Profile for ComingUpRoses2

I've always thought this would make a great live musical. No, it isn't family friendly, but who cares? There are only so many of those anyway. Give it to HBO or something. Emma Stone was pretty great in the recent revival. I wonder if they could persuade her to return. It'd certainly bring in viewers. 

Just revive GYPSY like they did CHICAGO and replace Rose with someone new every few months. haha!

I think the live singing worked beautifully in some scenes and not much much in others. Anne Hathaway managed to pull it off, but a lot of others simply couldn't and needed all the studio help they could get. It depends on the context of the song (emotional songs tend to work much better live, because the actors never knows what their performance will be like from take to take) and the talent they're using (even Broadway performers would find it difficult to do 30 takes of a song like "Bring Him Home" or "I Dreamed A Dream."

I'm a big fan of mixing and matching live and studio if possible. "My Man" in Funny Girl is a great example. They did the more emotional first part live and dubbed in a studio version for the big, belty part to make sure all of those glorious notes were given full justice. 

Movie musicals are genuinely just very hard to do right. It's not an exact science, because every musical is different. Even great shows can be transferred to film more or less intact (like Gypsy) and not feel right or "cinematic" enough. If the casting is off, if it feels too stage-bound, and if the director has no imagination in staging the numbers (or isn't very musical to begin with), it's not going to work.

Look at a number like "Rose's Turn." On stage, it brings the house down with just a spotlight on the actress playing Rose and a blank stage. On film, if it's presented that same way (as it, unfortunately, was in both filmed versions of the show), it lands with a big thud. A director and screenwriter need a vision to make a scene like that cinematic. Even getting into the character's head and having her imagine a huge audience screaming for her could work wonders and be a million times more cinematic and interesting. 

I still think Daly's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" is the scariest one I've ever seen. I remember shaking by the end of it and even welling up a little bit. There was something so desperate about it. It was like a woman possessed. I'm not sure why or what she did to make it so frightening, but it was magic. 

I don't believe she did. Seems like such a no brainer. I wonder why it never happened. It's one of those roles where I'd pretty much like to see anyone take a crack at it. Every interpretation I've seen at least has a few interesting moments. 

Thanks fro your insights, everybody. I love having these kinds of discussions. 

Donna would be excellent! If not her, Toni Collette. 

I do think that was an excellent choice by Laurents. I found this recent ending to be the most powerful personally, especially with Louise laughing haughtily and leaving Rose alone on the stage. I found that very moving. I usually can't stand the last few seconds of the show with Rose and Louise acting like no damage has been done and walking off into the sunset. I prefer the more truthful ending Laurents gave us. 

I'm sure Gaga would sing the **** out of the score, but she's just not very funny or interesting on screen. It's like all these people begging for her to play Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL. They'd have to rename it GIRL. 

If you're going to revive a Laurel Bacall musical, revive Woman of the Year. It's a far better score. 

It's really not a terrible movie and a lot of great Broadway shows have suffered far worse fates when brought to film, but I do have to admit that I find Michael Crawford to be truly awful in the film. He grates my nerves so much every time he's on screen. 

Sure, Babs might have been too young for the role, but she definitely commits and is quite funny (and of course sings the score better than anyone ever has and probably every will). 

He'd probably be a pretty good Ben Stone in Follies in a few years. 

Reba would nail it. Does Parker Posey sing? She could be funny. 

That Allison Janney idea got me thinking about her in MAME as well. She'd be great, acting-wise. I don't know if her voice would work for it. From her performance in 9 to 5, it seemed higher than, say, Carol Channing or Lauren Bacall, but not by much. 

I can't believe no one's mentioned Rose in Gypsy yet. She'd be a natural. 

I heard Rob Marshall was in serious talks to do a film remake of Gypsy after Chicago with her as Rose, but Arthur Laurents didn't want her because she was a "second banana." I think he was wrong about that.