Bette Midler asked to do Mame- Page 5
Bette Midler asked to do Mame
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#100
Posted: 5/12/13 at 9:57pmI'm still wanting to see what Tovah would do with MAME. Yes I'm that sick...
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#101
Posted: 5/12/13 at 10:42pm
Playbilly is a thousand percent correct. Aside from Bette being far too old she is too vulgar and not nearly cultured enough. Again not the Divine one's fault, but it is what it is!
Updated On: 5/12/13 at 10:42 PM
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#102
Posted: 5/12/13 at 11:50pmAfter seeing Marin Mazzie sing "It's Today" for the Easter bonnet opening, I'd love to see her as Mame
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#103
Posted: 5/12/13 at 11:51pmMarin is my dream Mame. I know it would never happen on Broadway but god would she be wonderful.
Broadway Star Joined: 9/29/04
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#104
Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:14amI LOVE Bette, but I've said it before and will say it again: Megan Mullally
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#105
Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:19amIt's been said a few times but I would in all honesty LOVE to see RuPaul do the show.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#107
Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:25amI would love it. Or even those 2! Their performance of LEGENDS was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#108
Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:48amThat's so funny, because when you mentioned RuPaul my first thought was Charles Busch for Vera.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#109
Posted: 5/13/13 at 1:52amA perfect pairing, as well. And Ru is a big enough name to sell a show like that, right?
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#110
Posted: 5/13/13 at 4:54am
http://books.google.com/books?id=2cOt4-gnyTMC&pg=PA202&lpg=PA202&dq=bette+midler+mame&source=bl&ots=WH_NiuPxDS&sig=x9HqeMVE92p0mP-5lALBfD8LAFw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=rKqQUYu8MLDRigKA-YDoDQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=bette%20midler%20mame&f=false
BTW, Bette was all set to do it for television... in 1994.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#111
Posted: 5/13/13 at 5:44amI think Megan would be an amazing choice.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#112
Posted: 5/13/13 at 7:56pm
I agree. Megan Mullally is the first suggestion who is both the right age (well, she's 55) AND might sell tickets.
(Re post above: it's true Angela wasn't a big musical draw when MAME first opened in 1964, but Jerry Herman was hot off DOLLY from the previous year. There was a day when composers other than Sondheim sold tickets.)
Leading Actor Joined: 6/15/04
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#113
Posted: 5/14/13 at 3:53pm
I don't see why Mame has to be a certain age. When I first saw the Lucille Ball Mame on tv when I was a kid, all I knew was Mame was supposed to be an old broad - and she fit the bill.
Can't we vary from the source material and make Mame the great aunt of the kid? Or the Grandmother of his parents? With Mame, I don't think age really matters since she's just a relative, unlike Gypsy where Mama Rose is supposed to be the kids biological parent.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#114
Posted: 5/14/13 at 4:17pmBecause the story is the story. Mame is the sister of Patrick's father. She is at a certain stage in her life. To have a 70 year old play that part makes no goddamed sense.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#115
Posted: 5/14/13 at 4:18pm
Especially one who starts at 70 in the 1920's and ends up at ... what, 90 by Act II in the 1940's?
Just no.
Updated On: 5/14/13 at 04:18 PM
Leading Actor Joined: 6/15/04
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#116
Posted: 5/14/13 at 4:20pm
You make no sense. Stories are altered all the time for revivals. And Bette doesn't look 70, so go take a flying leap at the man in the moon who's a lady.
Updated On: 5/14/13 at 04:20 PM
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#117
Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:30amI make all the sense in the world, my dear. A seventy year old Mame is a terrible idea. I know it, and Bette knows it which is why she smartly turned down the part.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#118
Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:44pm
I'm still wanting to see what Tovah would do with MAME. Yes I'm that sick...
Ohhh, MichaelBennett, that is indeed sick and twisted.
I love Besty's comment that Mame just needs to be somewhere in between "40 and death," excellent point. Really Midler would be better suited for Mame than she'd be for say Mamma Rose, but Dolly is her role, I can't believe she hasn't played it.
From the pool of actresses who would realistically do the show, I love the idea of Mullally playing against type as Mame and not Vera, it didn't seem to work out much for Christine Baranski but there's a sweetness to Mullally (which she rarely is given a chance to display) that would make her "If He Walks Into My Life" quite touching. Donna Murphy is an ideal choice, I'll never stop mentioning her in one of this MAME threads. But someone who isn't usually brought up is Jane Krakowski, I think this could be such a juicy role for her that actually takes advantage of her talents.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#119
Posted: 5/15/13 at 2:33pmHmmm Jane Krakowski could be good. But they'd need to send her to finishing school first.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/24/09
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#120
Posted: 5/15/13 at 4:30pm
Most of the people I see suggested are more like Vera. Mame is a very tough role to cast. You need someone classy yet with a little quirk.
I think ray and all that jazz's suggestion of Donna Murphy is spot on. She is classy, and has the acting and vocal chops (her dancing is pretty good, too). I think Catherine Zeta-Jones in a few years MIGHT be able to do it. (That's a big MIGHT.)
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#121
Posted: 5/15/13 at 5:03pmI doubt Zeta-Jones can sing it. Murphy sounds perfect, but will she (or Marin Mazzie) sell enough tickets?
Leading Actor Joined: 6/15/04
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#122
Posted: 5/15/13 at 6:08pmLovebwy, the article doesn't say why she turned it down, so your confidence in your knowledge that it was her age is more of your self-delusion......dear.
Bette Midler asked to do Mame#123
Posted: 5/15/13 at 6:16pmGaveston, totally agree with you in CZJ. Did anyone hear "All That Jazz" at the Oscars? I know just from that she has not taken care if her voice and could never handle Jerry's brilliant score. Also, having seen her in "ALNM", I don't think she can act the part either. (Then when I revisited the show for Elaine Strich, Bernadette NAILED it. I cryed two times: "Send in the Clowns " and Madame A's Death. But I think much the reason people don't think Bette should play Mane is the same with Bernadette, but I personally would live to see them both play the role (and now that you talk about it "Dolly", too))
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