Biggest celebrity surprise performances on Broadway?

[sesot]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:05pm

What celebrity performance surprised you the most (good or bad) on Broadway?

Hugh Jackman's performance in the Boy form Oz was a pleasant surprise for me. I was very impressed with the performance including his improv skills.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:07pm

I've always been a really big fan of Harry Connick Jr., but I never really imagined him on Broadway. I was very happy with The Pajama Game.

I never saw her, but I've heard that Brooke Shields wasn't all that bad.

Are we including plays? Because there are a lot of celebrities who do plays and that's not very surprising.

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:10pm

Christina Applegate pleasantly surprised me.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:11pm

Did she? I have to ask, what part of her performance pleased you? I liked her dancing, but honestly I found her singing, well, not very good. But she's a good actress, I think we can all vouch for that.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:12pm

Most recently, Jennifer Garner.

Through the years? Christina Applegate didn't make a fool of herself. Brooke Shields made it look easy. Diddy did it. Jeff Goldblum hit the mark perfectly.

And I forgot how incredible Jeff Daniels was until I saw BLACKBIRD. Updated On: 1/15/08 at 05:12 PM

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:12pm

Particularly her dancing and her acting I was very pleased with. Her characterization was great. I don't remember much about her singing though. She's always been one of my favorite actresses but I wasn't sure how she'd do on stage. I loved her.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:13pm

Applegate's dancing was very basic and the choreography completely watered down to adapt to her talents, or lack thereof.

[BlueWindSadness]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:14pm

I would have to agree....I bought tickets for Sweet Charity, for the pure curiosity I had about Christina Applegate....and she was wonderful- sure her singing wasnt the greatest I have ever heard....but her danicng and acting sure made up for it. Denis O Hare and Applegate had tremedous chemistry...

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:14pm

I can't speak for the changes to the production, but I enjoyed what she did with whatever she was given to do.

[sesot]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:15pm

I wasn't that impressed with Applegate either- her singing or dancing. She should stick to comedy/tv.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:16pm

Plus she was injured for some time, wasn't she? I don't know the extent of it, so forgive me if I can't use that to up her performance status.

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:18pm

She broke her ankle during out-of-town rehearsals, and insisted on going to Broadway anyway. I believe she was healing the entire run of the show.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:20pm

I find that alone pretty impressive.

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:20pm

Dixie Carter in "Master Class."

She was superb -- even following Zoe Caldwell and Patti LuPone.
Updated On: 1/15/08 at 05:20 PM

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:27pm

Reba McIntyre in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. She can sing, of course, but she really has stage presence in the old Merman/Channing kind of way. The only thing... uhm... unfortunate about the production was that her leading man was about 15 years younger than her, which gave their scenes together a bit of an "ewwwwwww.... Oedipus, that's your Mom!!!" feeling.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:30pm

Doesn't every boy have an Oedipus complex anyway? We should be more understanding.

I love Reba. I love her TV show.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:37pm

"Dixie Carter in "Master Class."

I agree. I was not expecting much from her but she really made the role her own.


Tom Wopat in "City of Angels". I wasn't expecting much from Luke Duke but he turned out much better than expected.

Marisa Tomei in "Wait Until Dark". Boring!

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:38pm

i'm not gonna respond to that oedipus comment..but i'm gonna say that i do love reba mcintyre.

as for celebrity surprise performance..the only non-broadway celebrity i saw was fantasia, and she surprised me.

before you guys say anything..i have to point out that i saw her lifetime movie, and it was bad. very very bad. that threw me off completely.

her acting as celie wasn't the best, but it wasn't 'life is not a fairytale: the fantasia barrino story' bad, so that was surprising to me. as for singing, she gave me chills
Updated On: 1/15/08 at 05:38 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:42pm

Ginger Rogers in HELLO, DOLLY!

I didn't think anyone could follow in Carol Channing's footsteps and Rogers didn't. she created a delightful character that was all her own and the approach really worked.

[nmartin]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:43pm

I'm really glad to hear that about Dixie Carter. I always wondered about her performance in that. I only saw Caldwell.

This is not Broadway but Dorothy Loudon was superb in Driving Miss Daisy in Chicago. It is one of my happiest theatre memories.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:45pm

"I always wondered about her performance in that. I only saw Caldwell."

Very interesting to watch two different actresses. There was a line I remember where Caldwell got a laugh from the audience, and Carter chose to make it more bitter. Two different interpretations from two different actresses. And both worked.

[biggest CHENO fan]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:49pm

Hayley (sp?!?) Duff in Hairspray. I mean, she wasn't amazing, but she was definitetly better than I expected. Her acting was good and her singing was fair.

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 5:53pm

I thought Tom Wopat was also quite good in GLENGARRY...didn't even recognize him at first and when I was younger, I LOVED the DUKES!

And Goldblum was excellent in PILLOWMAN--I agree

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 6:00pm

Christina broke her foot (not ankle) during the 2nd city of the pre-Broadway tour of the recent revival of SWEET CHARITY. They were in Chicago during that time. The following city (and last stop on the tour before Broadway) was Boston, and Charlotte d'Amboise did that entire run, where it was announced the show would be closing and not arriving on Broadway. Shortly after, it was announced that the show would indeed open on Broadway, but at a later date than previously announced, in order to allow Christina more healing time for her broken foot.

Christina did most of her Broadway run with a healing broken foot (hence the new boot footwear added to the costume) and even poked fun at herself, standing alongside a prop lamp post (which is how she broke her foot in Chicago) and falling into the orchestra pit during her award presentation at that year's Tony Awards.

[Pascal/Menzel/Bundy]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 6:05pm

Not sure how much of a "celebrity" she is, but Tamyra Gray really impressed me in Rent.