Lauren FTW- Page 2

[Elegance101]

Posted: 5/21/18 at 7:30pm

Mike66 said: "I hesitate to ask this -- please don't jump all over me -- did anyone other than me think that Lauren Ambrose 'looked too old' for the part? She was excellent, as others have said, and I thought the re-consideration of the original worth the visit, and the music and staging was top notch. But I just had a teensy weensy bit of 'suspend reality' about the (apparent) age of the character. (Or maybe it was just that Higgins looked young????)"

I agree with you, but I would never say it was absolutely wrong - I think it's more a preference thing. But she is wonderful in the role. And if they were considering Laura Benanti and Sierra Boggess (that's very alleged), they clearly weren't going for super young.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 5/21/18 at 7:43pm

Real question - how was the username "BernadettePeters" not taken on this website until today?

I guess everyone else respected the real Bernadette Peters enough not to use her name.

 

[Mike66]

Posted: 5/21/18 at 7:46pm

Elegance101 said: "Mike66 said: "I hesitate to ask this -- please don't jump all over me -- did anyone other than me think that Lauren Ambrose 'looked too old' for the part? She was excellent, as others have said, and I thought the re-consideration of the original worth the visit, and the music and staging was top notch. But I just had a teensy weensy bit of 'suspend reality' about the (apparent) age of the character. (Or maybe it was just that Higgins looked young????)"

I agree with you, but I would never say it was absolutely wrong - I think it's more a preference thing. But she is wonderful in the role. And if they were considering Laura Benanti and Sierra Boggess (that's very alleged), they clearly weren't going for super young."

I thought Ambrose was wonderful in the part, and fully deserving of the nomination (although Lenk will rightfully win).  I just found it a little peculiar when she came downstage  -- she didn't "look" the part for me. Not that it's disqualifying -- part of the magic of theatre is that suspension of normal reality.  (Like I didn't have any trouble understanding AB and C in Three Tall))

Thanks

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/21/18 at 7:47pm

Poor Bernadette. Now when she joins BWW, we'll never know if it's really her.

[navnisinger]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 8:36pm

Did anyone see the show tonight by any chance? If so, was Lauren on?

[stlrod]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 8:43pm

At intermission now. Lauren is out tonight and it’s a delight to see Kerstin having a wonderful time and nailing it!

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 8:50pm

I love, love, love Katrina Lenk in The Band’s Visit and haven’t yet seen My Fair Lady. But there’s still this part of me that just wonders if the ensemble nature of TBV could hurt Lenk in the category. And then I still go back to last year and her missing the nomination she deeply deserved and just worry.

And who knows, maybe when I see Ambrose, I’ll be bowled over and end up rooting for her, but for me the bar is pretty exceptionally high.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 9:27pm

Because she’s billed below the title, is this a situation where you can’t get an exchange or refund if she’s out? Obviously I hope she’s feeling ok, and I’m sure her understudy is very talented, but I’m honestly not a huge MFL fan and am really seeing it because I’m a fan of hers from Six Feet Under. I hope she’s back tomorrow, and frankly am hoping she’s in full voice, but if not... I’m really hoping I can exchange.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 9:29pm

You can exchange. I have a friend who did so this weekend.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 9:33pm

Are there Tony voters there this week? I would imagine that this will really hurt her chances at the Tony if they are. I wonder how it will affect their chances at Best Revival as well.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 11:19pm

If there were any voters coming during her illness, they would have been contacted to try to change.

Will it make a difference? How would one ever really know? Between the stories of voters that don't see all the shows and the fact they could vote for all 3 Billy Elliots, but only watch one perform, actually seeing the nominated actors seems like an unneeded requirement.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 5/22/18 at 11:36pm

I don't think Lauren Ambrose was going to beat BWW most popular female performer this season Katrina Lenk, but if she had a chance I think it has decreased by quite some way with Ambrose missing four performances in a row so far. Didn't that hurt Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town after she won all the awards? (yes I know there's like no overlap between the OCC and Drama Desk with the Tonys). Regarding Best Revival, it seems OoTI is more popular with the Twitter and Tumblr crowd so maybe that enthusiasm will carry it through. I know Ambrose missing some performances has some of the OoTI fans who seem to have it out for MFL online salivating as with fans of certain other performers who got a "hard no".

I still think Ambrose was a revelation in the role but it seems Lenk is simply tailor-made for her role. Tony or no Tony, I'm glad I saw it and hopefully will see it again in July. I am certainly looking forward to the cast recording. True, no actress has won a Tony for playing Eliza, but dislike it or love it, Ambrose doesn't play Eliza the typical way it's usually done nor does she come from the same cloth as so many of the more popular names that posters here were trotting out to play Eliza in that Who Will Play Eliza thread. That could have been the difference if this was a year without Lenk, but it's not and it's hard to beat a perfect performance of such a great role that seems so perfectly suited to a performer like with Lenk. Whatever happens come Tony time, Ambrose got some of the most glowing reviews we've seen from the top theatre critics and won a OCC award and this is after so many doubted her ability. I know some here didn't like her rendition but I'm glad to see the critics seemed to love it for the most part as do most people who've seen it.

Mike66 said: "I hesitate to ask this -- please don't jump all over me -- did anyone other than me think that Lauren Ambrose 'looked too old' for the part? She was excellent, as others have said, and I thought the re-consideration of the original worth the visit, and the music and staging was top notch. But I just had a teensy weensy bit of 'suspend reality' about the (apparent) age of the character. (Or maybe it was just that Higgins looked young????)"

I think Ambrose at times read a lot younger and other times looked closer to her age (but not 40). Hadden-Paton, I thought read older, in pictures and such, but seeing it live, I thought he and Eliza were well-matched in looks and in age and it brought something exciting to the Eliza/Higgins dynamic.

Updated On: 5/22/18 at 11:36 PM