Alex Newell in Pippin
Alex Newell in Pippin
#1Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 6:04am
Starting in the 50th anniversary concert at the London Palladium
sondheimsnob2
Swing Joined: 1/2/22
#2Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 10:26am
Finally some good news... will buy my ticket tomorrow. Alex Newell is a gem.
JSquared2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
#4Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 3:04pm
Leading player.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#5Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 3:56pm
Exciting (mystic, and exotic) casting!
I can already hear a brilliant vocal run at the end of "On the Right Track" and a VERY menacing reading of "TAKE YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD" in the final scene.
Oh look, a bibu!
Huss417
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#6Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 4:38pmWould love to go over to see them but my luck I would get there and they would be out of the show. Happened to me three times during their run in Shucked. I finally gave up.
"I hope your Fanny is bigger than my Peter."
Mary Martin to Ezio Pinza opening night of Fanny.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#7Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 4:59pm
Ironically, what i remember most about Vereen's performance was his dancing and slinking around the stage. He sang very well, but it was the other stuff that really made his performance. I don't actually see Alex Newell as the right casting for the role. That said, if it is a straight concert (as opposed to an Encores-type performance), Newell will clearly be fine. Interesting, though, that Fosse's major contribution was what made the show the hit it became, although the score is fine, if not great.
#8Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 5:10pm
I agree that the dancing is absolutely essential to the role. I saw a (professional) regional production of Pippin many years ago that cast a man of a similar build to Newell, and he was clearly more of a "mover" than a dancer, and they made it more of a "stand and sing" kind of role. It just did not work having a chubby dude just sort waving his arms around and doing the occasional twirl when the role was written to be played by a slinky, sexy Fosse dancer.
Also, it's a dance show. If it's a park-and-bark concert of it...what would be the point?
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#9Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 1/31/24 at 5:47pm
It's TWO performances. I would expect it to be standing at music stands and singing.
They will sing the heck out of the score....and with only 2 performances, there is a good chance they'll be at both!
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#10Alex Newell in Pippin
Posted: 2/1/24 at 2:40am
how odd that nobody else is mentioned in their press release, just a 50 member choir and orchestra.
