How did Tammy Blanchard's Louise compare to Laura Benanti's

[esparza 333]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:36pm

I know another thread about Laura but i want to know.

Updated On: 4/14/08 at 02:36 PM

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:40pm

Sucked.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:41pm

I can't compare them because I haven't seen Laura, but I saw Tammy three times and loved her!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:45pm

I liked Tammy, but I don't think she was nearly as strong as Laura is in the role. Laura draws attention, which is really hard to do when you're sharing a stage with someone like Patti. PLUS Laura made you remember why "Little Lamb" was written in the first place. and why the show is called Gypsy.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:45pm

Laura's is tougher, very much "like mother, like daughter" as the script says. I felt her turning into Rose right there.

This is to take nothing from Tammy. Her performance and understanding of the character was strong and valid.

However I am beginning to agree with the critics who are saying Laura's Louise is the definitive one to date.

This is the 7th Gypsy I have seen. Plus the two filmed versions.

[sondhead]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 2:53pm

I liked Tammy lots, but I seem to be in the minority here. I also love Laura.

The thing I love about Tammy is she had a wonderful innocent vulnerability and seemed like.. retro.. out of another time. She also made a wonderful teenage Judy Garland because of this quality, by the way.

I'd say to compare them.. they're different, but both wonderful.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:01pm

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:24pm

I've seen them all (Merman on) and Benanti is the best, by far. No argument. She now owns the role.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:25pm

I LOVED Tammy's performance, but Laura's is so brilliant that Tammy's pales in comparison.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:26pm

She and Bernie looked alike, which is always a plus.

Bernie was the only reason to see the revival. And Julie Halston.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:35pm

And the lamb.

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:36pm

I haven't seen Laura yet, but the main issue I had with Tammy Blanchard's performance was that there was no transformation from the girl in the background to the magnetic stripper. I thought she was a wonderful Judy Garland, and I was horribly disappointed with her Gypsy.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:38pm

And the lamb.

Otherwise, it was a completely underwhelming production. It's no wonder why Laurents hated it. And the minimalist staging was a precursor to the Doyle method.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 3:59pm

"the main issue I had with Tammy Blanchard's performance was that there was no transformation from the girl in the background to the magnetic stripper."

The main reason I loved her was because her transformation was brilliant. Tammy's performance was very subtle. I guess some people don't appreciate subtlety. From what I have seen of Laura, she overacts too much for me.

[sanda]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:04pm

Tammy is great.

Laura's Gypsy is brilliant. But her take on Louise is a little old.

I like them both.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:07pm

aw, I forgot all about Tammy's little bob. although now I remember wondering how her hair grew so quickly.

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:10pm

I didn't think Tammy did enough in the role. She never reacted to anything that was going on around her. Compare her during Everything's Coming Up Roses to Laura during Everythings Coming Up Roses and you can definitely see who the better Louise is.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:13pm

I thought they were both wonderful, and had very different interpretations of the role. Vocally, I preferred Laura, though.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:36pm

Poorly. Although I know I'm in the minority in not liking Tammy's performance. very much.

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:40pm

I didn't care for Tammy either, which was a let down because I was OBSESSED with her in that Judy Garland movie - and she's just GORGEOUS. Just a classically pretty girl all around. Also while we are on that supporting cast, I also didn't like John Dosset. They both lacked motivation - they were onstage doing what they were supposed to be doing but it wasn't always obvious why.

I think I'm in the minority for really enjoying Bernadette and enjoying Patti as well...ha.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:56pm

I thought Tammy was the best so far, next for me was Zan Charise,
I agree Benanti reads too old and she is way too beautiful and not shapely enough to be a stripper.
Her acting is ok up till the last scene where she starts screaming out of nowhere.
And Natale Wood comes in third.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 5:07pm

Benanti is absolutely wonderful in the role, but Tammy did a great job, as well. Her take on the transformation was different and much more subtle than Laura's or Christa Moore's (who Laurents has stated was his favorite Louise). Throughout her first striptease, it was as if she was in a trance, trying to take herself out of the moment, and then at the end snapping out of it and realizing that she enjoyed what she was doing. It worked, oddly enough. It was also a plus to see Bernadette in the "wings", and seeing her frustrations with how Louise was performing, knowing that she could do it better. It added a little something to the moment. She was a very solid Louise. Laura's better, but it's a little unfair to compare to them.

[musikman]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 5:24pm

I have yet to see the current Gypsy, so I can't give my opinion on that.

However, I really thought Tammy was terrific in the role. What I found so compelling in he performance was the change in her voice, not just her confidence as a person. From her childish speaking and singing which transformed into that full sound and voice.
The way she moved and spoke just blossomed (for lack of a better word) as the night progressed.

I remember thinking when she first came on that she was a bit boring and stiff in the role, but that choice made the transformation later on in the show that much more successful.

[jake6970]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 5:27pm

I really loved Laura in the role, but I felt that A. she screamed and over acted in the final scene and B. I didn't see enough of the original Louise in her Gypsy, and I love to see both played as the same person. I felt her Gypsy and Louise were too separate. I still LOVED her though.

[theaterguy11]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 5:39pm

Whoever said the comment about the Mendes revival being minimalist obviously hasnt seen the current revival.

The sets are faaaaar worse and faaaar more minimal