I'd love to see a new Little Night Music in any medium in any capacity! One of my favorite musicals. It's (a mysterious) something to look forward to, I guess!
Jeffrey Karasarides said: "If it's a Broadway revival, could Lincoln Center Theater be considering it with Bartlett Sher at the helm starring Kelli O'Hara?"
Just the thought of this makes me giddy and filled with joy.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
I gotta be honest, I loooove Kelli, but it would be a waste of her voice. Desiree is practically a non-singing role aside from Send in the Clowns. I still want to see Jane Krakowski and Michael Cerveris lead a production.
I have honestly been waiting for a new (*good*) production to come along for a long time.
They're doing it in Stratford, Ontario this year. I have a ticket to see it in September so I will report back! They did bring their JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR to Broadway (best not to dwell on it) so a Broadway transfer for this one wouldn't be unprecedented.
It's got a great cast with some of our Stratford favorites. Cynthia Dale is a wonderful actress and we also love Ben Carlson and Juan Chioran.
I don't know if I see O'Hara as an ideal Desiree- I think the songs don't really land as well as they should with someone who can really sing. Send in the Clowns, in particular, is much more effective when it's more spoken than sung.
I do love the idea of Sher giving this show the sumptuous production it deserves.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
O'Hara strikes me as more of a Charlotte. Plus, one of the allures of Desiree is the fact it gives great, brilliant actresses who would otherwise never be in a musical the chance to play a Sondheim role. I still long for the Gwyneth Paltrow and Blythe Danner pairing that never came together last time.
But yes, very curious about what Sondheim is talking about. Perhaps another concert stint at NY Philharmonic? A movie would be fabulous.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I doubt she would even consider doing it, but Julie Andrews would make a stunning Madame A. I really don't know what kind of shape her voice is in anymore, but it's a pretty low and basic vocal part.
Her with someone like Cate Blanchett or Kate Winslet would be incredible.
Seems too soon for Broadway again. I predict it's a London/Chichester revival with Imelda Staunton as Desiree. They've been justifiably infatuated with each other over the past few years, what with Sweeney Todd and Gypsy, and of course Staunton played the Baker's Wife in the original London production of Into the Woods back in the day. If my guess is correct, it would be a nice bit of symmetry to have Judi Dench play Madame Armfeldt.
I enjoy O'Hara and maybe I'm bias, but the only thing that I could see (on Broadway) as a worthy follow up to the last revival (CZJ; Angela Lansbury; Elaine Stritch; Bernadette Peters!!!) is if it was lead by Cate Blanchett or Kate Winslet. THAT would be an event.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Winslet's never going to happen. She's said she won't do theater until her children are grown up because she can't afford to miss their bedtimes... and her youngest was just born in 2013.
Winslet was in serious discussions about the role the last go round, per one of this board's actual insiders. I wonder what would make her change her mind this time?
M.O.A.I. said: "Seems too soon for Broadway again. I predict it's a London/Chichester revival with Imelda Staunton as Desiree. They've been justifiably infatuated with each other over the past few years, what with Sweeney Todd and Gypsy, and of course Staunton played the Baker's Wife in the original London production of Into the Woods back in the day. If my guess is correct, it would be a nice bit of symmetry to have Judi Dench play Madame Armfeldt.
"
Imelda also played Petra in Nottingham, many years ago. She could have been an excellent Charlotte, but I can't see her as Desirée tbh
Agreed. Imelda Staunton is fabulous and a wonderful actress, but nothing about her gives off the sophisticated and glamorous air that's necessary to be successful as Desiree.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
^^^ Not to mention we're talking about a period when leading ladies were judged openly by their beauty. (I say "openly" because, let's face it: they still are judged on their looks. It just isn't quite so acceptable to do so in the press.)
The glamour is what made CZJ quite special in the role. It was impossible to take your eyes off her. Many critics noted this at the time.
Say what you want about that revival, but it really had special casting both times. It was SUCH an event with CZJ and Lansbury, then with Peters and Stritch, it was every Broadway fanatic's dream.
I know she wouldn't be considered a conventional choice for the role (and she's not nearly a big enough name to be considered to lead a commercial revival), but I've been envisioning Jan Maxwell as Desiree. I think she's about a decade older than Glynis Johns when she played the role, but I don't think Maxwell reads her age, and more importantly I think she has the innate air of sophistication and class that the role requires.