Im writing this in the small hopes that someone involved in the early stages of this film or someone who knows someone involved sees this and can tell said person involved.
There is no single person on this planet as perfect to cast in the role of Phyllis for this film than Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer.
Truly. She has everything a tremendous Phyllis needs. She has a cold/icy demeanor but also vulnerability and she knows how to turn on the warmth when it counts. She knows how to land a zinger. She has the look of a former showgirl who married a powerful wealthy man but won't look out of place at State dinners.
You do you think her ideal Sally would be? I can think of a dozen great film Sallys but I'm curious which do you think would work best with Michelle's Phyllis?
If dubbing were used in films for singing (like should have been done in most modern film musicals), I might say Julianne Moore would be an ideal Sally.
I would love to see Toni Collette as Sally, but energy-wise she's close to Pfieffer and that could either be electric or make the characters too similar.
She can't sing. Ever heard her Evita audition? Plus, she doesn't convey the ice queen person Phyllis uses as a defense (Phyllis is actually quite kind and generous, but that's not the persona she adopts).
I co-sign this. The long overdue Oscar is calling!
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
I've been campaigning for Michelle Pfeiffer to play Phyllis long before this movie was announced, so count me in. Would also love to see Audra as her Sally.
joevitus said: "She can't sing. Ever heard her Evita audition? Plus, she doesn't convey the ice queen person Phyllis uses as a defense (Phyllis is actually quite kind and generous, but that's not the persona she adopts)."
I have heard her alleged Evita tape, but I have also heard her in Grease 2, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Hairspray, and The Prince of Egypt. She sings quite well in those, and has been type-cast as of late playing icy women and villains. Pfeiffer is quite capable for this role.
Pfeiffer easily passes for 40s or 50s. Easily. She’d be perfect for this Having seen the last Broadway revival Melissa McCarthy would be a marvelous Hattie. Can Helen Mirren sing? She’d be a thrilling Solange.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
If they’re able to get this film together in a short(ish) time frame, there’s just no end to the “love letters” to Broadway it could present with its casting.
It would be homophobic if the cast was not full of our Broadway divas.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000