How'd they get that part?- Page 3
How'd they get that part?
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#50How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 12:03am
I stand by Billy Tighe in Pippin. Terribly off-key and awkward performance.
Richard Blake in anything. He's just so bland.
#51How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 12:34am
I didn't mind Carly Rae in Cinderella even though I expected to. He voice definitely has more of a pop quality than we were used to in the role but I didn't think she was awful.
And, I enjoyed Bernadette in Gypsy.
The only actor that comes to mind for me is Barry Pearl in Baby, It's You. I know the show didn't get a lot of love around here but I thought it was filled with great performances. But every time Pearl came on stage it was jarring. I liked him in Musical Theatre West's Shook Up but not so much in Baby, It's You.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
jonartdesigns
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/04
#52How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 11:33am
Billy Tighe was quite wonderful as Lewis when I saw Pippin, for what it's worth.
As much as I adored getting to see her live, Bebe Neuwirth was woefully miscast as Mama Morton. She wasn't flirty, she sure as hell wasn't intimidating, and the big notes were a bit out of her reach.
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
broadwayhereicome3
Swing Joined: 7/3/14
#53How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 1:36pmWendy Williams as Mama Morton in Chicago. I was so excited to see the show last summer, as I hadn't had the chance to see it yet. When I got there I found out it was Wendy Williams' last show. She was TERRIBLE! All the other leads got a standing ovation and she hardly got any applause.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#54How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 2:11pmThis thread is kind of pointless. It's not about celebs in parts. The celebs got the part because they're celebs. So stop bringing up that example.
#55How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 2:41pm
Dissapointed in a person in a role and being totally miscast.
That being said...
I thought the WHOLE cast of Copacabana was miscast when I saw the tour of it.
And I thought Roz White was HORRIFICALLY miscast as Effie in the 1997 tour of Dreamgirls. She looked 20 years older then the rest of the cast and for some reason could not follow the music... (she was replaced the day after we saw her)
"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."
lauren9739
Swing Joined: 5/2/13
#56How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/10/14 at 3:22pm
I have to agree with Matt Cavenaugh in West Side Story. The entire time I felt like he was still playing a Kennedy. Nothing he did made me think he could have been in a gang in New York.
#57How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/11/14 at 10:03am
Unless I missed it, I'm surprised no one mentioned David Turner who played the gender bending David Gamble in that horrific revival of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER.
The next two names obviously got the parts because of their name value yet deserve to be mentioned for their unforgivable performances in out of town productions and tours of Broadway shows. They literally stopped the show not because they were good but because they were so bad. Rock Hudson was totally out of his league in ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (countless people got out of their seats to use the bathroom or have a smoke during his "Our Private World"). And Tony Curtis in SUGAR (SOME LIKE IT HOT) wandered around the stage like he was in a fog. Playing the small Joe E. Brown role from the movie instead of the lead role he had in the film, he only had one song and a limited amount of dialogue yet his lack of enthusiasm showed he was doing it solely for the money.
#58How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/11/14 at 12:01pm
@Kathy
I am sure the director and the producers wanted a "pop" influence to go along with the production. That is why you see the tagline "LES MIS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY" in the promos. Nikki's voice isn't too "modern" or "pop" for the score, it's just not the right one. A pop voice could easily go with the score (ala Samantha Barks as Eponine and Eva Noblezada in Miss Saigon who sound absolutely incredible).
broadfan327
Broadway Star Joined: 3/20/08
#59How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/11/14 at 1:33pmFantasia in The Color Purple was one of the best performances I have ever seen live.
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#60How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/11/14 at 2:03pmMatt Cavenaugh belonged on the cover of "Connecticut Yuppie Monthly". He never should have been cast as Tony.
Showface
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
#61How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/11/14 at 7:12pmI understand how she got the part, but I've heard Wendy Williams was terrible in Chicago.
#62How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/12/14 at 12:36amI know how she got it... but Michelle Williams in Cabaret???? Did they really need another "name" with Alan Cumming in it? Wasn't there anyone else who wanted it???
kp
Understudy Joined: 8/14/04
#63How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/12/14 at 3:15amSutton Ross - Lohan may well prove to be a terrible choice but you are repeating a story that has been shown to be false. It was along the lines of her showing up late to rehearsals and not being prepared. However, the play is still casting and rehearsals haven't begun. So, give her a chance to fail!
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#64How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/12/14 at 10:30am
I was going off an article I read on this very website. If it's wrong, I retract my statement.
"So, give her a chance to fail!"
She's been succeeding beautifully at that for the past eight years.
#65How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/12/14 at 3:56pmCheyenne Jackson in everything he's cast in
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
njohn
Understudy Joined: 6/14/07
#66How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/12/14 at 4:30pm
Nikki M. James as Eponine for the revival of Les Miserables.
I haven't read any interviews of her speaking about the part, and maybe questions of how she got the role were asked, but if not I wouldn't be surprised if her Tony win booked her the role. If so, what a horrid judgment on producers & casting directors. This is why I always stress for auditions for principle parts. And if the producers thought she'd get more butts in the seat - well, they were wrong.
"This thread is kind of pointless. It's not about celebs in parts. The celebs got the part because they're celebs. So stop bringing up that example."
True. Celebs get certain parts because they're celebs; no need to say they got the part out of any merit (I know people will say "Of course the did!" - kay, keep deluding yourself) or audition process, unless you count "I don't think he's a big enough to pull the crowds. Who else did you have in mind?" Producers are betting on their name recognition to sell tickets. As long as the given celebrity doesn't absolutely suck in the part, and they can shuffle their feet quick enough in the dance numbers, they have the blessings of everyone, from the critics to the fans.
Updated On: 7/12/14 at 04:30 PM
brdway411
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/14
#67How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/14/14 at 12:24amMichelle Williams in Cabaret. I thought she was totally bland and uninteresting.
#68How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/14/14 at 12:46am
The idea of Bebe Neuwirth playing Mama Morton in Chicago, with her squeaky voice, sounds like a "Saturday Night Live" spoof. I definitely think of Queen Latifah (the movie's Mama Morton) as the perfect kind of singer, dancer, and actor to play Mama Morton. I think Minnie Driver could probably pull it off, too.
I guess they cast Bebe Neuwirth because Carrie Underwood was unavailable. 
Audrey, the Phantom Phanatic, who nonetheless would rather be Jean Valjean, who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.
millie_dillmount
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/22/04
#69How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/14/14 at 6:52am
"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!"
Does anyone outside the Broadway community really know who Rachel Potter is? I mean, I know she was on X Factor, but did that really establish her has a huge name outside of the Broadway community? Then again, I don't watch X Factor...
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611
#70How'd they get that part?
Posted: 7/14/14 at 8:35am
I had forgotten about how sad I was with Matt Cavenaugh in WSS. We were like "what were they thinking?"
I actually went back specifically to see Bebe in Chicago (one of my favorite shows) and thought she was good. Yes, it would have been fun to see Queen Latifah take a shot but I am glad I got to see Bebe again and not Wendy. Oy.
