Victor/Victoria needs a revival- Page 2

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 12:22am

Also... just thought I'd throw in an aside... how amazing would a Mame (another show I think that show be revived) revival with Cher and Meryl be?!?!

[NoName3]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 6:02am

"Lesley Anne Warren's performance was under appreciated at the time, since she was a hoot in the movie."

No, her performance was widely and justifiably praised at the time as one of the best parts of the movie.

I can't remember, but wasn't Mancini originally engaged to write the additional songs for the stage version, but died during pre-production? I could be totally wrong on this.

[actorgaedu]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 8:17am

Stephanie J. Block would be wonderful in this show!

[newintown]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 8:35am

"...wasn't Mancini originally engaged to write the additional songs for the stage version, but died during pre-production?"

Mancini did write almost all the new songs for the show (with Bricusse as lyricist) before kicking the bucket one year before the first out of town performance; Wildhorn only wrote "Trust Me," (partly written by Mancini), "Louis Says" (justifiable cut soon after opening), and "Living in The Shadows" (which was rumored to have been heavily re-written by music director Ian Fraser, as Wildhorn barely phoned his work in). Bricusse himself wrote the music to one new song, "Who Can I Tell?"

By the way, I don't think that the show "needs" a revival; I find it be a terribly written, leaden adaptation of an absolutely terrific movie (like Sunset Boulevard); on stage, it's just pretty deadly (which could well be why it was such a flop).
Updated On: 11/28/16 at 08:35 AM

[SamIAm]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 5:52pm

Too true!  Overdue for a good revival!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 5:56pm

JAN. MAXWELL.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 2:54am

Jan I think would be great. 

I really like this show. I saw it out of town - the stuff that was cut - saw it a bunch on Broadway w Julie, Anne, Liza, Tara (the understudy) and Raquel. 

The show's main problem is its a show for a specific star, Julie. It's not really the same without her. 

I will say Tara O'Brien, who sang the Paris by night in act two was truly stunning as Victoria. 

Changing "crazy world"(a fav song of mine) to "who can I tell?" Wasnt great. 

The show changed a lot even after opening. Sometimes there'd be the ballon person in the agents office sometimes not. 

I liked "Louis says" 

liza was a hot fun mess in the show. Seriously. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 8:26am

I loved the film but felt it was carried by the chemistry between Julie Andrews and Robert Preston.

When I saw the Broadway broadcast I found Tony Robert's Toddy charmless and the new songs they gave him to be duds. This put the heavy lifting on Rachel York's Norma who wasn't on stage long enough to carry the show.

Updated On: 11/29/16 at 08:26 AM

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 8:39am

The film is great because the entire cast is perfectly cast from the smallest to largest character. There was no way a stage version could be as good.

 

on a side note, I saw Liza do the role and it was so wrong. The character became a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, who sounds like a MAN.  Liza had a deeper voice than most of the men in in the cast.

 

 

[markypoo]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 9:06am

Wait did Hillel the balloon man ever appear in the show on Broadway?

He was on theater Talk just following the Chicago run intimating Andrews had him fired.  I have it on VCR.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 11:03am

It has all the makings of a classic like Cabaret

Wait...what?  Have you ever seen Cabaret?  For the life of me, I can't figure out how they are remotely similar.

I actually saw the show twice.  It wasn't a horrible train wreck, but it wasn't that great.  The second time I saw was only because I had the opportunity to see Liza perform and I'd never seen her perform live.  I actually preferred her to Julie because at least Liza added some energy and life to the role.  Julie was just so BLAND.  The book was so-so and much of the score was forgettable or bad.  Ironically, my favorite number ironically was Louis Says, which had already been cut when Liza stepped in.  The sets were gorgeous, however, and Rachel York's performance was the one true saving grace of the show.  She was ON FIRE.

[little_sally]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 11:29am

I know much was made over the lack of this show's Tony noms but why wasn't Rachel York nominated?

[newintown]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 11:46am

"...why wasn't Rachel York nominated?"

I actually knew someone on the nominating committee that year; the majority of the committee thought the show was death on stage and didn't deserve any nods. They nominated Andrews solely because of her star presence and history.

I have to agree; as much as one might love Rachel York, no one could have elevated that material. "Paris Makes Me Horny" may well be among the worst 5 musical theatre songs ever written. Compared to Warren's film performance, York was nothing more than a vulgar cartoon imitation.

Posted: 11/29/16 at 1:39pm

I would've nominated Gregory Jbara, also, as his Squash Bernstein was outstanding.

 

Nice to hear others chiming in they, too, liked Louis Says!