Posted: 1/16/22 at 11:12am
For the most part she was relegated to bit parts in the sketches. She never really got to showcase this talent we are all hearing about. Except maybe in the opening monologue, which as someone said above, was overshadowed by McKinnon.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 11:27am
Tag said: "For the most part she was relegated to bit parts in the sketches. She never really got to showcase this talent we are all hearing about. Except maybe in the opening monologue, which as someone said above, was overshadowed by McKinnon."
Apparently you are unaware that SNL is a sketch variety show. She played alongside the ensemble of players. Unless she was also the musical guest, there is no “showcase” section for her to do anything more. She had the opportunity to sing, which right there is rare. Her hosting SNL wasn’t to be The Ariana DeBose Broadway Show. Sorry you were misled.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 12:13pm
DramaTeach said: "I thought she was okay. I’m fascinated by the fact that she’s gone from ensemble in Broadway shows to award-winning actress in Hollywood in such a short amount of time because in my opinion, she isn’t a great actress or singer. I know that sounds mean, and I don’t intend it to be. She’s good at both and she can definitely dance, but great at both? I don’t see it. Everything is at 110% (and there’s something admirable about that), but there’s no nuisance. It’s worked for her because she’s been in musicals, but does she have the ability to handle something outside that genre? She seems like a fun human, and anyone who comes from the theater world has a cheerleader in me, but I really hope she works on honing her skills."
All of this energy to compose all of this word salad. Opining that a very talented performer, who has been lauded for her talents has no "nuisance" and that they "really hope" she works on honing her skills is extremely laughable.
I believe the word you were looking for is NUANCE. Maybe you should work on honing your grammatical skills.
SMDH.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 1:25pm
There have been so many good SNL episodes recently but last night's was a dud. Opening monologue was little more than a WSS plug. Nothing really clicked during the first hour, after which I gave up.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 1:32pm
CarlosAlberto, you are correct about the word error, but my opinion remains unchanged, and you’re entitled to yours. Have a lovely day.
Updated On: 1/16/22 at 01:32 PM
Posted: 1/16/22 at 2:36pm
It was fine. This was a strange and lucky opportunity for her to host, and she did it admirably. Not an all-time great host, but FAR from bad!!
SNL used the structure that they've used with plenty of other hosts, which is "put the host in supporting roles in most of the scenes, let them shine in one" (Sound of Music, in this case). It wasn't a dud, she certainly didn't embarrass herself, and the SNL stars were able to shine.
Updated On: 1/16/22 at 02:36 PM
Posted: 1/16/22 at 3:59pm
I watched - the first time in years. I was bored by the overall episode; it felt very one note. (So many skits standing at a podium for some sort of Q&A. Lazy, imho.) This is no reflections on DeBose, who was fine, and came off charming.
Is the obvious delivery to the cue cards pretty standard now? I felt nearly ALL the performers suffered from this. (Maybe it was always this way, and I just don't remember.)
Posted: 1/16/22 at 4:15pm
Yes, regularly on SNL now more than half the sketches will be a talkshow/gameshow/Q&A/mockumentary. It gets a little tiresome. And with the show changing literally right up to showtime, cue card-reading is common too.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 4:36pm
DeBose was fine. The hosts are rarely the great parts of the shows these days. Glad she's getting lots of exposure. Her performance as Anita was breathtaking.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 5:08pm
DramaTeach said: "I thought she was okay. I’m fascinated by the fact that she’s gone from ensemble in Broadway shows to award-winning actress in Hollywood in such a short amount of time because in my opinion, she isn’t a great actress or singer. I know that sounds mean, and I don’t intend it to be. She’s good at both and she can definitely dance, but great at both? I don’t see it. Everything is at 110% (and there’s something admirable about that), but there’s no nuisance. It’s worked for her because she’s been in musicals, but does she have the ability to handle something outside that genre? She seems like a fun human, and anyone who comes from the theater world has a cheerleader in me, but I really hope she works on honing her skills."
I agree with most of this most, though I think I like DeBose somewhat more than you do.
I think she thrives off her charisma, and her incredible dancing. I don't have any particular issue with her acting, but I'm not convinced that she's one of our great musical theatre actors. She's given solid acting performances, but she has yet to blow me away with her technical acting skills.
She HAS blown me away with her charisma and her dancing though. And as you said, I'm rooting for her success.
For those objecting to DramaTeach referring to her star turn as "a short amount of time" - it's worth noting that it's pretty difficult for musical theatre actors to cross over into film, even if they're been working professionally for decades. Making it big in TV? Happens all the time. Scattered film roles here and there? Also happens all the time. It's also more common for non-musical stage actors to make it in film, particularly in the UK where there's a lot of crossover.
But for an American musical theatre actor to REALLY get their foot in the door in the film industry - it's tough to do. I think it's pretty remarkable that we've had Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and (probably) Ariana DeBose nominated for Oscars within the span of 3 years or so. And sadly, even an Oscar nomination doesn't always translate to continued success in the industry.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 6:43pm
BrodyFosse123 said: "I’ve heard those “behind the scenes” stories about her but I could care less. I look at the work, not the person and their private behavior. Ariana, I got you, girl. 
"
Wait, what stories?!!! lol
I really like Ariana. She does everything well. Sure she’s had luck like every star does when they first breakthrough, and I don’t think she’s a singular talent or anything, but I’m definitely interested to see her in future projects. She was wonderful in WSS.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 7:13pm
JBroadway said: "DramaTeach said: "I thought she was okay. I’m fascinated by the fact that she’s gone from ensemble in Broadway shows to award-winning actress in Hollywood in such a short amount of time because in my opinion, she isn’t a great actress or singer. I know that sounds mean, and I don’t intend it to be. She’s good at both and she can definitely dance, but great at both? I don’t see it. Everything is at 110% (and there’s something admirable about that), but there’s no nuisance. It’s worked for her because she’s been in musicals, but does she have the ability to handle something outside that genre? She seems like a fun human, and anyone who comes from the theater world has a cheerleader in me, but I really hope she works on honing her skills."
I agree with most of this most, though I think I like DeBose somewhat more than you do.
I think she thrives off her charisma, and her incredible dancing. I don't have any particular issue with her acting, but I'm not convinced that she's one of our great musical theatre actors. She's given solid acting performances, but she has yet to blow me away with her technical acting skills.
She HAS blown me away with her charisma and her dancing though. And as you said, I'm rooting for her success.
For those objecting to DramaTeach referring to her star turn as "a short amount of time" - it's worth noting that it's pretty difficult for musical theatre actors to cross over into film, even if they're been working professionally for decades. Making it big in TV? Happens all the time. Scattered film roles here and there? Also happens all the time. It's also more common for non-musical stage actors to make it in film, particularly in the UK where there's a lot of crossover.
But for an American musical theatre actor to REALLY get their foot in the door in the film industry - it's tough to do. I think it's pretty remarkable that we've had Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., and (probably) Ariana DeBose nominated for Oscars within the span of 3 years or so. And sadly, even an Oscar nomination doesn't always translate to continued success in the industry.
Totally agree with this! Look at Sutton Foster! Hit TV show, multiple Tony awards, but she's not hosting SNL. Good for DeBose.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 8:14pm
Totally agree with this! Look at Sutton Foster! Hit TV show, multiple Tony awards, but she's not hosting SNL. Good for DeBose.
Sadly, Sutton hasn’t been involved in high profile projects like Ariana has. DeBose knows Lorne Michaels hence why he had her hosting SNL, especially with the WSS and awards buzz right now. This is why hosts aren’t announced far in advance on SNL as Lorne wants to book a host who is currently generating a buzz. Ariana landed the SNL hosting gig only a few weeks ago.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 8:15pm
pretty much a dud, but thats because most of the writers probably had zero clue who she was and thus didn't know how to write to her, I mean they did a NBA sketch...
it was very weird and very lazy it felt like they copy pasted the last week of twitter
Posted: 1/16/22 at 9:21pm
Someone like Sutton Foster has never had major media attention on YOUNGER, despite it being a sleeper hit (it's only on TV Land, and now Paramount+). By comparison, DeBose is getting raves and Oscar buzz for a Spielberg musical distributed by Disney. This could very well be "five minutes of fame" for DeBose in the film world, but it's a lucky situation to be in for however long it lasts. Plenty of oddball people who were having a brief moment have hosted.
We've discussed this on here already, but DeBose hosted SNL because:
- Omicron means a lot of people don't want to host right now.
- She is generating awards buzz in a Spielberg movie produced by Disney, with a savvy PR team and personal publicist.
- She has the Lorne connection through Schmigadoon.
- The show is being mindful of its hosting demographics.
Updated On: 1/16/22 at 09:21 PM
Posted: 1/16/22 at 9:27pm
YOUNGER is also on Hulu. Also of note, I know several people who’ve watched YOUNGER since it’s debut and they had zero knowledge that Sutton has an extensive career on Broadway.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 9:29pm
JBroadway said: "I think she thrives off her charisma, and her incredible dancing. I don't have any particular issue with her acting, but I'm not convinced that she's one of our great musical theatre actors. She's given solid acting performances, but she has yet to blow me away with her technical acting skills.
She HAS blown me away with her charisma and her dancing though. And as you said, I'm rooting for her success."
Completely agreed with this statement. I really like Ariana, thought she was fantastic as Anita, and am rooting for her success—I think it's always fabulous when someone with Broadway roots makes a huge splash in other mediums. But in everything I've seen her in (Broadway, TV, and now film), I continue to view her as a dancer "first." She's absolutely one of this generation's top-tier dancers but I find her acting and singing to be all-around serviceable. Strong, for sure, but nothing out of this world or transcendent.
I'll be excited if she wins the Oscar, which is something that looks increasingly likely. However, I will find it to be somewhat surprising against Kirsten Dunst's performance in The Power of the Dog, which I thought was impeccably well-acted from a technical level.
Posted: 1/16/22 at 9:35pm
It feels like there are 3 Supporting Actresses at vying for a win right now (DeBose, Dunst, and Caitriona Balfe) and they're all from movies with the best likelihood of winning Best Picture. So it could very well come down to whoever's movie is the bigger favorite of the voters for Best Picture. Dunst has a great "overdue" narrative and is known/liked in the industry, while DeBose would have various milestones: Afro Latinx, queer, would be only the 3rd time someone has won for the same character in multiple movies (Vito Corleone and Joker being the others).
Posted: 1/16/22 at 10:14pm
I think that DeBose will win. That part is just awards bait.
My comment about Foster was just to say that she has all these accolades and has lead many a Broadway show and doesn't quite have the following or the fairfare behind her the way DeBose does at the moment. Which is totally, but I just find interesting. WSS wasn't a huge box office hit, so I'm sure plenty of people watching were like who?
Posted: 1/16/22 at 11:14pm
BrodyFosse123 said: "YOUNGER is also on Hulu. Also of note, I know several people who’ve watched YOUNGER since it’s debut and they had zero knowledge that Sutton has an extensive career on Broadway."
Same here. A good friend of mine loved Sutton in Younger and is crazy about Annaleigh in her tv show. She had no idea they were Broadway musical leading ladies until I told her.
Posted: 1/17/22 at 11:56am
ElephantLoveMedley said: "JBroadway said: "I think she thrives off her charisma, and her incredible dancing. I don't have any particular issue with her acting, but I'm not convinced that she's one of our great musical theatre actors. She's given solid acting performances, but she has yet to blow me away with her technical acting skills.
She HAS blown me away with her charisma and her dancing though. And as you said, I'm rooting for her success."
Completely agreed with this statement. I really like Ariana, thought she was fantastic as Anita, and am rooting for her success—I think it's always fabulous when someone with Broadway roots makes a huge splash in other mediums. But in everything I've seen her in (Broadway, TV, and now film), I continue to view her as a dancer "first." She's absolutely one of this generation's top-tier dancers but I find her acting and singing to be all-around serviceable. Strong, for sure, but nothing out of this world or transcendent.
I'll be excited if she wins the Oscar, which is something that looks increasingly likely. However, I will find it to be somewhat surprising against Kirsten Dunst's performance inThe Power of the Dog, which I thought was impeccably well-acted from a technical level."
I though Dunst was a bit over the top. Especially the scene where she was drinking in the stairwell.
