I'm first in line to bow to the power of Audra McDonald's voice - she is a fabulous singer and I love to listen to her.
BUT...
...she is not a great actress. THERE, I'VE SAID IT. Her acting choices are too simple, her performances are too earnest, and she doesn't have the same presence that she has when she opens up and sings. That's when she is brilliant.
Sorry. MHO.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
Theatah; for the same reason a white man couldn't play Jackie Wilson in the Jackie Wilson story. Not saying that they couldn't do it from a talent standpoint.
I got rid of my teeth at a young age because... I'm straight. Teeth are for gay people. That's why fairies come and get them
She tries too hard to act. Nothing is organic - it's all voice and facial expression with no inner life.
Until she sings.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
Here we go again with this...Carl Magnum when they do it, you can stay home. Personally I think it's a little rediculous that everything has to be soooo historically accurate. It's funny that no one screamed when all of Shakespeare's plays where all male (in fact it was law). No one said anything when Olivier played Othello (it is in fact still talked about today as one of the best performances in recent history). I could mention the white actress "playing black" in Showboat or the use of white actors playing Native Americans and Asians in countless films and plays. But the minute it's the other way around SUDDENLY there's heart attacks to be had. I say get real and get over it.
Now a white Raisin is only rediculous because it's about race relations unlike Cat. It'd be like having a Black mother in Ragtime or a white Coalhouse. That is significantly different than historical inaccuracies. It's like an all-woman's cast of Naked Boys Singing or Puppetry of the Penis...FOOLISH.
"I could mention the white actress "playing black" in Showboat or the use of white actors playing Native Americans and Asians in countless films and plays. But the minute it's the other way around SUDDENLY there's heart attacks to be had. I say get real and get over it."
Point missed Jazzy. I don't expect this to be like the SNL skit where they "White" Eddie Murphy.
I got rid of my teeth at a young age because... I'm straight. Teeth are for gay people. That's why fairies come and get them
Yes Carl, you did miss the point. Check out the film of Showboat...no one is really "made up". She is clearly a white actress playing mulatto. And you only really addressed 1 sentence of the whole point
"Personally, I think this is a bad idea. What is the point of doing all-black versions of shows, except to be PC? It's just a gimmick."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there certainly seems to be a lot less opportunities for black actors in the business. So many of the historically "great plays" are written by and for a cast of white people with the except of August Wilson plays, A Raisin in the Sun, and A Soldier's Play (and I'm sure there are a few others). Is it a bad thing that talented black actors can have the chance to dig their teeth into some of these plays. And I think the theory behind making the cast ENTIRELY and not partially black is so the production doesn't falsely read as something dealing with race relations if that isn't the focus. Updated On: 1/4/07 at 12:37 PM
Didn't someone recently claim that the blacks lack talent?
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
I'm currently prompting for my high school's prodcution of this. Its very boring for me, due to the fact, the actors are very annoying in our production, but its good material.
I'm glad they'll be trying it from a different angle. I say Taye Diggs would be good as Brick. And James Earl Jones as Big Daddy Audra as Maggie. Most def.
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.
I agree with D2 about Audra McDonald as Maggie. She tries too hard to act. Nothing is organic - it's all voice and facial expression with no inner life.
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
The theatre I worked for in little old Richmond VA did a production with an all-black cast over seven years ago ... as always regional theaters are ahead of Broadway's curve.
Tamara Tunie played Maggie quite magnificently, and the production was very powerful. Only a few lines of text were altered to make the show make historical sense.
The Kathleen Turner revival years ago was supposed to have featured James Earl Jones as Big Daddy, but he got cold feet and pulled out.
The Kathleen Turner production was pretty good, except for Daniel Hugh Kelly as Brick. Charles Durning as Big Daddy, Polly Holliday as Big Mama, and Debra Jo Rupp as Mae.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson