Bernadette as Mame???- Page 2

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 10:58pm

After she smashed my doubts about her playing Rose to smithereens, I can no longer have an opinion about what she can and cannot play until I see her do it.

Tevye, anyone?

Ruprecht, even?

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 10:58 PM

[jewishboy]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 12:44am

I was thinking that Bette Middler might be interesting, a little too Jewish?

I would also love to see what Debbie Gravitte coud bring to the role.

I for one would like to see the play "Auntie Mame" much more then the musical version. My first choice is weird, but I think could work, Kathleen Turner!

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 12:51am

Even though it wasn't a perfect fit at Paper Mill (perhaps it was the production's fault), I still think Christine Ebersole has a good Mame in her. Ebersole even kinda looks like the original Mame logo.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 12:54am

I want a new show. Forget revivals.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 12:59am

Peters is 58 this year. When Lansbury went into rehearsals for "Mame" she was 39. Channing was 43 when she opened in "Hello Dolly!". Therefore how at nearly sixty can playing a character that was first introduced on the Broadway stage by women nearly twenty years her junior be detrimental to her career?

The advances in plastic surgery over the years has changed the meaning of ones real age and the ages of the characters they play. 39 looked a heck of a lot different when MAME opened on Broadway forty years ago. 58 today can easily be made to look equal if not better than 39 did in 1966.

Updated On: 8/1/06 at 12:59 AM

[alterego]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:14am

Kathleen Turner is an interesting choice, and I believe she can sing too, though probably as a baritone.

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 9:35am

I don't know if Kathleen can sing- her singing voice was dubbed by Amy Irving in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" Amy Irving for Roxie anyone?

[stella985]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 9:42am

What is Our American Cousin?

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 9:43am

Wasn't 'Our American Cousin' the play that Lincoln was seeing when he was assassinated?

[PrettyBoy]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 9:47am

Yeah, I think it was the play Lincoln saw.

PalJoey must be confusing all the productions he's seen...

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 3:43pm

Bernadette as honest Abe? I'd rather see her in a crowd pleaser.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 6:54pm

Perfect choice for a Broadway MAME revival:

Meryl Streep.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 6:59pm

Yeah, I was going to say that OUR AMERICAN COUSIN was the play Abe Lincoln saw at the Ford's Theatre when he was assassinated.

As talented as Ms Streep is, I don't think she'd be good on stage.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 8:19am

"As talented as Ms Streep is, I don't think she'd be good on stage."

Try catching her for free in MOTHER COURAGE in Central Park this summer. You might change your mind.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 8:37am

"Bernadette needs to originate another role. Enough with the revivals. "

She hasn't yet ruined Call Me Madam, so give her time. As for an original role, hasn't it been noticed that on one is writing new roles for Peters, LuPone, or Buckley? I think the word is out on their talent

[mentaltenant]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:02am

I just really can't believe Bernadette is almost 60.

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:19pm

She should play every part she can while she can!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:22pm

PrettyBoy...aren't you getting a little OLD for that screen name?

[Ruth Sherwood]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:27pm

As wonderful as Meryl Streep is, she is not a musical performer. She could pull off Mame Dennis in "Auntie Mame," but she could not carry a musical like "Mame." Her voice is strong enough, but would anyone really want to watch her dance?

I think the perfect candidate for "Mame" is Donna Murphy, and Tovah Feldshuh was a magnificent Dolly.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:33pm

Streep was terrific as Arkadina in the SEAGULL on stage a few years ago (she was nominated for a Drama Desk) and was a highly acclaimed stage actress back in the 70s before her film career took off (she received an Obie, a Theatre World Award, a Tony nomination, and 5 Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress). She's a first rate stage actress by any standard.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:35pm

Not a musical performer?

It should be noted that her Obie (Alice in Concert) and one of her Drama Desk nominations (Happy End) was for her work in MUSICALS.

She's a VERY good singer.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 05:35 PM

[seabyrd]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:39pm

I saw Tovah, and she was no Dolly! Dolly needs to be larger than life, a charismatic presence, and loveable. Tovah was feisty, Irish-accented (very strange), and frankly, not likeable and just a little too desperate. Why Horace Vandergelder wanted to marry her escaped me. And as for Bernadette as Mame....please. Mame, above all, is elegant and to the manner born. Her liberated lifestyle and free-wheeling ways never overshadow her innate good breeding. I see Bernadette playing at it, like Baranski, but not embodying it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:42pm

Having watched Lauren Bacall "sing" and "dance" in Woman of the Year, I would be delighted to see Meryl Streep sing and dance.

[Ruth Sherwood]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 5:44pm

I know she is a good singer, and I realize that she has done musical work; however, how long ago was that? Her last Broadway musical was in 1977. Meryl was built a lot differently back then, and it would not have been painful to watch her dance...I know there have been great dancers without a dancer's build, but they have had the training and talent to make up for that. Meryl Streep is a terrific actress and singer, not a terrific dancer. "Mame" doesn't require a wonderful dancer, but it does require someone who can move well, and who isn't painful to watch. I believe Meryl would make a wonderful Mame Dennis...in "Auntie Mame."

As I said, Donna Murphy is the perfect candidate for "Mame." I did not say Bernadette was perfect for the part; however, I believe she wouldn't be an absolute embarrassment .

Tovah Feldshuh played Dolly very differently from what we are all used to. She wasn't necessarily larger than life, but her Dolly was realistic. Tovah's Dolly just wrapped herself around my heart. Tovah's singing needs work...Carol Channing's voice was no better, but she could belt it...with a few voice lessons, Tovah could learn to do that too.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 05:44 PM

[Producer2]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 7:11pm

Meryl Streep's singing voice was not dubbed in the movie Postcards From The Edge. She was great!