Bebe Neuwirth in Spider Woman

[greensgreens]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 6:24pm

Didn't she follow Chita in London (or was it Toronto, when that cast moved to London)? Did anyone catch this and have any memories of her performance they could share?

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 6:59pm

Yes, she followed Chita in London. I know several people who saw her and their opinions vary wildly--everything from best ever to a train wreck. I didn't see her so I can't comment.

[ajh]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 8:34am

I saw Bebe twice in London; I remember she looked a little odd as she had a long wig (bit like Jessie J's hair) instead of the bob that (I think) all the other Aurora's had (although she had the bob in the pics outside the theatre). T remember not being too keen the first time I saw her, but mainly because I had loved Chita Rivera's performance so much and Bebe was quite different. Being considerably younger than Chita, there was no doubt that she danced it much better but she was a much colder, more distant presence on stage, coolly efficient and even sinister where Chita had been seductive and insinuating. Given that she was (to UK audiences at least) mostly famous for her role in Cheers and Frasier, I was also surprised by how she missed alot of the laughs that Chita and, later, Vanessa Williams got in the "Russian Movie/Good Times" section in Act 2. So, overall, she was fine but nothing special. Was she ever approached or considered to take over the role when the show went to NY? I remember that there was a certain amount of press coverage when she was doing the London show that she didn't exactly endear herself to her male ensemble dancers.....

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 8:51am

It sounds like she had some of the same problems here that she had when she played Lola in Damn Yankees: chiefly, that she's not easily believable as a seductress.

[evic]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 12:01pm

I heard from a reliable source that Hal Prince was over her and that there was some incident where she threw her shoes and said "I cannot dance in these.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 1:40pm

I saw her in London and was not impressed.
And at any age she will never be the dancer that Cheets is!

[Tamerlano]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 7:29pm

Saw both Chita and Bebe in London...I'm afraid to say that it wasn't Bebe's finest hour. I remember the long wig that got in the way..she looked very uncomfortable in the role. That said it was something special with both Spider Women and I'm very sad that the UK audiences didn't buy tickets and missed out on a great piece of theatre.