TOO OLD For the Role?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 8:59am

Only when the audience is no longer willing to suspend their disbelief.

[David10086]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 9:23am

Musical Theatre Frenzy said: "Carol Channing was 73 when she played Dolly Levi in the 1994 revival of Hello, Dolly!.

At what point should a performer just say, "Thank You For Your Interest, But I Think I'm Too Old to be believable in that part." ?"

I said the same thing last year - as I saw Channing in her "Dolly tour" back in 1994 (and she was excellent).  Back then, I recall the critics asking "Is she too old?" and not one review went out without mentioning her name. Yet, she won rave reviews from everyone.

Now we have Midler at 73, Peters at 70 in the same role. Critics seem to mention their age as a side note, if at all. It's not the 'attention getter'.  Granted, 73 today is different from 25 years ago, but 73 is 73.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 9:34am

Nope.   If someone is willing to pay you for something you love to do, I say grab it by the horns!   Who knows what kind of concept the director might have?  Or how old one actually LOOKS on stage.

 

Have there been times as an audience member I felt as if someone was too old (or young) for a role?  Sure, but I don't blame Chenoweth for playing Fran in Promises, Promises.  (as an example that jumped to mind)

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 9:40am

I saw Carol Channing in 1994 and at age 73, she looked, sounded and moved like a fragile grandma.

Bette, at 71, was running, moving and dancing as fresh as when she was in her 40s. Only her singing showed it’s limitations but physically she was still the Bette Midler we’ve known for decades.

Bernadette has no description. Physically she’s still 25 years old. Like Bette, vocally is where we saw her limitations.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 9:47am

So there's still hope for Sarah Jessica Parker reprising her Annie???

 

 

Kidding.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 11:11am

So there's still hope for Sarah Jessica Parker reprising her Annie???
Kidding.

Having SJP play Miss Hannigan in a one-night-only benefit concert staging would be iconic.  She still honors ANNIE enormously and attends ALL reunions and special events involving ANNIE and also makes herself available for all documentaries regarding ANNIE.  

NOTE: for the young ones: 13 year old Sarah Jessica Parker was part of the 1st replacement cast of Broadway's ANNIE in 1978 -- she replaced Shelley Bruce in the role of July when Shelley was promoted to Annie, replacing the original Annie: Andrea McArdle.  A year later, at 14, Sarah was promoted to Annie - replacing Shelley Bruce.  Sarah played the role until the Summer of 1979.  







Sarah Jessica Parker with Andrea McArdle in 2016: 


13 year old Sarah Jessica Parker as orphan July: 



 

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 11:15am

I saw Ted Neeley in his sixties play Jesus in a bus and truck of Jesus Christ Superstar and i had a great time!  He's still out there and he's still, vocally, one of the best!  Here he is in 2018 at age 74!

 

 

Updated On: 6/26/18 at 11:15 AM

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 11:45am

I  disagree with those who say they saw Carol Channing in Dolly in 94- and she was excellent. She certainly was not excellent in the performance I saw. True- the audience went bananas for her- but the performance was very raggedy- she could hardly sing- or dance- and she was clearly way past her prime. Like I LOVE YOU JUDY at some of Garland's past her prime performances- and I love Judy and wish I could have seen her- the Channing performances were basically a love fest for her fans- and there is nothing wrong with that. I have never been a big fan of Channing- or of Dolly- though I was glad I saw Bette- from the third row center- and enjoyed her- the show for me is too filled with caricatures to be a real fave of mine. But, many performers are able to perform with skill and artistry- way past their 70's- Tony Bennett I guess is the gold standard. He is fabulous- and not just for his age- he is still able to credibly perform and is a marvel.

Updated On: 6/26/18 at 11:45 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 11:56am

Going back to the early 60's, The Music Theater of Lincoln Center revived ANNIE GET YOUR GUN with Merman. She could still sing but she was definitely "matronly". To make matters worse, she was cast opposite the young and strapping Bruce Yarnell. Their duets were laughable. Still, it was Merman.

[LxGstv]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 11:57am

Dance Nation off broadway has actresses ranging from their 20’s to their 60’s playing 13 year old girls.

[David10086]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 12:00pm

BWAY Baby2 said: "I titally disagree with those who say they saw Carol Channing in Dolly in 94- and she was excellent. She certainly was not excellent in the performance I saw. True- the audience went bananas for her- but the performance was very raggedy- she could hardly sing- or dance- and she was clearly way past her prime. ."

As with everything else in live performances, your mileage may vary. 

The night I saw her she had the audience in the palm of her hand. She could sing and dance with the rest of them. She was excellent, too.  Yet  I'm sure she had some 'off-nights', as well. Just like reports on Midler and Peters. 

[StephieElise]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 12:11pm

In Melbourne we have a theatre company called The Production Company that does short runs of professional musicals, usually revivals of popular classics, usually with excellent casts. In 2016 however they did Funny Girl, starring Caroline O’Connor playing Fanny Brice at the age of 54. While Caroline O’Connor is unquestionably a fantastic performer, I actually thought it was insulting to the show, the audience and Caroline herself to cast her in a role that was so inappropriate for her age just for the sake of nostalgia (she had played the role in the company’s inaugural season in 1999).

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 12:13pm

I remember that. Her "goopy eyes" seem when she first saw Frank Butler, made me feel uncomfortable.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 12:16pm

I'm usually all for someone such as Carol Channing reprising an iconic role even when she's too old for it, but still, 63-year-old Cathy Rigby singing "I Won't Grow Up" as Peter Pan was a little much.

[Rainah]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 1:27pm

No comment on Dolly, but I think people can be too old or young for the role

- When a show calls for teenage characters and their youth in essential to the plot, it loses something when you have 30 year olds playing 15. Spring Awakening with a cast that look like they should be in How To Succeed loses something important. (Not that they should actually cast minors in SA, but to cast say 18-22 year olds)

- When the age of an actor vs other actors changes the relationships in the show. Denee Benton is 25. It's a very different dynamic between 42 and greying year old Dave Malloy vs 30 year old Oak. It would have been even more different had Mandy stepped into the role. Not just due to them all being different actors, but being visibly older and in a different stage of life. I remember on here how people debated what casting the very young Darren Criss did to the role of Hedwig. 

Now the last one is not necessarily a bad thing - it could be a very interesting and novel take on a role, or add a new depth or impact. But it is a time when someone casting the role should consider "is this person too old to make the dynamics I want work" 

[Rainah]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 1:29pm

I also think it's a really interesting discussion to have, considering hollywood's habit of casting actresses as young as they possibly can against male costars twice their age. I think it's fantastic that broadway actresses clearly do not get shut out of good roles once they hit 35, and perhaps other industries could learn a lot from it

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 1:49pm

Fascinating the all the names mentioned so far in this thread are female performers. Just wanted to point it out and offer that Richard Chamberlain, at 64, was too old to play Captain Von Trapp opposite 19-year-old Laura Benanti.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 1:52pm

Unless I missed it, Mary Martin in THE SOUND OF MUSIC is one of the best examples. She was about twenty years older than the character she played. Surprisingly, to listen to Martin singing the role one would not think she was in forties. She has a girlish quality that you don't hear with other recorded Marias (Fredrica Von Stade, June Bronhill and Jean Bayless). Andrews, IMO, was the best choice for the film role. Though younger than Martin,  it was mentioned Doris Day was offered the movie but at 43 years old even she was way too old for the part. Andrews was perfection. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 2:33pm

BWAY Baby2 said: " the Channing performances were basically a love fest for her fans- and there is nothing wrong with that. I have never been a big fan of Channing- or of Dolly- though I was glad I saw Bette- from the third row center- and enjoyed her- the show for me is too filled with caricatures to be a real fave of mine. But, many performers are able to perform with skill and artistry- way past their 70's- Tony Bennett I guess is the gold standard. He is fabulous- and not just for his age- he is still able to credibly perform and is a marvel."

As long as it sells tickets and appeals to some people, I don't think the love fest for the fans is terrible. I'm less enthusiastic about casting actors who are too old for the part in original shows or revivals if they have no prior attachment to the material. I don't think older actors should be discarded but it's not like opera... it's nice to discover new talent, especially since many Broadway performers aren't name talent to a general audience anyway. As Rainah said, sometimes age appropriate casting is necessary to make the dynamics of the show work.

Also, I think Tony Bennett was mediocre when he was young and I don't need him now. Being one of the last surviving singers of that generation is what has elevated him.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 2:34pm

Ravenclaw said: "Fascinating the all the names mentioned so far in this thread are female performers. Just wanted to point it out and offer that Richard Chamberlain, at 64, was too old to play Captain Von Trapp opposite 19-year-old Laura Benanti."

I mean, while I agree it was a little creepy, the real Captain Von Trapp was 58 at the time The Sound of Music is set, so it's not like 64 is that much older.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 2:35pm

Jennifer Holliday (now 57) continues to play Effie White in productions of DREAMGIRLS, a role she originated on Broadway in 1981 when she was 21 years old.  





 

[Princeton2]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 3:02pm

something that has bugged me for a while is how we seem to be so accepting of ageism but when it comes to race or sexuality people are all over it. I remember when the whole Kevin Spacey thing ignited and the scenes in a movie were reshot with Christopher Plummer no one was questioning why an older actor wasn't cast in the first place. why is it acceptable to use prosthetics when there are plenty of older actors who could play the role and who often don't get a shot as Hollywood is so youth orientated

People also seem to be so happy to mock and stereotype older audience members, again that wouldn't happen with other sections of society.

Dolly Levy isn't a role I associate with an age personally so someone in their 70s seems just as believable as Barbra was in the movie. Something like Frozen however probably does require it's two leads to be closer to a certain age

[mamaleh]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 3:07pm

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I saw Ethel Merman play a mature Annie in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN on a school trip to Lincoln Center in 1966, not the early ‘60s. (Please, I’m old enough.)

Updated On: 6/26/18 at 03:07 PM

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 3:26pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Jennifer Holliday (now 57) continues to play Effie White in productions of DREAMGIRLS, a role she originated on Broadway in 1981 when she was 21 years old.





"

Hasn't she retired Effie tho? I think the last time she did it was 2012 right?

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/26/18 at 3:39pm

Obviously, there are some roles where the actors have become too old for, BUT who am I to judge casting when people are buying tickets to see them and people are still casting them in the parts. I mean everybody has to make a living. As Forbidden Broadway put it re: Channing, "Some people sing, some people dance, some people act...I do Hello Dolly!"