Eliza? - My Fair Lady Revival 2018- Page 4

[Valentina3]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 3:28pm

henrikegerman said: "CurtainPullDowner said: "Sher cast Ann Sanders, who is Asian as an Anna understudy in THE KING AND I and she went on several times (I saw her and she was wonderful.)  You don't get more colorblind casting than an Asian Anna."

Point taken. However, in actual fact Anna Leonowens was a biracial Eurasian.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/books/review/Price-t.html "

This article is all sorts of blasphemous for a The King & I lover, haha (and I don't claim to be one). The Anna we know from the show is far from a "gifted con woman". I guess that's a little subjective. The woman sounds like someone who did what she had to do to survive in what I'm sure was a difficult environment for a widow born in Bombay, India.

[JennH]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 5:38pm

Christy...seriously? Love her, but along with Osnes and Sierra, doesn't have the robust soprano needed NOR the comic edge. All three of these ladies are still "perfect princess" types with no edge or quirk. ELIZA NEEDS QUIRK.

I still say Manna. She's got both.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 7:42pm

Soo's got quirk. Just saying

[froote]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 7:48pm

I find it odd that people are so eager to write off certain actors because they don't have the qualities for Eliza when they haven't been given the roles to show those qualities yet. This doesn't apply to every performer here (I feel like we've seen most of what Osnes can do), but some of these people mentioned have only had 2 or 3 major parts and most leading female soprano roles aren't quirky and super comedic like Eliza.

[sondmon]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 7:48pm

hope benanti gets it. its criminal that shes only had one leading role on broadway.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 9:49pm

Bartlett Sher and Laura Benanti have both been busy on Broadway for over ten years. Have their paths ever crossed. I was just wondering if their personalities are at odds enough to prevent her likely employment by him.

One of Sher's best friends, Kelli O'Hara, appears to share little with Laura, as you might expect of a girl raised an Irish-Catholic on an isolated farm in Oklahoma and a Broadway baby born the daughter of two theater people in Manhattan.

Laura was not present at the New York Pop gala honoring (like they really needed more honoring) Sher and O'Hara. A lot of the usual suspect turned out: Laura Osnes, Ruthie Ann, Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn.

Perhaps I'm mistaken and they are great friends.

I just finished reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes and I'm practicing my deductions.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 9:58pm

^She was incredible in Women on the Verge, which I am 99.9999% sure that Sher directed.  She may have been absent from that event due to the birth of her baby.

[sondmon]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 10:00pm

yes sher directed women on the verge so yes there paths have crossed.

[laural]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 10:01pm

He directed Laura in Women on the Verge. Laura also has a newborn at home, I wouldn't read too much into her not being at the Gala.

[jdln1973]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 11:45pm

Kind of surprised not to see Betsy Wolfe mentioned in these posts... voice... check! Comedic talent... check! Looks... check! 

 

[sparepart973]

Posted: 6/21/17 at 1:06am

I'd love Denee Benton as Eliza. She's instantly likable, and her voice is gorgeous. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/21/17 at 1:49am

GeorgeandDot said: "^She was incredible in Women on the Verge, which I am 99.9999% sure that Sher directed.  She may have been absent from that event due to the birth of her baby."

Of course, the baby. Good thing Watson wasn't here to see this poor performance.

 

[Adelaidely]

Posted: 6/22/17 at 12:50pm

I saw Laura Osnes as Julie Jordan in Carousel in Chicago, and I was actually struck by how much lightness and even humor she found in a role that usually has none. I would like to see what she could do with Eliza. I'm not sure she's my #1 choice, but I'm open to the idea.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/22/17 at 1:26pm

jdln1973 said: "Kind of surprised not to see Betsy Wolfe mentioned in these posts... voice... check! Comedic talent... check! Looks... check! 

Love her but she's 35, so slightly better than some other suggestions but I think she's aged out of the part. I don't think her voice is right for either the cockney, shouty songs or the legit soprano songs. And part of what makes her so good in the roles she's played is an unflappable, sunny optimism. Eliza is a dreamer and a hard worker and also prone to petulance and pique and temper. She's not a character who's assured of her place in the world or that she'll get what she wants. Betsy would have made a better Sally Bowles. 

 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/22/17 at 1:48pm

I just hope that whomever is cast isn't young enough to be Higgens daughter. If she has to be 20 or whatever, he should not be played by a man in his 50s. 

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/22/17 at 2:42pm

Scarlett Strallen

[Valentina3]

Posted: 6/22/17 at 2:46pm

CurtainPullDowner said: "Scarlett Strallen"

I saw her in Gentlemen's Guide and she really brought the whole show down for me. It might be the fault of the designers who gave her hideous dresses, especially after the glorious costumes which Lisa O'Hare was in. But I think it was her overenthusiastic, non-subtle, desperate take on Sibella which threw away of her predecessor's hard work to dust.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 4:30am

Scarlett Strallen was outstanding in The New Yorkers.  I'd like to see more of her.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 7:30am

She might be a bit too old for the role, but Scarlett Strallen is a brilliant actress and singer: her performance as Amalia in She Loves Me put Laura Benanti to shame, at least vocally

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 1:17pm

VintageSnarker said: "jdln1973 said: "Kind of surprised not to see Betsy Wolfe mentioned in these posts... voice... check! Comedic talent... check! Looks... check! 

Love her but she's 35, so slightly better than some other suggestions but I think she's aged out of the part. "

 

Audrey Hepburn was 35 when she played the role on film, Shaw wrote the part for Mrs Patrick Campbell, who was 49 when she originated the role in Pygmallion. I don't think either her or Ms. Benanti have aged out of the part.

 

[froote]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 1:20pm

As I've said before, Audrey was very doe eyed and could pass for late 20s at that point. Benanti in particular has always been mature looking. Even when she was 19 she could have passed for 10 years or so older. Not saying she's wrinkled or anything, she just has very sharp and angular features, no element of baby face at all.

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 9:31pm

Demitri2 said: "Benanti is five years younger than Kelli O'Hara who has been mentioned for the role quite often. And Audrey Hepburn was in her mid thirties when she did the film. On stage Benanti would look just fine.  

 

Tiny correction: Kelli"s three years older then Benanti. Kelli"s 41 and Benanti"s almost 38.

 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/23/17 at 9:41pm

GeorgeandDot said: "If you cast someone in their late fifties or early sixties as Higgins, Laura Benanti would look just fine alongside them. And yes, Kelli O'Hara played the part when she was around forty and was just fine.  And she looked forty in the part too, a beautiful and youthful forty, but still forty. Eliza is an extremely difficult part that requires a crystal clear classical voice and lots of personality.  I have said this before and I stand by it, that while Pippa is an amazing actress and an amazing singer, her voice is not quite right for Eliza.  She has a bit of a pop-y tone to her voice that causes her upper register to have a nasally quality  (again not a bad thing when singing scores like The Great Comet, Hamilton, or even A Little Night Music, which she did at Juilliard) that won't sound extremely pleasant on Eliza.  If you want to hear what casting someone with a pop-y voice in that role sounds like, check out the London revival cast album and you will hear why it doesn't work.  The role of Eliza will take quite a strain on Soo's voice.  Also, I have seen her in basically everything that she's done in NY and she's always very poised.  I think she'd be great as Eliza post-transformation, but I don't think she'd be very good as the flower girl.  Who knows, maybe she will be cast and surprise me, but I would just like to see a stronger, funnier presence with a more classical voice on stage.  Laura Benanti may seem too old on paper, but she really is the funniest and most beautiful woman on Broadway.  It would be a shame to see MFL pass by without casting Benanti before she is just completely aged out of the part."

Tiny  Age Correction:  Kelli was almost 31 when she played the role, not 40. She"s 41 now. 

Glad to see someone else favors a classical sound with this role, because it is required of course, which we agree on too. I"m rooting for O"Hara of course, but Benanti would be fine. Worsham I think would be a great choice and a fantastic opportunity for her to become more well known. 

 

 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/24/17 at 12:00am

GeorgeandDot said: "poisonivy2 said: "I know it seems weird on the surface but Sara Bareilles? When I saw her as Jenna she really impressed me with her earthy sense of humor and also her consistent Southern accent. She also is one of those women who has the ability to look either girl-next-door or stunningly beautiful.  

Classical soprano.....?????

 



 

 

"

 

[FlySkyHigh]

Posted: 6/24/17 at 11:19am

How about Adrienne Warren? Her performance in Shuffle Along proves she has the range and versatility.