Wonderful Town -Where is Murphy?- Page 3

[AvalonSkysStudios]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:01pm

i totally agree w/ jrb_actor:
its the managment's fault...
this entire thing seems crude..
and if u want to see her.. i would wait
til another show comes up..
anyways..
there are only 6 perfs left..
so ur choice..
the weislers always seemed kinda eery to me.
the show should close, with all this controversy
and terrible reviews.. i will be surprised if
it makes a comeback with Brooke Shields...

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:02pm

I don't argue that, D. I argue the fine line that I think is often crossed in these threads.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:02pm

jrb - seriously, unless they have her locked in a basement, I have to believe that she has the major responsibility. What good would it do the producers to keep her from showing up?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:04pm

what are you talking about? I'm not talking about why she isn't there--I'm talking about why she is not removed from the production.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:05pm

Oh okay. I'll give you that then.

[AvalonSkysStudios]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:06pm

oh my is this gettin intersting !

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:07pm

Look, I don't know or really care why Murphy has missed 60+ performances. If it's some personal matter (health-related or otherwise) frankly, I don't want to know as it's really none of my business. She's one of the most talented musical theatre stars of this generation -- that goes without question. The issue is that, whatever the reason, her missing so many performances has hurt the show, hurt the morale of the cast, and -- like it or not; fair or not -- is going to affect the ability of Donna Murphy to headline Broadway shows in the future. Many producers are going to be hesitant to entrust her with the lead of a show ever again given her attendance record on WT. And that's a shame considering how brilliant she was in this show, as well as "King & I" and "Passion," which was one of the finest performances of the last couple of decades (where she only missed one performance in an incredibly demanding role).

I hope that for her sake and the sake of her many fans that she'll get another starring opportunity and whatever has caused her to miss so many performances won't happen again.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:09pm

"Look, I don't know or really care why Murphy has missed 60+ performances. If it's some personal matter (health-related or otherwise) frankly, I don't want to know as it's really none of my business. She's one of the most talented musical theatre stars of this generation -- that goes without question. The issue is that, whatever the reason, her missing so many performances has hurt the show, hurt the morale of the cast, and -- like it or not; fair or not -- is going to affect the ability of Donna Murphy to headline Broadway shows in the future. Many producers are going to be hesitant to entrust her with the lead of a show ever again given her attendance record on WT."

Margo, I have said all that before in different threads. The people who need to hear it - don't.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:09pm

I hope so, too, Margo. And, I hope that everyone who actually is involved and affected by all of this comes out doing fine.

[AvalonSkysStudios]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:11pm

MARGO IS SOOO RIGHT!!!
AMEN
I TOTALLY AGREE!!!
DONNA ROCKS
AND SHE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE!!

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:14pm

What's been the 'official word' from either her or the production?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:20pm

Had there been one, DGrant, perhaps we wouldn't be having this debate every night.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:21pm

Well that part certainly is a little peculiar.

[TVBoy]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:37pm

jrb... I've agreed with you until you got to this line... "...this is a public forum and respect should be heeded." I think maybe it should read, "...this is a public forum BUT respect should be heeded."

We, as a society, are curious. We cannot control the flow of conversation in public places, especially when it's about something as public as a Broadway musical and its star.

I also agree 100% with what Rath has said. I, too, don't think it's anyone's business but Donna's as to why she has missed so many performances. The reason this is even an issue is because of the excessive amount of call-outs Ms. Murphy has made. When something like this happens, people want to know why as to justify it someway for themselves. (After all, this is NOT the norm. That, in and of itself, makes it a target for debate.) Do we need to know? No. Do we want to know? Yes. "Wonderful Town" is a business. We pay money to see "Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town." If I ordered "Camp" on pay-per-view and got "Friday the 13th" instead, I would want to know WHY. Even if the excuse I'm told is something as simple as "technical difficulties," at least I'm given a reason.

There was a line in New York magazine that I thought was interesting. The writer said, "If this were high school, Ms. Murphy would have failed because of skipping."

Updated On: 9/21/04 at 08:37 PM

[cmleidi]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:37pm

A few things:

Donna Murphy went public with this issue. She spoke about her absences in Liz Smith's column, IF she wanted anonymity and privacy, she should not have gone public. I don't blame her for going public, but she (or anyone else) can't now backtrack and complain about her absences (and the reasons for them) being of public interest.

I don't care why she's gone. I just care that she didn't show up for a large number of performances, and I couldn't buy a ticket for a performance during her supposed last week of performances. I no longer play the will he/she or won't he/she game. I live in Ohio, and it's too much of a financial risk. No star is worth that kind of trouble.

I also second Margo's assessment of Murphy's talent. She's phenomenally gifted, and it's a shame that her absences have overshadowed that.
Updated On: 9/21/04 at 08:37 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 8:59pm

Well, I disagree with the notion that a message board is equal to a private conversation with your friends. All comments here are put down in writing for 35,000 people to read a day. I think you can talk as trashy as you please with your friends in private, but when you post or speak in a public manner, you need to be respectful.

[TVBoy]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:09pm

jrb... I think you added a little spice to what I said... I never said this was like a private converation between friends. I said this is a public place and conversations cannot be controlled in public places. This message board is open to all, therefore is public. There is a huge difference between public and private converations. Just wanted to clarify for you.

Updated On: 9/21/04 at 09:09 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:11pm

cool--we are on the same page then. But as a community, it is important to remind each other when we have crossed that line (I ain't perfect either). It's the old "just because we can, doesn't mean we should".

[TVBoy]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:13pm

well said and this poster agrees :)

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:14pm

Cool! And, let me know if I can add a little spice to anything else.

[Spiritoflaw]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:22pm

It is very sad that so much time and energy is spent here about Donna's absence, instead of celebrating her unique talent! It's even more heart breaking to imagine that it may affect her career forever. Seems quantity is more valued that quality!

I find it very insulting that the staff at the box office and at Telecharge continue to insist on a daily basis that Donna Murphy is performing in WT until 9/26. Play Bill published an article earlier today announcing that Donna is starting her final week in WT. What is the point of all this?

In the past 3 weeks, I've personally observed ticket holders in front of the theatre screaming at theatre staff about this misleading situation. They routinely respond that it's Donna who calls and cancels every day, always at the last minute. I've heard this myself. The theatre management is blaming Donna, while others are blaming the management! A Telecharge person told me on the phone at about 5:15pm today, that Donna was performing this evening. On the other hand, they will give ticket refunds based on Donna's absence instantly! I think this daily game of lying to the audiences is certainly what we're indignant about. It's also hurting Donna's reputation simply by drawing so much attention.
All in all, it's pretty clear that that the hope of seeing Donna this week is in very short supply.

Updated On: 9/21/04 at 09:22 PM

[TVBoy]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:42pm

Yes, I'm bored tonight so I'm going to post again. Actually, I'd like to expand on something Spirit said...

The fact that we here are wasting "time and energy" on the topic of Donna missing shows may be due to the fact that Playbill and Telecharge KEEP telling us that Donna is going to be in the show. This is a simple cause and effect case.

Are Playbill and Telecharge lying to us so that we'll purchase tickets anyway? (That's a whole other topic in itself.) Are they actually getting this information from the producers? I didn't see the article in Playbill. Did they quote any sources?

I think as long as Playbill keeps reporting and Telecharge keeps telling us Donna WILL be in the show, we'll keep talking and asking questions.

(A sidenote... I'll be the first to take up for Donna because I do respect her for her talent. It's because I respect her so much and want to see her career continue that I'd like to know some reason why she isn't in the show. We don't know if it's her fault or not. If it's not, I'd like to know so I can go on respecting her and admiring her talent for many years to come. I'm just afraid if some sort of public comment isn't made on this, she will lose public respect.)

Updated On: 9/21/04 at 09:42 PM

[Spiritoflaw]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 9:56pm

Here is a link to the Play Bill article:

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88524.html

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 10:10pm

You can't blame the box office staff and the Telecharge staff. They can only say what they know--and what is appropriate to be said. Playbill isn't responsible for reporting what they are being told. And, you can't blame the manager at the Al Hirschfeld as they are only in charge of the building and its staff.

Who knows who is to blame?--but it ain't any of these folks.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/21/04 at 10:11pm

jrb is right.