In my opinion an actress who should be given the chance to play rose is Liza Minnelli. If u listen to her liza's back album, she sings 'some people' and 'rose turn' and she sounds way better than any of the actresses who have played rose.
Victoria Clark could do it very well in 10-15 years. Ditto Christine Ebersole.
Of ALL the young actors in this day and age, Megan Hilty is the only one who strikes me as someone who can mature into the part. Maybe Leslie Kritzer, as well.
If you believe that Liza would sign on for a run of any significant length at 8 shows a week, I admire your faith.
If there wasn't already the Midler version, I say there was a chance for her to do it in a TV version. It would certainly be interesting. I don't think she couldn't do it, but I don't know that she could.
In the words of another famous actress to play Rose: "Possible. Very, very possible."
I think there are some clips of Liza singing that song on youtube, she does a great job with "Some People", but she announced she will not do 8 shows/week.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Arthur Laurents has said he wouldn't let Liza play the role in any major production because in his opinion, she'd make a terrible Rose; his argument is that Liza begs to be liked while Rose doesn't give a f*ck. In a way I agree with him, while Liza does a fantastic job with the songs, I can't see her working in an actual production of the show. Christine Ebersole seems like an obvious choice but I have a track of her singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from the Encores! Bash a few years ago and it is probably the most lackluster version I've listened to. Victoria Clark, Donna Murphy, Tonya Pinkins, Meryl Streep, Catherine Z. Jones, and Jane Krakowski (probably in concert since I don't think she could get through the role 8 times a week) are all actresses I think would make an interesting Rose at one point or another.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I think Donna's Rose would be so manipulative, incredibly sexual, and quite hilarious, not sure if she'd be larger than life but she'd certainly be a bitch yet quite vulnerable. Krakowski's Rose would be a sexual powerhouse, I'd love to see her in the role.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"