Bernadette Peters & Elaine Stritch to take over in A Little Night Music?- Page 2

[Musical-Matt]

Posted: 5/29/10 at 5:08pm

i will laugh the whole way through goldberg singing liasions!

[alterego]

Posted: 5/29/10 at 10:51pm

Phyllis Diller would make a better Mme Armfeldt than Stritch.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 5/30/10 at 7:01am

LOVE MS Diller. I read her book just a few months back and her DVDs are just fabulous

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 6/7/10 at 8:54pm

CONFIRMED!
The show will close on 20th June as planned and reopen with the two new ladies on 13th July.

[alterego]

Posted: 6/7/10 at 8:58pm

Awful, awful casting.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 6/7/10 at 9:19pm

I agree, I agree.

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 2:48am

It's funny because our friends across the pond think this is the best casting since Patti in Gypsy, yet many of the people on the West-End board seem to disagree...interesting...

[devonian.t]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 5:30am

I don't think Bernadette is the problem. But ES has enough sense not to do too much of her schtick in this role, surely.

[AnythingGoes2]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 5:34am

Stritch is great casting, i think. Peters... hmm... I think she'll knock the songs out of the park, but the role, bearing in mind this version, is probably too old for her! This woman played Rose 7 years ago!! However, she does look good for her age and it's great this show will stay on Broadway.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 9:14am

Stunt casting? Most definitely. But it's gonna work on me!

I saw Nunn's production at the Choc Factory and thought it was apretty lacklustre production of a brilliant show, then saw it again in New York when I still thought it was a pretty lacklustre production of a brilliant show, which was carried by Catherine and Angela's stunning performances. I never thought I'd want to see this version of the show again - but to see Bernadette and Elaine, I will kill for a ticket!

[alterego]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 10:01am

Doesn't Mme Armfeldt have a line at the dinner party where she says "I'd like to propose a toast" ? Or something very similar.

[Sister George]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 2:51pm

I did wonder if Catherine Zeta Jones would be put out at being replaced by the older Bernadette.

But then I guess she's used to having a 60 year old fill her slot....



(sorry couldn't resist)

[Scripps2]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 5:47pm

"Doesn't Mme Armfeldt have a line at the dinner party where she says "I'd like to propose a toast" ? Or something very similar."

Tee hee.


Stritch doesn't sound ideal but then nor did Maureen Lipman. And she turned out fine.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 6/8/10 at 5:51pm

I wasn't keen on Lipmann (came across a very contrived and wooden to me) - but then I didn't care for any of the cast of the London production, apart from the fantastic Hannah Waddingham and Alex Hanson.

[tenorboyo]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 8:57am

Sister George, that comment was a work of art!!!
LOL

[lotiloti]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 12:39pm

Stritch is so, so,wrong for this. A matriarch played like a New York lush! Awful.

[dented146]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 1:08pm

Having recently seen Stritch doing Sondheim at the Carlyle, I find her casting wonderful. I suspect that this is not just about picking someone to play a role. Those two have a history that is both professional and personal which goes back decades. She adores the man and there is a fire in her which few possess.

Stritch would play her heart out doing Sondheim and I bet she'll be fabulous.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 2:15pm

London - Hannah Waddingham and Maureen Lipman

New York - Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury; followed by: Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch

...no offense ya'll, but perhaps there exists a slight bit of jealousy amongst you Brits? I'm sure Waddinton and Lipman were exquisite in their own way, but do you all really believe they hold a candle to either New York cast?

Further, Peters and Stritch are two well accomplished Sondheim interpreters. How could they possibly bring down an already mediocre production? Lansbury was perfection in the role, but Stritch will undoubtably bring something new and, well, Stritchie to the part. And as for Peters...My God, I'm already salivating over her "Clowns."

[MariusPontmercy]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 2:30pm

I do get frequent theatre-related jealousy with regard to New York, but honestly this isn't one of those cases for me. If I was in NY, this (with either cast) wouldn't be high on my list of things to see. Hannah Waddingham was superb as Desiree and since I'm not a fan of CZJ or Bernadette Peters I'm not at all fussed about not seeing them and I doubt very much I would have enjoyed their performances as much as Hannah's. And I do like Angela Lansbury, but not so much that I'm upset about not seeing her in what is, as you say, not a particularly great production. Maureen Lipman was excellent. Updated On: 6/9/10 at 02:30 PM

[bob8rich]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 3:08pm

Play Esq - though I do agree with what you say regarding the New casts being superior to the London cast, you forgot to mention that both Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury are British! (I know Angela has been a US citizen for quite a long time but she was born and bred in London and her grandfather was leader of the Labour Party in the 1930s).


And Lotiloti - I think you should reserve your judgement about Stritch's interpretation of the role at least until she's actually played it. She is an accomplished actress of the highest quality with a lifetime of acting experience in a variety of types of roles (with the New York lush being just one of them), so I'm confident she will deliver a performance that is both suitable to and worthy of the piece.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 3:35pm

"you forgot to mention that both Catherine Zeta Jones and Angela Lansbury are British!"

With all due respect, I was not undermining British talent nor championing American talent for that matter. Merely making a point about the superiority of the American-production's casts. Which, it seems, you agree with.

Oh, and by the way...I don't think CZJ would appreciate being called simply "British". She seems pre-deposed toward specifically highlighting her Welsh heritage :-p

[bob8rich]

Posted: 6/9/10 at 4:06pm

Yes, Catherine is most certainly Welsh. In fact she was brought up about 15 miles away from where I live!

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 6/10/10 at 9:49am

A friend of mine for nearly 30 years now and she would knock you to next Thursday if you called her British! lol
Updated On: 6/10/10 at 09:49 AM