It's been 21 years since she's been on Broadway and 32 years since she's been in a musical on Broadway. And I, for one, think that's totally unacceptable.
She was performing in London (off West End) a few years back in a musical called Betwixt! that (if truth be known) despite having potential, wasn't very good. in fact, she was the only reason that i went and saw it.
Janie Sell Barbara Harris Carol Channing Barbra Streisand Elliott Gould Lesley Ann Warren Shirley MacLaine Robert Redford Stephanie Mills Lola Falana Barry Bostwick
But maybe none of them want to work that hard, at their age and all...
Thank god for the Pushing Daisies soundtrack, which gave us her version of "Morning has Broken" and her duet with Chenoweth on "Birdhouse in Your Soul."
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Well, I saw her in Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl and in her cabaret act at Key West...... Neither was particularly memorable. Maybe there is a reason she doesn't get hired? Or maybe she doesn't want to do it?
I think Ellen Greene is great and she needs more work like Pushing Daisies. I think it's tough to find where she would fit into a Broadway show. There aren't that many roles for aging innocents with a gospel belt. I'm struggling trying to think of a role that she could play.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
I also cherish her Audrey in Little Shop. That performance is as iconic as they come. Sadly, her Adelaide was one of the least good things about the Hollywood Bowl Guys and Dolls. Sounds like perfect casting, right? But there should be a real person underneath Adelaide's comedy that Ellen Greene wasn't able to find. Maybe it was the short rehearsal time, maybe it was seeing the '92 revival with Faith Prince (another iconic performance) that makes it hard for anyone else to replace in our eyes.
Still, Ellen Greene will always have Audrey as her own.
Ellen is an anomaly. If you're measuring by Laban standards, Ellen is a total "Float". Yet she has that gospel belt. She's like Megan Hilty was trying to play Marilyn. I think if Wicked had been around years ago, Ellen could have been a great Glinda.
By Laban standards Adelaide needs to be a "dab" "flick" or a "wring". "Float" just doesn't work for Adelaide.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Can she still sing like she did 30 years ago? Depending on the source you trust, she's at least 63 or 64 (officially). Not many women hold on to their power belt that long.
I doubt she can reach the vocal heights of her "Suddenly, Seymour"- and I assuming that's why the music she's been singing has less vocally challenging.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I'll grant that she's always... utterly fascinating, but don't you have to admit that she's having a really, really hard time with the high notes in that link? I'd fear that eight shows a week might do her harm.
Perhaps it's her reputation for being difficult that keeps her from work? I remember this story about the making of this HBO movie she was in in the 80s and it didn't paint a flattering picture of her. I think she's a marvelous performer, though.
A few years ago, I thought she would have been an excellent replacement for Katie Finneran's character in Promises, Promises. They went ahead with Molly Shannon, who was definitely enjoyable, but I still think Ellen would have been a better choice. It's a perfect role for her. That voice! The comedy, the song... Everything about it.
She could easily go into Pippin. Or even Miss Morrible in Wicked.
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
She played a small but serious role in Heroes too, during the same storyline as Jayma Mays, who other than not being a singer reminds me a lot of Ellen Greene.