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Did anyone see Bette Davis on Broadway?

green waver
Chorus Member
joined:11/3/16
Chorus Member
joined:
11/3/16
Did anyone see Bette Davis on Broadway? #25
Posted: 2/25/17 at 9:19am

Jordan Catalano said: "After Eight's grand daughter was in Bette Davis' 3rd grade school play with her so he saw that a couple of times. According to historical archives, he absolutely hated it."

Funny, Jordan. Maybe you and After Eight could remake Whatever Happened To Baby Jane!

Roland von Berlin
Swing
joined:7/6/16
Swing
joined:
7/6/16
Did anyone see Bette Davis on Broadway? #26
Posted: 2/26/17 at 6:09am

I, too, saw Davis in The Night of the Iguana. As I remember it, Davis didn't have that much to work with, while Leighton's role really took off (in a subtle and magical way, albeit) in Act Two. All the wonderful Tennessee Williams poetry is written for the Leighton and O'Neal characters. Even the old Nonno is more interesting than Davis' part.

I can see that Ava Gardner, through sheer life-loving charisma, got more out of Davis' role in the film version. Also, it may have been rewritten to give her more to do. Doesn't she have a sexy swimming scene with Richard Burton?

I don't think the play was appreciated sufficiently when it was new, because there were so many interesting plays and musicals going up then. But in the end, whatever her part was like, Bette Davis did create a storm, as she always did. Difficult, but worth it.

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Demitri2
Broadway Star
joined:3/25/05
Broadway Star
joined:
3/25/05
Did anyone see Bette Davis on Broadway? #27
Posted: 2/26/17 at 12:43pm

Thanks for the wonderful Opera News article link CarolineOrChange21 as well as your post and pictures from MISS MOFFIT. Much appreciated.


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