Is a Toni Colette led MAME Revival Coming?- Page 3

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/29/19 at 8:58pm

The title song does need some "polishing." Wonder if Herman would maybe adjust some lyrics for the sake of longevity....

It's been so long since I've seen Mame, but the houseboy is the Asian man, right? I wonder if you could just play the role as an Asian-American man, as opposed to a stereotype. I can't recall what the book says about him.

[inception]

Posted: 6/29/19 at 9:04pm

GavestonPS said: 

Snip
But I want to correct one historical error: MAME was indeed also competing with a beloved play and a hit, non-musicalfilm, both called AUNTIE MAME. In fact, AUNTIE MAME outran THE MATCHMAKER by six months; both were on the boards at the same time in the mid-1950s. (Last time I saw it, the film with Rosalind Russell held up quite well. Of course, one does keep expecting them to burst into Jerry Herman songs, but that's not the fault of the film, which predated the musical.)"

My bad! I know the film "Auntie Mame" as well as the novel, but forgot about the play & didn't realize it was such a hit.

Cy Coleman's musical "Little Me" was also based upon one of Patrick Dennis's other books.  He was sort of the David Sedaris of the late 50's/ early 60's.

I saw a very good production of The Matchmaker esrlier this year, & it is surprising how even with all that they kept in the misical version, there is even MORE in the play like the drunkard's soliloquy to the audience, & their all going to Flora Van Huysen's house after Harmonia Garden's & a bit with her and her cook. It is all very funny, but it does go on and on and on.

[greggregson]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 3:40pm

 

darquegk said: "I’ve said for years Jane Krakowski was my pick, but there’s another pick that occurred to me today. Someone with the right mix of impishness, glamour and brassy chaotic energy. She’s the right age to play early thirties to late forties over a show, Mame’s canonical age according to the novels (although traditionally the character is played more early fifties to late sixties), though she will likely read younger and sexier than Lansbury did...

Kristen Bell. She’s in that space where she’s too old to be the ingenue but too young to be the woman of a certain age or the washed-out kitchen sink realism wife. Let’s let her be a roaring twenties party monster turned mom!"

I love the idea of Toni Colette as Mame and I hope it happens!

I also have dreamed for years of a Jane Krakowski revival. Maybe Krakowski could be a replacement!

Recently, I’ve been rewatching Frasier on Netflix and have thought that Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin would make a great Mame and Vera. The clips of Leeves I’m Cabaret on YouTube are wonderful, and Gilpin nails dry delivery. 

 

 

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 4:17pm

GeorgeandDot said: "Kristen Bell could not be more wrong for the role.

Toni Colette is the only person out there that's 100% right for this role. Jane Krakowski would also be lovely. Maybe she'll play her on Tuesdays"

Toni Collette is a wonderful idea. I too have always dreamed of Krakowski as Mame.  And someday Bell may indeed make a great Mame.

She's a tricky character. Mame has to be totally pretentious and warm at the same time.  The great Christine Baranski failed miserably (oddly enough her Vera costar Harriet Harris would have made an excellent Mame herself at one time) at Kennedy Center and Cher doesn't have those kind of chops.

We need a Mame revival more than we need a Music Man, Scott Rudin.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 4:45pm

Owen22 said: "GeorgeandDot said: "Kristen Bell could not be more wrong for the role.

Toni Colette is the only person out there that's 100% right for this role. Jane Krakowski would also be lovely. Maybe she'll play her on Tuesdays"

Toni Collette is a wonderful idea. I too have always dreamed of Krakowski as Mame. And someday Bell may indeed make a great Mame.

She's a tricky character. Mame has to be totally pretentious and warm at the same time. The great Christine Baranski failed miserably (oddly enough her Vera costar Harriet Harris would have made an excellent Mame herself at one time) at Kennedy Center and Cher doesn't have those kind of chops.

We need a Mame revival more than we need a Music Man, Scott Rudin."

I agree with you re Baranski, who I though just lacked something essential as Mame; interesting, since she was a great Mrs. Lovett (also a  Lansbury role) and has played larger-than-life successfully many times.  Maybe she is just too cold a performer for Mame.  I also thought that Harris was awful as Vera (I have seen both Be a Arthur and Anne Francine multiple times, so the bar is VERY HIGH, which was probably a factor.  I think she would have bee a horrible Mame in the smallest Summer Stock theatre imaginable.  IMO she is not a warm performer, which Mame must be for it to work, and is also better in smaller roles that pop up periodically, not down front and center.

I agree with your last comment, although I assume the key driver behind The Music Man is Hugh Jackman.

[George in DC]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 9:01pm

Jarethan said: "I also thought that Harris was awful as Vera (I have seen both Be a Arthur and Anne Francine multiple times, so the bar is VERY HIGH, which was probably a factor. I think she would have bee a horrible Mame in the smallest Summer Stock theatre imaginable. IMO she is not a warm performer, which Mame must be for it to work, and is also better in smaller roles that pop up periodically, not down front and center."

 

I could not disagree with you more. She was great as Vera and she would have been a wonderful Mame. You said she's not a warm performer - watch her performance in "The Man Who Came to Dinner". She was the heart of that production.

 

[goldenboy]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 11:53pm

Mame is hard musical to pull off without a funny, sophisticated, off beat Mame. Lansbury and Russel were stellar in the role.

 

Unfortunately, I have seen many actresses sank this show. Let's call them Maimed Names! 

Jane Morgan

Morgan Brittany

Leslie Uggams

Lucille Ball

Some god awful miscast woman at Broward Stage Door.

I am not a Toni Collette Fan. So really not interested in seeing her in Mame because I suspect I would have to add her to the list of really Maimed  Mames.-  (Just an opinion) I just don't see it. 

But how bout Beth Leavel or Nancy Opel or Bette Midler again?  Or Carolee Carmello? Or Patti Lupone? or Bernadette? or Glen Close?  or Cher? or Bebe Neuwirth? I bet Bebe could pull it off.  

 

There's gotta be someone out there who could knock Mame out of the park.. 

Any suggestions?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/1/19 at 12:13am

goldenboy said: "But how bout Beth Leavel or Nancy Opel ...... Or Carolee Carmello?"

In a dinner theatre, sure. But not at Broadway prices, Beth Leavel and Carolee Carmello seem to be the queens of flops. (Though Collette doesn't mean that much more than them).

 

"or Bebe Neuwirth? I bet Bebe could pull it off."

Ice Queen Bebe as warm Mame? She could hardly pull off the vocals in Addams Family.

[Eve Harrington3]

Posted: 7/1/19 at 4:15pm

I agree with many posts here...yes, MAME needs a bit of work book/lyric wise...but with the right leading lady= Almost perfection can be accomplished.

The score itself can  be haunting- Miss Toni could no doubt sing the hell out of that score and really find some amazing nuances. She may not be someone that rolls off someone’s tongue, but no doubt in my mind, she would serve the role extremely well and bring the house down with several moments ( I can hear her in my head singing If He Walked into My Life - goosebumps!)

My ideal MAME (or Vera) has always been Carrie Fisher...I wish she starred in a musical. I really think she would have been something out of this world...in a galaxy, far, far away...

Updated On: 7/1/19 at 04:15 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/1/19 at 5:37pm

Jane Lynch or Ana Gasteyer feel like semi-"names" who might actually say yes to playing Vera.

[MannLove]

Posted: 2/14/21 at 6:05pm

It's 2021 now. Seriously doubt we will ever see a Mame revival on Broadway, or maybe anywhere for that matter. As wonderful as the show is, it would be viewed as racist in today's cancel culture. So sad.

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 11:00am

Racist? You mean Ito? I saw a production with Tracie Bennett (not a great showcase for the show) in England in 2019 and Ito's pigeon English lines were rewritten without the accent.  It was fine.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 12:05pm

Ito, but also the "south will rise again/South revive again" elements of the title song. (A white woman bringing Dixie back to Dixieland?)

Ito is solvable with slight book adjustments, especially if he is not the only principal character of color. The title song could repeat some other lyrics from elsewhere in the song, or engage a new lyricist to add material with permission of the Jerry Herman/Lawrence & Lee estates. With all the authors sadly dead now, I think estates would be open to the argument of "you either let us make the changes we need to make, or the show never gets revived."

Overall, I do think the book needs a trim and a "polish"...and if Rudin & co. could fiddle with Carousel on the scale that they did, then Mame is certainly doable.

Updated On: 2/15/21 at 12:05 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 2:54pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Ito, but also the "south will rise again/South revive again" elements of the title song. (A white woman bringing Dixie back to Dixieland?)

Ito is solvable with slight book adjustments, especially if he is not the only principal character of color. The title song could repeat some other lyrics from elsewhere in the song, or engage a new lyricist to add material with permission of the Jerry Herman/Lawrence & Lee estates. With all the authors sadly dead now, Ithink estates would beopen to the argument of "you either let us make the changes we need to make, or the show never gets revived."

Overall, I do think the book needs a trim and a "polish"...and if Rudin & co. could fiddle withCarouselon the scale that they did, thenMameis certainly doable."

Oops. Forgot about that part. But the lines could be dropped or changed. Maybe even a scene (maybe minus any dialogue) with Mame reacting to casual Southern racism? It's not like she doesn't fight bigotry later in the show.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 5:34pm

Yes and I'm sure the direction would play a big role, too.

But overall the good parts of MAME far outweigh the bad, and it would definitely be worth tweaking, trimming (that book is long!), and reviving with a fabulous leading lady. Might help the show's stock & amateur life, too.

I still don't think Toni Collette brings in big numbers at the box office. But it's a show that deserves a revival.

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/15/21 at 7:39pm

I have a feeling that, like the most recent Sweet Charity, if this one comes back it’ll be with a male character actor playing some half dozen of the men who pass through Mame’s life.

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 10:42am

It also needs Bartlett Sher.  Despite his "Fiddler" detractors (I loved it) no other director of revivals makes their shows seem as vital in a completely contemporary way.  Mame is not as overtly poetical as some of his revival choices, but I think there is enough there to warrant his interest.

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 10:49am

Jerry Herman said many times that he thought Catherine Zeta-Jones would make a fantastic Mame.  He was right.  She would be perfect.  

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 11:47am

I’d love for Zeta-Jones to return to the stage. Her recent film career has been incredibly lackluster

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 2/16/21 at 8:28pm

There are several ladies I’d love to see take on Mame. Toni Collette, Audra, Cheno, Krakowski, Zeta-Jones, Donna Murphy. Give everyone a crack at it for a few months a piece. I’ll just set up auto pay from my bank account directly to the producers.

Hopefully the estates of the authors will allow any necessary changes or cuts to problematic material. It’d be a shame to see the show continue to collect dust.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/17/21 at 11:22am

MannLove said: "It's 2021 now. Seriously doubt we will ever see a Mame revival on Broadway, or maybe anywhere for that matter. As wonderful as the show is, it would be viewed as racist in today's cancel culture. So sad."

"Cancel culture" =/= acknowledging, addressing, and correcting the pervasive casual racism in older works.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 5/12/21 at 4:07pm

I may not be the first to suggest this, but.... Rachel Griffiths as Vera
Who wouldn't want to see those two reunited as bosom buddies?

[Dolly80]

Posted: 5/12/21 at 4:11pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "I’d love for Zeta-Jones to return to the stage. Her recent film career has been incredibly lackluster"

Because everyone’s realised she’s not a very good actress. 
Broadway doesn’t need a repeat visit from her. If you need proof - watch her disastrous Tony performance of Send in the Clowns and it’s total lack of any subtlety. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 5/12/21 at 6:49pm

Glad to see the Mame love. A much better show than HD. Doubt any lyrics will be re-written. And why on earth wouldn't a show that travelled all around the world not be expected to do well on tour? 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/12/21 at 7:02pm

joevitus said: "Glad to see the Mame love. A much better show than HD. Doubt any lyrics will be re-written. And why on earth wouldn't a show that travelled all around the world not be expected to do well on tour?"

Because times change and tastes change and this is 2021, not the 1960s or 80s or even 00s. There are some really weak aspects of that musical strung together by wonderful songs and requiring a dynamite performance to pull that show across the finish line. The show does not have the name value of DOLLY, and it requires a STAR.