Audra McDonald as ELiza ?

[mrcacou]

Posted: 5/30/06 at 5:42pm

I just came back from her concert tonight. She sang some songs from My Fair Lady. I realized tonight that she would be great in the role of Eliza.Her I could have danced all night was awesome. Any thought ?

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/30/06 at 6:46pm

She has repeatedly referred to Eliza as one of her dream roles. Whether that means she'll ever do it or not is another story, but yeah, she would be magnificent.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 5/30/06 at 6:53pm

Of course, Audra would be marvelous as Eliza.

Audra can do anything.

I'm sure that she could even hang dry-wall excellently...

[philcrosby]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 8:09am

She would make an enchanting Eliza, and should do it soon before time passes her by.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 11:22am

I'm one of her biggest fans, and I think she'd be amazing in the role, but can she do a proper cockney accent? That would be the deciding factor, in my mind, because Lord knows that girl can SING it!

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 11:35am

HA! She's AUDRA MCDONALD...of course she can do a cockney accent!

And if she can't..she'll learn!

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 11:39am

well, thats a nice sentiment - but there actually are actors out there who, no matter how fabulously gifted, still cannot master accents correctly. I'm not saying she can't do it - but I simply have reservations until I see the finished product. I do LOVE her concert at the Donmar Warehouse in London - a really fine evening.

[Jon]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:25pm

The real question is whether she has the light comic touch to pull it off. Everything she does seems rather overwrought and intense.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:28pm

She displayed some great comedic timing in CAROUSEL as Carrie.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:29pm

I agree. She's got the voice, but she's not exactly funny.

[mrcacou]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:34pm

She actually did introduce her concert in French for a good 5 minutes in a nice French accent, not perfect but good enough for us to understand. It makes me think she could do Eliza's accent. think she can be funny as well as yesterday the theatre was laughing at her jokes.

[mygfdontliveincanada]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:45pm

Listen to her as the Beggar Woman in the Concert version of "Sweeney Todd." She can do the cockney accent, and with that production she only had a week or two to learn it!

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 12:56pm

Considering I'd buy Audra as Henry Higgins, I don't think I'll have any problem overlooking problems with a Cockney accent should someone decide to produce the show with Audra as Eliza.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 3:59pm

I've got to get that concert cd- her begger woman is something I really wish I could have seen. I like Victoria Clark's begger woman a lot also, in the SF version.

[GClef2]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 4:41pm

She is just brilliant. I still think she is funny singing "Down With Love" on the "My favorite broadway" dvd. I feel like her style of comedy would be very subtle and not so obnoxious.

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 5:50pm

She has the comic touch. Anyone who saw her do Anyone Can Whistle, at Ravinia, particularly "Come Play Wiz Me" will attest to that...

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 6:19pm

Yeah, I think Audra gets pegged for these intense roles because she's an amazing actress. She's actually a VERY funny person in life. I think she can handle Eliza with her eyes closed.

[mrcacou]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 6:29pm

What was funny in her concertlast night was that she could do these incredible songs from Light in the Piazza and I didn't know her that much before yesterday night but she is on my top list now and I just got tickets for her last concert tomorrow ...

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 6:45pm

How much coffee do you drink?

She is amazing, and had 4 Tonys that agree with me...

[Flahooley]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 6:51pm

Brilliant casting. I know a lot of the folks here on this board don't believe in colorblind casting... just admit it to yourself if you do, and stop making stupid reasons why it doesn't work...

As for Audras comic abilities... in CAROUSEL and MASTERCLASS she was HOOT!!!

Someone call the Weisslers and tell them to mount it Audra... but leave Richard Chamberlain at home.

[Ourtime992]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 7:01pm

I agree with Flahooley. She was as great in Master Class as anything else she's done, and that's saying a lot. She was the highlight of the production for me.

[Jon]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 7:08pm

I wouldn't consider it "colorblind" casting. It is within the realm of possibility that Eliza could be black. If you cast a black actor as her father, it makes it even more feasible. There were blacks in London a hundred years ago, especially in the working class.

Colorblind casting would be casting Audra as Guinivere in Camelot - asking the audience to simply ignore the fact that she's black, when Guinivere could not be.

[cturtle]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 8:46pm

she would be LOVERLY

[fflagg]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 9:05pm

and who would be Higgins? 50 Cent?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/31/06 at 9:29pm

Someone would by typecast as Higgins.

Someone like John Lithgow or Jonathan Pryce.

Personally, I would love to see Ian MacKellan do it.