BJ Crosby, Tony-nominated actress, dies at 63

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:37pm

She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1995 for Smokey Joes Cafe. RIP!

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[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:40pm

Heartbreaking. She was extraordinary.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:42pm

Oh no....that's so sad.

[Tag]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 9:30pm

Such a loss. She'd been unwell since her stroke in 2008.

Harvey Fierstein said on Twitter that he'll treasure their time on Hairspray. Can anyone expand on when she was in Hairspray/what production. It's not Google-able.

BJ Crosby, a powerhouse of a talent & wonderful friend is gone. I treasure our time on HAIRSPRAY: https://t.co/hN63nCeJ4f via @YouTube

— Harvey Fierstein (@HarveyFierstein) March 28, 2015

Updated On: 3/27/15 at 09:30 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:43pm

This is so sad- my high school staged Smokey Joe's the year I graduated, and we were obsessed with her rendition of Fools Fall in Love. She was a mega-talent, and it's a shame she's gone so soon.

[Up In One]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:45pm

Great raw talent. When was she involved with Hairspray.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 12:36am

I was wondering that also. Maybe she did a workshop of the show?

In addition to Smokey Joe's, didn't she also do a stint in Chicago?

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 9:14am

She was amazing. She sang "Fools Fall In Love" in the first act, and was extraordinary. And then, in the second act, topped it with an alternate version of the same song. I always suspected that when they were putting the show together they had her try two different ways, and didn't want to sacrifice either of her incredible interpretations. A great loss ...

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 10:39am

adamgreer, yes she did a stint as Matron Mama Morton.

What a loss. She was so talented.

RIP

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/28/15 at 1:09pm

I love her rendition of "Saved" from Smokey Joe's Cafe as well. They used that song to close out the first act and it's one of my favorite parts on the DVD. I'll usually put it on when I'm feeling down and the music and the performances always cheer me up. BJ is a big part of that. She was so great in that show.

Posted: 3/28/15 at 5:34pm

Did anyone ever see her as Effie in Dreamgirls?

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 12:43am

her family is raising money for her funeral costs. The page says she died yesterday afternoon from complications of diabetes and the stroke she had a few years ago
http://www.gofundme.com/q4af6s

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[Tag]

Posted: 3/29/15 at 12:55am

Oy, that's so sad.

[Tag]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 2:47pm

Bumping this because they're close to their Go Fund Me goal.  Some big Broadway names have contributed.

And still hoping someone can shed some light on the Hairspray connection.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/6/15 at 7:39pm

Wonderful to see that both Broadway Cares and Jujamcyn Theaters have made significant donations. 

[morosco]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 1:06am

Did anyone ever see her as Effie in Dreamgirls?

I did.  I remember her as reading too old in the role.  I saw it in 1998 when it played the Kennedy Center and there was a lot of drama going on.  She had taken over for Roz White who had been abruptly fired.  It seemed like she hadn't had a great deal of rehearsal.  Tony Stevens was the director of that production (which only used some of Michael Bennett's original staging) and had since left the show to do another production of Dreamgirls in Germany when BJ was rushed in.  The producers then quickly brought in Robert Clayter (a cast member of the original production) to serve as director and was asked by the producers to return the show to Michael Bennett's original staging.  I saw 2 performances and they were some changes made in the staging from one performance to the next.  One change I remember at one performance was when she sang "I'm Telling You...".  In the latter verses of the song Crosby passionately shoved all of the props off of the makeup table used in the scene and they fell all over the stage.  Looked kind of silly when The Dreams came out to close the number and they had to navigate around scattered makeup brushes and tissue boxes.  The production was advertised as being "prior to Broadway" but the whole production was lackluster and eventually went nowhere.

 

 

Posted: 4/7/15 at 7:47am

Ah, thanks Morosco!

 

[Kev]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 12:00pm

Did anyone ever see her as Effie in Dreamgirls?

I did, as well; it was when Crosby first joined the tour as "Effie," so I'd venture to guess she was still navigating her way around the role.  She came across as stiff & too old but, she sang the score effortlessly.  What a powerhouse vocalist.       

As mentioned, the tour was supposedly headed to Broadway…but I wasn't surprised when those plans were scrapped.  The production design and overall energy were lackluster.

However, there were two incredibly fabulous standout performances provided by Kevin-Anthony as "Jimmy" and Tonya Dixon as "Lorrell."  

 

 

[JRybka]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 4:18pm

That is so interesting you say that. 

I actually saw Roz White as Effie in the tour when she was in Hershey, PA.  It was horrific.  I thought I was going to cry. For the first time ever I actually was glad to see Effie be kicked out of the Dreams.  The VERY NEXT DAY... she was fired and they brought in BJ.  I was so angry having seen her in SJC and Chicago. I heard that after she got her footing she was amazing. 

[Tag]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 4:36pm

Funeral plans set for B.J. Crosby

[NY10024]

Posted: 4/7/15 at 7:38pm

JRybka--I also saw the tour at Hershey Theatre, and thought I remembered seeing Crosby. After reading your post, I dug out my Playbill from the show, and it still has the full-page insert with B.J. Crosby's bio and headshot. So, I must've seen one of her first performances, if not the very first. I never knew that!