How'd they get that part?- Page 2

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 9:07pm

I loved Roger as Eva. And Fantasia as Celie (until the riffing at the very end, she was quite restrained).

[BobbyBubbi]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 9:22pm

How easy it is to criticize than it is to praise.

[showtuna]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 9:41pm

THANK YOU. She was great in Book of Mormon, but I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to cast her, especially in a role that so many would be willing to play.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 9:44pm

A lot of people do not like Nikki James in Les Miserables. What specifically is wrong, just her voice?

Updated On: 7/8/14 at 09:44 PM

[Queen of the Night]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 10:37pm

David Hasselhoff in Jekyll and Hyde. He was awesome in Knight Rider, and he is not really a bad singer, but in J/K, he was an absolute mess.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/8/14 at 11:17pm

Michelle Williams in Aida. I mean... she just can't really sing that kind of music.

[nicnyc]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 2:09am

Sutton Ross - Nikki James has a nice voice but she seems like she wandered into the wrong production of Les Mis. She just doesn't fit vocally and stylistically with the rest of the production. Also, the direction emphasized having a deep connection between the actor and the lyrics - and it seemed like she was the only one who didn't buy in. She came out like "I'm singing a famous song" and it doesn't matter what the lyrics are (in my opinion).

And I'd nominate Courtney Reed from Aladdin. Maybe she had an off night the night I saw her, but she was really pitchy - though she doesn't sound that way on the CD, so I guess maybe I just saw an off night.

Updated On: 7/9/14 at 02:09 AM

[LittleEdieFan]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 5:14am

Cheered when Evita finally died. Pity she didnt take Che with her.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 5:43am

I was at the first preview for Evita. I was flabbergasted at the voice coming out of her. While I wasn't expecting Patti or Elaine, her singing was not strong. To her credit, she was an amazing actress and dancer, but her singing was quite the letdown.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 5:48am

I have to agree with those who didn't like Bernadette in the cast recording. Her "Rose's Turn" came across like Betty Boop trying to sound tough.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 5:48am

NPH in Assassins

[15minutecall]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 6:03am

C'mon. Bernadette Peters, Neil Patrick Harris, Michelle Williams, Fantasia? I can see being disappointed, underwhelmed, but you really can't imagine how they got the part? For what it's worth, I thought Fantasia was my favorite surprise of the decade. I was surprised she was there. And she was astoundingly good.
Now, Courtney Reed. That makes sense for this thread. She looks good in a skimpy costume, but really, how'd she keep that part?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 7:43am

I thought Courtney was great. I don't get the hate.

My "How'd They Get that Part" goes to Carly Rae Jepsen. Her acting was great, but her singing voice was way off. She transited (It's 7:30 am, forget my spelling) from classic to pop to classical to pop, and it was terrible. She butchered IMOLC. You're supposed to sing classical, so sing classical! It baffles me that Rachel Potter, who has the fame AND Broadway experience/voice, lost this part to Carly because she was not famous enough!

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 7:57am

you can't Google how to spell "transitioned" because it's 7:30 am?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 8:06am

I wasn't sure if Google would pick it up.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 9:15am

Re: Nikki James in Les Mis. Her voice is not at all suited to the role and she was routinely singing the wrong lyrics to "On my Own" in previews. Her verse in "One Day More" makes me cringe. I just don't get it.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 10:09am

^^ Yes about Nikki James. Her voice is too "modern" or "pop" sounding for the classical sound of Les Mis.

I didn't HATE Courtney Reed in Aladdin but she certainly was not one of my favorite aspects of the show. She was definitely missing some Disney Magic - both in look and in sound. I think the "intangible" parts were lackin.

But oh yes..David Hasselhoff in Jekyll and Hyde. THE WORST. It's not a strong enough show to survive under such a comically weak performance in the lead.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 10:23am

Did anyone get a chance to see Susan Lucci when she was in "Annie Get Your Gun"?

[Adair Haywind]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 1:46pm

I ended up actually liking him, but when Reeve Carney was first announced to play Spider-Man having no prior acting credits whatsoever, I thought WHAT?! Alas, he got better as the run progressed and is finding success on television. :)

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 2:07pm

Les Mis is hardly an aunthetic classical score. it's loaded with pop melodies and belting.

James wasn't the disaster that I was expecting. regardless, the role is poorly written.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 2:14pm

I also did not like Elena Roger in Evita. Matt Cavanaugh was bad in West Side Story too. He made me not care that Tony died. I went back almost a year later to find out I was seeing the alternate of his replacement and loved him. That was Jeremy Jordan.

I felt Marin Mazzie was phoning it in when I saw her in Spamalot. She was great in Next to Normal though.

[Replacement Cast]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 2:26pm

Elena Roger - sometimes she was awesome and sometimes it was awful and that was on the same night. But the awful was not as much as the awesome. But the worst was Marissa Jaret Winokur -- where did that come from? OK, she was short and fat, but she can't dance (proved that to millions on DWTS) and that shrill singing voice. I thought it was Baltimore, not Brooklyn??? "Dee-ance"

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 2:45pm

Lindsay Lohan. She may not have yet performed the role (and may not ever), but simply being cast is mystifying.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 3:03pm

Yes, she is already causing problems, showing up late, not being prepared, etc. Shocker.

I agree about Marissa, RC. How she won that Tony is baffling.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 7/9/14 at 11:58pm

Kathy, I agree that Nikki James's "voice is too 'modern' or 'pop' sounding for the classical sound of Les Mis." Except for the Thenardiers, these folks need to do more than belt. While we're on "Les Mis," I have only two words to add, but I'll repeat them for emphasis: Russell Crowe, Russell Crowe, RUSSELL CROWE?!

Other examples of miscasting, in my view, include:
1) Richard Chamberlain as Henry Higgins.
2) Carrie Underwood (was that who it was?) in the TV production of "The Sound of Music."
3) The overweight fellow who played the Phantom in London some years back -- the Phantom needs to be lithe, and move like Clark Gable moved as Rhett Butler (a panther waiting to spring).

And the award goes to an unknown actor who played in the chorus of "Les Mis" at Wolf Trap. The guy playing JVJ was big and broad-shouldered. In the scene where JVJ interrupts the courtroom proceedings after soliloquizing in "Who am I?", the fellow cast as the man who "bears no more guilt than" Javert was a string bean who looked totally different from JVJ. It was pitiful -- it made the whole production seem second rate.