My B--Jill Paice will star as I in REBECCA

[aasjb4ever]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 11:53am

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/162074/jill-paice-and-ryan-silverman-to-star-in-broadways-rebecca/

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:01pm

Sigh. I called this from the second Sierra Boggess departed the production.

Jill Paice is one of the most boring, lifeless, uninspired performers I've ever seen. How she continues to book work when she turns in such consistently poor performances is truly baffling.

[mallardo]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:01pm

I know there are those here who think Jill Paice is a bit on the bland side but after seeing her as a wonderful Scarlett O'Hara in the otherwise wretched Gone With The Wind in London a couple of years ago I'm completely sold on her as an actress and as a singer. Good luck to her.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:04pm

I thought she was quite delicious in "Curtains."

Good for her.

[ObiHave]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:05pm

There was nothing remotely exciting about her performance in Company.

[Overthewall]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:05pm

I much prefer Jill Paice to Sierra Boggess especially in this role!

Sierra is good and all but Jill's voice fits much better in this role.

Ryan Silverman is way too young for Maxim but whatever - I'm really getting excited for this show.

I'm really hoping for the best - I loved the Viennese and German productions.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:07pm

Jill Paice is your bitch?

[dreaming]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:12pm

"Jill Paice is one of the most boring, lifeless, uninspired performers I've ever seen. How she continues to book work when she turns in such consistently poor performances is truly baffling."

Amen! I am not impressed with her at all. (I've seen her in a few shows.) I guess she gets cast because others disagree. (Or it says more about the roles that she is up for than anything.)

I do like Ryan Silverman, though.

[philly03]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:16pm

Great selection - Jill is wonderful, and Ryan Silverman has a great voice.

I'm sure it helped that Jill looks a bit like Joan Fontaine as well. Jill is neither lifeless or uninspired on stage, but I would say she doesn't possess a necessarily immediate star presence - perfect for a role like this (a character whose name is never even given!), which is unlike Sierra who comes across as confident in most roles.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:20pm

Who the hell is Ryan Silverman???
I know, google is my friend.

I agree Paice has yet to impress me, but this role looks boring so maybe she's perfect for it.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:25pm

Yawn.

Could they have picked a more bland, boring performer?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:25pm

OK, he's got some cred, I was expecting a better known name.
"In Las Vegashe played Sky in MAMMA MIA."
Best typo of the day.

[mormonophobic]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:26pm

Jill Paice was in Company? How did I miss that? I happen to think she's a wonderful performer and enjoyed her both in Curtains and Death Takes a Holiday. It may not be a popular opinion, but I thought her Grazia Lamberti was breathtaking and she sounds sublime on the cast recording. That being said, I do wish she'd find something other than Rebecca.

[bobs3]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:28pm

Isn't Ryan Silverman a little young for the part of Maxim? In the book the character is at least 20 years older than "I". In the excellent BBC/Masterpiece Theatre production from 1997, a 50-year old Charles Dance played Maxim to Emilia Fox's 23-year old second Mrs. DeWinter (and Diana Rigg stole the movie as Mrs. Danvers).



Updated On: 6/20/12 at 12:28 PM

[philly03]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:32pm

I forget how old Wietske van Tongeren was when she originated "I" in Vienna, but she certainly read younger than Paice does.

Uwe Kröger was about 41 or 42 when he did it, I believe Maxim is supposed to be early '40s.

Silverman was also recently (or still is, not sure) Rauol in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. His done a couple of things regionally, as well as The Music in the Air at Encores! with Doug Sills and Sierra Boggess.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:37pm

I like Paice, but the ages seem all wrong here. She should be younger, he should be older.

[bobs3]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:49pm

On the other hand, Laurence Olivier was 33 when he played Maxim. They gave him a moustache and grayed his temples to make him look older.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:59pm

Yeah, but he was 10 years older than Fontaine. I don't know how old Silverman is, but is he even older than Paice? He doesn't look it.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:18pm

"Silverman was also recently (or still is, not sure) Rauol in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway"

He left a while ago. I'm a big fan of his so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:19pm

The character is kind of boring and mousy, at least in the Hitchcock film.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:42pm

Olivier was about 30 when he played Maxim, but of course he played him much older, and he was Olivier. I know nothing about Silverman but he strikes me as boyishly pretty, extraordinarily so, as opposed to maturely handsome. But if he can act the role, he can act the role, so who knows?

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:46pm

The character is kind of boring and mousy, at least in the Hitchcock film.

^ Exactly.

Are any of you who complain about Jill being boring, mousy, or lifeless familiar with the character of "I?" It sure doesn't sound like it.

There is a reason why she has no name in the story. She has no identity of her own. She is overwhelmed by the presence of Rebecca, the larger-than-life-even-in-death first wife.

You should watch all the screen tests on the Criterion DVD, and you'll understand exactly why Fontaine got the part and why it wouldn't have worked with a stronger personality at all. So many first-rate actresses tested for it, and all of them were "too much" for it.

I think this is terrific casting.

Now if the show were only better ...

Updated On: 6/20/12 at 01:46 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:53pm

I'm sorry I missed Uwe and Wietske.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:57pm

It has to be believable that Mrs. Danvers would intimidate her and mess with her mind. If "I" was a big, bold character, then why would she let that B of a housekeeper mess with her head?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 2:12pm

There's a difference between BEING boring and Acting boring.