Audra to sing the blues on Broadway...?- Page 3

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 6:49pm

I understand that an act of impressive mimicry does not necessarily equal a great acting performance (see the film Ray), but this casting is still a puzzlement for me. It's not like Holiday was some obscure singer with a pleasant, generic jazz/blues voice. She probably had what remains the most distinctive and recognizable sound in jazz/blues vocalists. Who knows, perhaps Audra is a gifted mimic or perhaps they're not even going to try to have her sound anything like the woman she's portraying.

Maybe next we can get Nathan Gunn playing Sinatra, Harolyn Blackwell playing Aretha Franklin and Kathleen Battle as Nina Simone.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 7:16pm

In the original production, neither Lonette McKee nor S. Epatha Merkerson sounded like Holiday, but both gave wonderful, persuasive--and very different--performances.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 7:32pm

I don't get to go the many shows nowadays sadly, but this one will DEFINITELY be on my must see list.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 9:14pm

Would this apply to the "classics" rule? I thought that was typically only for shows that had gained reputations through regional productions and films and such. This seems somewhat lesser-known than say CINDERELLA or LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 10:30pm

I think it has less to do with reputation than time that has passed.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/25/14 at 10:53pm

just noticed in the press release it says "a limited, 10-week, 70 shows engagement". That figures to be that Audra is only doing 7 shows a week??

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 1:10am

Honestly, I'm excited. I don't know anything about the source material or anything, so to me I won't have anything to compare it to. But I'm excited.

It's also a different play, so who cares? One was off-Broadway and one is on Broadway.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 5:04am

RippedMan, When you say you don't know anything about the source material, you mean that you're not familiar with the play (or musical, if that's what it is), not that you're entirely unfamiliar with Billie Holiday's music, right?

I wonder if "Strange Fruit" will be in the setlist. Whether she sings it anything like Billie or not, I'd love to hear Audra's take on that gorgeous, painful song.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 5:42am

I understand that an act of impressive mimicry does not necessarily equal a great acting performance (see the film Ray)

Not too veer this off topic, but since HorseTears *did* bring it up I have to chime in and just say that I respectfully disagree. Mr. Foxx gave am excellent performance and deserved his Oscar.

I am also not understanding why you are so perplexed (?), puzzled (?), bothered (?) by McDonald's casting in this. McDonald may not be the same "type" of singer the Miss Holiday was but she *is* a singer and aside from that a wonderful actress and I am positive she and her director Lonny Price will make this work.

Jessica Lange waa dubbed and physically did not resemble Patsy Cline in the movie "Sweet Dreams" but I'll be damned if she didn't get to the core of who that woman was as an artist and as a person.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 9:04am

I wonder if "Strange Fruit" will be in the setlist. Whether she sings it anything like Billie or not, I'd love to hear Audra's take on that gorgeous, painful song.

Once again, I refer you to the Times article, which answers most of the questions people here are asking:

"Ms. McDonald will perform 18 numbers as Holiday, including 'What a Little Moonlight Can Do,' 'Strange Fruit,' 'Taint Nobody's Biz-ness' and 'God Bless the Child' — the last being a song that Ms. McDonald used to perform in high school and at Juilliard."

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/audra-mcdonald-to-return-to-broadway-as-billie-holiday/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1

Updated On: 2/26/14 at 09:04 AM

[RW3]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 9:15am

I wonder if it will extend if ticket sales are good and Audra possibly wins her 6th Tony.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 10:08am

I am also not understanding why you are so perplexed (?), puzzled (?), bothered (?) by McDonald's casting in this. McDonald may not be the same "type" of singer the Miss Holiday was but she *is* a singer and aside from that a wonderful actress and I am positive she and her director Lonny Price will make this work.

Carlos - A tad puzzled, but certainly not bothered. And not because of the perceived quality of Audra's talents--both musical and acting--which I think are unquestionably great. It's just that Billie had perhaps the most unique and distinctive voice out of all the great jazz/blues ladies of the era. It strikes me as a little odd that a, no doubt gifted actress/singer, who sounds nothing like Billie is going to be portraying her and singing nearly 20 of her signature songs. That being said, if I make it to NY again during this run, I'm definitely getting a ticket. The chance to hear Audra sing that material--whether she sounds anything like Billie or not--is something I wouldn't miss.


Yero my Hero- thanks for linking to that NYT article. Sounds like it's going to be a memorable evening of theatre and music.

[best12bars]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 12:39pm

I may be spitting on hallowed ground here, but I think this casting is as wrong as Julie Andrews in the life of Janis Joplin.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 12:49pm

I wonder if it will extend if ticket sales are good and Audra possibly wins her 6th Tony.

You mean Cherry Jones' Tony?

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 12:57pm

^HA! again Audra has won almost every time she's been on broadway, she is a force of nature.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 1:02pm

McDonald's performance will be fresh in voters' minds so she very well may take home her 6th Tony if nominated. While I think that Jones's performance is otherworldly and at the moment unbeatable, she opened a long time ago, so McDonald could easily steal her thunder.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 2:01pm

I am incredibly excited about this, and I am a devoted Billie Holiday fan.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 2:13pm

How do we know which category they'll place her in? (And Tracy Letts won last year for a show that was long closed.)

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 2:23pm

I don't think anyone will forget the recent revival of THE GLASS MENAGERIE--of the the most universally adored productions in years--or anyone in its cast any time soon. And a show being open means nothing--ask Julie White or Michele Pawk or anyone involved in Virginia Woolf, which won Best revival,
best actor, and best director last year.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 2:38pm

Audra is indeed a force of nature, but Cherry Jones is also. If they were up against each other it would certainly make for an interesting race since I think that at this point, Cherry Jones should be clearing a space on her mantle for a 3rd Tony. But I feel like with 18 musical numbers it's likely the Tonys will treat it as a musical rather than a play.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 3:14pm

There were 11 songs in End of the Rainbow.

How many songs were in Piaf? If memory serves there were a great many. That didn't stop Jane Lapotaire from getting her much deserved tony for best actress in a play.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 3:24pm

Doesn't it also come down to the purpose the music serves within the framework of the show? 1776, for example, has 13 musical numbers (including one reprise) and a long stretch with no music, but I would consider that a musical without question.

[AC126748]

Posted: 2/26/14 at 3:52pm

The Tony committee does what it wants. There's no point in using logic or looking at patterns.