Forgive me in advance if this has already been discussed. I was catching up on some Behind the Curtain podcasts from earlier this year this morning, and they were interviewing Charles Strouse back in February. He mentioned that there were serious talks to bring Applause back with Audra McDonald, but that he wasn't sure if contracts had been signed. Has anyone heard any scuttlebut on this?
Applause, to work, would need a major rewrite. The libretto unfortunately has little to none of All About Eve's crackling wit. It's a very dated show (though the swinging late 60s flavor that permeates it is great fun and should definitely be preserved, especially with that score).
If it were to be rewritten with Audra in mind, the librettist might at least want to consider making Margo, as she was in All About Eve, and as Audra certain is, simply a major stage icon.
A huge part of Applause's original success was that Bacall was perfectly cast. Not in small measure to Bacall being, just like Margo in Applause, a veteran movie star (and moreover, a veteran 40s movie star! - "teenage Margo, queen of the 40s flicks" could not have been a more star-tailored line) turned Broadway leading lady. This gave the original production at once a cred both nostalgic and very much of-the-moment that would be hard to replicate, and unfortunately critically "dating" the show.
To the great loss of American movies, Audra unfortunately doesn't have that cinematic pedigree (at least yet).
To the great loss of American movies, Audra unfortunately doesn't have that cinematic pedigree (at least yet).
Audra is 47 years old. Unless she pulls a Judi Dench and things change for her in films, that cinematic pedigree is a far-fetched reality for her as it stands now.
There is a flaw with this proposal which would was originally revealed in the Encores production with Christine Ebersole a few years back.
Why cast a major singing star in a show that was specifically tailored to a star (Bacall) who wasn't really a singer and had a range of about an octave?
The Encores production revealed the many weaknesses of Applause. It is a good vehicle, but as a show it is lacking.
Or... update the songs to be suitable for a better singer - it would hardly be the first time, or cast a non-singer star in the show? I cannot personally think of anyone with Lauren Bacall's star-power at the moment, but I'm sure there are plenty. Taraji P Henson in a few years/after a couple more movies?
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
"Audra is 47 years old. Unless she pulls a Judi Dench and things change for her in films, that cinematic pedigree is a far-fetched reality for her as it stands now."
Certainly that train may have left the station. While it's true Audra may never join the ranks of those few women who achieved movie fame in their 40s or beyond - Dench, Viola Davis, Kathy Bates, Melissa McCarthy, Ruth Gordon, Jessica Tandy, Tilda Swinton (for Tilda, her movie fame only became mainstream in her 40s), we can still hope, can't we? Consider that Helen Mirren (though well known in other media) didn't achieve bigtime mainstream movie fame until well into her 50s.
When I was in college I played Duane in a local production of Applause. The director cast a woman who was a dead ringer for Lauren Bacall. She could not sing, dance, or act and she delivered everything to the ceiling. I looked up there one night to see if she had the lines up there or something. This married mother caused a great scandal by running off with the hot young drummer.
it didn't even dawn on me when my parents come in to see it and I was playing a gay character and how that might go over. My father walked out. I didn't notice until it was my big solo when I looked out in his chair was empty and I went down on my lines.
For this to work it would need a major overhaul. With Audra they could go back to making Margo a Broadway star like in All About Eve. I have the stage script to the original the Wisdom of Eve. I don't remember much about it but I think the film script is the strongest incarnation by far. And of course having the score written for the call would be wasted to be sung by someone with the voice of Audra McDonald.
Possibly a whole new script and score would be needed to make it work.
Esther Blodgett said: "There is a flaw with this proposal which would was originally revealed in the Encores production with Christine Ebersole a few years back.
Why cast a major singing star in a show that was specifically tailored to a star (Bacall) who wasn't really a singer and had a range of about an octave?
The Encores production revealed the many weaknesses of Applause. It is a good vehicle, but as a show it is lacking.
I think this is a totally absurd idea. Re-write the script, re-do any of the songs that Margo sings. People are forgetting that it really was a thoroughly mediocre show that was a hit because of Lauren Bacall. Both Purlie and Coco (yes Coco) were better musicals than Applause, and it was not a strong season, e.g., despite Hepburn and Bacall filling two of the slots, they were only able to come up with a third nominee for Best Actress in a Musical, Dylis Watling for Georgy, which ran -- I am pretty sure -- 8 performances, and was a really mediocre show with a couple of enjoyable songs.
There was a London revival a decade or so ago with a B - C player in the role of Margo, Stephanie Powers. It was a big flop and casting her was not the only reason. The critics were pretty clear that the show was past its expiration date.
I am worked up a little because I think there are so many other shows that would be better revived and will never likely get a shot.
Why not just do a whole new musical adaptation? It wouldn't be the first time and I think that APPLAUSE changed enough (mainly stage to movie star) for a more close adaptation to stand on its own.
I saw Dorothy Collins star in a summer stock production of Applause in the mid-1970s and as great as Bacall was playing Margo, it was a pleasure to see Collins in the role. As I recall, Ebersole was ill with the flu during the Encores! production, but still played all performances.
If Miss McDonald appears in any version of "Applause," I'm confident it will be a popular success. She has the talent and charisma to make it work. In 2013, I saw her in San Diego in concert, and she was simply wonderful. The woman exudes warmth and dignity and humanity. And that voice!
In January, she begins a concert tour that takes her into July. I will make my way to Los Angeles in May to see her perform with the LA Opera. Then, four days later, I will see her again here in San Diego with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. That's how much I like her.
I adore Audra, but it really did seem like a left-field idea when he mentioned it. The hosts asked Strouse how it was to write for someone (Bacall), and he seemed to infer that it was actually rather easy as, according to him, she was a naturally musically-inclined person.
I do have a bit of a fascination for these types of shows that were hits in their day but have been relatively forgotten.
"despite Hepburn and Bacall filling two of the slots, they were only able to come up with a third nominee for Best Actress in a Musical, Dylis Watling for Georgy, which ran -- I am pretty sure -- 8 performances"
Cate Blanchett is doing All About Eve in London this spring- and will probably do it on Broadway if it is big hit. No reason to do a musical revival with Blanchett already playing Margo- probably to the hilt.
Oh, for God's sake, WHY? (And WHY, my darling henrik, do you know so much about so many versions of the Margo/Eve story?)
Yes, Audra can sing the phone book as recitative and make a hit. So let her do it. We'll all have a better time.
For the record, APPLAUSE ran another year with other women in the star part after Betty left. I went back and saw it with Arlene Dahl, who was fine. Wish I could have seen it with Anne Baxter.
But it is not Comden and Green's best work. Let's literally revive every other show they wrote (How about Audra MacDonald as Hope Springfield in FADE OUT, FADE IN?) before we turn to APPLAUSE.
(FTR, I not only saw the original, I saw Reprise LA's production with Sheryl Lee Ralph. She was fine; the book not so much; the score even less.
I also did WONDERFUL TOWN with Bacall in the 1970s. Yes, she had no voice and, yes, she was too old for Ruth, but Betty still made the most difficult Bernstein numbers fun. I think that's what Strouse meant: God may not have given Betty a singing voice, but she could FEEL the music and she could move a little, so he could write for what she did have.)
Charles Strouse has given us some iconic songs. I'll just go with "Once Upon a Time" from "All American" (mostly, indeed always, now segregated from the show). One of my top 10 personal favorite theater songs. And the music of "Rags," exquisite. "Applause" worked only because of the Ron Fields' staging and the era in which it opened, which allowed its jaunty faux rock/pop sound to suggest "contemporary." It has one memorable song, the title tune, and the rest runs from mediocre ("Welcome to the Theater" to the truly awful ("Something Greater" A star like McDonald would have nothing to sing, and a character to play who isn't remotely supported by an anemic script.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Cat Guy said: "If Miss McDonald appears in any version of "Applause," I'm confident it will be a popular success. She has the talent and charisma to make it work. In 2013, I saw her in San Diego in concert, and she was simply wonderful. The woman exudes warmth and dignity and humanity. And that voice!
In January, she begins a concert tour that takes her into July. I will make my way to Los Angeles in May to see her perform with the LA Opera. Then, four days later, I will see her again here in San Diego with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. That's how much I like her.
Why would she? I think she has demonstrated that she has higher standards than Applause, unless it is drastically re-written, including most of her songs. If she wants to take on revival, she can do Mame, she can replace Bette (it is not like she needs a Tony for which she will be ineligible, she can try Sweeney Todd, and the list goes on.