BROOKE TANSLEY - NEW PENNY IN HAIRSPRAY- Page 3

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 7:24am

Oh and I love your pic from Scarespray. It's adorable ! You guys look so cute together. :)

-Jess

Posted: 4/20/04 at 4:21pm

thank you! its my favorite picture of us.

[Kicks8567]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 5:20pm

I saw Hairspray in July with Brooke, and I enjoyed her performance. I wouldn't say she was the best, but I thought she was good.

[PennyLou]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 6:09pm

Kicks~ have you seen anyone else as Penny?

I think that's my biggest problem is I have seen shush amazing People I have very high "Penny standards". But I'm really just going by the audiences response, they weren't laughing at a lot of her jokes it mad me said. So I'm really hoping she finds her way. (not trying to be mean at all I truthfully do hope she finds her Penny).

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/20/04 at 11:29pm

Mistress- I'd love to see your wedding picture.

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 1:34am

Here's the thing about Penny - the role is terribly written. Her jokes often come at the very end of a scene and they're not laugh-out-loud jokes. They're funny when someone else says something to correct her. Like saying, "Hi Tracy!" at the TV when they're watching the show from Tracy's house wouldn't be funny if it weren't followed by Harvey's perfectly timed, "I don't think she can hear you." or whatever it is that he says. Her jokes are often structured like this and unfortunately, Brooke often doesn't get much help from her fellow actors. Not sure why that is, but....

Ultimately, the role is just not served by the writing - and I felt that way when I saw Kerry, too. Brooke does her thing very well, but she's often left hung out to dry by her fellow actors and the authors.

[JimVukovich]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 2:19am

Beano, I couldn't disagree with you MORE. What do you mean Penny's jokes rely on a response from her fellow actors in order to land and or be funny? Your example was the ONLY example in the entire show where that happens. Here's a list of Penny lines that stand on their own without any response from other characters. These lines are VERY WELL WRITTEN.

#1 - "I'm hurrying Tracy but I'm not allowed to perspire".

#2 - Scene leading into "Run & Tell That" - PENNY - "The nurse was out sick but look what Seaweed found". SEAWEED - "Band Aids, Q-tips and a rubber.....Oh wait, I guess that's mine". PENNY - He's so nurturing!"

#3 - "I too feel not good. May I also come check-it-out"?

#4 - TRACY LINE - "Mrs. Von Tussle said there's going to be armed guards at the eventorium". PENNY RESPONSE - "With arms!"

#5 - PENNY SONG LYRIC in "WITHOUT LOVE" - "In my ivory tower life was just a Hostess Snack but now I've tasted chocolate and I'm never going back".

#6 - MORE "WITHOUT LOVE" LYRICS - SEAWEED - "Life is like a beat that you can't follow". PENNY LYRIC RESPONSE - "Life is Doris Day at the Apollo".

These are just a few examples of how this role is written. I've either witnessed or conducted almost 300 performances of both the Broadway and National Touring companies. You are completely mistaken about how that role is written.

On the otherhand, if it's true that fellow actors are "leaving people out to dry", that's not good.

Given your comments, you're no doubt a "contender" in the world of good writing and performing. I'd love to know who you are. I'm Jim Vukovich, the Musical Director for the National Tour of Hairspray.

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 3:04am

Jim...

Ok, clearly you are much more familiar with the show considering the number of performances you've been involved with. I've seen it twice. :) Here are my reactions to the moments you've pointed out....

#1 - Kinda funny, but this sounds like a line Amber would say, not Penny.
#2 - Kinda funny.
#3 - Weak, at best.
#4 - Kinda weak.
#5 - THIS is funny. One of the best lyrics in the show.
#6 - Eh... no opinion on this one.

Ultimately, I don't find characters that are stupid to be funny. She also says things on the way into the Corny audition and after Scatter DodgeBall that are just plain dumb. Stupid characters need a someone to educate them, for the audience's enjoyment. Otherwise, I just think, 'Wow...she's dim." A lot of my feelings on the role have to do with my personal sense of humor. Wit, in my mind, is always funnier. Penny may have many blessings - wit is NOT among them. In fact, sometimes I feel like the audience may feel that to laugh at Penny's ignorance would be cruel. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the compliment. Maybe I'll get to audition for you someday... I wouldn't mind going back out on the road. :)

Posted: 4/21/04 at 3:50am

Phantom, if i ever marry the boy, youll be the first to see the pictures.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 4:39am

Are you gonna wear white?

[daphnerocks]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 4:49am

Harvey wrote some funny lines, yep Harvey re-wrote most of that show, uncredited. Wink to Jim. Look what/who you are dealing with here. It is very sad.
He's an amazing writer, and needs not to be questioned. And Jim knows how the audience reaction has been, not a kid that pays $20 bucks to stand.

SUPPORT your artists kids, it's a dying art form.

[daphnerocks]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 4:49am

oh, and Brooke, FIERCE.

Posted: 4/21/04 at 5:00am

yes im going to wear white on my wedding day.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 6:13am

Harvey did add a WHOLE new take on those lines...

[PennyLou]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 10:25am

Bean~ #1 - Kinda funny, but this sounds like a line Amber would say, not Penny.

The line is actually "I'm hurrying, Tracy, but my mother told me I'm not aloud to perspire!"
It's not an Amber kind of line it's showing how strict her mom it and it's a funny line that I have always hear get laughs until I saw it the other day.


"#2 - Kinda funny."
~ The little trying to get her grove on dance more makes this line.

#4 - Kinda weak. ~ Um that's one of the funniest lines in the shows everyone I have seen in the role get tones of laughs at this line!

The role is hysterical, she is very far from being poorly written as Jim Vukovich and is 100% correct is saying so. I'm just a fan of the show and obviosly of Penny I have witnessed 11 (May 2nd will be 12) performances on Broadway.

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 12:26pm

PennyLou...

The reason that the '....not allowed to perspire" line seems to me like something Amber would say is because while both mothers are indeed controlling, Amber's Mom is the only one concerned with vanity. And girls not perspiring is a vanity consideration.

Again, my feelings boil down to the fact that I generally don't find stupid to be funny. Penny's aforementioned greatest line "...now I've tasted chocolate and I'm never going back!" is hilarious because it's simple and clever. She has reduced her relationship to Seaweed to it's bare essence, and the truth of it is funny. Stupid characters are funny when they get us to see something in a simple and obvious way that people normally wouldn't. The idiot-savant is funny. The villiage idiot is not.

This is just my opinion. There are MANY beautiful things about Hairspray. Penny's transformation being among them. But her humor, by and large, is not.

Posted: 4/21/04 at 5:48pm

shes not allowed to perspire because it isnt lady like and so she wont have to pay to have their clothes washed by Edna whom we meet like a minute later, when Prudy picks up her laundry being very cheap over the cost of washing her undies. Prudy is very prim and proper, oh and i dont know, maybe prudish?

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 5:51pm

Prune danish?

[NYCbabe3789]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 5:54pm

I actually tend to agree with Bean. When played by a good actress it can be great, and she does have some very funny moments, but there are some lines she has that beg to be laughed at but just aren't funny.

Examples:
The perspiring line...
Saying "Hi Tracy" to the TV...

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 6:07pm

The "Hi Tracy" line originated in the movie. Have never seen the show, but I assume they wanted to make some references back to the movie......

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 6:25pm

Playing dumb or acting stupid is very funny.

[Thezbean]

Posted: 4/21/04 at 10:30pm

Phantom...

Funny to you. Just stupid to me. But that's the great thing about this country - there's room for everyone. :)

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 5:22pm

OK, just saw Hairspray yesterday again and got to see the new people. Since this thread is about Brooke, I'll focus on her.

I went into the show with an open mind, but she was rather disappointing. Maybe it's a matter of growing into the role, but a lot of the funny lines (at least I, personally, think they're funny) were completely lost because of their delivery, her chemistry with both Kathy and Chester was non-existant and her singing was weak. Maybe it's just because I adore Jenn's Penny so much, but I wasn't impressed.

Brooke, was however, EXTREMLEY nice and gracious at the stage door. Same goes for Richard and Jonathan.


-Jess

[Phantom2]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 6:09pm

Some people are just born a spaz, others have to learn to be a spaz.

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 4/29/04 at 6:13pm

Hee...Jenn has said herself that she's a dork, so Penny kind of came naturally to her. :)


My boyfriend thought Brooke was too cute and not dorky enough to play Penny. I think he just thought she was hot, though.

-Jess