Talks of a NIGHT MUSIC transfer...

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 10:48pm

To the West End then Broadway.... like SUNDAY.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997300.html?categoryid=15&cs=1

I would welcome the transfer. But would much rather have the Roundabout benefit cast with that large orchestra and age appropriate Desiree to transfer.

But this show REALLY needs a Broadway revival.
Updated On: 12/12/08 at 10:48 PM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 10:56pm

"Desiree has just said she wants to stop acting, and only do it when she feels like it," he explains. "People seem to think this line is 'this late in my life.' I was determined to cast the role so it would make sense of the story."

but see, the problem with that, is that Fredrik walked out on her Hedda fourteen years previously. Now, I mean, she could've potentially been 20-25 playing Hedda, but it seems a little unlikely. and Anne thinks she's 50? now, I mean, obviously she was distraught about what had happened at the theater, but if Desiree is as young and hot as Hannah Waddingham is, would anyone say she was 50? and Charlotte, who is older than Anne, also makes a comment about Desiree's age.

so, I mean, she doesn't need to be ancient, but I think she ought to be played as being middle-aged, just to keep with the text.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 10:58pm

I also think it messes up the whole age barrier between Desiree and Anne. There should be a visible difference.

She doesn't need to be as old as Dench was, but certainly shouldn't be in her mid 30's.

Natasha Richardson is the perfect age.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 11:01pm

Desiree in Smiles of a Summer Night is younger, closer to Waddingham's age, and I didn't think that worked well.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:15am

As he has in the past, Nunn looks to the source material. That's important to do, but it's also important to take into account the changes that were made from the source material, which he sometimes hasn't done. (I've never seen a Nunn production I've especially liked and I've seen a couple I've very much disliked. I don't get his reputation.)

Yes, in the movie Desiree is much younger, and she has a son of "about four" (according to the published screenplay, though he looks even younger to me in the actual film), presumably Fredrik's (and named Fredrik).

Clearly, one thing the creators of the musical did was to conceive of a somewhat older Desiree. Not a 60ish woman, as she's too often been played, but a woman of about 40-45. The other finalist for the role, along with Johns, was Tammy Grimes, who would have been just 39 when the show opened if she had been cast.

They said the main reason they chose Johns was that she conveyed more vulnerability, which may have been partly the result of her being older.

But it also says something about their point of view. In the movie, the actress playing Desiree conveys very little vulnerability. She's in charge, she's plotting, she's strong, she's decided what she wants and there's little doubt that this woman can get what she wants. And that's the right way to play the role given the screenplay. She's quite wonderful.

Also, in the movie Desiree doesn't have the kind of combative relationship with her mother that she has in the musical. She isn't dominated by her mother to some degree, as she is in the musical.

There's no scene in the movie that corresponds to the "Send in the Clowns" scene.

One problem with the musical is that by making Fredrika a girl of 13, it puts the affair between Fredrik and Desiree to a time when it would seem that his wife was still alive, making him less sympathetic. No one ever seems to think about this, though.

givesmevoice wrote: "Now, I mean, she could've potentially been 20-25 playing Hedda, but it seems a little unlikely. and Anne thinks she's 50?"

Well, Anne is being catty there. I don't think she believes Desiree is 50. She's scared that Fredrik might be attracted to her so she says, "Oh, that Desiree must be at least 50, don't you think?" And that's one reason why I think it's a mistake to cast a Desiree who's clearly past 50. If she is, then Anne is just stating the truth (and Fredrik wouldn't reply that he doesn't think Desiree's 50).

But it's an even bigger mistake to go too far in the other direction. A Desiree who appears to be 40-45 seems right.

Updated On: 12/13/08 at 12:15 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:33am

I totally agree Desiree is perfect between 40 and 45.

I would really love to see Brooke Shields take a stab at this role.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:34am

Brooke Shields? Oy.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:39am

Others have also showed interest in seeing her play the role.

[dramarama2]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 12:44am

All I can say is...

SEND IN THE F*CKING CLOWNS

[commasplice]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 2:42am

nobodyhome, you hit it on the head. Bergman's Desiree is a wonderful, wonderful character, but she she would be so out of place in Sondheim and Wheeler's adaptation. They've made too many changes to the plot and characters for it to work well. This is also true of most of the other female characters. I know Sondheim has said that he wrote the score with Bergman's characters in mind (which is especially evident in the cut songs), but with Wheeler's libretto, the women have been weakened -- not weakened as in poorly written, but weakened as in they have less of an edge to them (when compared to their counterparts in Smiles of a Summer Night). But that's a tangent, sorry.

I agree that Desiree should be somewhere in the 40-45 range. She's often cast too old, as is Charlotte (who ideally should be around 30, give or take a couple years; definitely not the same age as or older than Desiree, though).

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 12/13/08 at 5:31am

this might sound weird but as I was watching the Menier production, as wonderful as Hannah was, I thought it would be nice to see Ruthie Henshall in the role?? Maybe its just me ~

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/14/08 at 2:15am

Ruthie is definitely the right age. But I am having trouble buying her as a Swedish actress.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 12/14/08 at 6:30am

"But this show REALLY needs a Broadway revival."

I don't think this production will go down well on Broadway simply because it is directed by someone whose theatrical scope barely includes Broadway musicals. He has not treated it as a Broadway nusical - he is clearly experimenting with the material and dealing with it in a way that is similar to the productions of late nineteenth century drama that he has directed.

As I've posted on the West End board I think this production is a triumph on its own terms. But those terms are very different from those that Broadway musical purists will want to see ALNM revived upon.

And as for age and casting, I had much greater difficulty believing Jessie Buckley was 17 (though I understand she is no more than a couple of years older than that) than I did believing Hannah Waddingham was in the 40 to 45 age range; much has to do with the quality of the acting as well.

"Now, I mean, she could've potentially been 20-25 playing Hedda, but it seems a little unlikely."

Perhaps Trevor Nunn was directing.

"it puts the affair between Fredrik and Desiree to a time when it would seem that his wife was still alive"

Perhaps Fredrik's first wife looked like Trevor Nunn.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 12/14/08 at 7:21am

I would have to agree that 'it's great on its on term' bit. But I think it will suffer on Broadway as well. It might do well for a West End transfer to The Playhouse which after seeing La Cage, I think suits Menier shows REALLY well! Personally I cannot see this particular production made into a full scale Broadway production.