Bells are ringing

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Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 5:28pm

Am I the only one who loves this cute show? I know a lot of people think its dated which it is but its still good show. My high school is thinking about doing it but is there a male lead? I know ella is obviously the lead but is there a male? Would it be jeff? Also why do you think the previous revivals have failed?

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 5:42pm

Also why do you think the previous revivals have failed?

Revivals? Plural? There was only one: the Faith Prince-ruined 2001 Broadway revival.

Ever since Faith Prince came into fruition in the early 90s, everyone (included myself) knew she was born to play Ella in BELLS ARE RINGING. We all just knew - everything written into it for Judy Holliday suited Faith to perfection. When it was announced a revival was being mounted for her, the world just screamed with joy. Well, sadly so did she and she played it that way - so affected that funny moments were milked to death and with such an obvious "I'm so perfect for this role" attitude it overshadowed everything in the production. The sets were insanely fantastic as were the costumes and the entire cast and then Faith just sucked the magic out of it.

Thanks, Faith!

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 5:47pm

Maybe by revivals the OP meant the Prince Revival and the Kelli O'Hara Encores production?

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 6:18pm

The music is wonderful and many of the songs still hold up. The book is a bit silly, out of the 1950s style of musical comedy fluff.

And I think Brody is correct about the Faith Prince revival. Faith needs a good director to reign her in and give her guidance. Tina Landau was not the director that should have been helming this show.

And speaking of Faith Prince, her work in the revival of The King & I was even worse. She was reaching for laughs in places where there was no hint of a laugh. It was just embarrassing. A wisecracking Anna was not a good acting choice. Which is really sad because Faith can do dramatic roles. Years ago when she did Falsettoland, she was really wonderful as the wife and turned in a show stopping "Holding To The Ground."

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

Updated On: 7/6/14 at 06:18 PM

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 6:20pm

I loved the Encores! production, and loved Kelli O'Hara as Ella. I'd love to see a full-scale revival.

A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 6:28pm

Fond memories of Bells as I played[first non-professional] the male lead Jeff where one reviewer said ' ? is the star in a gay show'!!.
This type of show is from an era that dates quickly, usually with the music outlasting the book--I think Bells is now best viewed with an all star cast in Concert.

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 6:37pm

The thing about Bells is that Judy Holliday is so ingrained in that show. To understand how to play Ella, you have to study Judy Holliday. Judy had an innocence and the comedy must be played with that innocence. The problem with Faith is that she pushed the comedy and the delicacy was lost.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 9:21pm

Nina Arianda has said she wants to do a musical...

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 9:32pm

It has a really wonderful score. It also has the distinction of being the first cast album recorded in true stereo! I enjoy the film version quite a lot.

The plot is pretty hard to work with though.

Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated

#10

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 9:46pm

I too love the show and Judy Holiday in it.

But will the program include an explanation as to what an "answering service" was?

I'm not saying a modern viewer can't figure it out, but I do think the show has lost something in the half-century since it was written.

Just a thought: maybe it's time for a new book where Ella is the secretary of a Broadway producer. That would give her a reason to be taking messages and betraying confidentialities.

Updated On: 7/6/14 at 09:46 PM

#11

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 10:26pm

Besides BELLS ARE RINGING, I also thought Prince would be great in the revival of LITTLE ME. That is until I saw it. Once again it seemed a part that was well suited to her talents. But as soon as she made her entrance (overweight and stuffed into tight black peddle pushers much like her costume in BELLS) I knew she was totally miscast. Belle Poitrine is more a combination of a young alluring Lorelei Lee and an older Mae West caricature. Prince conveyed neither persona. She was just plain annoying. Then she sang and her voice was frequently off pitch and harsh to the point where the woman seated next to me had her fingers in her ears whenever Prince opened her mouth to sing. I do think she could've possibly pulled off Winifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS yet I still feel she's more suited to supporting player roles rather than the lead. A friend saw her in A CATERED AFFAIR and thought she was wonderful.

As far as BELLS ARE RINGING, I only saw one production of the show and it was gawd awful. The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera revived it back in 1978 with Florence Henderson and Dean Jones. Flo sang the songs as if she was on the Bell Telephone Hour and made you realize that unless you have comedic talents equal to Judy Holliday's then there's no reason to do the show. Someone like a young Gilda Radner could have pulled it off many moons ago but there really aren't that many genuinely funny ladies around who are uniquely qualified to play the part. If I had my druthers, I'd love to see what Rachel Bay Jones could do with the role.

#12

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/6/14 at 11:26pm

I'm not arguing with you, but Prince is great on the recording of LITTLE ME. Too bad you didn't hear that in the theater.

#13

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 1:19am

Do you guys think Annaleigh Ashford has what it takes? If it mostly has to do with comedic timing I think she could be wonderful. I think she's a little young now but in 4 or 5 years I think she could be great.

#14

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 1:55am

Marla Mindele.

#15

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 10:25am

I wonder how Jessie Mueller would fare in the role.

A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

#16

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 2:48pm

To go back to Brody's post a moment, I just wanted to agree with him and say that so many aspects of that 2001 revival were superb, so it really is a shame that the whole thing didn't come together very well. Faith Prince really did end up giving a terrible performance in a role that should have been a triumph for her. Having seen her do really spectacular work (not just in GUYS AND DOLLS, but more subtle performances in shows like A CATERED AFFAIR and A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE) and really poorly judged performances (her recent Miss Hannigan and her stint as Ursula in THE LITTLE MERMAID), perhaps it is an issue of having a good director to help shape her performance that's key.

And BELLS ARE RINGING remains a total delight. The Encores production was great. I love the idea of Marla Mindelle--an adept comedienne with a superb voice--but I wonder if a revival would happen nowadays without a bona fide name star (or at least a relatively well-known theatre actress) in the lead.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

#17

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 3:19pm

The show is a period piece, which is not the same thing as dated. It's essentially a B musical from the 50s, like Damn Yankees and Pajama Game, but it definitely has it's considerable charms.

#18

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 3:44pm

The Encores production a few seasons back with Kelli O'Hara was fabulous. Enough so that I immediately went out and purchased the original OBC recording on cd with the legendary Judy Holiday. I've seen the film on numerous occasions and would watch it again in a heartbeat! As GavestonPS suggested, an updated book might make this property a more attractive option for a revival.

#19

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 3:52pm

If you were to update it, you'd have to throw out most of the score wich is firmly embedded in the period in which it was written. The wiser choice would be to write your own contemporary musical based on similar themes.

#20

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 5:42pm

I'm going to have to pop that cd into my car stereo tomorrow morning on my commute to work and revisit the score. You may very well be correct in your assessment, Wilmingtom.

Updated On: 7/7/14 at 05:42 PM

#21

Bells are ringing

Posted: 7/7/14 at 9:08pm

I already had the recording of BELLS, so I looked and found two pop records that Judy Holliday made in the 1950s. They are quite good, surprisingly since she wasn't generally considered a "singer".

Wilimington, you're probably right. The show does offer two standards, but it probably isn't worth revising.

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