Profile for Between 7th and 8th

Someone mentioned that Patti LaBelle participated in a reading of HEAD OVER HEELS as the Oracle, Pythio.

Do you think she’d do the part on Broadway?

 

EDIT: Patti LaBelle, NOT LuPone. 

I was at Ripley-Grier rehearsing my one man show about my severe struggle with chronic pneumonia (I will post more once I find the proper, cheap venue.) and in the studio next to me it said ZERO DARK 30 - Presentation.... 

If my hearing still serves me (Debatable...), I heard Christine Ebersole sing an aria and Mandy Patinkin sang a song in Arabic. 

Does anyone know more about this project? NYFM? Fringe? Cherry Lane Theatre?

JSquared2 said: "If you see nothing wrong with whatLaura Collins-Hughes wrote, then one would assume that you are either Ms. Collins-Hughes or her (size zero) BFF.

I can assure I am neither. I'm also not a person who is not willing to listen to other's perspectives. I'd truly like to discuss what you find about the criticism appalling.

Not being snarky, genuinely looking to discuss. I can admit I am wrong. 

 

Last evening marked the opening night of the off-Broadway revival of Smokey Joe's Cafe. As always, the New York Times published their review of the piece, which I have attached to this post. The following paragraph has stirred up some controversy, especially on the star's Twitter account:

Ms. Umphress, by the way, is bigger than the other women onstage, and the costume designer, Alejo Vietti, doesn’t seem to have known how to work with that, dressing her in an unnecessarily unflattering way. He does better with the skimpy, yet not overly revealing, pink fringe outfit Emma Degerstedt wears, and jiggles in, for the leering number “Teach Me How to Shimmy.”

Ms. Umphress responded to this criticism, which isn't directed at her, with the following tweet: Her Response. As a summary, the actress is appalled that Laura Collins-Hughes, the assigned NYTimes critic, "body shamed" her for her weight, while praising a "fit" actress. After all, "It's 2018" and we shouldn't knock others for being big and we should celebrate women's diversity. The actress goes on to call the critic's writing "ugly" and unnecessary. 

The actress completely acknowledges that the paragraph's central criticism is not aimed at her, but she still feels as though she's the sacrificial "fat" girl in the show. 

To be quick and upfront, I do not see anything wrong with the criticism. She is not criticizing the actress for her weight. She is criticizing the designer for not knowing how to dress heavier women (her criticism, not mine.) It confuses me even more that Ms. Umphress acknowledges this, but still feels appalled and angry at the comment. Was the critic not supposed to acknowledge her weight when that is a factor of her criticism? Is it an act of "body shaming" to acknowledge one is heavier than another? That to me is just a fact. I myself am heavier than most of my friends. It's just a fact. In order to celebrate diversity, we must acknowledge each other's differences. Therefore, calling that acknowledgement "body shaming" is perplexing to me. If anything, isn't the critic calling for better designs for the "sacrificial 'fat' lamb"? 

Also, no where in the article does the critic negatively review Ms. Umphress, while praising the "size 0" actress Emma Degerstedt. She actually writes a lovely notice about Ms. Umphress, which no one will acknowledge since it lives in the shadow of a criticism that wasn't even directed at her.

Of course, the response across the industry is attack, attack, attack. I truly don't understand how anyone can read the entire review and tell me that Ms. Umphress is being attacked, negatively reviewed, and "body shamed" for her performance in the musical. Curious to hear other's opinions.