anyone else feel there's only one Brodie?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 11:24pm

A narrow mind is a scary thing to reveal... I love revivals, I love fresh spins on warhorses, re-invigorated characters. But this time, no.

It's terrible to confess, but I personally do not want to replace the image, and line readings, the emotional gravitas of Dame Maggie, with those of another actress, no matter how eloquent, gifted, and deserving. I have infinite respect for Ms. Nixon, but personally speaking simply do not want to know a Jean Brodie other than the one I've lived with -- to me, "known" -- for 30 plus years. Yes, yes, we had Vanessa and Zoe on stage before, and countless others. But it's an indelible impresssion, and as complex an alchemy of actor/role as is possible, to my thinking. I hope the upcoming revival reintroduces a great character to a new audience. But I'm going to be stubborn, and yes, closed-minded, and resist.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 11:26pm

If there is more than one, Nixon would - or should - be much farther down on that list.

[wildcat]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 3:48am

They offered the movie to Julie Andrews first. Imagine how different the last 30 years might have been, Auggie!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 9:37am

Wow, never heard that. That's the oddest big of what-might've-been I've learned since I heard MOONSTRUCK was written for Sally Field. I love Sally, but it's difficult to fathom her as Loretta.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 9:40am

It's always interesting to think about the 'what might have been' stories regarding original character names (Pansy instead of Scarlett in Gone With The Wind, for example), or who were originally offered roles that were then played by others...

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 9:43am

How about Shirly Temple instead of Judy Garland...I can't imagine that one.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 9:47am

Nixon is simply wrong for the role.

[wildcat]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 10:30am

I just discovered that Audrey Hepburn was also approached to play Jean Brodie in the movie which seems to me even more unlikely.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 10:40am

I haven't always liked her onstage--she can be a little cold--but her work in Rabbit Hole, Sex and the City and Warm Springs (as Eleanor Roosevelt) were all so pitch perfect that I am happy to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, GG--she may SEEM wrong, but she's such a good actress that it will be thrilling if she gets it right.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 10:47am

I saw her as Harper Pitt and she more than held her own against my memory of Marcia Gay Harden.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 1:28pm

Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn?

They make Nixon look perfect for the part.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 1:31pm

Zoe Caldwell. Updated On: 7/14/06 at 01:31 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 2:13pm

I too adore Smith and can't for the life of me imagine Nixon in the part. It's simply more broad, larger-than-life and diva-esque than anything I've seen her attempt. She has always excelled in roles that require very subtle and naturalistic acting and has never shown a penchant for highly stylized acting.

Smith, Caldwell and Redgrave are all scenery-chewers from way back (though all are capable of quite understated work as well) and Nixon just strikes me as being from an entirely different school of acting from them. We'll see.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 2:18pm

dame maggie as brodie? i didn't even know she was in "jaws."

[Funny Face]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 2:32pm

Yeah, Nixon is definitely not the first person to come to mind when I think about that role, but who knows? I always love a surprise, especially a pleasent one.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 2:32pm

I checked IBDB because I always confuse this play and THE CORN IS GREEN for some reason, and I thought there was a disastrous Bette Davis musical version of one or the other.

But what I found was that Caldwell actually played Moffatt in the 1968 Broadway production.

EDIT: I TOLD you I got them confused. Caldwell played PRIME's Brodie, not CORN's Moffatt, on B'way in 1968.

Updated On: 7/14/06 at 02:32 PM

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 3:34pm

what margo said. (except that i don't put redgrave in the scenery chewing trough with caldwell [!] and smith)

i would be much more inclined to see natasha richardson do it. she is more adept at high status characters. i'm sure cynthia can touch the truth of the character, but it's a question of style. jean brodie is not a character sprung from modern realism. and that accent, which is essential, is a MOUTHFUL. i thought she was completely miscast in THE WOMEN as well.

btw -- uppermost in my mind when i'm writing this is that i saw cynthia's test for the high society girl in MAID IN MANHATTAN, a role that eventually went to natasha. cynthia had none of the hauteur and was rather bug-eyed and aggressive (like miranda) which didn't work at all.

Updated On: 7/14/06 at 03:34 PM

[Glebb]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 3:38pm

Geraldine McEwan was a great Brodie.

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 03:38 PM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 3:51pm

Garland Grrl,

Redgrave is one of my three or favorite actors on the planet -- no one is more willing to take bold risks in playing a character than she is and typically turns in truly sublime and ingenious portrayals. But, there are times when all of that formidable technique can spin a little out of control (I'm thinking specifically of Orpheus Descending where, the night I saw it, she was teetering dangerously close to going completely over-the-top and making a cartoonish Italian spectacle of herself). But, of course, she's never less than fascinating to watch.

I'm really hoping that Nixon can locate her inner hauteur and pull off this role. While simply playing Brodie as a run-of-the-mill eccentric (which is what I fear Nixon will do) might work on a certain level, she'll lose half the laughs that way.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 4:01pm

As I remember BRODIE, it is a fairly old-fashioned piece, one which might need some re-thinking for a modern audience anyway. And while the whole idea of a "large" performance is enticing to some, to others, it is merely distracting. It's interesting to point out that Smith (who I think is absolutely sublime) was able to portray Brodie so well for the camera because of a kind of subtle playing style that it could appreciate. I associate her with theatrical yet completely natural turns (as in the film of A PRIVATE FUNCTION or the West End version of THREE TALL WOMEN) in roles that might turn into "larger than life" portrayals elsewhere. Nixon might indeed have that ability as well. I for one am all for letting talented actresses take on revival roles, even if it doesn't work out wonderfully in the end. We can all learn more about the piece, the process, and the genre regardless of personal taste in casting. That's why I supported Bernadette as Mama Rose.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 4:35pm

right you are GLEBB -- she was wonderful indeed. i thought that particular tv adaptation, if memory serves, was gentler than the play and film. is it on dvd anywhere i wonder?
that was my first view of ms. mcewan... i think i was 9 at the time.

[Garland Grrrl]

Posted: 7/14/06 at 4:46pm

ps. those scenes between maggie smith and celia johnson? TEXTBOOK one upmanship.