THEATRE GOSSIP #599: June Squibb - so young!

Continued from prior thread:

"Match Game" only uses the BIGGEST stars.

Brava, Miss Squibb!

I pray to God that there isn’t a strike as I have tickets to 4 shows in late November

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1983, “La Cage aux Folles” opened at the Palace Theatre.

Gene Barry never got enough praise for his La Cage performance because hammy George Hearn got all of the attention and awards. Barry was dashing, warm and very sexy as Georges. Yes, the original cast two straight men in the leads and there was little affection between them but you believed there was love there and they were a family. The two Broadway revivals were messy.

Speaking of which, what's Daniel Davis doing these days? Elsbeth?

I can't stand Cynthia Nixon and that fat little ginger boy she's married to.

[quote]Barry was dashing, warm and very sexy as Georges.

Yes, he was.

I'm hearing conflicting things - is this LCT revival of Ragtime going to be more of a concert, as it was at Encores? Or will it be a full production with real sets?

R9 R6 also according to Harvey Fierstein and his memoir, Gene refused to ride a crowded elevator with the gay actors in La Cage for fear of catching AIDS. So no doubt he would appreciate your warm words, but would prefer you say them from afar and not too close!

Why hasn't Jesse Williams, who made such a HUUUUUUGE impression in the Take Me Out revival, not been on Broadway since? Or anything of note?

r4 - what potential strike are we talking about here?

R12 - Jesse Williams' incredible piece lives rent-free in my mind. I mean, the DICTIONARY definition of pendulous. And when that thick stream of water started streaming off of it? FORGET IT. Instantly should've won a Tony.

R11. That's very disappointing but he still gave a lovely performance. PS he also mentioned his wife about ten times in his bio but things were different back then and he was afraid of being labeled gay. I mean fucking Rock Hudson turned down the part because he was afraid of people thinking he was gay and he was!

"I got naked for this?!"

I'd MUCH rather reminisce about Jesse Williams than Nicole & Audra. Broadway is a small community... did anyone here work on Take Me Out? It's absolutely wild to me that Jesse had (obviously, visibly) fluffed right before his shower scene. I mean, I get it, if I were that incredibly gifted and blessed, I'd give the people a show, too. I forget where that scene flows in the sequence of events in the play. Would he have time to go into a dressing room to prep or was he just in the wings getting primed?? That backstage crew... so blessed!

Live theater, baby!

R13 the last thread ended with an Equity March led by Brooke shields, talking about how they are fighting already with negotiations in September.

Sag went on strike, as did WGA years ago.

Beanie!? Is this where I can find my dear, unappreciated Beanie?

[quote]Ramin Karimloo is singing with Laura Osnes.

Did they drum her right out of the rodeo?

She was singing at some dinner theater in Nashville last I heard of her.

Marjorie Prime already available on Today Tix.

Is June Squibb the oldest person to perform on Broadway in a leading role?

Anything for Holland?

Broadway can’t afford a strike. They’ve barely made it out of Covid alive. It would be incredibly stupid for any of the unions to strike right now for an extra fifty bucks a week deposited into their shitty pension schemes.

Beanie was in this production of SPELLING BEE when it played at the Kennedy Center. If it had transferred to Broadway and she had come with it, that might have been a smart way to ease herself back into the Broadway community, in a featured role in an ensemble piece. But of course the show is actually coming to Off-Broadway, so maybe Beanie thought that would have been perceived as too much of a come-down from the starring role in FUNNY GIRL on Broadway, no matter how that turned out.

R26. Pension fund. It’s a FUND.

Fierstein in his memoir also said that Laurents felt the show could only work if both La Cage leads are gay. Harvey disagreed, until one of the subsequent productions boasted a gay duo.

R27, she was also terrible.

[quote]Fierstein in his memoir also said that Laurents felt the show could only work if both La Cage leads are gay.

So, does that mean Laurents felt the original Broadway production didn't work? What a nasty, sour SOB he was.

He was a mean fuck!

In this case, only a metaphor. $10 says he was lousy in the sack.

Oh, that whiny little girl in that last thread railing on Billy Porter's slip up just made me howl with laughter. God this generation needs to get its shit together. Their continued outrage over silly things is mind-boggling. And she's a "theatre historian" too!

[quote]Did they drum her right out of the rodeo?

Be nice, it was her first time there, fellas.

Touché

Beanie is about to make a big comeback. She plays a major part in the new season of Only Murders in the Building. And she's in the upcoming Meet the Parents movie next Thanksgiving playing Ben Stiller's daughter(originally played by Barbra Streisand). Plus, she's in the upcoming Merrily We Roll Along movie.

I was alway big! It’s the parts that got small.

Ben Stiller's daughter(originally played by Barbra Streisand)…

I’d pay extra for THAT!

Upcoming “Merrily We Roll Along” movie??? The one that will be released in 2035?

Clearly, someone discovered ChatGPT.

Hedda?

Wtf?

I know this is a crazy longshot, but does anyone know anything about a bootleg version of Izzy?

I would at least like to read it.

It’s just for Jean.

R36, I always thought this was the type of career Beanie was meant to have. I can understand why she wanted to be a leading lady especially if she admired the show or the movie since she was a kid, but it just wasn’t the right fit and the producers should’ve stopped it before it happened.

Those couple of years after Covid were wild.

So, that’s the wild lez take on Hedda I’ve been seeing on Oscar prediction lists.

I don’t know if that’s going to work, but it looks entertaining.

Lainie doing operetta???

Linklater's Merrily is set for 2040. Deadline interview confirms it.

[quote] Pension fund. It’s a FUND.

You call it whatever you want, honey.

Only Murders is well past its peak R36, Meet the Parents may or may not be successful - but it certainly won’t have anything to to do with her, and Merrily won’t be seen for another fifteen years (literally 2040) and that’s IF Linklater (who has never directed a musical or theater production in his life) survives.

I hope for her sake, June isn’t playing Cynthia’s lover.

That appears to be a career-killer, no matter how amazing, talented and desired you are as a performer (note I did not say [bold]actress[/bold]).

R47 pray tell—what was this peak?!

[quote]Those couple of years after Covid were wild.

Thank all the gods it's gotten saner since?

[quote] I was alway big!

So big, you must have sat on the s.

Beanie on Match Game is the career she would have had if she'd been a 'star' in the 1960s...modest entertainment world success with some supporting work in film and a star turn on B'way (that didn't lead to much) followed by a career as a game show regular with an occassional guest spot on episodic tv. Oh, and dinner theater work in things like "6 rms rvr vue".

It still boggles my mind that Michael Mayer and Sonia Friedman cast Beanie in Funny Girl after hearing her sing the score. Or even more mind-boggling -they hired her without hearing her sing the score.

[quote]Pension fund. It’s a FUND.

R28 - I assume R26 is British. They use the term "scheme" differently than us. In the U.S. "scheme" has all kinds of negative connotations, but, for whatever reason, the British use it as an innocuous term to describe a lot of government, union or organizational plans/programs. Like they might refer to social security in the U.S. as a "scheme", but there's no negative connotation.

Again, that's assuming R26 is British. I, too, found the usage a bit jarring at first when I lived in England.

Good for Beanie. I've always found her funny and charming in film and TV roles. Funny Girl was as massive a blunder as imaginable, but she deserves to move on from it. But, I agree with others, she's not a musical theatre leading lady.

r54 Reminds me of another thread where a British (presumably) poster used the word "graft," which in Britspeak is a verb synonymous with "work." But in the US, of course, it's a noun with a decidely less favorable connoation.

Beanie is a modern-day Peggy Cass.

I haven't heard this much about Beanie in years.

I have. The half life of her grating performance in Hello, Dolly is more than ten years.

Beanie should go on tour with Plattypants.

I saw “Purpose” tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. As good as Kara Young is, I was really impressed by LaTanya’s replacement Brenda Pressley. The cast clicked on all cylinders. A much better show than Appropriate.

R54–no shit. I was mocking that very fact.

R61 - interesting. LaTanya was the one weak link in that otherwise fabulous cast. At the least the night I saw the show back in June. She gave a respectable but surprisingly stiff performance. I almost felt like she was a new actor dropped into the cast for a rehearsal.

I kind of didn't love all of the lead character's asides to the audience. Show don't tell, right? I think Appropriate is a better play overall, but, Purpose was still thoroughly entertaining and engaging. And, damn, that Kara Young lives up to the hype. Was my first time seeing her. Fabulous actress. As was the actress in the smaller (but incredibly fiery) role of the sister in law.

r62 - uh huh. Just take the "L" and move on.

[quote]I always thought this was the type of career Beanie was meant to have. I can understand why she wanted to be a leading lady especially if she admired the show or the movie since she was a kid, but it just wasn’t the right fit

In so many ways.

lol take what L? No one cares.

The following quote is by R158 from the previous thread, but I've been MIA for the past week, so bear with me:

[quote]Don’t know why my post didn’t go through above, but that link shows that Sunset lost 6 mil, and Cabaret will lose 25 mil, surprising no one. UK producers need to stop bringing their shitty mid revivals here. Countdown to no one going to see the hated Rachel Zegler in that Evita she is currently faking her way through in head voice.

OMG I recently came upon a bootleg of "A New Argentina" on YouTube and it looks atrocious! The staging, choreography, costumes, etc. is just terrible all around. Like, WTF am I even watching? This EVITA will definitely flop if it transfers to Broadway.

Also, why is Peron so young? He was 48 and she was 24 when they met; 57 and 33, respectively, when she died. Were they afraid to cast an age-appropriate actor?

R67. I saw that clip. Eva looks like she's teaching a spin class in her sports bra and bike shorts.

Beanie is an average talent with incredible show business connections. I will never forget seeing her cuddle and "rock" Ben Platt in her lap like a baby during the rehearsals for the COVID Tonys -- 2021? It was so bizarre, and went on for like 10 minutes.

I saw a High School production of EVITA that used those same hand-waving flags at the end of Act 1. Only their choreography was better.

Stepinac High School

Just the idea that any high school, much less a Catholic school in White Plains (!), would pick Evita as a school musical fills me with laughter, dread and incredulity.

God bless suburbia!.

Incidentally, I really enjoyed this EVITA production from this Pennsylvania high school.

I came across it 5 years ago during Covid lockdown, when it showed up on my YouTube recommended.

I thought "What the hell?" because I was desperate for something to watch and was surprisingly impressed.

You surprise easily.

My school’s senior Fall play was…M*A*S*H, a PG-13 version of the film script. On a lark I tried out, and was cast as Col. Blake. They spent days picking the fishing lures for my bucket hat!—oh, we had a bomb threat on opening night. And an itching powder “incident” on the third night.

R 67. sure, it will flop! LOL.

A friend of mine is up for Beanie’s body double in Meet the Parents 4 aka Focker-in-Law. She apparently has to be proficient riding a bike for certain bits shooting on Long Island over several days next month. Let the snark about Beanie’s inability to ride a bike commence.

I saw the Arena Stage production of Sweet Bird of Youth with Liz Ashley and Michael Hayden when I was a gayling. Hayden was out and his understudy went on, and he appeared nude in one of the scenes with Ashley. The understudy had a lovely dick and a great ass but to this day I wonder what I missed. Don't recall the actor's name but I guess I thought enough of his cock to take a picture of his headshot from the lobby. Just found it. Ah, youth.

Dolls I just saw Grease at the Carnegie in Cincinnati and Paige Davis (of Trading Spaces) was Miss Lynch.

This was the best sung version of the show I have ever seen.

There was a lot of talent on that stage.

For those of us who live in the middle of nowhere, good theatre exists, you just have to look for it!

Alright, already--so call a policeman! Alright already, it's true; so nu?

You really just take any headline at face value don’t you?

I love this. Dutch musical theater star Vajen Van Den Bosch singing “Let It Go” with a child violinist prodigy at an outdoor concert in Amsterdam today.

R80 Well, she just ended any and all chances of having a professional theater career.

Maybe she can tour with our beloved Sara Porkalob?

[quote]A friend of mine is up for Beanie’s body double

PLEASE tell me there will be no Beanie nude scenes!

Ciara Renee is a nightmare to work with, and everyone knows it. She gets bounced from everything. She was bounced from that 2 hander lesbian musical that started in San Diego and played at MCC.

Beanie Feldstein’s body double might be the worst job in America.

It’s not really the job you want to be in the running for.

RE: Ciara Renee, if I'm not mistaken, if the prior production was under a certain type of contract (someone here will have to confirm), Equity cast members have to either be given an offer to transfer or receive some minimal type of compensation (something pretty moderate... obviously no where near the ridiculous amount she's suing for.) Even if that IS the case and she's technically in the right here, she should have tried to handle it quietly. I agree with others... she's only confirming what is apparently her difficult reputation and almost guaranteeing no one will want to hire her again. So shortsighted. But some people can't get out of their own way. She's like the Monique of the theatre, I guess.

Yeah, the non-balcony costumes we've seen from the London Evita are... atrocious. But, have to say, Zegler sounds fucking sensational as far as her vocal performance goes. I liked her in the West Side Story film, but had no idea she had that much power.

[quote]Well, she just ended any and all chances of having a professional theater career. Maybe she can tour with our beloved Sara Porkalob?

Or do "Side Show" with Laura Osnes.

R89. Zegler is indeed astonishing in Evita and so is Diego Andrés Rodríguez as Che. Truly two incredible performances.

Ciara Renee needs to hire Patti Lupone's attorney from 1994-95. Maybe she can get a swimming pool, too.

Didn't Ciara Renee play Esmeralda opposite Michael Arden in that Disney HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME that also played Paper Mill but never found its way to Broadway?

Anybody see that/her?

[quote] Maybe she can tour with our beloved Sara Porkalob?

Excuse me, I should be the STAR of the Unemployable Difficult Bitches tour!

I think Karen Olivo is in a different category than those two. Sure, lacking in self awareness and perhaps a pain in the ass, but also undeniable star quality and talent.

R95 that should be KO’s bio in their next playbill!

God, I had forgotten all about Karen Olivo. And was happy for it. May the cunt who brought her back to consciousness never know a satisfying bowel movement.

R87, if there’s running involved, they don’t stand a chance to be considered as Beanie’s body double.

R97 💩

R95 see also:

Betty Buckley

Patti LuPone

Lauren Bacall

Elaine Stritch

Carol Burnett would have made a great Mama Rose.

Vicki Lawrence playing Mama Rose as 'Mother Harper' would be even better!

If Audra MacDonald can play Mama Rose as 'Moms Mabley' - why not Mother Harper ?

Or even better - Harvey Korman playing Mama Rose as Mother Marcus!

So many interpretations...

So would have Debbie.

R102, your racism is showing. And fuck you for it.

R103. Well, Debbie was announced for Gypsy in LA but it never happened. Too bad. As for Carol Burnett, I remember when the Tyne Daly revival opened they were toying with the idea of bringing in big names like Carol and Bernadette Peters to replace her for very limited runs but it was probably just talk

I remember when Liza was saying that Arthur Laurents wanted her to replace Daly in 'Gypsy' but then they went with Linda Lavin. Laurents insisted Minnelli was never even thought of for the role.

R105 - really? Bernadette was being considered for Gypsy in 1990? I guess she WAS in her early 40s then. She was definitely much better suited for it in her 50s.