"Promises, Promises" reviews -- Page 3

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 9:04pm

it must suck to be miscast.

i mean, no matter what you do - you just don't fit the show.

and in the lady's defense, (and i agree that cheno just can't quite fit into this baby) she is doing a great job.

It's just a shame the role doesnt let cheno be herself, and play to her strengths. (sure, one can say this shows that she has versatility and range, but honestly, performers with versatility and range are still always well cast - the roles they get to play just are stronger, and convey a range of emotion - see: Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Donna Murphy, Patti LuPone, Hugh Jackman, Hilary Swank)

What is most tragic about Cheno in "Promises, Promises" is that she's bound by the rules of musical theatre (especially revivals) - the most sensitive artform to type casting - because of how the role is/was done, and the way the book is written to someone else's strengths - if the team could just let go of this and really let her be HERSELF in the first act, with numbers like "You'll Think of Someone" and "Say a Little Prayer", she can be her quirky, fun self and then in the second act (which she legitimately nails - spot on) brought out this darker side, we could see an actress of better versatility that really did add their own "spin" to the role, rather than trying hard to nail something she's not.

imho.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 9:27pm

We all know she's 41. My point is that she comes across as younger. Not as young as Fran is supposed to be, but it still worked for me. Honestly, does Bernadette Peters look 62? I rest my case. I'm glad that Kristin is stretching herself. She had been playing pretty much the same character for most of her career and it's nice to see her do something different. Are there people who are more suited to the role? Yes. It is brilliant acting? No, but it's more than good enough IMO.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 9:44pm

My point is that she comes across as younger.

But she doesn't is the thing...

Honestly, does Bernadette Peters look 62?

YES!!!

[DAME]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 9:47pm

Bernadette looks her age. I have no interest in seeing this show and I don't want it to do well. I don't know why. The whole thing seems so Colgate to me.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 9:47pm

It also doesn't help that Cheno uses botox. This fad baffles me. I actually think it shows a woman's (or man's, Seacrest) true age.

[angelxschunard]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 10:05pm

Cheno does not use botox for it's facial effects. She uses it to battle migrains. Without botox, she wouldn't be able to perform.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 10:07pm

Sutton Foster would have been a far better choice.

Or there are plenty of age-appropriate stars who could have ended up in this: Hathaway, Scarlett Johannson (who was in talks for South Pacific, as I recall), Amy Adams would have been perfect.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 10:19pm

Sutton Foster would have been a far better choice.

Not a chance. Did you see the show, Pirag? A major plot point is that Fran is a very attractive woman. Attractive enough that she catches the eye of the company president. Foster is far too homely looking to convincingly play such a character. She actually reads OLDER than her age because she's so frumpy and awkward looking.

To say nothing of the fact she has absolutely zero star power.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/3/10 at 10:26pm

You think Bernadette looks her age? It goes to show how differently we see things. Do you think the tourists in the rear mezz of that huge theatre will care that KC is not in her 20s? Fran's age isn't even specified. I will say that Kristin looks older to me in pictures and on tv than in person. Some people think she looks younger and some don't. There's no point in trying to change each other's minds because only we know what we saw. Two people can look at the same person and see something completely different. That's life.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 3:06am

To the general audience, not us Broadway geeks, the show will be that funny guy from "Will and Grace" and the girl from "Wicked." That's star power enough to fill seats.

[angelxschunard]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 4:00am

Bless you, adamgreer. No sarcasm here.

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 8:11am

So I'm guessing Chelsea Krombach will look the right age when/if she gets to go on as Fran.

"A major plot point is that Fran is a very attractive woman. Attractive enough that she catches the eye of the company president. Foster is far too homely looking to convincingly play such a character."

I haven't seen the show but I don't think Cheno is at all attractive. I don't think Sutton is either.

[angelxschunard]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 8:16am

Well, the former is certainly more so than the latter.

[jack4jazz]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 11:07am

I couldn't agree more! This production will close once Sean Hayes recieves his Tony Award!

I am a huge fan of Kristen C. But she is 41 yrs old playing a young innocent woman who has never been in love before especially with a married man. At 41 its not so believeable. Her voice just isnt right for this sound in the show. But I love her. Its unfortunate.

Tony G. WOW! thats was a bust now we have 2 male leads who can carry a tune well. Often stiff at times on the stage but ok to watch.

SEAN HAYES! Was adorable! And everything that role should be and everything you would pay to see from Sean HAyes. NO he does not have a terrifc voice. But the voice he has does not bother you. He was sweet, funny, innocent, bitter, open, vulnerable and truly nice to watch onstage.

THE CHOREOGRAPHY! This show looks like one big sixties 'Go-Go"! Rob Ashford might as well have out the girls in knee high boots and on a box with their navels showing. I felt like he missed the mark. There is a simplicity and a little bit of innocence that was at play during the sixties. Not all women walking around just open their legs becuase they were trying to be sexy. And to answer the other questions online. NO THAT IS NOT THE ORIGNAL CHOREOGRAPHY FOR TURKEY LURKEY TIME!

KATE FINNERAN! WOW! THIS WOMAN STOLE THE SECOND ACT!

Overall if you get a free ticket see the show before Sean leaves!

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 12:15pm

"So I'm guessing Chelsea Krombach will look the right age when/if she gets to go on as Fran. "

- According to the Playbill, Krombach lost her position as an understudy. She isn't listed.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 12:34pm

Sarah Jane Everman and Megan Sikora are the understudies for Fran.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 12:48pm

"This production will close once Sean Hayes recieves his Tony Award!"

It's still Douglas Hodge's award to lose.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 1:05pm

"KATE FINNERAN! WOW! THIS WOMAN STOLE THE SECOND ACT! "

I wonder if she's improved since the first preview? Everyone seems to be raving about her. She left a very small impression on me at the first preview. Unfortunately she won't be able to snag some awards like Marian Mercer did. We all know who will be winning all of the featured actress awards this year.

[fflagg]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 5:29pm

Katie is fine if derivative; she looks and clowns like Madeline Kahn and Catherine O'Hara [who would have been brilliant].

The best perfs are Tony Goldwyn and the actress who plays his secretary; in the midst of the cacophony of "Turkey" she steals the scene by doing "nothing."

It's a shame so many theater queens seem to be in love with Kristin and Sean; what do they have that they don't have? Sean is not convincing as a straight man and his perf drowns in shtick; Kristin is too old, too shrill, and looks like she'd be better off as a bimbo reporter on the Fox News Channel [well, she is a Republican. . . ].

The audience consisted of tons of tourists, especially young girls who were fans of "Will and Grace" and did not have a clue as to who Kristin was.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 6:19pm

Saw the show yesterday. I almost hate to say it ,but I nearly whole heartedley agree with everything said: Sean carries the show, but his performance still needs work; Tony Goldwyn is horrible, Chenoweth is horribly miscast (She should have been Marge if anything) but does well in certain moments, and Katie is the best thing about the mess of a show (my friend & i will be hooting for quite some time now). I also hated (nay, loathed) the design. Whoever thought to have those blinds be the backdrop is blind themself, and why grey?!? I felt like I was in some horrible hospital room with only reruns of Will & Grace to watch...

Honestly, I don't know how to salvage such a mess of a show except to recast Tony Goldwyn, get rid of those unneccessary four executives (whose number made me want to kill), get rid of half of Kristen's material in the first half (Save Prayer, House is not a Home, & the song between her & Sean in the doctor's office, all of which she excels in), and completely redesign the physical production. Oh, and atleast give us Bennet's Turkey Kurkey Time... possibly the worst number in the show.

On a side note, sitting in the box seats are perfectly fine, didn't miss a thing.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 6:30pm

What makes you think she's a Republican? Because she's Christian? Most Republicans didn't vote for Obama, aren't pro-choice, and aren't in favor of gay rights. Kristin has said she did/is all of those things. I don't think she's necessarily a Democrat either. She's said she votes for the person, not the party. I don't see what her political beliefs have to do with anything anyway. There are people I disagree with politically whose work I still enjoy (Christine Ebersole), and vice versa.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 9:33pm

Elphaba3, Kristin got herself into a lot of hot water back around 2000 for being rather vocal about her political views (I believe she supported GWB that year).

More upsetting to a lot of theater fans, however, was her appearance on the evangelical television program, The 700 Club, hosted by well-known Christian bigot Pat Robertson (whose comments about gays are despicable), to pimp her CD.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 9:41pm

I remember the 700 Club incident. I believe her when she says it was an honest mistake on her part because she didn't know what the show stood for, but she obviously should have done her homework. Not one of her finer moments.

[Hank]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 9:48pm

I haven't seen this show yet, but after reading some of these comments, I wondering about the casting as well, and the thought of Sutton Foster came to my mind too. As for her looks, I think of her a sort of an unconventional beauty, a little dorky, but with the right make up she is adorable. She's 35, but still looks young. And it would have been cool to team her up with Gavin Creel (yes, I'm a big Millie fan).

[angelxschunard]

Posted: 4/4/10 at 10:16pm

Fran is NOT "adorable."