Fran Drescher: "Unnamed popstar" eyed for THE NANNY musical

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 10:24am

https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a35940677/fran-drescher-interview-2021/

"

Her time is further occupied with producing the Broadway adaptation of The Nanny, which was announced last year. Drescher reveals it’ll be very funny and “much bigger than the TV show.” She teases feather-duster dance numbers for Mr. Sheffield’s staff and that she may consider playing Sylvia Fine (her character’s mother) onstage. She wants to make sure, though, that the musical can “stand on its own” without her name on the marquee.

Drescher’s still working on casting the titular role: “If we can discover the next Streisand, that would be amazing.” For now, she has her eyes on a particular unnamed pop star who has crossed over into movies.

She ran into the singer at a star-studded Christmas party in Southern California. Never one to not shoot her shot, Drescher floated the part to her preferred leading lady. “Her eyes kind of lit up,” Drescher begins her story.

If things go well, you’ll hear all about it one day.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 11:00am

I think it’s pretty safe to assume she’s referencing Gaga, no?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 11:07am

I think it’s Carly Rae Jepsen. They have a history together.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 11:35am

It says the star has dabbled in film. Jepsen’s only acting credit is Grease Live. And I love Jepsen, she’s brilliant, but has absolutely zero in common with Fran Fine.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 11:39am

Let’s start the rumor that it’s Gaga as Fran and Rosie as Sylvia.

[darquegk]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 11:59am

I’ve heard Cardi B’s name attached to a sitcom reboot... I wonder if they’ve conflated the two into a single project?

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 1:14pm

The pop star “lighting up” does not mean interest. Depending on who it is, I can see someone just being kind to her. The old, “yeah that sounds great” with no intention of doing it.

This doesn’t strike me as an A list property that someone like Gaga or Ariana (who I initially thought) would touch. I think it would be a bad career move for either and wouldn’t pay well for the amount of work required. Ariana is very funny and can be a delight. Gaga seems to skew to melodrama so she doesn’t seem the obvious choice.

I still think Annaleigh, Lesli M or Kritzer or someone in that vein would work best for this property.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 1:59pm

Gaga wouldn’t be caught dead in this, though I do think that is who Drescher is dreaming of.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 2:07pm

Why can't Rachel Bloom herself just do it? Or literally any of the brilliant comic actors who would shine in a role like this? Kathryn Hahn also comes to mind, after her recent resurgence in popularity. Rachel Brosnahan might be a bit too on the nose of a choice, but man I'd still love to see that. Maya Rudolph maybe? So many great options, and that's not even taking into the account the non-celebrities who would also kill it as Fran. 

Not saying a pop star can't pull it off, especially since we don't even know who it is. But it's weird that they wouldn't choose to mine the immense talent already available in these fields (comedy / musical comedy).

Do we have any reason to believe that Gaga has comedic chops? Again, maybe she does, and we just haven't seen that side of her. But I'm very skeptical that she would be better for this role than all these established, trained, beloved comic actors.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 4:20pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "It says the star has dabbled in film. Jepsen’s only acting credit is Grease Live. And I love Jepsen, she’s brilliant, but has absolutely zero in common with Fran Fine. "

I missed the film thing, thanks for clarifying. I was out running errands and only skimmed quickly. I only thought of Carly Rae because of their time in Cinderella together.

[raddersons]

Posted: 4/5/21 at 5:40pm

When I think The Nanny I think "mid-30s and trying to hide it" Who is a middle aged pop star? I was also thinking Cardi B re: recent talks of a reboot, and I love her too, but a Broadway musical with dancing feather dusters is not her domain. 

[ScarletSongs]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 5:50am

When I read "pop star who has crossed over into movies", for some reason my mind went to Mandy Moore...
To be honest, I'm not that familiar with The Nanny, so I have no idea if she would fit the role.

[Tag]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 6:41am

Ultimately, whoever does this - do they have to be Jewish IRL?

Also sidenote: what is Drescher doing at a star-studded party during Covid? 🤔

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 8:38am

Oh, how I wish Lesli Margherita could get in on this.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 10:21am

Tag said: "Ultimately, whoever does this - do they have to be Jewish IRL?"

 

Speaking as a Jewish person - I've seen plenty of great performances from non-Jews playing Jews. I don't have a problem with it, as long as it's done well. But I've also seen plenty of cases where I sat there thinking "Look at these goyim trying to play Jews! How quaint!" And it can be especially tricky when the actors are trying to capture a particularly Jewish brand of humor (which we see a lot of in The Nanny). But again, I've seen plenty of times when non-Jews pulled off Jewish humor perfectly. I just feel like it's better to cast a Jew, because they're more likely to thrive in the role and play it authentically.

But I don't think it's a hard-and-fast rule. While some of my fellow Jews feel differently, I think it's ridiculous to apply the same casting rules to white Jews as we do to trans people and POC. Unlike with those other marginalized groups, there's no widespread history in show-biz of exclusion, silencing, harmful stereotyping, etc. for Jews. 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 10:45am

Demi Lovato

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 4:23pm

I am racking my brain and I can't think of any pop stars who I feel can easily make the leap to Nanny Fine. At least no one that would be a light bulb moment. I'm blanking on any pop ladies who I view as being funny. Is Mandy Moore even considered a pop star anymore? Like I said, Ariana is all I can think of because she did SNL and did it well. Maybe Dove Cameron? Also, I can't think of pop stars in the right age bracket. I mean the actress playing Nanny Fine can't read as a girl, right? Unless they are reconceptualizing it. 

I still think Annaleigh, Lesli M, Kritzer, maybe Orfeh (who I believe is friends with Fran). I even though Taylor Dayne for a second but I'm pretty sure her career is DOA since playing Maralago on NYE. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 4:29pm

Bettyboy72 said: ", Ariana is all I can think of because she did SNL and did it well."

 

Credit where credit is due - Grande got her start in musical theatre, and got her big break with Nickelodeon sitcoms before she was known primarily as a pop star. That said, Ariana Grande as Fran Fine is....not my pick.  

 

[Tag]

Posted: 4/6/21 at 7:50pm

Camila Cabello and Katy Perry are the two "pop stars" who came to mind.

Leslie Margarita should definitely be the matinee Fran.

I'm sure Jackie Hoffman is already signed for Yetta.

[David10086]

Posted: 4/7/21 at 12:00am

I’m betting it’s Leah Michele and Rosie O will play Sylvia.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/7/21 at 12:31am

David10086 said: "I’m betting it’s Leah Michele "

She's damaged goods.

[swright1031]

Posted: 4/7/21 at 2:20am

I don’t know why but Sara Bareilles was the first name that popped in my head. I know she hasn’t done movies but she has been doing tv. I doubt she would do something she didn’t have a hand in writing though

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 4/7/21 at 7:14am

swright1031 said: "I don’t know why but Sara Bareilles was the first name that popped in my head. I know she hasn’t done movies but she has been doing tv. I doubt she would do something she didn’t have a hand in writing though"

She’s made it known she always wanted to act so now that she’s getting more experience it might be a more enjoyable experience to come onto a project just as an actor rather than as a composer/actor/producer/consultant/etc.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 4/8/21 at 5:40pm

It's Kat McPhee.

I have a friend who's part of the writing team for this show and she told me that Drescher, McPhee and David Foster are all close friends and have talked about this for quite some time.

Updated On: 4/8/21 at 05:40 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/8/21 at 5:43pm

Kat McPhee also has a new show on Netflix which is basically a southern/country version twist on The Nanny.  One of The Nanny's producers created the show, also.