Brittany Murphy in A View From The Bridge (clip)

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 3:41am

Well, I wasn't expecting to watch a scene from the revival of this play in the 90's and was delighted that they included this at the end of the clip on Broadway Beat.
See, this is what I was talking when I questioned Johansson's rave reviews in this play. There is no doubt she is making a very decent Bway debut, but watching Murphy's take, I feel that Brittany feels so much comfortable and less akward onstage playing this role than Johansson does. Anyone agrees?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=99853

Updated On: 1/31/10 at 03:41 AM

[allofmylife]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 8:11am

Except that the roll calls for awkward. Scarlett is a very accomplished actress playing an awkward, searching adolescent. When I watched the Britany Murphy clip, she seemed almost a characture. Scarlett - from what I have seen - is underplaying the role and keeping it very real. Just my opinion. YMMV.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 1:09pm

I like Brittany Murphy's stage presence. I think she plays Catherine in a more modern way than how the part was originally written.

I think both actresses bring something to the table. I'd love to see the whole LaPaglia version.

[callitquits]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 1:16pm

Thanks so much for drawing attention to this -- I was just thinking the other day about how much I wish I could see the LaPaglia/Janney/Murphy revival, so this clip was fantastic.

In regards to the role of Catherine calling for "awkward", I respectfully disagree. I certainly agree that she is searching, she's confused, she's lost, but I don't think the aforementioned awkwardness in Johansson's performance is an essential part of the character -- she came off as very stiff to me when I saw the show, and she didn't show the same level of comfort with Eddie that Murphy does in the clip with LaPaglia, which then made the repeated references to how close they are seem forced and weird to me. Murphy is pretty phenomenal, at least in that clip... what I like most is that she actually looks and acts like a naive and innocent 18-year-old. My biggest problem with Scarlett is that she just comes off as so worldly, mature, and self-aware that it's difficult for me to buy her as a teenager who is just starting to discover herself as a woman, and as a sexual being.

Just my two cents; I did love the revival, and can definitely understand the praise for Johansson making her stage debut opposite such seasoned theater professionals, but I do much prefer Murphy's interpretation after seeing that video.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 1:33pm

Callitquits, I think we agree a 100%.

[mallardo]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 2:16pm

I had the same reaction watching Brittany Murphy in that brief clip. I so wish I had seen that production. I saw the London production last season and Hayley Atwell was a brilliant Catherine. I'll reserve judgment on Scarlett.

[frapperia]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 2:30pm

Wow, just watching those clips and you can see how stiff Johansson is compared to Murphy, who just looks a lot more natural on stage.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 5:27pm

"Wow, just watching those clips and you can see how stiff Johansson is compared to Murphy, who just looks a lot more natural on stage"

Indeed, I wish I had seen Brittany in this play. She seems to be quite a revelation. Too bad she wasn't recognized by the Tonys.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 5:45pm

Sorry, but Scarlett is anything but "stiff" in the role. She plays it differently than Murphy did certainly, but neither one was better than the other. I just went back a few weeks ago and revisited the '98 revival. I had forgotten how wonderful Murphy was and it just made me appreciate Scarlett's choices even more. Incredible how the same role can be done so very differently and still be so wonderful.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 1/31/10 at 5:47pm

Thank you for drawing attention to that video! I actually watched that video before, but must've stopped watching before the end and missed out on that clip. I wish I could see more clips or better yet, the full production. I was quite young when that revival happened, but I would've loved to have the opportunity to see Brittany Murphy on stage before she passed. She was always very underrated, IMO.

Based on the clips alone, I agree that Scarlett definitely looks much more stiff compared to Brittany. Very different interpretations, it seems like.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 2/1/10 at 10:34am

Brittany gets laughs after many of her lines...