Allison Case in Mamma Mia

[jjfriel]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 6:04am

Have not seen her yet perform her new role as Sophie on Broadway. Anyone seen her?? Is she good? Worth checking out?
Updated On: 10/11/08 at 06:04 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 6:17am

Mamma Mia

[jjfriel]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 6:27am

my bad!

[bwaydoc]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 10:22am

I'd wait a little while before I checked her out. I saw her two days after she, the new Sky and the new Sam had started. She wasn't bad, she just needed to get her sea legs and get more comfortable in the role, I think.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 10:33am

Was she in HAIR? Is that why her name sounds familiar?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 10:47am

Yes. She was Crissy.

Updated On: 10/11/08 at 10:47 AM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 10:48am

That's what I thought. Thanks much.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 5:54pm

Oh. Dear. Lord.

Allison Case was HORRIBLE! My friend and I went last Friday and did SRO. Within the first five minutes we both looked at each other in disbelief.

I am not over-exaggerating when I say that she is probably the worst thing I have ever seen on Broadway. She played the role like Grace Adler, but bad. And her singing chops just were not up to par. She was awful.

Immediately, my friend and I looked at her bio to see how she possibly could have made it to a starring role on Broadway.

I would definitely recommend Mamma Mia! Just so everyone can see how amateur Allison Case is in the show.

I'm sorry if this seems a little cruel, but this is theatre of the highest caliber and people pay good money to see a wonderful show/performance. Allison Case was laughable. Just plain bad.

Carolee Carmello on the other hand...just brilliant!

Of course, all of this is just my opinion...and my friend's...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/11/08 at 8:38pm

Well, it's not like the material is Chekhov.

If we were truly talking "theater of the highest caliber," there wouldn't exactly be a Mamma Mia! in the first place.

Updated On: 10/11/08 at 08:38 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 12:36am

That's surprising! She seems very good in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb83oWDwtlo

[CateBroadway]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 10:31am

"I am not over-exaggerating when I say that she is probably the worst thing I have ever seen on Broadway."

Really?! My jaw literally dropped reading this. I saw this thread and was expecting people to be gushing about her, much the way Mr. Brantley did over her HAIR performance. The only way I can rationalize this is that you have some personal vendetta against her. I saw her last week and thought she was wonderful! It's true, she's not giving the most traditional performance. She doesn't give that typical crazy Red Bull over eager "Like Me! Like Me! Like Me Please!" performance that you're used to seeing in Mamma Mia, but I thought her performance was so much more rewarding by the end when you actually had to care for her character. I'm not sure where you were sitting. Maybe her very naturalistic, honest performance doesn't read in a huge house but I must say it was so refreshing to see a Sophie who tried to give us a character arc and make a new choice out of one of the lesser brilliant books written for a musical. But I certainly do agree with you that at the end of the day it still is Carolee's show. The woman is incredible, and I LOVED the pair of them as mother and daughter. It was one of the most genuine relationships I've seen.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 10:32am

She was absolutely delightful in Finding Nemo.

[sweeneynut]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 11:08am

mywonderwall, I'm a fan of Allison Case, so I'd like to say that, in her defense, she's been sick for the past few days and, from what I understand, she's not doing the show right now because of that. I haven't seen her performance and I'm not trying to make excuses, but maybe you just caught her on a bad day...

CateBroadway, that sounds more like what I was expecting. Hmm. Allison seems like a wonderful actress, and from HAIR and the videos I've seen of Nemo, I think she's more than capable of this. I'll have to go see from myself, if only I weren't broke. Damn economy...

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 7:56pm

Maybe I did see her on a bad night...and if so...then it was the biggest bad nights of all bad nights! I sat in the orchestra and was close enough to see her facial expressions up close. I have nothing against anyone who likes her, but I honestly think she was the worst thing I've seen on the Broadway stage. All just my opinion though...if you seem to be a fan of her's then more power to you!

I have a friend in the show who says the producers realized they made a mistake casting her, but now they're stuck due to her contract. I don't know...everyone has their own opinion. I mean...I hate Patti LuPone, but most people love her. Everyone is different.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 7:59pm

Well, if she is sticking with Hair, I assume she won't be in Mamma Mia for too long, right?

With regards to Finding Nemo, she had great comedic timing. Her voice wasn't fantastic, but that is not exactly a belty score to begin with. It's fairly tame. She and the actress playing Dorie worked well off of each other. Case was much better than the 2nd Nemo, whose name escapes me at the moment, or her replacement, whom I saw this past July.

[bwaycomposer]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 8:23pm

I'm a huge fan of Allison's. She was amazing at the Broadway in South Africa concert too. I think she's such a sweet and honest actor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4oLwbfAmeI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV2eNQGOvNE

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/12/08 at 9:29pm

not to be obnoxious but, do you think it's right to post that your friend in the cast thinks they made a mistake casting her? and the producers think so? What if she reads this. Is backstage hard feelings really needed? I have never seen her perform live but, from youtube videos, her voice is so gorgeous. Maybe she isn't the typical blonde short haired sophie. I can not wait to see the show with her. An honest Sophie to me is better than a squeakie , whiney Sophie like I saw a couple of years ago.
Updated On: 10/12/08 at 09:29 PM

[catrihilar]

Posted: 10/20/08 at 7:49pm

I'm wondering if your "friend" who is saying "what a mistake" the producers made in casting her was up for the role herself, as in maybe a standby or understudy who was overlooked. If you think Allison is so horrible, maybe your "friend" isn't so great herself. Just my two cents. Glass houses, people.

[Ducky99]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 10:17pm

Hmmm.

So our self-important little critic first claimed he went to Mamma Mia and "did SRO". Then in his second post he claimed he "sat in the orchestra and was close enough to see her facial expressions up close".

It somehow makes me recall Burt Reynold's classic line in The Greatest Little Whorehouse in Texas..."Don't piss on my boots and tell me it's raining".

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 10:27pm

Oops.


I haven't seen her as Sophie yet, but I think her voice is gorgeous.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/21/08 at 10:46pm

I haven't seen her as Sophie, but I saw her at the Broadway in South Africa concert and was blown away. She is the perfect amounts of adorable and great voice. And looks like she would be a great Sophie. I'm excited to see her.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 10/22/08 at 1:53am

Okay, well, I consider SRO orchestra. While I was in the back of the orchestra, I was still close enough to see facial expressions and such.

And no...my friend is a guy, so there is no way he could've been up for the role of Sophie and lost.

I hadn't heard a single good thing about this girl, so I went to check it out. Honest? Nothing about Allison Case's performance was honest. Like I said...she played it like Grace Adler from Will & Grace. She was all over the place. Goofy, annoying, I didn't believe a single word out of her mouth. And as if I thought her acting skills weren't bad enough...her vocals. Not a fan. Not a fan in the least.

I don't know anyone who would honestly go see her performance and call it good. Then I come to these boards and people love her. I just don't get it. Don't people know the difference between a good performance and a characature? I'm sorry, I'm glad this girl has fans, but she is the messiest thing I've ever seen on a Broadway stage.

And I didn't bring up my friend to make anyone feel bad. I was just passing along information. Why do you think Mamma Mia! is having another casting call in November? Because the current Broadway cast is horrible (with exceptions of course). The lady I babysit for, her husband is on the tour now, and tells me how the producers know the current casts aren't that great...hence the casting call coming up in November.

[Amneris]

Posted: 10/22/08 at 8:00am

um..they always have a casting call in November and one in May. It is standard Equity Procedures.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 11/15/08 at 10:06pm

I saw Allison this past Wednesday. I thought she was phenomenal. I hope we can get some new pictures seeing as how they were last taken in 2006!
Updated On: 11/15/08 at 10:06 PM