Scott Rudins next big splashy production - Page 2

[msmp]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 1:13pm

qolbinau said: "I hope Bernadette Peters or Patti LuPone or Donna Murphy could be Vera, if not Mame in the first place of course. Or a combination of them in the two roles."

A Bernadette Peters revival with Donna Murphy as the alternate (a la Dolly w/Midler) would be fantastic. I know Donna has said Mame is her dream role in the past, but she also has said she's reluctant to take on a full 8-show commitment with her daughter in high school.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 1:21pm

I think it would be terrific if they maybe lured a bigger name for Vera with her also being the Tuesday Mame. 

 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 1:38pm

But Mame and Vera really are very specific and very different characters. If you had two women who rotated playing the parts, they would, at a minimum, likely be wrong for at lest one of them. 

Lest we forget...

As written, Mame is a free spirited (but warm hearted) glamorous Upper East Side WASP.  Vera is an acerbic, caustic witted Broadway grande dame. 

The original  casting of Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur, who were like champagne and whiskey on stage together was perfect. I can't imagine them switching roles.

 

[binau]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 1:53pm

You don’t think Donna Murphy would fit well in either part?

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 1:55pm

QueenAlice said: "But Mame and Vera really are very specific and very different characters. If you had two women who rotated playing the parts, they would, at a minimum, likely be wrong for at lest one of them.

Lest we forget...

As written, Mame is a free spirited (but warm hearted) glamorous Upper East Side WASP. Vera is an acerbic, caustic witted Broadway grande dame.

The original casting of Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur, who were like champagne and whiskey on stage together was perfect. I can't imagine them switching roles.

"

But is this not where Bernadette and patti would be pure class for the champagne and whiskey combo

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 2:08pm

I guess I should also caveat by saying I don't see Mame and Vera played by actresses in their 70s. Lansbury and Arthur were both in their 40s when the original premiered.  But sure, Bernadette would be a fun Mame and LuPone a hoot as Vera (she is basically playing Vera in her take on Joanne in Company). But they would never do the show together.  

Donna Murphy is probably the only person I can think of who could truly pull off either role, though I think she is better suited to Mame. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 2:23pm

I disagree. I think there are MANY actresses (not star personalities who would rely on their persona a la a Cher, Bette, etc) who can be an hysterical blunt Vera and a warm, classy Mame. Roz Russell and Angela played Mame to great acclaim but also plaid characters closer to Vera in other shows/movies. 

Donna Murphy, Jan Maxwell (RIP), Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald, Katie Finneran, and many others could be terrific in either part. I can see them all portraying madcap warmth and piss-elegance (to use Lansbury's own word for Mame) AND sarcastic/stone cold Diva. I could even see Kristen Chenoweth playing a VERY different take on Vera as well as being an interesting Mame. Of course, as stated this is all on paper and in my head and anyone could disappoint in either role.

Of course not every Vera choice would scream "perfect Mame!" but there are plenty of people who could do very well in both. In fact, a few actresses like Baranski and Megan Mullally would make excellent Veras but wouldn't take the part because they've played it on sitcoms for years, but might be lured to the role if they got Mame as well. 

[BenElliott]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 2:30pm

Toni MUST be Mame.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 2:32pm

George in DC said: "Jarethan said: "I saw that disappointing production of Mame. The major reason for the disappointment was that Baranski was miscast, as was Harriet Harris as Vera. (IMO Harris was atrociously bad)."


 

 

I couldn't disagree more about Ms. Harris. She was wonderful - an opinion shared by most of the reviewers too."

We can agree to disagree, but I thought that she mugged her way through a performance that did not benefit from mugging.  And I remember that her reviews were decidedly mixed, as was everything about that production.

I have to admit that I was lucky to see both Beatrice Arthur and Anne Francine in the role three times each and, from the perspective of memory, they are a very tough act to follow (but Christine Baranski could).

 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 2:52pm

ACL2006 said: "Highland Guy said: "Me and My Girl

It's a sin this show hasn't been revived yet.  I saw M&MG three times with Robert Lindsey, who deservedly won the Tony, even against the two original male leads of the debut production of Les Mis in NYC.  I obviously enjoyed it a lot, but Lindsey (and I assume Jim Dale) had so much to do with that success.  The score is really mediocre...even Lambeth Walk (the actual production number stops the show) is a pretty 'limited' song...they just repeat the chorus about 100 times.  I am not sure that it could be a success unless they found an incredible leading man.  Lindsey sang well, had charisma, was sexy, and could do really low comedy.  He also was surprisingly 'rubbery' in his musical movements.    No one has ever talked about a revival of No No Nanette which, in the early 70s was a humungous hit. When it closed after 2 years (a very respectable run in those days), the consensus was that it didn't last longer because audiences did not have as much interest in revivals as new shows (most were short runs at City Center or Lincoln Center).  The show was an extremely well done and well performed production; however, I wonder whether it was such a big hit because it was just what we needed at that time.  I question whether Me and My Girl was also a production for which lightening would not strike twice.

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 1/15/20 at 02:52 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:26pm

No No Nanette has aged horribly. Even the songs aren't top-tier. The best thing it has going for it are those 1970 orchestrations and some nice opportunities for tap. I don't think there's any world in which someone turns it into a revive-able show.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:35pm

And of course that revival of  NO NO NANETTE worked largely because it was nostalgic. Much of the traditional older theatre going audience in  1971 lived through the 1920s.  The modern equivalent would be the nostalgia for something like a production of HAIR on Broadway - a show that premiered 50 years ago.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 4:39pm

QueenAlice said: "And of course that revival of NO NO NANETTE worked largelybecause it was nostalgic. Much of the traditional older theatre going audience in 1971lived through the 1920s. The modern equivalent would be the nostalgia for something like a production of HAIR on Broadway - a show that premiered 50 years ago."

Agree with the last two posters.  My intent was to point out a once huge hit that I think is unrevivable as further support for my thinking that a revival of Me and My Girl would not work.  There are some shows for which lightening doesn't strike twice and I think this is one of them.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/15/20 at 5:56pm

MAMG also relies so much on its leading man. With a Bill Snibson who isn't perfect, that could be quite a dull evening (because, like Nanette, the score is fun but not top-tier, and there's certainly nothing contemporary about it). I didn't see Christian Borle do MAMG at Encores, but I know some people liked him in it.