Wait, so she is going to do N2N for two months just beforehand? Well I guess this will be a real test of whether her voice is back....
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
"The Chicago N2N that is at the Drury Lane would run from August 15 - October 6, 2013, while Carrie in Seattle would start October 11. Kind of cutting it close but doable, that is if the rumor is true and this is actually the production."
It's doable, but not if you are expecting anything good. It would mean Alice would need to leave that Chicago production of Next to Normal early, or else she would basically be joining Carrie in Seattle once the show is already in tech, which I can't imagine the company in Seattle being willing to agree to. It's not like Carrie is some fairly standardized show (like A Chorus Line), where it would be possible to drop somebody into it at the last minute.
Alice has retweeted others' tweets about a run in n2n in Chicago. I feel like if it were just a rumor she would set them straight instead of promoting it on her public social profile.
EDIT: Even though I don't think it's false, I'm really hoping that she doesn't re-enter this show. It clearly affected her in a very profound way but I think it was eventually detrimental to her health, both mental and physical. She was incredible in the role but I think it is time for her to let it go.
Updated On: 6/13/13 at 11:13 PM
Her retweeting it doesn't mean anything; she likes to joke around with her fans. I agree that she shouldn't return to the show, but if I'm wrong, I'll probably go see it.
There's now video of Alice performing "When There's No One" and Keaton Whitaker performing "Carrie" from the season preview event in Seattle. Both appear to be in fantastic voice. Ripley's voice still has a smokier edge to it now than it did in her glory days, but that's never going to change.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
I say this as a huge Alice fan. That was disappointing. She's making up for the high notes with warped vowels (let the sheeadows descend) but that's standard Ripley. The vibrato is distracting and it just doesn't work with the new ending.
It seems like she consistently just under pitch. I mean, I love Alice Ripley and would die to see it, but lately everything she sings seems not flat, but just under.
Never having heard Keaton Whitaker sing before, does she sound a little cartoonish? It's like her voice is very young. Maybe it's just me.
Keaton was the better singing Fredrika from A Little Night Music, so it's great to see (and hear) her in great voice still. I'll be interested to see how she does in the role.
"Anybody that goes to the theater, I think we’re all misfits, so we ended up on stage or in the audience.” --- Patti LuPone.
Ripley's voice sounds better than it did towards the end of her time in Next to Normal, but that's the most I can say. Perhaps she jus hasn't worked with the song much, but it's a bit rough around the edges. You're right that it's not quite flat, just not quite there.
Keaton Whittaker is great, though. I'd be very interested to see what both of them do with their parts.
She sounded amazing at this concert. This video came out a few days after.
Sitting front center for Lynda Carter at the Allen Room made me regret not paying extra for the table seating at the Allen Room - it would have been sublime to have been closer. Highlights from Kitt Yorkey at the Allen Room
Ripley seems to still have a strong belt - that clip of I MISS THE MOUNTAINS is so great.
I love the tone of her voice - it has this uncomfortable unpleasantness/piercing/sadness to it, which lends itself well to characters such as Diana and Margaret. However, the lower key and lowered ending of "When There's No One" are very suspicious to me. My feeling is that she has trouble singing high notes when she is not belting them, so she elected take lower notes at the end of the song because it would have been inappropriate to belt them. She is not going to sing this score with ease, but I'm sure she will turn out a great performance. With that belt, her "Eve Was Weak" in particular will be a strength I'm sure.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
I feel like I've waited years to hear her tackle this material so coming home to this video was a real treat today. I like the new, smoky timbre that she has acquired in the past five years or so. Her voice has taken an incredible journey through so many roles and scores and she is adapting.
I'm happy for her. I think she will play a dynamic and nuanced Margaret and I can't wait to hear what people think.
Keaton sounds great. She has one of those crystal clear voices. Molly Ranson will always have a special place in my heart because she nailed the acting. I would love to see how Keaton's will act the part.
Alice's lower notes don't bother me. They sound appropriate, but I do miss Mazzie's interpretation and sound on this song in particular. I didn't care for the lower and more legit sound Mazzie had in the other songs, but When There's No One was her song.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
If this production of NEXT TO NORMAL in Chicago ends October 6th and CARRIE in Seattle begins performances October 11th, it's quite literally impossible for Ripley to do both. Do you think the entire rehearsal and technical process for CARRIE is going to span four days? It's not like she can rehearse one during the day and perform the other at night when the two theaters are literally across the country from one another.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.