"DreamWorks, it seems, is having trouble finding actors who can fill the shoes of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, both of whom were crucial to the success of the "Shrek" franchise.
"It's a question of chemistry," says a source. "It's hard to find the perfect pair."
The usual suspects have auditioned for "Shrek" - which is to say Broadway actors of some girth: Dan Fogler ("Spelling Bee"); Kevin Chamberlain ("Seussical"); Shuler Hensley (already green in "Young Frankenstein").
But the hunt goes on."
..........
"Foster and Sieber sang a couple of songs from the score, by composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist and bookwriter David Lindsay-Abaire, who won the Pulitzer for "Rabbit Hole."
Tesori is a very shrewd composer, but she's not exactly known as a tunesmith. Her score to Tony Kushner's "Caroline, or Change" is complex and dynamic, but you have to be a member of the Kushner claque to leave the theater humming a tune.
Her "Shrek" songs showed off her musical intelligence, but they weren't the sort of bouncy ditties you'd expect from a Broadway musical aimed at families. She might want to toss in a "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" here and there.
Abaire's lyrics are trying for the kind of wit Stephen Sondheim showed off in his fairy-tale musical, "Into the Woods."
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
and it's totally lifted from the McDonald's tie-ins with Shrek last summer (pull ogre here, etc.).
And if he thinks Tesori can't write a jaunty, hummable tune, he needs to spend an afternoon with me next time I can't get "Luck of the Draw" out of my head.
"Fiona will be played by Sutton Foster, who's leaving "Young Frankenstein" in July. I bet she'll be relieved to get out of the cavernous Hilton Theatre, where what laughs there are on Tuesday don't reach the stage until Friday. "
Sieber could destroy Riedel with the flick of his pinky finger.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
The charming Chris Sieber, now in "Spamalot," will be Farquaad. Sieber's a big guy. In fact, he's gotten even bigger since "Spamalot" opened. Who's your agent, Chris? Dunkin' Donuts?
Ouch! So the guys put on a few pounds, he's not working with the Olsen twins anymore so I guess he has no motivation to stay thin.
http://theaterfag.blogspot.com/
Reviews and the like
I wouldn't really respect Riedel's opinion on lyric writing after learning his adoration for Steven Sater's attrocious lyrics for Spring Awakening. And I'd much prefer whatever the hell he refered to Tesori's music as than a lot of the music on Broadway today and I'm not even a huge fan of her three other shows! And his headlines suck. Maybe Steven Sater wrote this one from last February as it's a slant rhyme- GOOD GOLLY, IT'S A HIT "FOLLIES."