'Big' Celebs on B-way

[StateOfJade]

Posted: 12/18/03 at 10:19pm

I know the topic comes up once in a while in numerous threads, but I was just wondering, how does everyone really feel about all the 'big' celebrities that have been in B-way shows in the last year? (ex: Joey Fatone, Michelle Williams, Melanie Griffith, P.Diddy in the future, etc.) Personally, I think that the point of Broadway is to get AWAY from all those big stars. But I have to admit, some of them were actually successful in the shows they were in. What do you guys think? (I really hope what I'm trying to say is coming out clearly, lol).

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 12/18/03 at 10:31pm

I think if they are right for the role, can act AND sing, then I have no problem with it. But, P-Diddy and Melanie Griffith? Come on! First of all, do you really think P-Diddy fans (the majority of them anyway) are going to be able to afford to see a Broadway show?
I wouldn't want to see Mariah Carey or Britney Spears on a Broadway stage; but if someone like Catherine Zeta-Jones were to come to Broadway, I think she would be great.

[singnyc]

Posted: 12/18/03 at 11:21pm

"First of all, do you really think P-Diddy fans (the majority of them anyway) are going to be able to afford to see a Broadway show?"

I really don't know what to make of that statement..but as opposed to the Reba MacIntyre fans? Or Rosie Fans? or Boy George fans? or Joey Fatone fans...what's the difference??

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 12/18/03 at 11:59pm

Yes as opposed to those people's fans.
If you know aything about Rap music and P-Diddy followers you would know that the Majority of them are teens to early 20s, and live in less than Middle Class Neighborhoods. These are facts; not racial observations, so please don't even try to accuse me of something like that. I've seen his fans in music stores, on tv, in my own school.
They save up to buy his latest CD, never mind when he has a concert. So do I think they are going to shell out $100+ to see him make a fool of himself on a Broadway stage when they can just meet him at the stage door for free? Most likely not.
Now as I said, this is a majority of his fans...certainly not all of them. I'm sure there are a fair amount who can afford to and will go see him.

Beleive it or not, stereotyping is what it is for a reason.
Reba fans: 40+ years old, and/or living in middle America where Country music is huge.
Rosie fans: again 40+ years old, house wives.
Boy George fans: 80's nostalgic fans mostly in their 30's
Joey Fatone fans: Teens to early 20's in age, moslty middle class teeny bopper girls obsessed with Boy Bands

Does this mean that a 15 year old girl from NYC can't be a Reba fan? Not at all. But she does not fall into the majority of people who are her fans.

Facts are facts no matter how un-bias some of you may pretend to be. There is a fine line between being racist and stereotyping. I don't hate people for there color, age, or financial status; but I certainly won't say that I don't sometimes stereotype people. Even I fall into some typical categories of people my age, color, and gender. So what!? Does it mean I drink because I'm Irish? No. But I understand why some people might assume I do, and I don't let it get to me.
This is why I like Avenue Q so much. Those people aren't afraid of the truth.

Updated On: 12/19/03 at 11:59 PM

Posted: 12/19/03 at 7:47am

Gee, the celebs mentioned in this thread so far are so big I don't thinks there are signs big enough nor lights bright enough for these names. Even the streets in Times Square aren't long enough to contain the crowds that would line up.

Yours for "big" celebs on Broadway!

Bulldog.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 8:40am

The thing is that big celebs only want the money. They could care less about being on Broadway and feeling the excitement!

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:00am

Another big star who was on Broadway was Vanessa Williams in Into the Woods. I thought she was wonderful in the show and was very gracious to her fans.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:03am

I really do not think that Vanessa Williams counts for a big celeb on Broadway. She is a Broadway star. She has done more than 1 musical and for longer than a couple months.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:08am

"The thing is that big celebs only want the money. They could care less about being on Broadway and feeling the excitement! "

What a completely ignorant generalization. Here's a news flash: they could make a lot more money with a lot less work doing a movie or a TV show. You think people do Broadway for riches? BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!

[Craig]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:19am

John-

Was just going to type that. The salary that these BIG STARS are making for their runs in a broadway show are dwarfed by doing one commercial, a film, a tv movie, etc. Most of the time these BIG STARS are doing broadway because (whether or not people here might agree) they have a love for live theater and want to expand their horizons (i.e. stretching their acting chops). Many (not ALL) of these BIG STARS actually have a strong background in theater that is so often overlooked or forgotten once they are considered a "film" or "tv" star.

As for TheaterBaby's comment "First of all, do you really think P-Diddy fans (the majority of them anyway) are going to be able to afford to see a Broadway show?"

You should really think about posting a comment like that at least twice because it could easily be misconstrued as a VERY racist and judgemental remark that one could expect many a flaming posts about....

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 10:27am

Updated On: 7/9/04 at 10:27 AM

[Al Dente]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 10:48am

I would use the term "big" very loosely and cautiously. It seems to me that the celebs that end up on B'way are often B-list at best,(think Jane Krakowski) in need of a major boost, or the second or third, or fourth banana in a very popular group,(think Fatone and Michelle Williams)Then you have the has-been pop stars that need to somehow keep their name out there, e.g,.Debbie gibson, Taylor Dayne, Toni Braxton, etc... Every now and again,yes, someone does it for the love of theater, but those instances are very few and far between. And before you throw Nicole Kidman at me, she was very much still just "Tom Cruises wife" when she was on B'way about 5 years ago.

[robbiej]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 10:51am

Not only can that statement be construed as racist, it's plain WRONG. Oh yes, the reason rap and hip hop are so huge is because the majority of record buyers are living in the ghetto, selling drugs and themselves to make enough money to buy cd's and turn these artists into millionaires.

Absolutely. You couldn't be more right. (please note the sarcasm).

And what EVERYONE forgets is that Melanie Griffith was actually well received in the role (both by critics and folks here).

Stars on Broadway...sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. What never works is snobbery and elitism which is what this thread has in spades!

[zannafan]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 12:47pm

I think that a lot of times, the big stars are put into shows so that the shows can make more money than they have been making. People who might not be heavily interested in theater might now go see a show with a Hollywood celeb because it is someone they recognize. In addition, I think that theater fans might go see the show again, when a star is put into it because they want to see how good the star might be. Sometimes it's fun to see a Hollywood celeb do really poorly because then you can talk to people about how bad they were. I guess it's always a gamble, some stars suck, some don't. I think it is important that the role fits the star. Those are just some thoughts.
Nick

[CK2]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 1:07pm

"I guess it's always a gamble, some stars suck, some don't. I think it is important that the role fits the star."

I agree. Antonio Banderas was top. John Stamos was not really up to the Guido role.

I think for tourists it's more important to be able to see a top film star on Broadway. They're rarely in NYC and then they have to take this chance. Who can blame them? Lots of them don't care much about who Sutton Foster, Donna Murphy, Brian Stokes Mitchell or even Bernadette Peters is I guess.

[sheekala]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 1:30pm

While Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are indeed getting quite a weekly pay, as far as bringing a special energy to the show they can't be beat(Applegate and Stephenson actually bring me pain). I was impressed also with Stamos's passion for the role of Guido and his sadness that it didn't last longer, some of them do it for a very real love of the craft. On the other hand there was a young lady who just a season ago told a certain group of producers that they were "F'ing Crazy" to think she'd do a certain role for less than 200k a week, we all laughed and were warmed by the fact her most recent "project" fell on it's pretty lil' face!

[Thetruth]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 2:57pm

>>>They save up to buy his latest CD, never mind when he has a concert. So do I think they are going to shell out $100+ to see him make a fool of himself on a Broadway stage when they can just meet him at the stage door for free? Most likely not.>>>


TheaterB, as opposed to the $160 fans of his clothing line shell out for a Sean Jean Sweat Suit? You can't pigeon hole this man or his fans because you can't just draw conclusions based on the people who buy his CD's. The man is a business mogul. He's got his hands in everything (Fashion, Restaurants, Record Label ownership,etc, TV shows) Everybody knows who P.diddy is and if you want to talk demographics. What about P. Diddy's pop girl-group dream? Who I'm sure brings in the suburbian teeny-bopper crowd. Ofcourse, he's not in the group, but they are on his label and if you know anything about P.Diddy he's all up in his artists videos, so much so to the point where they become his own.

[PB ENT.]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 3:01pm

Star Casting is here to stay... Says a lot for what's out there!

I've said this a zillion times "When a show's success hinges too heavily on the sole performance of one or two actors...that show is forced to stunt cast, re-invest or be cast into the sea".

Just look which shows stay and go ...and why!

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 4:42pm

I am a failure...

[PJ]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 4:54pm

I'd like to see Catherine Zeta-Jones take on the role of Momma Rose for the next revival. It's supposedly her "dream role." I wonder if she could sing the score 8 times a week?

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 8:26pm

I dare any of you to swear on your own lives and tell me that you have not stereotyped (which is not the same as being racist) at least once in your lives! Actually, you can't. I've seen some of you do it right here on this board...or at least message boards in the past.
I am not a racist person. I have friends (and I'm talking some of my best friends...not just acquaintances) of many different races. Hell, I have stereotyped myself at points. Those of you who are making comments towards me on this thread are probably the most guilty of this action; and those who aren't saying anything are smart because they just want to stay out of it. For all you know they might agree with me.
I listen to all kinds of music, including Rap. I own 3 of P-Diddy's cd's.

It's really a shame that some of you are so blinded from reality.
I am not uncomfortable making the comments I made in my original posts because I know I am not a racist person. Racism is based on hate. I do not hate Anyone because of their race. If I don't like someone it's because I don't like their personality; and that is the only reason I would not like somebody. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a racist person. I am not "WRONG" as one person mentioned. You cannot be wrong for having an opinion.

I really love how some of you are quick to post against me. I guess nobody is brave enough to post in agreement. Yeah, keep being Politically Correct like that.

[Bway_Mill_Fan]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:13pm

i GENERALLY dont like it when "famous" people come to Broadway, though there are exceptions, like Vanessa Williams. Unless the person can do BOTH well, i dont think they should be hired because they are a singer and expect them to be able to act(Michelle Williams) or vice versa. and then also for "cult like following" people like Joey Fatone, all of their fans come to the shows, and they obviously dont care as long as they see the person live, get all the good seats, and real theatre fans end up with crappy seats because it may be sold out. like i dont know what i would do if Justin Timberlake was ever on Broadway! it would not be good.

[TheaterBaby]

Posted: 12/19/03 at 9:19pm

Out of curiosity, who would you guys consider to be a "Big" celebrity that you think would do well on Broadway?
I think:
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Nicole Kidman
Meryl Streep
Julianne Moore
Anyone of the 4 main leads from Will and Grace
Jennifer Lopez...if she really went back to her good acting.

Now, most of the people I listed have been on stage before, but are not as well known for it...or at least haven't been on stage for a while.

[Al Dente]

Posted: 12/20/03 at 12:26pm

Justin Timberlake most likely won't ever be on B'way, at least not while he's an actual mainstream star. When he starts declining in star power and the teenyboppers have moved on to the next "it" boy, then maybe he'll lurk around the *great* white way. Which tells me that we may be seeing Beyonce' and Britney any minute now. Combs is most likely doing this for vanity and egotistical reason's. He sure as heck doesn't need the money, so it has to be for credibility, which is something he has very little of. This is after all, the guy with a personal umbrella handler. Updated On: 12/20/03 at 12:26 PM

[BroadwayNYC]

Posted: 12/20/03 at 12:47pm

I tend to agree with TheatreBaby with this one. I recently read on Billboard.com that some of the fairly unsuccessful summer concerts of 2003 were RAP concerts ($23 million overall sales gross). From this it can be assumed that fans couldn't afford to go, etc. I really don't think that many P. Diddy fans will pay broadway prices to see P. Ditty perform in this show. The fact is fans of that genre might not have that kind of money. And I never thought I'd see P. Diddy on broadway. Doesn't interest me to go see him, needless to say. Anyway much luck to him if he can stick to it, but I am predicting a very quick closing.