Caroline Or Change & Birthday Candles Officially Coming In 2021- Page 2

[temms]

Posted: 6/27/20 at 7:59am

I wouldn't put it in quite so harsh terms, but I have to say that KJ's description of Pinkin's performance tracks with my own. But I think it's important to remember the context - Donna Murphy was having health problems at "Wonderful Town" and so Michael Riedel's every article that spring seemed to be about how horrible Donna Murphy was by calling out of the show so much, how she had absolutely no work ethic and was unprofessional and years of being this horrible person were finally gloriously being displayed (or not displayed) for all to see. Supposedly this was why Donna Murphy never broke through, why she was a perpetual second-tier leading lady - because she was unprofessional and unreliable and her choosing to simply blow off performances was an example of her diva behavior and terrible attitude and isn't it great to see someone so terrible finally revealed for all that she is?

Of course anyone who was worked with Ms. Murphy for more than five minutes knows that it was all BS and she's wonderful and was really having actual health problems. But nevertheless, it was the story of the season, and he kept contrasting it with the super professional Tonya Pinkins. She, according to Riedel, was the true star of the season, never missing a show and doing a much harder role than Ruth. And then the week before the Tonys, PInkins utterly had no voice whatsoever. Not her fault, everyone was sick that year and she finally got it. But if she called out, you knew that the next day Riedel would be gleefully trumpeting that Broadway has two lazy divas who don't deserve their lead roles and aren't they just horrible? Pinkins was also getting some press about her child custody/divorce problems which were framed as topical because they somehow made her similar to her character but were really just kind of mud-slingy.

And so Pinkins should absolutely have called out of the show the week before the Tonys, but public pressure meant she couldn't, I had a limited calendar to see stuff and saw one of those performances, and it was dreadful. Physically painful to listen to - and I've seen Pinkins in other stuff and know what she's got and it wasn't that. But anyone who saw one of the huff-and-puff-and-push-and-squeeze-and-pray-something-comes-out performances should be forgiven because it really was that bad. I don't blame Pinkins, I blame the system but it really was a painful evening in the theatre and I hate that it was.

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/27/20 at 8:28am

joevitus said: "Jordan Catalano said: "You clearly either don’t know the show or don’t understand the show."

One of the goals of a title is to clarify the meaning of the piece or at least convey something of what it's about."

...is...is... that a law...?

 

 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 6/27/20 at 12:11pm

For the record. Tonya Pinkins is amazing. The moment she returns to Broadway (or off-broadway) in a singing role I'll be there day one. Her performance indelible. The record we have of her performance is extraordinary, I just didn't see that performance. More broadly, I doubt the musical would exist in the form that it does without her participation. So. All credit goes to Tonya.

I was just trying to point out that there was a reason things went down the way it did. If we go a little further in the forest we encounter Marissa Jaret Winokur standing over the corpse of Bernadette Peters. Also a tragedy. Also an explanation. According to a lot of people, Bernadette Peters give a lot of bad performances in Gypsy. I saw a thrilling performance (and there's that Tony performance), but it also isn't fair to discredit everyone who saw a bad one.

Also. It's a perfect title. 

Updated On: 6/27/20 at 12:11 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/27/20 at 1:29pm

The title makes sense if you have seen it or read anything about it, honestly.