BritCrit said: "I think this could be an interesting choice for Jackman’s next musical. There are plenty of similarities between Professor Hill and Jackman’s own P.T. Barnum. But whilst playing a charismatic huckster with a softer side will be incredibly easy for Jackman, songs like “Trouble” are some of the hardest in the musical genre. I will be interested to see if Jackman can pull them off...
Hugh Jackman (with Laura Osnes as his Marian) in THE MUSIC MAN. This will be a monster hit just like Rudin's HELLO, DOLLY! with Bette! I, for one, can't wait! Hugh is electrifying on stage!
I love thinking about this, and like many here, it seems impossible to name one of the hundreds (or thousands?!) of performances I've seen in my life as the "best", but I like the challenge! Let's go with 5, and see if I can decide on one of those as the BEST...
Brian Dennehy - Death of a Salesman (and interwoven so carefully - Elizabeth Franz!)
I loved GREY GARDENS, especially the Frankel/Korie score, so I was disappointed when I saw WAR PAINT that nothing seemed distinctive about the music and lyrics, and ultimately the show just felt like vignettes for each legendary woman through the decades (origins, competitive attack, war years, age of television, old age, dying lonely)...
Yet as I've listened to the recording, it's really grown on me - and to my ear works very well as a narrative of the two women's liv
The strange thing is, her diction is usually glorious. I think she was so committed to the Eastern European accent of Rubinstein that she stuck to it, but I have listened to Back on Top over and over and over and finally think I've got most of what she was saying! Still, the belting is fabulous, as always.....
OlBlueEyes said: "Was I wrong to assume that all here would know the context?"
Perhaps, as there are many young theater lovers frequenting these posts, and without some background information, I was concerned for Hammerstein's reputation! Out of context, it could just sound like a very dark ages kind of view of the races...but I love learning more about the history of these great shows, like Show Boat.
I appreciate your additional historical background notes
How anyone could create such a dreadful caricature based on these two is really, truly, beyond me....
Sigh! It certainly makes it clear how much special talent it takes to actually create a good caricature...the moment you see a Hirschfeld of any Broadway luminary, you KNOW immediately who it is, and at the same time there is a sense of the performance from which the image is conjured, and a touch of magic! None of that in any of Ken Fallin's work, that I've eve
Ah yes! I forgot about Hugh singing it in his one man show - I also thought he was great. It's a Mount Everest to climb for male musical theater performers, not just musically complex but a three-act play's journey of emotional complexity, and it is thrilling when you see someone climb it triumphantly! :)
I agree Lindsey is not physically right for it, but just trying to think of young hispanic/latin woman who might be right for the part (if it even exists!)....Lindsey could sing the hell out of those Velma songs, though! :)
Valentina3 said: "Could this just be within the Fosse/Verdon FX series world? I wouldn't be surprised if some of that material bleeds over to the stage."
That's what I wondered as well...seems very unlikely they would do a series on Fosse and Verdon without touching on some of the great projects they were both involved with over the years, including All That Jazz and Chicago, etc. Exciting to think of who would play these parts in the serie
Yes, I was concerned about that possibility. But really Bernadette's run has been terrific, box-office wise, just until past couple of weeks...
As for me I saw Bernadette do it twice (second time, last week, I was delighted to see how much she and Victor had settled into the roles and were absolutely fabulous!), and I saw Bette do it twice (let's face it, Bette in this role is in a class by herself - bigger than life superstar who causes the whole show to crackle with ele
The Distinctive Baritone said: "I was thinking yesterday about the whole issue of the theater being, all the way back to Ancient Greece, a white, patriarchal institution, and how we in the industry are working to reinvent the art form to include the voices of everyone and make itaccessible (and desirable) to everyone. Although I believe rethinking the classics and using color conscious casting is great, if we are goingto truly move forward, we need to also focus on new works with cha
Shirley MacLaine's show on Broadway in 1984 was not filmed as far as I know, but here's a clip from around that same time in her life, and she did this number, "Gypsy In My Soul" in her Broadway show, too... :)
Thanks from all of us, BrodyFosse123! I also have it on DVD...it's a real treasure, along with the Elaine Stritch - "At Liberty" DVD. Wonderful, wonderful stuff........