Beanie’s Last Performance 9/25- Page 9

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 2:34pm

Perhaps someday YOU'LL also be able to "move on"??

From your lips to God’s ears. 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 2:44pm

I really can't believe that multiple threads have gone on this long about Beanie's worthiness in the show.

While all that is well and good, the endless speculation-as-fact is pretty damn shocking to have gone on this long. Really surprised it's been able to go on so long. But I guess it's driving traffic, so there you go...

[DAME]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 3:16pm

everythingtaboo said: "I really can't believe that multiple threads have gone on this long about Beanie's worthiness in the show.

While all that is well and good, the endless speculation-as-fact is pretty damn shocking to have gone on this long. Really surprised it's been able to go on so long. But I guess it's driving traffic, so there you go..."

Oh people are just having fun.  Don't be a Debbie Downer.     This is pretty tame comparing to Tik Tok and other social media.  And I wouldn't be surprised if all this chatter isn't exactly what the show wanted right now.  Who knows.  Happy summer.  

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 3:32pm

Thanks for the clarification. I'll admit I didn't look into the show all that much except to watch the videos they posted. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 8:06pm

I hope the show runs forever so we can continue to read Penna2's insightful and never-ending comments about it.

[Penna2]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 8:37pm

Dollypop said: "I hope the show runs forever so we can continue to read Penna2's insightful and never-ending comments about it."

Aw, shucks. I feel the same about you. 

 

[ManOfLaMuncha]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 10:25pm

 

https://dlisted.com/2022/06/23/beanie-feldstein-got-engaged/#more-426498

 

saw this about Beanie's engagement and didn't really know how to post, I just replied to last post on thread

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 10:29pm

everythingtaboo said: "I really can't believe that multiple threads have gone on this long about Beanie's worthiness in the show.

While all that is well and good, the endless speculation-as-fact is pretty damn shocking to have gone on this long. Really surprised it's been able to go on so long. But I guess it's driving traffic, so there you go..."

it will never end. its turned into a weird fetish. we've now reached a point where regular bway-goers, in the know about how shows get built/cast/capitalized, are feigning shock at the notion that well-known actress didnt participate in an open-call audition.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 10:44pm

Grammar and capitalization are your friend on this board.

Because Fanny should be played by someone who identifies as Jewish. Period. 

Meh. This didn't really work out for BF so it really doesn't matter. People won't refuse to go to the show if they cast someone of another religion.  Not really a big deal. Besides, Christian Borle was cast as a Jewish man in Falsettos and nobody cared. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 11:01pm

Valerie Harper, who played one of television history’s most famous Jewish characters: Rhoda Morgenstern, was Roman Catholic.

Kay Medford, who was the original Mrs. Brice in FUNNY GIRL (both on Broadway and the film), was Catholic.

Anne Bancroft, who was one of the most famous Jewish actresses on stage and film, was Roman Catholic.  

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 11:06pm

Will Swenson, a former Mormon born in Utah, is playing Neil Diamond, a Brooklyn-born Jew, and, if Santino Fontana can play a Polish-Jewish Holocaust victim in The Pianist, then a non-Jew playing Fanny really isn't worth clutching pearls over.

Updated On: 6/23/22 at 11:06 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 11:14pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Will Swenson, a former Mormon born in Utah, is playing Neil Diamond, a Brooklyn-born Jew, and, if Santino Fontana can play a Polish-Jewish Holocaust victim in The Pianist,then a non-Jew playing Fanny really isn't worth clutching pearls over."

Will is playing Neil?! Will he even be able to sing the part? I don’t recall his vocals ever being stellar. 
 

Also, many of the drag queens in Ptown are making Funny Girl revival jokes and the audience is getting them. For those saying let it go, I’m sorry but this is the entertainment industry. If you birth a dud, it’s gonna be fodder for comedy. It’s part of the package. 

 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 11:37pm

Penna2 said: "Dollypop said: "I hope the show runs forever so we can continue to read Penna2's insightful and never-ending comments about it."

Aw, shucks. I feel the same about you.

 

That's very nice to know but don't come down with the warm fuzzies over me. My aging heart belongs to Justin Trudeau and no one else.

"

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 1:43am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Valerie Harper, who played one of television history’s most famous Jewish characters: Rhoda Morgenstern, was Roman Catholic.

Kay Medford, who was the original Mrs. Brice in FUNNY GIRL (both on Broadway and the film), was Catholic.

Anne Bancroft, who was one of the most famous Jewish actresses on stage and film, was Roman Catholic."

there was a time when none of this mattered, yes. and one can argue that it still shouldnt; i for one am happy to see jews playing nonjews, gays playing straight, vice versa, the whole deal. its acting.

but it does seem odd that the progressive pearl clutchers when it comes to everything else, are perfectly chill with a catholic playing an iconic jew. like the mj thing, its the hypocrisy that makes me choke.

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 10:00am

What's interesting about the "it doesn't matter what the actress' real religion is" discussion is that, famously, the show was going to be a vehicle for Mary Martin until the show's potential lyricist Stephen Sondheim insisted the actress playing Fanny had to be Jewish. That's pretty much what led to Barbra being cast, and Barbra being cast changed forever the image of what can constitute a beautiful woman in American culture, and essentially ended the tradition of  Jewish performers hiding/downplaying their Jewishness in order to become major stars. Giant, positive ramifications came in the wake of Sondheim's insistence (in a show he wouldn't even wind up writing the lyrics for).

And it reminds me of the passionate argument Harvey Fierstein made that Albin must be played by a gay man in La Cage because a straight actor, no matter how good, did not have the personal experience for the rage that informs I Am What I Am to come through. He lost that argument, but it was latter admitted (I think by Jerry Herman, but maybe it was Arthur Laurents--did Laurents ever admit to being wrong about anything?) when a gay man was later took over the role that Fierstein was right.

For the record, I agree with what others are saying here. The world has changed, and it is no longer necessary for a Jewish woman to play the part, as it once was. Essentially Funny Girl itself led a revolution that made the mandate for its own original production irrelevant. If the actress convinces the audience her character is Jewish, all is well. 

[David10086]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 10:27am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Valerie Harper, who played one of television history’s most famous Jewish characters: Rhoda Morgenstern, was Roman Catholic.

Kay Medford, who was the original Mrs. Brice in FUNNY GIRL (both on Broadway and the film), was Catholic.

Anne Bancroft, who was one of the most famous Jewish actresses on stage and film, was Roman Catholic."

 

Yet in the original 1964 production of 'Funny Girl', it was reported that even though she nailed the auditions, Carol Burnett didn't get cast in the role because she wasn't "convincing" as Jewish and therefore audiences wouldn't  believe the storyline. 

 

Nancy Walker, on the other hand, auditioned and she was convincing as being  Jewish  - even though she was Italian Catholic.  However, at 4'11", she said she lost out on the role because the producers thought she was 'too short' and would be lost on stage when surrounded by the cast. (Of course, Walker would go on to play Jewish through most of her career after her audition). 

 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 11:23am

PipingHotPiccolo said: "but it does seem odd that the progressive pearl clutchers when it comes to everything else, are perfectly chill with a catholic playing an iconic jew. like the mj thing, its the hypocrisy that makes me choke."

I think many of those who object to (for example) the casting of cisgender actors in transgender roles point to the lack of opportunities for transgender actors. Arguably, the same cannot be said about the opportunities available to Jewish performers on Broadway.

Updated On: 6/24/22 at 11:23 AM

[David10086]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 3:01pm

HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY TO BEANIE ! 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 3:45pm

Yet in the original 1964 production of 'Funny Girl', it was reported that even though she nailed the auditions, Carol Burnett didn't get cast in the role because she wasn't "convincing" as Jewish and therefore audiences wouldn't  believe the storyline. 

Carol Burnett NEVER auditioned.  She was one of the many actresses approached, but wisely declined.

These are other actresses who were being considered (circa 1962) prior to that nite-club singer Streisand: Chita Rivera, Tammy Grimes, Judy Holliday, Paula Prentiss, Suzanne Pleshette, Mimi Hines, Kaye Stevens, Eydie Gormé/Steve Lawrence(assuming they came as a pair, i.e. Fanny/Nick).

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 6:40pm

kdogg36 said: "PipingHotPiccolo said: "but it does seem odd that the progressive pearl clutchers when it comes to everything else, are perfectly chill with a catholic playing an iconic jew. like the mj thing, its the hypocrisy that makes me choke."

I think many of those who object to (for example) the casting of cisgender actors in transgender roles point to the lack of opportunities for transgender actors. Arguably, the same cannot be said about the opportunities available to Jewish performers on Broadway."

A fair distinction. Im not saying anyone SHOULD play any role, and i certainly think that trans actors should get all the opportunities they can. But Sarah Silverman has explored this a bit, how iconic Jewish characters are routinely played by non-Jewish performers (RBG, Leonard Bernstein, come to immediate mind). My view is the best performer should get the part, i could care less about their background, but i dont think thats particularly PC these days. 

[MsPiety&Rectitude]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 6:56pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "A fair distinction. Im not saying anyone SHOULD play any role, and i certainly think that trans actors should get all the opportunities they can. But Sarah Silverman has explored this a bit, how iconic Jewish characters are routinely played by non-Jewish performers (RBG, Leonard Bernstein, come to immediate mind). My view is the best performer should get the part, i could care less about their background, but i dont think thats particularly PC these days."

 

I don't have strong feelings on whether Fanny must be played by a Jewish actress, but I'd just like to expand on this because I love Sarah Silverman's podcast and generally find her world views very well-considered. Sarah always specifies that she fully supports "letting actors act" and that the individual portrayals of Jewish characters by non-Jewish actors (Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit, Rachel Brosnahan in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, etc etc etc...) are not the problem, but rather, the problem is the trend of most Jewish roles going to non-Jews, especially, as she points out, if they're meant to be lovable, sympathetic, relatable -- whereas if they're the naggy girlfriend or the greedy business manager, it's much likely to go to a Jewish actress (see: Sarah Silverman in School of Rock and RENT). 

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 7:03pm

joevitus said: "And it reminds me of the passionate argument Harvey Fierstein made that Albin must be played by a gay man in La Cage because a straight actor, no matter how good, did not have the personal experience for the rage that informs I Am What I Am to come through. He lost that argument, but it was latter admitted (I think by Jerry Herman, but maybe it was Arthur Laurents--did Laurents ever admit to being wrong about anything?) when a gay man was later took over the role that Fierstein was right."

"As for dear, crusty old Arthur, late in the run, when he finally cast two gay men in the leads, he phoned to say, 'I do not do this often and I do not do this lightly -you were right. Gay men make all the difference.' And then ****hung up."

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 7:10pm

Scarlett's role in Jojo Rabbit was not Jewish.

 

Its a tough thing to wrap one's head around. Most of us can see the argument that characters of color should be played by persons of color. And roles that are LGBTQ+ should be played by those same actors....and if its true for those "examples", doesn't that mean it should ALWAYS be true? But where is a line drawn? Not sure were ready to hire mass murderers to tell those type of stories.  I'm Jewish...and while I'd be happy to play Jewish characters,  I dont want to be out of consideration for all non Jewish roles.

A conundrum. 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 9:51pm

Judaism is a religion, a faith, a set of beliefs, what you worship and to whom you pray in Temple on the Sabbath. With the possible exception of Ivanka Trump, people who convert to Judaism during their lives are no less Jewish than those born into it, perhaps more since they have made a proactive choice to be Jewish.. Which means to say, anybody with any appearance can be Jewish.

As a Jew myself, this discussion on whether the role needs to be played by someone who is Jewish themselves is a bit troubling simply because it is subconsciously based on the belief that most if not all Jews look and sound a certain way and that is based on historical stereotypes and biases, most of them unflattering. "She definitely looks Jewish" is often not meant as a compliment. Unless the role is one where the character largely spends their time studying the Torah or preparing the house for the Sabbath, I'm not sure there needs to be a requirement for the person to have the same spiritual beliefs as the real life person on which the role is based.

[Duckie4]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 9:57pm

Bettyboy72 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "Will Swenson, a former Mormon born in Utah, is playing Neil Diamond, a Brooklyn-born Jew, and, if Santino Fontana can play a Polish-Jewish Holocaust victim in The Pianist,then a non-Jew playing Fanny really isn't worth clutching pearls over."

Will is playing Neil?! Will he even be able to sing the part? I don’t recall his vocals ever being stellar.


Will Swenson, as in the guy who played Javert and Charles Guiteau, to name just two? Not stellar? Ok, but I think he can probably handle singing the songs of a husky voiced bass-baritone pop singer.