BeBe Returns To Chicago- Page 2

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 5:46pm

I think I can see what you folks are getting at. Thanks.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 6:04pm

I think it is fantastic that someone with her talent and experience is coming back into a show that she obviously loves,can no longer do the dancing,and bring something new to the role of MM.With all this negitivity about Amras' performance[I don't know her]-isn't it the stage managers or dance captain or even the Weisslers 'job' to maintain a certain level of performance?

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 6:14pm

Saw her twice and especially the 2nd time it was dull. I swear she was thinking about her shopping list.

I do think she has talent. But she needs to do herself and the show a favor a do something else.

Eta: i do blame the Weisslers. I sometime feel it is easier to call on Amra than prep someone else (read that $). There are so many deserving performers who could really revitalize Velma. And I would run to see someone new and exciting in the role.

Updated On: 12/17/13 at 06:14 PM

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 8:30pm

Remember, there are "no small parts, just small actors."

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 9:32pm

It just pisses me off to see them recycle the same Velmas/Roxies/Billys over and over when there are numerous Broadway actors capable of doing the roles well.

Updated On: 12/18/13 at 09:32 PM

[FutureDirector]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 3:33pm

How is this any different from when Andrea McArdle played Ms. Hanigan last year and everyone loved it?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 3:44pm

Andrea McArdle didn't play Hannigan on Broadway.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 5:04pm

just a thought, Samantha Barks is due for a b'way debut and she made a pretty amazing velma at the hollywood bowl... I'd love to see her opposite bebe

[gleek4114]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 12:12am

Anyone on here go tonight? Curious to hear opinions :)

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 2:42am

Great audience. A few very rowdy - possibly drunk - women in the audience who screamed for EVERYTHING, but an enthusiastic crowd over all.
Some new - and welcome - faces in the cast and a few pleasant returns.
Bianca Marroquin is a FANTASTIC Roxie. She really stops the show and is one of the best in the role.
Amra-Faye Wright is still a servicable Velma but she runs out of steam completely half way through the second act and you can see her fight to keep up with Marroquin in the final number.
Ryan Silverman's Billy Flynn is great. Young, sexy, commanding, smooth and well sung.
Christopher Fitzgerald is a wonderful surprise as Amos. Really, really wonderful. Different than the usual and oh, such a welcome change.
R. Lowe is still a decent Mary. Nicely sung, not my favorite.
Stand-outs in the ensemble, hands down, are Tonya Wathen as Hunyak, Nathan Madden as Harry / Martin Harrison, Jason Patrick Sands as the Doctor and Judge, Ryan Worsing as the Jury / and Me and My Baby specialy and Adam Jepsen (he is wonderful!) as the Bailiff and Clerk.
Donna Marie Asbury and Dylis Croman still nail the Cell Block Tango for all it is worth.
Stephanie Pope is back as annie and covering Velma. She is great, but sorry to say, sticks out like a sore thumb in the current cast. Everyone is sexy and slinky and Ms. Pope is sent on stage in pants and an open button down shirt. The only woman similarly covered is Mama Morton!

But the real reason people went - Bebe. She is a diva. The audince eats her up. Is she a Mama? Not at all. She is a Velma to the core and still looks it and it is awkward and uncomfortable seeing her in a very ill fitting suit and sensible shoes with spats and can't play "butch" well... Awkward when she is described as such and is by far the most petite, fair skinned and dainty thing on the stage. She doesn't DANCE, but she does find ample opportunity for Mama to move and slink. A few moments also find you glancing from Velma to Mama and thinking "Bebe, I want to see YOU do that instead".. especially when Mama is seated at the side of the stage. It's an unfortunate reminder of a star who could dance like a dream and whose body no longer allows.

There was a pleasant, if very incredibly rehearsed, curtain speech from Amra-Faye Wright and a short, heartfelt but clearly "I was told I have to" reciprocation speech from Bebe.

Go see it. Always a treat to see Bebe back on the boards, but you will come out more singing the praises of Marroquin, Silverman and Fitzgerald as well as some of the ensemble.



Updated On: 1/15/14 at 02:42 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 3:27am

Marroquin is sensational. I want to see this cast, but it's such a chore sitting through Amra.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 3:34am

Pretty sure it was a chore for Amra to sit through Amra.
She is not awful. She is simply a place holder. Her accent of choice often comes across as incredibly stilted and forced and you, scene by scene, could see her losing gas in act two. It did leave a decidedly different take on Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag, where Roxie was visibly the star and giving an effortless turn and Velma read as the hanger-on.
Honestly, the current cast has enough going for it that you can look through and around Amra and still leave satisfied. It was a decidedly experience than my last visit to Chicago where I had to wonder which blind and deaf person was maintaining the production.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 3:36am

... And truly, I can not sing the praises of Marroquin enough. She is an absolute delight. Across the board a triple threat and a perfect Roxie.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 3:43am

Her accent of choice often comes across as incredibly stilted and forced

THIS!!

I still would love to see Luba Mason get another shot at Velma. While really not a great dancer, she was very sultry and stunning to look at. It was hard to keep your eyes off her. Mason and Shields were a very unique but solid duo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6dKwpRlRPw

Updated On: 1/15/14 at 03:43 AM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 12:58pm

"But the real reason people went - Bebe. She is a diva. The audince eats her up. Is she a Mama? Not at all. She is a Velma to the core and still looks it and it is awkward and uncomfortable seeing her in a very ill fitting suit and sensible shoes with spats and can't play "butch" well... Awkward when she is described as such and is by far the most petite, fair skinned and dainty thing on the stage. She doesn't DANCE, but she does find ample opportunity for Mama to move and slink. A few moments also find you glancing from Velma to Mama and thinking "Bebe, I want to see YOU do that instead".. especially when Mama is seated at the side of the stage. It's an unfortunate reminder of a star who could dance like a dream and whose body no longer allows."

God love Bebe for coming back and doing a show she loves but I would love to see her do something new and a role suited for her at this stage of her career.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 1:13pm

At least they no longer have a talentless talk show host playing Mama. They've really done something revolutionary by casting someone WHO CAN SING THE SCORE.


Updated On: 1/15/14 at 01:13 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/15/14 at 1:38pm

Lovebwy,
That is a debatable point. A very debatable point, sad to say.

A note on the physical production and the Ambassador:
They are both very much showing their age and laziness of management. After 17 yrs, you think they'd know better which fabrics read under the lights and which do not. Some fabrics change color under stage lights, especially blacks. A few of the newer cast members where in black dance pants that read as vibrant maroon under direct spotlights and stand oit like a sore thumb, pulling your eye each time it happens and ruining the color scheme of the dsign, not to mention that the show deck and band stand desperately need a new coat of paint. They are horribly scuffed and some of the fabrics are notable frayed. Its also jarring - still - to see that false proscenium wobble at a few points when actors interact with it.
The Ambassador, quiant and odd little house that it is with its assymetry and rat-maze like stairs and halls looks like a dump. The padding on the seats are wearing thin, the carpets are dingy and the lazy paint job looks sloppy and dull. You can see that no one takes pride in the house.

[Patash]

Posted: 1/16/14 at 9:13am

And who's the ice skater playing Billy Flynn, again?

[abbagirl]

Posted: 1/16/14 at 9:50am

Elvis Stojko hasn't started yet, right now Billy is the delectable Ryan Silverman.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/16/14 at 11:37pm

A note on the physical production and the Ambassador:
They are both very much showing their age and laziness of management. After 17 yrs, you think they'd know better which fabrics read under the lights and which do not. Some fabrics change color under stage lights, especially blacks. A few of the newer cast members where in black dance pants that read as vibrant maroon under direct spotlights and stand oit like a sore thumb, pulling your eye each time it happens and ruining the color scheme of the dsign, not to mention that the show deck and band stand desperately need a new coat of paint. They are horribly scuffed and some of the fabrics are notable frayed. Its also jarring - still - to see that false proscenium wobble at a few points when actors interact with it.
The Ambassador, quiant and odd little house that it is with its assymetry and rat-maze like stairs and halls looks like a dump. The padding on the seats are wearing thin, the carpets are dingy and the lazy paint job looks sloppy and dull. You can see that no one takes pride in the house. "

Wow, that is awful. Even at reduced prices the audience deserves better conditions and production than what you described.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/17/14 at 1:03am

Sad, but expected.. And to be fair, its not something "tourists" think about it, but stands out to someone paying attention to the pieces. If you are going with a monochromatic design, you have to maintain it.. Proper fabric choices.. Anda. Plain black deck and band stand needs to be kept after more often BECAUSE of that paint finish.

As far as the theatre, we all know its a pit and they wont touch a thing til the show is closed.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 1/17/14 at 5:06am

The Ambassador did get new carpets a couple years ago. Not sure what else they replaced.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/17/14 at 8:30am

"As far as the theatre, we all know its a pit and they wont touch a thing til the show is closed."

The show could still run for years so that is not good.