Comments | wiliqueen: "Now let's have no more nonsense about the state of the American theatre."

wiliqueen

"Now let's have no more nonsense about the state of the American theatre."

Jun 11, 2007 12:07

I'm sure Jack O'Brien is going to get taken to task for that one any minute, but I'm not going to be the one to do it. Anyone who's up for making the best theatre they can instead of whining about it gets my support. Is it easy for him to say, with the Lincoln Center's resources? Sure. Is that an excuse for the rest of us? Not a chance ( Read more... )

broadway, tonys

Comments 9

sventhelost June 11 2007, 17:57:16 UTC

My adoration for Audra McDonald borders on the idolatrous, but wow, no matter how hard she worked it, that number was dull. Doesn't 110 in the Shade have anything better to show off? If not (which I've sort of heard; I have two acquaintances who loathe it due to having been in two different productions), why on earth is she in it?

What song did she sing? I just saw it on Broadway this Saturday, and she was FABULOUSOCITY!

wiliqueen June 11 2007, 18:03:06 UTC

"Raunchy." It was fun for about a verse, and then I was like "OMG, I get it already!"

sventhelost June 11 2007, 18:09:21 UTC

Hrm. Yeah, I wouldn't have picked that.

It was a fun number at that point in the play, and it probably has the best staging options. And you only need one person singing, IIRC. But...

Yeah, I'd have said the Old Maid song was better, because it was sooo powerful. I was crying. Erm, which is not necessarily just because I have issues. ;)

wiliqueen June 11 2007, 18:13:19 UTC

Oh, dear. I think I need to hear that, then. See, all my favorite songs of hers are the ones that make me cry: "Your Daddy's Son," "I Won't Mind," "How Glory Goes"...

Thread 5

neadods June 11 2007, 20:43:42 UTC

Through the McDonald musical number I kept wondering how old McCallum was. He wasn't a spring chicken in the days of Northern Exposure. Agree with you about Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde... but then, I don't particularly approve of musicals made from movies. Dude, bring something new to the table that's more than a dance number!

wiliqueen June 11 2007, 21:02:14 UTC

Dude. Seventy-seven. O_O He looks the same as he has for, like, 20 years! amilyn and I saw him play Don Quixote for real at the MUNY in St. Louis about ten years ago. I got to tell him John Cullum was better than John O'Malley. :-)

I don't mind the movie-to-Broadway thing as long as it's done well, but it's definitely a tall order.

studiesinlight June 12 2007, 05:51:04 UTC

>"the man who should never have found himself playing Skeletor in a foam mask"

This made me laugh, because my back-brain burbled: "Yes, if only there had been no foam mask, that would have made all the difference!" ;-)

wiliqueen June 12 2007, 13:37:10 UTC

*rueful chuckle* Well, apart from making it not Skeletor... It just added insult to injury somehow, y'know? There's a right way to take away a brilliant actor's ability to use his face (viz. V for Vendetta). And then there's any other way...