A Little Night Music- Page 3

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:42pm

I don't think age is a sticking point in this show, at least where Desiree and Frederick are concerned. Both actors could be skewed a bit older and it would still be more than fine...as it was with Dench.

Good lord, Mirren would be incredible.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:49pm

I think that it definitely has to be believable that Desiree would have a 14-year-old daughter. Mirren could pull it off, given that she looks so amazing. Dench was the age Mirren is now (61) when she played the role a dozen years ago. From the photos I've seen, Dench looked a bit old for the role, but the recording sounds great.

I'd say the ideal Desiree should be (or look like she is) in her late 40s-early 50s.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:51pm

I actually find their love story more moving the older they are. The age of Desiree's daughter is completely secondary.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:54pm

Do you think that they should age Fredrika if they went with an older Desiree?

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 6:55pm

I suppose they could. Fredrika certainly sounds older than 14 on the Dench recording, and I've always assumed that was to make the mother/daughter relationship more believable.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 7:25pm

I'd love to see Rebecca Luker as Desiree, if not now, sometime in the future(if she's doing Mrs. Banks now, then make-up and lighting could make this a real possibility sooner rather than later). She is one of the few actresses who has the right anount of sheer elegance and class to pull the role right where it needs to go.If Desiree goes wrong, you might as well forget the whole show( she shouldn't come off as a cheap hooker and there is a real danger there with the wrong casting), as it is really an ensemble piece and everyone and everything have to blend seemlessly. I hestitate to even speculate on other casting- since I DID see the original cast on Broadway- as it seems like everything ends up being popped or belted no matter what the composer originally intended.If they EVER do this show with the actors toting around their intruments on the stage, will someone just put me out of misery right away?My pardons to those who like the idea or think it's innovative but the pit is the pit and anything else is a recipe for distaster and this show already is a very "busy" one on stage,without adding Fredrika playing a piccolo!

Updated On: 3/6/07 at 07:25 PM

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 7:56pm

I don't know about Luker as Desiree, although I could probably be convinced. My worry is that she wouldn't be warm enough. I once heard Desiree described as an "Earth mother," and I really like the sound of that. I'm not sure that's Luker, but it might be worth a try.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 8:07pm

The caution with Desiree is NOT to overact her and that's why I thought Luker might be perfect as she has great control in her acting as well as her voice. Another interesting thought, if we're really paying close attention to the acting is Marla Schaffel? What about that idea?

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 8:47pm

I was just about to suggest Marla Schaffel as Charlotte! But I think she could be an interesting Desire as well.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 9:04pm

What about Linzi Hateley, she needs another 5 years on her, but she could be quite good.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:24pm

Another interesting Desire might be Vicki Clark.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:25pm

Luker would be a better Charlotte. Marla Schaffel is a brilliant choice. Then again, when is she ever not brilliant?

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:25pm

I wanna direct!

[stonewall2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:37pm

AC126748, you have a good point with Charlotte as her voice needs to be higher. Even with her voice gone and running a fever, Marla Schaffel can still act anyone off of the stage. When she played " Eliza Doolittle" here, the poor woman was so ill that she had tea and tissues secreted all aroung the set; during the long "You Did It" interlude, she played the entire scene with her back to the audience- one couln't see her face at all- but she completely stole the scene. You could watch the muscles in her back and shoulders tightening and the anger just radiated from her. Totally AMAZING..... right in their with Judith Anderson and Julie Harris.

[AC126748]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:47pm

Marla Schaffel is New York's Tony-nominated best kept secret. She should be in everything. I'd rather see her as Lizzie Curry than Audra, but that's a different story. She'd make a killer Charlotte, and twenty years from now, a killer Desiree.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 1:06am

Wasn't Helen Mirren on Broadway about five years ago in the Ian McKellen revival of "Dance of Death"

Now my suggestion is way out there and falls into the too old category, but I was watching this French musical called "8 Women" and Catherine Denuve and Danielle Darrieux are in it. I thought that they would have made a fabulous Desiree and Mdme. Armfelt.

One thing we do have to keep in mind when playing the "Too Old" card is that 100 years ago in Europe they didn't have botox. And people did look older than they do now.

[Boq101]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 1:20am

After seeing Mirren at the Oscar's I don't think many would brush her off as too old, she looked positively radiant....

[Julian2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 4:12am

I find both Marla Schaffel and Jane Eyre to be two things that the theatre world could use to discover.

[toomeytwopiece]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 5:12am

Gothampc said:

"I also think that many of today's Broadway actors wouldn't be able to pull off the music. There has been a tendency lately for actors to use a rock belt voice. The voices for ALNM should be legit voices."

the thing is, many of us CAN sing legit, we just aren't asked to, or aren't allowed. It's unfortunate too... When I first started in this business, some people would say I needed to make my singing voice more youthful because I looked so young. It was frustrating... I stuck to my guns and learned to sing in various ways

As for this show, it's been a dream of mine for a while... and I want to play Henrik... I think it's funny if the actor playing Henrik is NOT short, which has been done about half the time, because it makes the line in "Later" more funny -- "Henrik, who is henrik? oh, the lawyer's son, the one who mumbles, short and boring..." People perceive him as short, even though he isn't. It's sad lol.

Plus, the legit High B (or bflat, whichever it is, I can't remember), is a FUN note to sing, especially legit. Turn my mic off!! ;-p

[Boq101]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 9:33am

Okay if you were Henrik I would personally buy tickets right away, It'd be amazing. You and Mark Kudisch with Helen Mirren on the same stage....