Ann Crumb

Any other fans of this great performer on here? What are some of her best songs? I listen to the recording of Aspects of Love on a regular basis, but not familiar with the other shows she was in.

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By the way, I don't know if many of you know (perhaps you do?) that Ann Crumb in "Aspects" was the Actors Equity trade-off that allowed Sarah Brightman to play Christine in the U.S.

Llloyd Webber had to agree that he would cast a relatively unknown American performer in a leading role in his next musical after Phantom. He or she would originate the role in London and then transfer to the U.S.

He had to accept those terms before Sarah Brightman was approved for Broadway. So casting Ann Crumb, the "relatively unknown American performer," in the lead of his next show (Aspects) was fulfilling his contractual obligation with the union.

EDIT: Michael Crawford was already approved. In addition to him being considered an "essential" part of the success of the London production, he was also considered a celebrity at the time. Sarah Brightman was not.

EDIT EVEN MORE: Just to finish the story out ... initially, Actors' Equity wouldn't budge with their decision not to allow Brightman to play Christine in the Broadway production of Phantom. Lloyd Webber had already held auditions in the U.S. and cast Patti Cohenour in the role. Then "Mrs. Webber" wanted to come to Broadway, so he approached Equity and they refused. He threatened to cancel the entire transfer to Broadway if they didn't work something out. That much made the news, by the way ("No Phantom For Broadway," that sort of thing.) Equity finally came back to him with the stipulation about casting an unknown American in a leading role for his next show, and that's how they arrived at a compromise. Brightman got to go to Broadway with the show, and Ann Crumb landed the lead in Aspects in London and the U.S. And poor Patti Cohenour was asked to stay on as the "alternate" Christine, which she reluctantly agreed to. She was never officially announced in the role, but I was in NY at the time, with close mutual friends, and we all knew she had won the role. Then the "Brightman Incident" followed, and Patti was demoted to alternate.

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Updated On: 12/28/11 at 07:20 AM

I got the chance to work with Ann about a year ago in a regional production, and she's a lovely woman to be around. As far as what she's up to nowadays, in addition to regional work, she runs a non-profit that rescues dogs from kill shelters and places them in no-kill shelters.

ETA: Here she is as Norma Desmond

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhh4eYa6Jl0&feature=related

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Updated On: 12/28/11 at 09:24 AM

Thanks for the info. I am a fan of Brightman too and they were both fantastic as Rose Vibert, Ann Crumb had a very long run in London and Broadway, I am sure she decided to leave the production herself.

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^^^ I never understood that. I liked Aspects. Was it the perfect musical? No. But it had some good moments and I think it was better than some of the other stuff I've seen on Broadway.

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I saw Ann Crumb in a regional production of Man of La Mancha with John Cullum and they were both magnificent.

By the way, were the violinists in the clip of Sunset Boulevard actually paid to do that?

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I seen Ann Crumb earlier this year in a production of "The Whos Tommy" as the Acid Queen at the Media Theatre in PA. She will be returning to the Media Theatre stage in February in the musical "Wings".

The relatively recent and very fine Menier Chocolate Factory revival of "Aspects", directed by Trevor Nunn with an excellent cast, showed why it will never be a hit.

The story with its non-stop inter-generational love affairs is preposterous and downright creepy.

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Aspects of Love is still my favorite Webber score. I saw the minimalist national tour and it was so beautiful. I also read the novel and the musical is a very faithful adaptation and perhaps improves on the source material. Lloyd Webber was known for spectacle and though Aspects originally opened with huge sets and designs, the story simply doesn't lend itself to spectacle and I think audiences were confused and disappointed that the story and score were strikingly different than his previous work and ultimately at odds with the staging. I'd love to see it return in a smaller production closer to the minimalist production that toured.

The story with its non-stop inter-generational love affairs is preposterous and downright creepy.

No more preposterous than...well...just about any other book musical.

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Aspects of Love is certainly my favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and in my all time top 10.

The lead of George was played in previews in London and was replaced by another actor Kevin Colson who went on to open the show on Broadway, the actor who pulled out admitted "he couldn't sing", who happens to be a Rodger Moore which is a shame as when he played 'James Bond' he seems to be able to do everything else!

This is probably why the Broadway production suffered, Michael Ball and Ann Crumb were fine in their respected roles, but the role of George does call for a big name that will attract an audience like Al Pacino, Jermey Irons or Anthony Hoskins etc.

And Yes if you can sing changes everything.

Ann was the Fantine understudy in the original Broadway production of Les Miserables. I really like her take on the role in comparison to that of Randi Graff's.

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No one likes it when someone gets hurt or nearly loses a body part in theater.

That sounds pretty much horrendous, what happened?