Maybe Christina Applegate will be her Velma, and than everyone can complain about how they should trade roles.
So much complaining! People are sick of "untalented celebrities" doing these roles on Broadway and spend pages insulting them.
So the producers put in an honest to goodness Broadway dancer in the role...and what do they get?
Not her, not Roxie, no way.
You can't have it both ways.
wow. well, it looks like i'll finally see "chicago" now after all these years.
Very cool Good for her. She wuill always be THE Velma to me, but I know she will be a great Roxie, toop
If you guys really liked Brooke Shields as Roxie who in my opinion was one of the worst, cold, bland performances ever during her run in Ldn, I don't see why u guys can't take Bebe?
Im interested to see what wig they'd give her... and I'd die to see her do Me & My Baby!
I actually heard a story ten years ago that when they were first doing replacements and opening the tours that McKechnie's name came up but was shot down by Walter Bobbie. If the story is to be believed, he has/had some issue with her.
I think she would have been fabulous ten years ago, but she's a little past it now.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
The West End gets Ashlee Simpson and we get Bebe Neuwirth? Sucks to be you London, sucks to be you.
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/06
Honestly, if Chita did it at 60-something and Ashlee Simpson is doing it at like 10 years old, anything goes. So bring McKechnie in, at least we'll see a true Broadway triple-threat tackling the role. After Simpson was cast in this show I've become truly embittered about the whole Chicago casting situation, it has simply become a joke far from the masterpiece it can be when the Weisslers take casting seriously (Brenda Braxton, Debbie Gravitte, Ruthie Henshall, etc). As Michael Bennett said, Ms.Neuwirth has reached fame by playing the typical cold, arrogant figure; from Woody Allen's Celebrity to How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days to Chicago, this has sort of become her trademark (many argue it is sort of her personality anyways).
She has the talent to play Roxie in terms of the technical aspects, but this is a role in which she is completely miscast, I can't imagine her making Roxie Hart a likable character. She might surprise me and I'll definitely see her but instead of being Roxie she should be trying to play Phyllis in the Encores! Follies, a role for which she is perfect.
Thank God she is not Phyllis in the Encores FOLLIES. The last thing we need is to hear "Lucy and Jessie" sung with a lisp.
I think she'll be different and brings a new edge to the role hopefully
.... that applies for both Bebe & Ashlee. Anyway, I'm just excited about the whole cast that's gona join Bebe!
I'm all for this. In fact, if Bebe wants to extend, that'd be fine too. Anything to keep Ashlee Simpson off Broadway. (assuming the Weisslers want to bring her over here, of course)
i'd rather see bebe over tori spelling, robin givens, or some of the others.
Yeah, I think I'd rather see Bebe than A LOT of the casting Chicago has had lately.
I always thought of Bebe as one of the few triple threats left on Broadway. I had no idea there was so much venom towards her on this site.
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/06
What I meant is that Phylis is the kind of character Neuwirth is more appropriate for.
I have nothing against Bebe Neuwirth, actually, she is one of my favorite Broadway performers, a true triple-threat, a great actress (her cameo in Celebrity is reason enough to watch the movie over and over), and NO ONE (and yes I've seen Ute Lemper in the role) has ever come close to her great portrayal of Velma in the revival (I never saw Chita in the original production). But she's just not a Roxie.
Broadway Star Joined: 1/28/06
Thrilled about this! Wish I could see it.
On anther note - and I apologise for this, since it probably sounds like a very silly question - could someone please explain how Roxie may be considered a "vulnerable" and "warm" character? I don't know about anyone else, but I laughed out loud at the prospect of using "Roxie," "vulnerable," and "warm" in the same sentence.
I admit, I haven't seen the show onstage. However, I have listened to the revival recording, nearly memorized the OBCR, and seen the film version, as well as the Ginger Rogers "Roxie Hart," multiple times apiece. Not one of them gave me the impression that Roxie could be "warm" and "vulnerable." She
1). Cheats on her husband. In her "Roxie" monologue, she implies that she does this out of pure boredom.
2). Murders her lover (okay, not in the Ginger Rogers film). "NOBODY walks out on ME!" "Oh, don't 'sweetheart' me, you SON OF A BITCH!"
3). Uses the incident in 2) to shoot (ooh, a pun!) her way into stardom.
4). To maintain her celebrity status, lies about a pregnancy.
She's selfish, scheming, lying, vindictive, violent, gloating, and, some say, borderline psychotic. And did I mention "selfish"? Really, isn't that why we love her?
This is only my opinion, but I find Velma to be more vulnerable than Roxie. "I Can't Do It Alone" is a declaration of weakness; she is begging for Roxie's help. Velma is fading from the public's eye, replaced by this new kid (using the term "kid" very loosely). She knows it, the audience knows it, and Roxie sure as hell knows it.
I can definitely see Charity and even Lola as vulnerable characters. Charity's a good-hearted, alturistic, hopeless romantic. Lola supports and helps Joe, proving that even she's got heart. But Roxie? I'm sorry, I just can't see what's "warm" or "vulnerable" about Gwen Verdon's satisfied little chuckle at the beginning of "Roxie", Ann Reinking shooting a begging-for-mercy Fred Casely, or Ginger Rogers head-butting everyone who stands in her way.
I'm sorry that this post became so long, but Chicago is one of my favorite shows and Roxie an anything but forgettable character. Again, I think that a lot of the appeal of this show's leading ladies, as well as male lead, comes from their utter lack of vulnerability. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
If you were blessed to see Bebe perform "I Simply Can't do it Alone" it was anything but a declaration of weakness. It was a piece of heaven.
Bebe is a quadruple threat. She gets Fosse. It's an attitude, its choreography carried down to the fingernail. I will join those pilgramming back to Chicago as a consequence of this casting.
Velma to Bebe's Roxie. Tough question. Who can dance beside her in the "rag" as a Fosse equal?
Broadway Star Joined: 1/28/06
^ Sorry, I agree that "declaration of weakness" is not the best phrase I could have used. Velma is anything but weak. Still, I stand by the idea that, during that number, she knows that, in the eyes of the media, she's "inferior" to Roxie. Whether she's asking for Roxie's help or (more likely) trying to undermine her, there's no escaping that, at the moment, Velma does not have what she wants, and she needs to get her status back. It is, after all, "an act of desperation."
Again, I'm sorry about all these long-winded posts!
And I agree that it'll be hard to find an actress to play Velma against her. As incredible (and surreal) it would be, I somehow doubt that Chita Rivera would be asked to play the part...
Oh, and may I add that no one was as warm to me, my family and my partner as Ms. Neuwirth was to us. My dad gave her grief, as only a jokester can, and she went right along for the ride.
...and she is so demure! She gives meaning to the term "larger than life" (And Ann Reinking is an absolutely stunning woman)
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/05
i am very excited that Bebe is doing this
i did want to say to ruthiefan, though, i thought Brooke was fantastic in CHICAGO- yeah, her singing wasnt spot on, but she made the role sort of funny, but still dark and sexy
yeah
:)
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
Sad but true about Annie. She contracted Lyme Disease and now has arthritis, so she moved to Arizona. She is having a tough time, so keep her in your prayers.
Chorus Member Joined: 5/5/06
You are correct Michael Bennett, Donna McKechnie auditioned for both Walter Bobbie and Ann Reinking and was shot down by both of them. Kind of unbelievable because she has all the requisite qualities to be a devastating Roxie. And unbelievable, too, because of her kindness and nurturing to Reinking when she was learning the role of Cassie. A real shame and indication of how awful the business called show really can be.
Any ideas of Bebe's Velma or Billy? Will they bring in someone new?
Don't know about any of you, but I think they need a tall blonde Velma who can sing/dance the sh*t out!
Bebe and Roxie...a match made in heaven
I am not against this. I have never really understood what people see in Bebe or the revival for that matter. But whatever.
Videos