Actress Merle Dandridge -Once on This Island

[David10086]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 11:58am

I've been catching up on the Oprah series "Greenleaf" starring Merle Dandridge. What an actress she is - very believable in her role as 'Grace'. I did some research on her, and it shows she has had quite an extensive theater /Broadway background before transitioning to television. And it looks like she's in the new revival of "Once On This Island"! 

Has anyone seen her perform on Broadway before? ("Aida", "Rent", "JCS", "Tarzan". I'd love to hear more about her...and I think "OOTI" is going to be a 'must' for me this season, before she leaves to film next season's "Greenleaf". 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 12:04pm

I've seen her a few times, but never actually on Broadway. I saw her as The Lady of The Lake in Spamalot on tour, and Joanne in RENT on tour. I also saw her in Hugh Jackman's mostly-one-man show before it went to Broadway. Originally, he had Merle Dandridge and Angel Reda as his 2 back-up performers, and they sang "Take Me Or Leave Me" while he changed into his Peter Allan costume, and they KILLED it. As I understand it, he replaced both of them when the show when to Broadway, opting for a larger, more anonymous ensemble of women. 

It's been something like 6 and a half years since I saw Hugh Jackman's show, and I haven't seen Merle onstage since. Still, I remember her being very good in all 3 shows I saw her in, particularly in Spamalot. I haven't been keeping up with her career in the intervening years, so I actually wasn't aware she's been doing TV, but I'm excited to see her back onstage. 

[steven22]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 12:08pm

I? saw her in Rent and Tarzan on Broadway. She was fantastic then. Can’t wait to see her in this.

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 12:25pm

Honestly Merle is the part of Once on This Island Im most excited about. I saw her as the Lady of the Lake when the tour of Spamalot came to Boston. I was in the front row, and she absolutely killed it. Incredible voice, incredible comedic timing. I cant wait to see what she does with Papa Ge. She has a wonderful stage presence.

She's also found a lot of work as a voice actress and in videogames. She had a great role in The Last of Us (which Id argue has the greatest storytelling in the history of gaming). Her character appears in the final scene of the game, and there's a hysterical video you can find on youtube where the director, knowing her musical theater background, secretly told her to sing all of her lines during one take of the scene, completely catching her co-star Troy Baker off guard. (The actors did motion capture performance for all their scenes). For those that have played the game and know just how devastating the final scene is its definitely worth watching Merle completely upend everything with a musical moment and watch everyone try to keep a straight face.

[David10086]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 1:34pm

Wow! I can't believe she's that good of a singer...I mean, only because she's never sang on GREENLEAF, and the show has so much music in it. I hope she gets the chance next season. I'm wondering how long she will stay with this musical, knowing that GREENLEAF is due back on OWN next year, and for the past two years it has premiered in the Spring. Therefore, filming should begin shortly after the new year, unless the whole season has been filmed already. 

(The show has a very talented cast, including Lynn Whitfield ). 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 2:40pm

Merle Dandridge has an outstanding voice. I saw her in the title role in Aida (outstanding), as Joanne in Rent (also outstanding), and in Spamalot on Broadway, where with the exception of maybe Sara Ramirez, she was the best actress to ever play that role.

Her voice is stunningly pure and full. She’s also a great actress, and found a lot of depth in Aida. She had great comedic timing in Spamalot as well.

I know she took a break from the stage for awhile and went off and made a lot of money doing various voiceovers in video games. I’m glad she’s found her way back to Broadway, though.

[222disneyland]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 5:35pm

I loved her in the last of us the video game. Her acting was stellar. 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 5:44pm

adamgreer said: "Merle Dandridge has an outstanding voice. I saw her in the title role in Aida (outstanding), as Joanne in Rent (also outstanding), and in Spamalot on Broadway, where with the exception of maybe Sara Ramirez, she was the best actress to ever play that role. "

Yes, I saw her close Spamalot on Broadway. I've seen clips and things of Sara Ramirez, and also saw Hannah Waddingham and Marin Mazzie on Broadway. I would definitely put Merle Dandridge at the top of my list with Sara Ramirez.  She definitely is a positive spot for me wanting to see Once On This Island.

[jwsel]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 6:10pm

Merle Dandridge played the Lady of the Lake in the Hollywood Bowl's production of Spamalot a few years ago.  You can find a video of her perfornance of Diva's Lament on YouTube.

[bwayandstuff]

Posted: 11/11/17 at 7:44pm

Here to say Merle is great in Once On This Island! Had never seen her in anything else before but left going "who was that woman?!" And a bonus, she entered and exited the stage right by me and my friend multiple times and she also sat/stood there so we got to hear her voice up close. 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 12:29pm

jwsel said: "Merle Dandridge played the Lady of the Lake in the Hollywood Bowl's production of Spamalot a few years ago. You can find a videoof her perfornance of Diva's Lament on YouTube."

I saw her on tour in Spamalot and she was fantastic. I should probably get my OOTI ticket...

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 12:39pm

As I said in the OOTI thread, I saw the show this weekend. It was great to Merle again. I wish the role had been a bit more meaty to really showcase her talents, but she still seriously killed it (no pun intended). She had an incredibly powerful stage presence. At the stage door, she seemed genuinely happy to hear I had seen in her in those other shows several years ago. After I told her, she stopped and asked my name, and chatted with me for a minute before moving on to the rest of the crowd. She seemed like a very sweet lady (though of course I don't judge people for choosing not to spend time to talk to fans).

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 11/13/17 at 2:10pm

My family and I thought some of the gods were miscast.    Like idea of switching gender but she didn't work for us.

Saw her as Lady of the Lake where she seemed perfect

Updated On: 11/13/17 at 02:10 PM