Who was the best Grizabella?
Who was the best Grizabella?
#0Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:16pm
I'm curious as to who everyone on this board thought was the best Grizabella in "Cats."
My vote goes to Kim Criswell who did Grizabella when the show opened in 1985 in Los Angeles at The Shubert Theatre in Century City. Her voice, acting and stage presence was of sheer utter brillance. Her rendition of "Memory" was so brilliant....Her voice was so astonishing!!!!
I was fortuante enough to have seen her final performance in LA sitting in the front row. She received a standing oviation after she sang the song........literally stopping the show! It was an unbelievable experience!!! Even though it was almost 20 years ago.........July of 1986, I remember it as if it was yesterday. That's the power of theatre!
Shortly after she left, Sandy Edgerton took over the role. Her interpretation of Grizabella was completely differnent than Kim Criswell's.
Tir Na Nog
Stand-by Joined: 3/31/05
#2re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:31pm
"liz callaway"
Totally agree!!! Liz was great as Grizabella! She was so touching. I saw Betty Buckley but I was like 5. People say she was the most haunting but who knows? I liked Liz.
"One difference between poetry and lyrics is that lyrics sort of fade into the background. They fade on the page and live on the stage when set to music". - Stephen Sondheim
#3re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:33pm
Elaine Paige...the original and definitive (and yes, if we are splitting hairs, Judi Dench may be considered the original). A close second would be Laurie Beechman, may she be in peace.
My mother always used to say, "The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana." - Rose Nyland
Updated On: 10/5/05 at 12:33 PM
#4re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:45pm
I can tell you who WASN'T my favorite...Lillias White. I love her and think she is brilliant, but her Grizabella was all over the place, and the constant riffing seemed out of place.
Laurie Beechman and Liz Callaway were two of my favs.
#5re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:47pmElaine Paige or Liz Callaway. I was too young to see Buckley.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#6re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:48pm
Elaine - the first Lady of British Musical 
.
She was great in Cats.
Sant
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/12/04
#7re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:49pm
Chrissie Hammond. She played the part in London. Her voice reminds Bonnie Tyler or Alannah Myles, it's husky and broken, I thought she'd never be able to sing the last verse - but she blew the place away with it.
Also Lindsay Danvers (also in London) was great in the role.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#8re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:54pmElaine Paige- saw her and she was brilliant!
joeybiltmore1
Leading Actor Joined: 2/22/05
#9re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 12:54pm
Laurie Beechman.
Memory has been acted impeccably (Buckley), sung sweetly (Liz Callaway), sung with technical perfection (Sandy), soulfully (Lillias) and with enough power to blow the roof off the joint (Criswell). But none could act AND sing the role so heartbreakingly as Beechman. The chills on her "tooooooooooouch meeeeeeeeeeeee" are still running through my body.
#10re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:08pm
Buckley.
It was a legendary, electrifying performance. I saw it about 1 month into the run. No one else can touch her, and have seen it with others since.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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#11re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:09pm
There is no doubt whatsoever, Laurie Beechman. Not only was she a dear friend of mine but she was the ONLY Grizabella that made sense out of that role.
"For me, THEATRE is an anticipation, an artistic rush, an emotional banquet, a jubilant appreciation, and an exit hopeful of clearer thought and better worlds."
~ an anonymous traveler with Robert Burns
Tenorific2
Leading Actor Joined: 2/16/05
#12re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:14pm
I saw Donna Lee Marshall in the 1988 tour, and her voice blew the roof off the theatre.
However, after seeing Betty Buckley in concert, and inhabit 'Grizabella' before your eyes, sans makeup and costume, is truly something to behold.
Tirso de Molina
Featured Actor Joined: 1/1/05
#13re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:36pmI saw both Paige and Buckley (showing my age here, I know!). I'd hate to have to choose between them!
"Sweet summer evenings, hot wine and bread /
Sharing your supper, sharing your bed /
Simple joys have a simple voice:
It says why not go ahead?"
Tenorific2
Leading Actor Joined: 2/16/05
#14re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:38pmThose of you who saw Liz Callaway-- I'm so jealous. I wish she would record "Memory". Can some of you share her interpretation of the role?
#15re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:39pm
Laurie Beechman. I saw her on the 1st National Tour when it played in Boston in 1984 and subsequently when she transferred to Broadway. I saw Betty Buckley in the original company, but prefer Laurie.
Did anyone see Lilias White?
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
Updated On: 10/5/05 at 01:39 PM
Beergoggles
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/30/05
#16re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 1:40pmElaine Paige
Jesus Loves You... Everybody else thinks you're an idiot!
#17re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 2:41pmI saw Lillias Dottie - not a memorable performance...
My mother always used to say, "The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana." - Rose Nyland
#18re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 3:49pmElaine Paige is the ONLY person who ever made the role worth a damn, IMO. I love Betty, but I never cared for her Grizabella, even though it has become her "signature role" and "Memory" her "signature song".
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#19re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 4:35pmAnother vote for Elaine Stritch. Sorry, Elaine Page.
#20re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 4:57pmI know I am nitpicking Beerchild, but it is spelled Paige, not Page.
My mother always used to say, "The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana." - Rose Nyland
BroadwayDoc
Stand-by Joined: 9/17/05
#21re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 5:40pmLoved Buckley, she was beyond amazing, but my heart goes to the late Laurie Beechman. She was such a lovely, graceful Grizabella.
#22re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 6:05pm
Just got to meet Liz Callaway last Friday and she was so sweet. She's got one of the most amazing voices, she sang here at my school...I just wish she would've sang "Memory."
Cheers,
C.
www.christopherviolett.com
#23re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 6:11pm
Debbie Byrne!!
Her Grizabella on the Australian recording is the most touching I've heard and definitely my favorite recording of Memory.
Penny4Eyes
Stand-by Joined: 9/11/05
#24re: Who was the best Grizabella?
Posted: 10/5/05 at 7:01pmbetty buckley...i never saw her but the OBCR is amazing!
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