ALNM cast having problems with Elaine Stritch?- Page 2

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 1:40am

No no, Trevor Nunn's Night Music makes Citizen Kane look like Ernest Goes to Camp.

[Overkill]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 1:45am

ghostlight2 and adamgreer,
What you say is true. I apologize. I wasn't thinking much about it when I posted it. But I meant for it to be more about seeing if anyone else noticed she was flubbing a bit or not. Not so much as her being a diva back stage. I mean, It's Elaine Stritch, of course she is. Also, no one on this board is back stage constantly (I don't think), so I didn't expect to hear news on that.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 1:48am

Well there actually is a member of this board who works backstage at the Kerr.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 1:57am

There's more than one, ljay.

Thanks, Overkill. You can ask the mods to delete the thread if you want. As regards to Stritch going up on her lines, well, she's into her 80's, and her difficulties in that regard were common knowledge from day one and have been much discussed here and elsewhere, including her refusal to use an earpiece as Lansbury did. She has good nights and she has less good nights, but she's an old pro, well worth seeing whether she's line perfect or not.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 2:00am

Lansbury used an earpiece in Blithe Spirit, not A Little Night Music.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 2:08am

And Deuce. I'm aware of that, but thanks for clarifying that for others.
Updated On: 11/28/10 at 02:08 AM

[Joey.]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 4:53am

Elaine is fabulous, but I saw her on what must have been an especially bad night in October. "Liasons" was turned into a 20 minute song devolving to the point of the off-stage prompter practically screaming the lyrics at her. I've never been so uncomfortable or embarrassed for anybody in my life. Elaine got so frustrated that I half expected her to get out of the wheelchair and walk off stage. It's not even so much Elaine, but that poor little actress playing Fredrika that I feel most sorry for as she has the most stage time with her.

What was so frustrating was that when she had a handle on the material, she was an absolute revelation in the role. I only wish that I could have seen her on a better night.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 4:58am

Let's wheel ya'll on a Broadway stage when you're in your 80's.

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 5:08am

Damn. We must have seen her on a good night in August then. She didn't have any problems with lines or lyrics that myself or my friend could point out.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 7:09am

She flubbed a few lines when I saw it two weeks ago, but none in September. She was an absolute delight overall.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 9:54am

As Joan Rivers says "Grow Up". There are literally hundreds of stories of movie, television, theatre actors/actresses who smiled, kissed and made nice, while the work was being made, promoted, or staged. Then when it was all over the "truth" comes out. Most actors/actresses remain discreet, while others speak their mind. I am not saying that this is the truth in this particular thread, but to completely 100% rule out every cast member's love and affection or lack of, for Stritch is ludicris. I have found over the years, there is always some truth to a rumour.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 11:18am

>>>"And Deuce. I'm aware of that, but thanks for clarifying that for others."<<<

Angela wore an earpiece in DEUCE? Not when I saw it (which was early in the preview period. I was sitting about 5 rows from the stage and could clearly hear the promptors shouting out lines to both Angela and Marian Seldes.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 1:44pm

It was after previews, Dolly. They wanted to eliminate the situation you witnessed.

[Joey.]

Posted: 11/28/10 at 2:08pm

Apparently it's completely out of line to expect all performers to at the very least know (or have ready access to) their lines after paying 100+ bucks a ticket.

[juliethejarhead]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 1:00pm

I'd pay $100+ to see Miss Elaine Stritch on a bad day any day.

My Facebook Page Updated On: 11/29/10 at 01:00 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 1:45pm

Wikileaks says that Stritch uses the wheelchair like a weapon. She runs into people's shins and over their feet while screaming "I'll send in the clowns, here's your clowns."

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 2:05pm

Well, I for one am SHOCKED to hear an actor flubbed their lines during a live performance. And ON STAGE, nonetheless! I bet that never happened to Sondheim! Or in the Golden Age! See what Andrew Lloyd Webber and rock and roll have done to Broadway?

WHO..DO THEY THINK...THEY ARE?!?!?!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 2:20pm

^LOL

ArtMan, I was thinking something along those lines as well. You can't claim that without a doubt, the entire cast loves her while simultaneously denouncing any negativity as vicious lies. Nobody knows absolutely on either side of the argument except those involved.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 2:25pm

Nobody knows absolutely on either side of the argument except those involved.

We'll let Riedel be the judge of that. He'll know fur shur.

[luke-h***]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 2:37pm

"Let's wheel ya'll on a Broadway stage when you're in your 80's."

Here, here! I'm off to NYC in January (first time!) And Night Music is my first show (of seven!) and I'm really looking forward to Elaine Stritch, I'm sure even if she does snub a bit, she'll be fine. Any actor can snub their lines. Happened when I saw Little Shop at Menier, Alistair McGowan as Orin skipped over a massive chunk with Paul Keating as Seymour, then I saw him again, and the chunk was back it.

It can happen to anyone, and it doesn't make them a bad cast member. If they can't cover it, maybe moreso then.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 3:14pm

A friend of mine went to see the show about a week ago and was talking to one of the ushers, and the woman said the cast "hates her"

Your friend is lying.

The usher did not say that.

Do you even have a friend? Or did you just make that up to be nasty?

[jv92]

Posted: 11/29/10 at 3:19pm

Elaine may be a old toughie, but she has nothing but respect for her fellow actors. That's a fact.

[into_the_woods2]

Posted: 11/30/10 at 10:27am

I saw the show in August and was blown away by Elaine's performance, line flubbs and all. She is one of the most honest, open, and electric actress I've ever seen live. While I think it is pretty unacceptable to not know your lines, the woman is in her eighties and we should be lucky she's still performing, let alone on a Broadway Stage. Elaine is amazing in every sense of the word.

[newintown]

Posted: 11/30/10 at 11:03am

I'd go see Stritch in anything; the lady is always dynamite on the stage.

But, that said, it can be acknowledged that she does sometimes have difficulties in her relationships with co-workers. She herself (in At Liberty) tells the story of being fired from a regional production of The Women because of the enmity of other actors. And the cast of the revival of A Delicate Balance offered to renew their contracts with no raise if Elaine were replaced.

So she can be a Gorgon - she's a Gorgon who is always amazing to watch, which is what counts in the theatre.

[peapod41]

Posted: 11/30/10 at 11:33am

I can only go by what I have seen when Ms.Stritch is interviewed or when I have read articles about her. She strikes me as someone who has always spoken her mind and doesn't hold back. I like that about her,because I tend to be that way too. I also think all of us have bad days at work when we're in a mood.
I would take the Wikileaks story with a giant grain of salt. That sounds exaggerated.
Finally,I agree with the people who said that when all of us are 85,we ahould hope that we are able to do as well as she seems to be doing.