Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?- Page 2
Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
#25Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/9/19 at 6:28pm
SouthernCakes said: "I think it’s a lot to do with casting and colleges. Most casting offices pull from a specific college/university, and those schools are churning out carbon copy performers, so honestly there’s no way to be unique in today’s market...."
I was present at a UCLA faculty meeting where the head of the acting program went off about how they only wanted people who were "equally good at singing, dancing and acting" for the then new musical theater program.
And I thought, "You are describing future members of the chorus, not musical theater stars, few of whom do everything equally well." Not that members of the ensemble aren't equally important and worth training, but that wasn't his implication.
#26Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/9/19 at 6:34pm
Of the women mentioned in this thread, only one--to my knowledge--has sung her "money note" with a mouth full of bananas.
If that doesn't qualify Stephanie J. Block for "diva status", I don't know what.
SouthernCakes
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/19
#27Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/9/19 at 8:18pmThis is soooooo true! So, a lot of the big regional theaters hire non-union ensemble members with the emphasis on the dancing (I remember when I was non/union of having to go through a dance cut first before even being asked to sing for Jekyll and Hyde at Northshore. Wtf), which then have these great credits and so forth and make it to Broadway quicker. There’s no place for the powerhouse actor/singer these days which is why our divas are Sutton Foster Or an Ex Elphaba. Bonnie Milligan should be a star but people aren’t writing those shows.
Impossible2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/31/18
#28Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/9/19 at 11:10pm
It’s very rare I am blown away these days but...
Grace McKean is utterly amazing & deffo deserves Diva status, in fact I thought most of the Comet women were pretty amazing and unique in their own way.
The girl who played the original Regina George also has an amazing set of pipes and a great future ahead of her.
Natalie Paris (London’s Seymour) also has a phenomenal voice.
#29Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/9/19 at 11:55pm
Three, four or more decades ago, the Broadway Divas were nationally recognized names in many instances. Ethel, Carol, Liza, Barbra, Bernadette, Angela and more.
Today, the names Sutton, Cynthia, Jessie, etc. don’t trigger that same recognition. It has nothing to do with their respective talents.. Times and tastes have changed and gone are the days when a Broadway cast album could dominate the charts for weeks, months or even years. National television exposure of Broadway is nothing like it used to be, either.
It’s sort of sad, isn’t it?
SouthernCakes
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/29/19
MrsSallyAdams
Broadway Star Joined: 11/12/13
#31Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/10/19 at 3:31am
A current breakout star with a quirky, but emotional, singing voice and crossover appeal? Oddly enough the first person that jumps to mind is Ben Platt. I mean this as a complement. If classic diva roles spoke to gay men's repressed passions I think it's interesting that the straight Evan Hansen has been mostly played by gay men who can tap into the characters vulnerability and double life. However, like Alice Ripley before him, the role took a toll on his health. I enjoyed his recent pop concert but his patter suggests he's emotionally frail and will need self-care and a support system to sustain the type of performances he wants to give. Time will tell if Evan Hansen was the launch of a career or the peak of it.
threepanelmusicals.blogspot.com
Updated On: 8/10/19 at 03:31 AM
#32Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/10/19 at 8:45pm
MichelleCraig said: "Three,four or more decades ago, theBroadway Divas were nationally recognized names in many instances. Ethel, Carol, Liza, Barbra, Bernadette, Angelaand more.
Today, the names Sutton, Cynthia, Jessie, etc. don’t trigger that same recognition. It has nothing to do withtheir respective talents.. Times and tastes have changed and gone are the days when a Broadway cast album coulddominate the charts for weeks, months or even years. National television exposure of Broadway is nothing like it used to be, either.
It’s sort of sad, isn’t it?"
It is indeed! I couldn't agree with your post any more - you're spot on.
I wish I was old enough to enjoy Broadway back in the day with Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Streisand, Diahann Carroll, Gwen Verdon, Elaine Stritch, Angela Lansbury, etc. I love listening to the cast albums from back then - the voices, the enunciations, the emotions...
Today I feel lucky to have seen Bernadette Peters twice ("Night Music" and "Dolly " ), Stritch ("Night Music" ) Betty Buckley ("Sunset Boulevard" ) , Donna Murphy ("Dolly" ) and Patti Lupone in concert a few times (though never on Broadway).
The other leading ladies I've seen over the past 30 years have been enjoyable, but nothing like the women of the past.
sparksatmidnight
Leading Actor Joined: 1/26/19
#33Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/10/19 at 8:49pmYes, but that's theatre, isn't? They will all be gone at some point and, we can delay that, but it *will* happen. And their most notable feats will only live in our memories. And one day, we will also be gone, but those seats won't be empty, as theatre lives on.
#34Are we nearly at the end of an era for our great musical divas?
Posted: 8/11/19 at 3:04am
I definitely think that some of these performers huge larger than life presence is hard to match today especially with more cookie cutter performers in terms of type/vocal type(not that they aren't amazing talents in their own right) dominating the stages right now. But things will always keep developing so we'll see.
