage this. Her dad can buy up the film rights ( if he hasn’t already) and tailor a true superstar spectacular around her, the likes of which we haven’t seen in ages.

No way Columbia would sell the rights to anyone named Beanie. But they could buy the rights to the British production that was taped and played in cinemas and just green screen Beanie into it and erase Sheridan Smith.

Ah, that was the same link as r325, which I missed. Sorry, r325.

Beanie should never be allowed near a Broadway stage again after pulling this shit. It feels like she’s only shown up for 15 performances.

Um idk what insta ur looking at but there are no pics of Nick barasch with a girlfriend

That's why the previews sold well. The film had been very popular and the commercial made it look like fun. Then reviews started coming out telling people it was actually a load of crap and ticket sales dropped badly once people were told they shouldn't enjoy it.

Possible scenario: Beanie has to have her tonsils removed next week and, unfortunately, will not be able to return for her final performances.

Now I’ve heard EVERYTHING.

[quote]whenever I go to see a show with him, I program in at least 30 mutes for him to wait for the actors to come out

Why would you need to be accompanied by 30 silent people for that?

Do people still get their tonsils out? I thought that mostly went out with Beaver Cleaver, who then was looking forward to eating ice cream afterwards.

Uhhhh

Oh fuck you, r352.

Regards,

JEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!

Tovah is part of "The Walking Dead" family and get $40 a signature at conventions.

What a weirdly underrehearsed and fumbling clip at r345.

I love both the book and film of The Butcher Boy, but I’m having a hard time picturing it as a musical.

Now I’m having images of Beanie in “Sarava”…

(Or, a musical on her Broadway foray could be called “Butcher Girl”?)

[quote]BDB says Saravá played 49 previews and 129 performances.

It was ridiculous, most shows had one to two weeks of previews.

Tovah wouldn't have been cast in it per today's casting obsessive-compulsives, though she could always say she was Sephardic (spanish) Jewish. Same with Mandy for "Evita" if they were casting today.

If we’d been spared Mandy entirely, that would have been fine.

And at the last minute Page Six reveals Beanie actually had her tonsils out when she was a child.

So now they'll call it pharyngitis to try to correct themselves.

r394, are you kidding (who can tell these days?) or do you have a link? (I looked, I promise.)

I looked, too. That would be a huge case of "BUSTED!" if true.

I predicted she'd be gone by this weekend. Wish I'd laid money down.

I think r394 is just projecting that happening.

Even if it's laryngitis, how could even a great singer sing that difficult, demanding score after a weekend?

Don't they sometimes grow back?

R401-Sure, that's what happened after they cut off her ass.

Slight complications to the infected tonsils, doctors orders to leave the show for fear of harming those golden cords…you know it’s a’commah!

That FAT WHORE!

Lisha! In shummer shtock! (Who knew?)

This role is bad for Beanie’s health.

Now, tonsillitis??!!

Poor poor Beanie

Poor, poor unfortunate Bean-ala. All this and had to grow up in the same household as Jonah Hill. Girl is cursed,I tells ya.

R352, But, Alexis received unanimous rave reviews, while Platinum did not.

I remember the They're Playing Our Song producers taking out a large ad in the NYT that chastised the Tony nominating committee for snubbing Lucie Arnaz.

"Tovah was quite good as Yentl, and just fine in Sarava."

And (in films), wonderful in KISSING JESSICA STEIN. Her monologue where she accepts her daughter's choice, all the while grieving for the grandchildren she will never know is a masterful exercise in acting.

Lucie shouldn’t be upset. They snubbed her mother as well.

[quote]Beanie should never be allowed near a Broadway stage again after pulling this shit.

Beanie is box office poison!

"No Beans for You!"

Guys! I think I’m coming down with dysentery! Oh, it would be just awful if I didn’t get to finish my run as Fanny!

My prostate is acting up so I need to be out a week or so

I've got malaria! Oh, no, wait -- mono!

Actually, tonsils can grow back but it's rare and it's even rarer that they grow back full size. A lot of it has to do with the original surgery. Sometimes only partial tonsillectomies are performed initially and that's when they are more likely to grow back, sometimes years later.

For someone who had so much good will when she was announced, it’s shocking that people are still Team Beanie after this. She clearly is being a brat and making shit up so she doesn’t have to perform anymore. This is just astonishing unprofessionalism.

She was slow motion fired in the most public way.

If she decides to split rather than work out her notice, good for her.

What would Patti do?

I would LOVE to hear Patti’s analysis of Beanie’s casting and (absentee) run.

Patti would play out the contract and bitch every single moment of it.

This thread needs some Della Reese...gowns...

Beanie looked quite happy in her video announcing the crazy contagious tonsillitis that will prevent her from going on stage this weekend. Very strange tone.

But was Tovah's delivery of "Avigdor, wait!" internationally acclaimed and truly iconic?

I don’t get Tovah Feldshuh and Adrienne Barbeau mixed up, but I can see how I could.

I wonder if Adrienne Barbeau ever did any summer stock during her hiatus? I don’t recall her in any of the many ads people have dug up.

I've stubbed my toe! I must forego the rest of the run!

Beanie's behavior! It's a shonda, I tell you!

Adrienne's stacked Yeshiva boy might have required even more suspension of disbelief than Barbra's 40 year old one.

How’da like THEM eggrolls, Mr. Goldstone?

Did Della Reese ever appear in the legitimate theater?

Well, Arlene Francis at R431, here she's described as one of "Broadway's most exciting stars" in an appearance with Maureen McGovern and DL fave Lucie Arnaz.

The Beanie saga has become one of the most embarrassingly unprofessional things I have ever seen on Broadway. It's past time for the producers to pay her off and say nice having you, YOU'RE GONE. They really must think there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I can't say I haven't enjoyed the cheap melodrama though!

[R2] I totally disagree with your assessment of Barbra's version compared to Lea's. Lea does not have the vocal range or beauty that Babs had in her heyday. Have you watched Funny Girl the movie? Her vocals are hardly "light, airy and easy". Barbra also has a nuance and sophistication to her voice that Lea doesn't have. Lea's voice is nasal and less powerful. I saw her when she sang at the Tony's and no one was impressed. No standing ovation. I predict the stand in will prove to be better than Miss Lea- thang. I still can't believe she was offered the part. Ryan Murphy must have paid for it to happen.

Actually R362, Joe Papp had done this previously with his 1974 production of MacBeth with Christopher Walken. The entire run was played in previews and he only invited the press on closing night which was the “opening”. So canny producers has done it previous to Sarava.

What would Sondheim think of this FG fiasco?

I never realised tonsillitis was an infectious disease.

Maybe everyone was more tolerant for what Papp did with Walken because Papp was running a non-commercial, formally Non-Profit show Off-Broadway. And he was Jpe Fucking Papp, who had done more for theater for the masses than anyone else in New York in decades, if not ever.

But the Sarava producers were just shamelessly squeezing every penny they could out of their shit show before the inevitable.

From the moment that Beanie's casting was announced, DL correctly predicted that the first Broadway revival of "Funny Girl" would lay a huge egg. But even DL didn't foresee what a tawdry melodrama it would turn into.

Does Beanie like Chipotle?

Patti r419 would do her job. She still performed Sunset in London after Lloyd Webber fired her from the Broadway version. Friends saw the final performance and have never seen anything like it - she was on fire and the audience adored her. That’s being professional.

Sorry r441, but that’s not correct. Patti did stop performing Sunset Boulevard when the Glenn Close news came to light. I think she missed a week of performances before her agent reminded her that she could be sued over breach of contract. She also threatened to stop performing previews when she discovered that the box office was using Barbra Streisand’s two Sunset songs as their hold music.

Also, let’s not forget Patti’s disappearing act during Les Miserables rehearsals.

Les Miz has been restated since then. Did the new director make the Fantine actor do chorus work?

Sorry r442 I have a notification saying you responded to me but as I have you blocked I don’t see it. You’re blocked for a reason so no loss. Off you fuck.

I had friends who lived in London who told me that Patti was tentative at the beginning of Evita but dazzling by the end of her run. I live in Manhattan and it reminds of when my friends who saw Bernie when her Gypsy opened and thought she was such a mixed bag but when I saw her shortly before the end of her run she was wonderful

[quote] Stagedooring has always been a thing,

When I was a kid there would be three or four people. Now there are barricades and most of the audience. So it might have been a thing, it wasn't a big thing.

I saw Bernadette well into her run in Gypsy and she was terrible. Just terrible.

I'm watching something called Public Arts Showcase on a local NJ public TV station. They just showed a color clip of Barbara Cook singing Till There Was You followed by Barbara and The Buffalo Bills singing the Lida Rose duet. It's from a 1960 Bell Telephone Hour. People who claim Barbara didn't get the film part because she wasn't pretty enough have no idea what they're talking about. She's just cute as a button. Or a pretty girl. They and the chorus are wearing period clothes and it's all just so charming beyond words.

I used to stagedoor at the Fisher Theater in Detroit in the 60s and met Merman, Martin, Verdon, and even Richard Rodgers (after NO STRINGS). There was never a huge crush, except after Harry Belafonte's concert.

[Quote] I had friends who lived in London who told me that Patti was tentative at the beginning of Evita

Did Patti ever do Evita in London?

Didn't Beatlemania never "officially" open and ran for years?

Jack Warner wanted stars in The Music Man,, but he grudgingly gave in and let Robert Preston recreate his Broadway role. But Warner insisted on having a star like Shirley Jones opposite him. Much as I love Barbara Cook, she has a pretty pronounced overbite and chipmunk cheeks in that Music Man clip from the Bell Telephone Hour. Shirley Jones, on the other hand, was gorgeous. And she could certainly sing the role.

According to IBDB, R431 and R432, Della Reese never appeared on Broadway but toured in BLUES IN THE NIGHT.

Paradise Square cast didn’t get paid this week and Equity had to step in. Wtf is going on over there?

And Shirley Jones was willing to put out.

Barbara was Broadway pretty but not Hollywood pretty.

r409 Is that all?

r435 The National Theatre avoided having a press night for the abortion which was Hex, thanks to covid cancellations. Barely anyone ended up reviewing it. Probably for the best, given artistic director Rufus Norris chose to do it - and it just so happens he wrote the lyrics and his wife wrote the book.

Laura Osnes - will she ever resurface?

In a hospital ward if BA.5 gets her.

I call bullshit. Tonsilitis is just an inflammation of the tonsils. Likely brought on by a virus, which is contagious, but it's still not a situation that would normally require even a weekend quarantine.

And Shirley was a MUCH bigger name nationally: OKLAHOMA!, CAROUSEL, and an Oscar! BC couldn't compete.

R445, where were they living when they saw Patti in Evita?

She never did it in London.

Why would your friends lie to you about their place of residence? This could be the inciting incident in a British thriller on Netflix.

R449, what about Bette Davis in Night of The Iguana?

Agree about the stagedooring. I was a budding showqueen as a high-school kid in the 80s, and I collected autographs on Bway. Mostly, I just wanted to see the stars and say hello. Most performers were nice and obliging; if they didn't want to engage, at least they weren't rude about it.

It was NOTHING like the crazed proceedings that you saw on Bway pre-Covid.

I have no interest in doing it today, but I loved waiting at the stage door when I was in high school. My most memorable experience was after a matinee of "Doubt," when I was 15. I was the only one there. The other three actors came out quickly, but there was no sign of Cherry Jones who I most wanted to meet. Eventually, it started to rain.

I had been waiting for well over an hour when a stagehand popped his head out and asked me if I needed anything. I told him I was waiting for Cherry, and he informed me that she had just finished giving a magazine interview in her dressing room and now was eating a late lunch. In short, she wouldn't be leaving the theater between shows. I thanked him and no doubt looked dejected as I turned to go. He told me to wait a moment and went back inside.

A few minutes later, Cherry came and ushered me inside the theater. She was both touched and apologetic that I had waited so long in the rain for her. She gave me a tour of the theater and all told spent close to half an hour with me. It was a very meaningful experience, as it was only my second or third trip to NYC, and I have great affection for her to this day.

As I was leaving, she told me to be sure and catch the "marvelous" Kathleen Turner in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" across the street. It so happened that I had tickets to it for the following evening. At the stage door after that performance, Kathleen Turner told all of us waiting to make sure we see "Doubt" across the street, because Cherry Jones was "tremendous."

R417-You think she'll have her tonsils out and then they'll grow back before July 31st? Don'r forget her adenoids. They need a crane to remove those. She won't be back.

Attn: Santino Fontana fanboys!

Tickets are still available for the Playbill Cruise! Sail the Mediterranean with Tony winners Audra McDonald, Gavin Creel, Santino Fontana, and Nikki M. James, plus Christopher Fitzgerald, Will Swenson, Caissie Levy, and John McDaniel.

Has anyone ever gone on one of these? Do the stars all sit together at dinner? Or do the McDonald-Swensons dine on their own? Are Will and Gavin still buddies from their time in HAIR?

Raquel Welch was one of the most gracious stars at the stage door and would remain until everyone waiting had a picture or autograph or had said hello. I found this to be true both when she was doing "Woman of the Year" and later, "Victor Victoria"

R452 An overbite didn't hinder Gene TIerney -- it actually helped in her case. I don't see chipmunk cheeks on Barbara, but Jane Wyman certainly did fine with them

I love Barbara Cook, but yes, her teeth were pretty jacked. The cosmetic dentistry available today would have helped her immensely in film and TV.

And I love the "stars being nice" stories. I can confirm from a brief encounter that Cherry Jones was/is a lovely, classy lady.

The Instagram post announcement about Beanie’s tonsil tantrum is unlike anything we’ve seen for a professional Broadway show. Is Beanie’s mommy running the Funny Girl social media? JFC! Get rid of this mediocre ogre and let Julie play it until September, it’s ridiculous at this point.

Beanie is the fat bitch who cried wolf. She has got to stop the cloying, "cutsie" posts over-explaining her weekly absences with the gravitas of a Presidential Announcement. No one is buying it. No one cares. She is now New York's ultimate fool.

Ah, 464! Wish I had. It didn't play the Fisher, but another theater whose name I forget.. At that age, I wasn't aware of what a treasure it would have been to see Davis, Leighton, et al. Thought it might be dull (!) But at that theater I did see Carol & Co, a stripped down version of Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall. Sans Juilie. Carol was with Allen & Rossi (ugh) but she was a goddess to me at the time, so I stagedoored after a matinee. Waited and waited; they came out, she did not.

DL fave Alison Fraser is Big Mama in CAT off-Bway.

R434, I'm not r2, but I also listened to Barbra's and Lea's takes after their comment and meant to say so. I don't think you're actually disagreeing with them, since I took their comment as praising Barbra and criticizing Lea. I've never been much of a Barbra fan (or non-fan; no string opinion either way) and I never watched Glee, so don't think I'd heard Lea sing much. But Barbra's take sounds so effortless (light and airy is a compliment, IMO), whereas Lea's was very try-hard, and her voice was surprisingly weaker than I expected (though obviously stronger than Beanie's. That doesn't take much). I listened to the Glee version, not the Tony one, and could feel every bit of effort she was expending. So I agree with you both. Barbra is obviously superior, and it's not even close.

It's finally here (or onstage in London at least): the musical you've ALL been waiting for.

MILLENIALS! A new musical. Be sure to check out the photos at the link.

This seems designed entirely to make TG elders' heads explode. Yes, the stage is a giant slice of avocado, hee.

Cherry Jones must be the kindest person on the planet. I was visibly starstruck and staring at her while we worked out next to each other at the Equinox on Greenwich Ave and she gave me the nicest smile. I will love her forever after that.

Also, her performance in The Heiress is one of the greatest in Broadway history.

How much did Beanie's weight have to do with all these absences? This is a role that's a marathon a night and twice on matinee days. A fat person can't do it. You've got to be at a certain level of fitness. Everybody making a thing of Beanie's weight was right. Absolutely ridiculous that somebody who has an entire turkey, dumplings and beets a night for dinner with a large pound cake for dessert all the while drinking vanilla malteds is doing a starring role in a Broadway musical. And she's fucking still in her 20s.

I used to do a lot of theatre for years in little podunk theatres with small cramped cold backstage areas. Yes I every winter there were colds fluids etc. We had Gueneveres and Elizas with laryngitis who would speak sing their songs - I don’t remember a panic that we would catch their sickness. Doesn’t a star usually go to their ear, nose throat guy for a steroid shot?

I used to stage door all the time before the pandemic. Bernadette Peters was wonderful to all her fans and happily posed for pictures. Very gracious.

Patti is nice to her fans but RARELY will do a picture. But she will chat and seems to really appreciate her long haulers.

I did Hello Dolly and everyone signed but Bette Midler.

Stage door .

Stage door incidents.

Stagedooring is how Alice Ripley got in trouble. Those teen girl lunatics met her doing that shit (and on Facebook I guess).

Beanie’s tonsils will wreak havoc on script continuity on Merrily.

Speaking of Doubt WHET Cherry's co-stars Brian O'Byrne and Heather Goldenhersh? Do they still act? I think they actually married after the show closed.

And also the handsome fellow who played opposite Cherry as Morris Townsend in The Heiress? Spacing on his name but WHET?

What's with the disappearance of all of Cherry's co-stars??

Jon Tenney, r486? Oh, c'mon...

I worked with Jon Tenney in the early 80s at Williamstown when he was a skinny cute non-Equity actor; then again the early 90s when he developed into one of the handsomest men on the planet, a super nice guy, and not a bad actor either. Sadly, I think he was overwhelmed and emasculated by his marriage to that horrible Teri Whatshername.

Oh that's right, Jon Tenney. I was thinking of handsome understudy Richard Thompson who was on the night I saw The Heiress. I guess he left the biz.

R466, what a lovely story about Cherry. It's so fantastic that she took the time to do that for you. Those are the kinds of things that someone will remember for the rest of their lives and the person responsible really does make an indelible impression on you.

I've previously mentioned that I worked with Cherry on a show prior to Doubt, and she truly was a delightful person. I got to be friendly with her (then) partner, Mary, who would come to meet her before the show ended a few nights a week, and we'd bring her into the theater to watch sometimes, or bring her back to wait for Cherry. We had many conversations, and then after the show closed, I would see her often. I was always sorry that they split up (though I have zero dirt on why). I also loathe Sara Paulson, so I was very Team Mary when I heard. But again, I have no dirt, so I'm not putting the blame on anyone. Sometimes relationships just end.

Did Paulson cheat on Cherry with Cannavale when Cherry was traveling down to Tennessee to care for her dying parents? I remember reading that on DL heard ago.

I think we'd all forgive our partners for having one with Bobby Cannavale, whatever the circumstances. I demonstrates our shared humanity.

I used to summer in New York and stagedoor the Broadway shows and dialogue with the actors.

How very very, r493.

Have I told you about the time Chita lifted her leg in bed with me when it broke?

If you think Cherry Jones was nice to a young gay guy at the stage door for giving him a tour of the theatre, I deserve a freakin' medal

R486-It seems Heather has left the business, but Brian is doing a play in London right now.

Just two innocent little friends

Wait about a year when CBS Sunday Morning does a whole, messy sad story of how FG almost destroyed her career.

"I had to take many, many months off, and I ate and ate, and ballooned to 300 lbs., but my friends staged an intervention and I'm back on track. Oh, did I mention I'm going to do 6 weeks in "Chicago" for the Fran and Barry"?

My best: With two friends I saw Black Comedy in '67: Geraldine Page, Lynn Redgrave, Jordan Christopher, Michael Crawford, Donald Madden. We stagedoored, primarily for Page. We were told she wasn't coming out, but we talked our way in, saying we were theater students from Northwestern (true). Suddenly we were ushered in, where she sat in her dressing room in a gold full-length robe, and was a lovely host. She then invited us back the next two nights after the show, telling stories, gossiping (she did a wicked impersonation of Capote, having just done Christmas Memory), and asking us about the shows we had seen that night. She entertained each time until the phone rang and then she was off. It was Rip on the phone, and it was clear he was not to be kept waiting. Will never forget it.

I got programs signed backstage or at the stage door from:

Sandy Dennis

Shelley Winters

Kurt Kasznar

Edward Mulhare

Myrna Loy

Ricardo Montalban

Maggie Smith

Lily Tomlin

Ingrid Bergman

Jessica Tandy

Hume Cronyn

Anne Baxter

Alan Rickman

Lindsay Duncan

Julia Meade

I've never understood the appeal of getting autographs. So what do you do with all those signed Playbills? Do you frame all of them or are they just sitting in a box somewhere?

I was young, r502. I sold a few on eBay (because I needed the money) and a few were stolen. C'mon, you don't think an autograph from Ingrid Bergman is special? Or Dame Maggie?

Does tonsillitis affect muff diving?

[quote]C'mon, you don't think an autograph from Ingrid Bergman is special? Or Dame Maggie?

No I don't, but I guess I can at least understand the appeal even if I don't feel it.

I remember Julie Andrews was led from the stage door to her car after V/v. Smiled and waved but never signed and I don’t blame her. Many actors enjoy interacting with the audience afterwards but many are tired and want to go home. It shouldn’t be an obligation.

I have my signed playbills framed and hangin on the wall.

Sure people may make fun of me and call me a show-Queen, but they matter to me.

Oh, yes, Mary! I lived on Horatio Street in the far West Village throughout the 1990s and Mary and Cherry were my neighbors, often biking around. As were Billy Campbell & Jennifer Connelly and Mary Testa. And Larry Kert before he died. And Eddie Cibrian briefly, before his divorce, believe it or not. It was quite the block!

So glad you specified it was before he died that Larry Kert lived on your block. How else would we have known?

This is a very impressive and in-depth history of the creation of Fun Home.

I'd like to have a program signed by Beanie; it will be a rare collector's item in a few years.

When Feldstein was in Helly, Dolly!, she lost a noticeable amount of weight unintentionally (from the movement). She was upset when she got praise for it, and she wrote a well-remembered piece at Refinery 29 titled "Please stop complimenting me on my body!" A few years later, her brother expressed simple sentiments (about himself) on social media in a period when he was on the downside of his weight yoyo.

I haven't noticed any change in Feldstein's size this time around. Is the Funny Girl production less aerobically involved, or is it just that she's been in and out of it so much?

A stage door in a simpler time:

I have an infected toe - so I will miss about a dozen shows.... Beano F.

I broke both my legs this morning but I will be doing the matinee and evening performances later today....Ethel Merman

[quote]I used to summer in New York

Who summers in New York? Trash!

Evita did a pre-Broadway tour in the U.S. Definitely came to San Francisco (my parents saw Patti and Mandy--Mandy was getting the local attention) and I'm pretty sure Los Angeles. I'm pretty sure Patti wasn't in London, where Elaine Paige was the big new star.

Little Me

Better Little Me. (This is Fosse's original choreography for "Rich Kid's Rag," recreated for the 1984 London production by original Broadway cast member John Sharpe).

Between the wonderfully camp performances of Virginia Martin and Nancy Andrews, the inventive choreography of Bob Fosse that essentially had nothing to do with the plot, and the awful Sid Caesar schtick, LITTLE ME was a Broadway musical in search of an identity. Wonderful score though (except for Caesar's numbers).

"Except for Caesar's numbers," R519? You don't enjoy "Deep Down Inside" or "Goodbye" or "Real Live Girl"?

Or "Boom-Boom" or "I Love You"?

Ignore R519. The identity is early 60s variety show of a high order, satire, and arch camp. It's a delight. The Patrick Dennis book even more delightful.

The 1984 London production of Little Me went back to one actor in the Caesar roles, but used the 1982 score and Tony Walton set and costume design. In that version, "Don't Ask a Lady" replaced "The Truth," "Be a Performer" was cut, and "I Wanna Be Yours" was added to Act 2. Both song additions were delightful. TV comedian Russ Abbot in the Caesar roles was hilarious, and it seems to be the only production that was somewhat successful, running a year.

[quote]satire, and arch camp

And because of that, r522...no heart.

Heart is overrated.

Oh, but you gotta have it!

You can't get a long, long run without it, r525.

Do you want me to sic Jean Stapleton's rendition of the reprise of "Heart" from "Damn Yankees" on you?

R523, I've no information about previous productions or performances of "Little Me, but I really enjoyed myself watching the show when Encores! produced it years ago. It's the only time I've seen Christian Borle on stage and he was wonderful performing the many roles.

And Rachel York! A delight.

[quote]but I really enjoyed myself watching the show when Encores! produced it years ago

It doesn't mean it isn't an entertaining show/score, r529.

Oh, of course there's always an exception...i.e. CHICAGO.

I know this makes me younger than most DLers posting here but I stagedoored Hamlet and Booth was very nice. Hot ass too. Still have the playbill and my memories. Have to poopie now.

I thought the number at R518 was pretty cute and well executed. But I can see why it gets cut in some revivals.

Such wit, r532.

Well, it certainly ain't wisdom.

R469, Not the night I was walking by the Woman of the Year stage door and stopped to observe the rowdy crowd there.

Raquel finally exited wearing dark glasses, with then husband Andre Weinfeld following closely behind carrying a small dog.

They both headed right for their waiting limo, much to the disappointment of the waiting fans.

[quote] I thought the number at [R518] was pretty cute and well executed. But I can see why it gets cut in some revivals.

It's been included in all three Broadway productions, both London West End productions, Encores! and a 1992 Off-Broadway production . I can't speak for what happens elsewhere though.

Little Me rehearsal for Encores.

r516 Patti did not do Evita in London. A while after she left the Broadway company she did a short stint in Melbourne - a few weeks.

That picture of Christian Borle at R538 shows that he should avoid profile shots.

R507 I love that.

Christian Borle IS Andy Gump

I meant Patti in Sunset Boulevard way back in the thread. Not Evita of course. Friends in London told me she really grew in the role as the run went on. I was half asleep when I wrote that, promptly went to bed and now here I am groveling.

I thought Borle was lousy in LITTLE ME. Martin Short was much better in the first revival, but Faith Prince was a drag. Having her play both Belles was a mistake.

I love the OBC recording of LITTLE ME but I thought that Encores production, the only one I've ever seen, was dreadful on every level.

Who’s the entitled white girl whose parents set her up in New York and she created a lot of stage credits for herself, when she was really an untalented unknown?

Anyway, maybe Beanie’s comeback can be playing that gal in a one woman show?

[quote] Who’s the entitled white girl whose parents set her up in New York and she created a lot of stage credits for herself, when she was really an untalented unknown?

You expect us to remember just one?

I recall nearly every moment of the Faith Prince / Martin Short production 25 years ago.

I've erased every second of the Christian Borle / Encores staging of a mere 8 years ago.

Borle is not a star, despite the repeated failed attempts to make him one. Sadly, neither is Rachel York, a consummate professional who always delivers. She just does not have "it."

Did she have "it" in V/V, r548?

I saw the 84 London revival. Russ Abbott and Sheila White were both great, but Tudor Davies stole the show with 'I've Got Your Number'

R549 - As supporting, yep, she has "it". She doesn't quite shine in lead roles, despite doing everything perfectly. It was the same on the tour of Kiss Me, Kate. The Roger Bart Syndrome.

Speaking of Stage Door Johnnying, the only time I stage doored was for V/V. I simply HAD to get Julie Andrew's autograph. While we were waiting, Rachel York came out. My very young self gushed and I told her how much I loved her. She was extremely kind and took some time to talk to me. My naive self asked her the silly question of if she had ever done a show before. She laughed and mentioned a little show called Putting it Together.

Shortly afterwards, Dame Julie herself burst from the stage door on 45th and beelined directly into her waiting vehicle, hurriedly ignoring all us who had been waiting patiently. A man shut the car door and off it drove.

I'll always remember Rachel's graciousness against Julie's dismissiveness.

Some stage doorer has to shriek at Julie, “What is it, you cuntface!!”

I'm just not a Little Me fan....they took a hilarious book that centers on a fabulous female character and turned it into a musical vehicle for a male star to play the men in the fabulous female character's life.

If that doesn't define the misogyny of the entertainment business, I don't know what does.

It would be like rewriting Gypsy to have it center on Herbie.

Also: Sid Caesar was fucking annoying.

That was always my problem with "Little Me," R553. The book is truly hilarious, although a lot of the humor comes from "reading between the lines" and recognizing the tacky realities of Belle Poitrine's life vs. her version of the events. When her child is born, she emphasizes that it was very risky for her because "I was little more than a child myself. As the doctor said to me, 'At your age, this won't be easy.' "

But the concept for the musical was terrible to begin with, as you said. The men in Belle's life are mostly superfluous, so to make them the focus of the story, and then to have them all be played by the often insufferable Sid Caesar, was just asking for a flop.

There wouldn't be a male lead had they not done that, r 554 and the show needed a gimmick. The writers managed to find heart in Auntie Mame (no small thanks to Roz), but Little Me reads as pure satire.

How could anyone who loved the book LITTLE ME have ever have thought it should be a vehicle for a male star? As if Belle Poitrine wasn't a fabulous character in her own right?

When you hear the reason behind Beanie's extra-early departure, it'll make a little more sense. My guess is it will be announced sometime in August.

Was she driven into cutting, or something??

Actually, Cook tested three times for the film of The Music Man and was very much in the running for Marian. What happened was that after Jack Warner paid millions for the screen rights, everyone he offered the title part to -- Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, among others -- turned him down. When he realized that B list film star Preston was going to be his best bet, he turned to Jones without a screen test because he always wanted a big name star when he bought an expensive property. She had a string of hit musicals and an Oscar to her name as well as being pretty perfect in the role.

There’s something so inherently boring about Shirley Jones to me. But I guess for the 1950s she checked all the mainstream boxes.

More likely Beanie is leaving extra early to film a movie or a series.

Was Dani Dailey really big box-office? I mean he was talented and co-starred with Betty Grable, but Preston did have superb notices from Broadway and had played opposite folks like Barbara Stanwyck and other ladies in the movies. Glad Kelly turned it down -- he'd have made it into a love affair with himself and like Hugh Jackman, added dance everywhere where it wasn't needed. Sinatra I could kind of see actually though.

Dan Dailey, that is (in men's apparel).

LITTLE ME was meant as light Broadway entertainment, no more, no less. Made for the tired businessman and his wife. The material succeeds. A very funny Neil Simon book with a clever, memorable, classic Broadway score by legendary songwriters. A fun romp through showbiz delusion. It's a tour-de-force vehicle for a male comic actor. There is plenty in there for the female lead(s). One's personal contemporary dislike towards Sid Caesar is irrelevant, as are eye-rolling accusations of the show's purported misogyny. There's no pleasing some theater queens.

If Beanie is leaving to play Mary opposite Daniel Radcliffe in Merrily We Roll Along, the insanity is only beginning.

R560 Shirley Jones was/is the opposite of boring in real life. She sounds like a template for Samantha Jones in "Sex and the City" in a way.

She has Vaselinity, r566!

R565, Mary will be played by a Black trans quadriplegic. Catch up.

[quote]More likely Beanie is leaving extra early to film a movie or a series.

Just like Rachel Berry did, for that horrible TV show! Life imitates art!

I bet she's pregnant!

The film of Merrily has already shot the early scenes and is supposed to keep shooting at intervals over the next 30 years or so.

It's one of the stupidist things I've ever heard of.

I think the approach sounds great. I just hope no one in the cast dies before filming finishes.

Was there any word on if Blake Jenner was replaced after the abuse allegations, and by whom? I imagine they would have needed to reshot the scenes he'd already done.

[quote]I bet she's pregnant!

I wouldn't be surprised. BBW have their dedicated admirers!

The world will never see the completed MERRILY film. Mark my words.

[quote] I just hope no one in the cast dies before filming finishes.

Call me if there's a tragic accident or if one of the leads simply can't cut it!

r486, probably not that interesting, but Goldenhersh turned up in the Alienist miniseries (the second one, I think?) in 2019. I was surprised since I hadn't seen her in anything in so long. According to IMDB it was her first acting gig in quite some time. O'Byrne is keeping very busy with both stage and a lot of TV work.

r579, please, Lea. We all read the Daily Beast article. We know no one will need to call you. You'll be contacting all the producers to make your interest known before the body's cold.

Oops, that was for r577.

Speaking of the Daily Beast

Beanie being pregnant seems like an obvious reason/story, but I almost wish it was something insane, like that she was a January 6 participant.

Linklater loves ruminations on the passage of time, and he's had success with other projects done at intervals, the Before trilogy and Boyhood. But he will be 80 when this is supposed to wrap in 2040. That in itself is a lot to gamble on, before we even get into things that could happen to the cast members.

That Encores! "Little Me" with Borle and York

Ohhhh. I just heard from a dear friend of mine who's in San Francisco right now and as an activity while there just picked up tickets to see some production of Follies. Then I realized it has to be the Natascia Diaz one so I'll be curious to hear about it.

For absolutely no reason...

[quote]When you hear the reason behind Beanie's extra-early departure, it'll make a little more sense. My guess is it will be announced sometime in August.

This could be true, or there could be no basis to it whatsoever, but I heard from someone that Beanie was almost hit by a piece of scenery, and that experience understandably spooked her. So that may have been reason enough in her mind to leave the show earlier than planned.

Hee-hee, r587.

i heard chicken hawk Jane Lynch was Beanie's sole protector backstage... but when the baby dyke went ahead and announced her engagement to another woman, Mrs. Brice sneered, "You've made your bed - you're on your own."

Beanie is now terrified to be in the theater alone, out from under Big Mama Jane's wing. Hence the absences and early out. And "malfunctioning" scenery.

Bette Midler was knocked down when a set malfunctioned during Dolly and after a brief intermission she got back on stage and went on with the show. Beanie = amateur.

rOP you did great. Please set us up for the next thread.

I guess you don't use "r" with "OP"

R546 are you referring to noted thespian Melissa Beth Miller?

[quote]When you hear the reason behind Beanie's extra-early departure, it'll make a little more sense.

Someone played her a recording of the show?

I’d leave just because of that stupid curtain call.

Patti played Evita in Sydney as well as Melbourne. If she was tentative when it opened on Broadway I'd like to know why: she'd been at it for a while already.

Couldn't understand a word she sang.

All of this press for Funny Girl is huge for the producers, bad or good. They are getting billions of dollars of free publicity. The chaos has crossed over to mainstream media. That translates into tickets and money.

When all the press is about how terrible the show is and that a new star is coming in two months, that doesn't translate into tickets and money, moron.

Oh Bean/Benko Stan, take the loss and move on. Moron.

two name-callers ending this thread on a LOW. Assholes.

BAJOUR!

Poor r596. We condole your hearing defect. Advanced years doll?

R546, that sounds like a real hall of mirrors.

SUGAR!