Brooke Shields in "Wonderful Town" - How bad was she?

[Singer-Moves Poorly]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:35pm

I just had to ask because I recently saw "Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit" and the bit they did started out with her coming onstage and announcing something like "I'm Brooke Shields, and I single-handedly closed "Wonderful Town"!

Also, having recently acquired the show tunes digital music channel via Comcast, I've had a chance to listen to both her and Donna Murphy doing the same song from the show ("One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man"). Now I know that not everyone can be Donna Murphy, but Brooke's version reeeaaaallllyyyy paled in comparison. I also heard her rendition of "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and was similarly not impressed.

So I have to ask: Was Alessandrini exaggerating, or was she that horrible.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:44pm

Brooke was EXCELLENT in WONDERFUL TOWN!

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY just makes fun of everything.

Brooke received raves across the boards, and many found her to be a better fit for the role than Donna Murphy.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:47pm

Yeah but that's not the point.


How bad was Brooke Shields????

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:49pm

I couldn't have said it better. She was Excellent.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:52pm

She was terrible. I saw both Brooke and Donna in the role, and Donna was significantly better. Her positive reviews came from her character embodyment, which is important. Brooke's acting was fine, there was nothing wrong with that. But her singing is TERRIBLE! Horrific even. I can say with confidence that Donna was better overall.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:54pm

^That's the spirit!!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 3:55pm

But wasn't the role written for someone who couldn't sing (name slips mind at moment)?

Character embodiment is definitely important for this role. You can be an average/so-so singer and be good in this role as long as you can portray the character well.

[Body Beautiful Beale]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:01pm

Did you create a profile just to watch people bash Brooke Shields? If so, that's pathetic.

[D2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:02pm

The role was written for Rosalind Russell, who had a range of less than 3 notes. (Her words).

Brooke Shields took that show and ran with it, giving an energetic, high class LEADING LADY performance. She was dynamic, she was funny, she was different than Murphy but in every way her equal in terms of understanding the role and the show and making it all work beautifully. A classic old fashioned star turn in a classic old fashioned star vehicle.

Updated On: 8/10/07 at 04:02 PM

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:03pm

She was NOT terrible.

I saw all three : Donna Murphy, Linda Mugleston, and Brooke Shields.

My favorite was actually Linda Mugleston.

While Brooke was too pretty to be really believable as the ignored sister, I found her to be extremely likeable in the role. She had me on her side from the beginning.

For someone who has been in the public eye for so long and could have done a "Britney Spears", Brooke didn't. Kudos to her.

It was more accurate to say that Brooke single-handedly SAVED the show and kept it from closing. I remember her giving an interview where she mentioned that some of the cast members thanked her for coming into the show and helping those cast members pay their mortgages for a few more months.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:04pm

"Did you create a profile just to watch people bash Brooke Shields? If so, that's pathetic."


Is this directed at me?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:05pm

I don't think she was necessarily better than Murphy (who was the sole reason the show even opened on Broadway) but just as good. She received across-the-board raves from every major critic in town and solidified herself as a legitimate Broadway actress after having two controversial much-criticized runs in her previous Broadway outings.
Murphy is simply a brilliant actress so seeing her deliver those numbers is a master class in itself but this role was right up Shields' alley and she hit it out of the park.

[Body Beautiful Beale]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:06pm

NO, B3TA07, is not directed at you but at "singer who moves poorly" who created this thread and also just created the profile!
I am glad to see so many Brooke Shield champions here, too!

[kellybean2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:08pm

I didn't see WT, but I did see Shields as Roxie, and I'll tell ya, her voice is more pleasant than some "trained Broadway professionals" to whom I've been forced to listen over the years.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:15pm

And by the accounts of some of the cast members I knew, she was ADORED by each and every member of that company.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:22pm

Exactly.

Brooke Shields is someone who could easily pull the "diva" moments, but in all the articles I have read about her, she is said to be down-to-earth and really NICE. Gee, imagine that.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:26pm

sh*t. i double posted. see below.

Updated On: 8/10/07 at 04:26 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:26pm

And a truly dedicated and hard worker...as well as an actress who can lead a company by example.

[D2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:32pm

And not to beat a dead horse, but she's a performer who performs every single night, every single matinee, 8 times a week.

[Steve2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:33pm

I did not see her in Wonderful Town, however I did see her in Chicago. She has great stage presence and has excellent comic timing. She did NOT single-handedly close "Wonderful Town". It was on its way out and she stepped in and extended it as long as she could.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:33pm

^You are aware that Murphy pulled a Tony-nominated performance WHILE she had vocal nodules?


Go drown in a lake.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:35pm

Oh please...that whole Tony race that year was which Lady of the Nodules was going to be taking home the prize.

[D2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:36pm

I was going to reply to that but I couldn't say anything better than you just did, RJ.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:37pm

"Oh please...that whole Tony race that year was which Lady of the Nodules was going to be taking home the prize."

You are also welcome to drown in the lake in D2's avatar.

[D2]

Posted: 8/10/07 at 4:38pm

It's not a lake, it's a pool. Get your facts about Manhattan geography straight.