Broadway.com (randomly) lists the top 10 CURRENT Broadway Divas....

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 8:49pm

http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=569512

THE LIST (in short):
10. Carol Woods
9. Marin Mazzie
8. Mary Testa
7. Eden Espinosa
6. Karen Olivo
5. Sherie Rene Scott
4. Orfeh
3. Jenifer Lewis
2. Carolee Carmello
1. Patti LuPone

Comments? I would have put Mandy Gonzalez on this list instead of Olivo. Gonzalez is the full package...Olivo is a good belter but she's the only real weak link of the IN THE HEIGHTS cast.
Updated On: 8/7/08 at 08:49 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 8:51pm

EDEN ESPINOSA? LOL That site is so laughable these days.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 8:55pm

I think it's a list of the divas currently on Broadway...so, to be fair, there aren't too many to choose from.

Patti could just take up all ten of those slots though. That'd be a more comprehensive list.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 8:59pm

*Friendly Slap on the Face*

You guys... Broadway.com is a TICKETING agency!!! Any expectation of anything above-the-bar reporting needs to go out the window.

This is not a list based on "diva-ship"... it's a list based on marketability... Here's a translation:

BUY TICKETS FOR
1. Gypsy
2. Mamma Mia (over 50% of their website traffic)
3. Hairspray
4. Legally Blonde
5. The Little Mermaid
6. In The Heights
7. Rent
8. Xanadu
9. Spamalot
10. Chicago

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:01pm

Broadway.com had credibilty when ken mandelbaum was there.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:13pm

Donna McKechnie is sadly missing and places higher than 95% of those people.

So does Priscilla Lopez and she's in "In the Heights"

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:27pm

This list is a list of the best divas currently on Broadway...and I guess in the roles in which they are playing as well. Meaning, while Lopez was incredible in A CHORUS LINE, she's just good in IN THE HEIGHTS and I doubt they would take the time to mention Lopez's performance in A CHORUS LINE which was around thirty years ago.

If that makes sense.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:40pm

So where is Sutton Foster?

Very happy seeing Ms. Carmello at #2

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:43pm

Sutton isn't on Broadway right now. Though she will be soon.

[NYC_or_Bust]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:44pm

I'm sorry... are they saying CURRENT broadway DIVAS? i'm going to plead ignorancy because i didnt read the article, just the names on the first post.


but seriously......

BERNADETTE PETERS?

[lovesclassics]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:48pm

Eugloven is absolutely right. They're pushing the shows they sell tickets for. It's absurd to think of it as anything other than advertising.

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:49pm

Yes. It's current divas. Rocks has said that a few times already in this thread.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 9:52pm

Yeah, I would also have listed Mandy Gonzalez instead of Karen Olivo.

That is, if I put any thought into it. Which they probably didn't.

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 8/7/08 at 10:04pm

For some reason the 2 times I saw ITH I never really was too impressed with Mandy Gonzalez. I much prefer Olivo to Gonzalez. I was blown away by Karen.

[FosterChild]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 9:44am

I totally agree, Karen Olivo blew Mandy Gonzalez out of the water. I actually thought she gave a pretty weak performance. I like the list and think it's a fair assessment of *current diva's.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 9:59am

"Diva" apparently means "woman appearing in a musical."

Kind of like how there are no models anymore; only supermodels.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 10:31am

Some of these women ARE true divas (Mary Testa, Sherie Rene Scott, I guess Orfeh, and of course Madame LuPone) but others are just thrown in here because, yes, they are females in musicals.

I think everyone on the list is incredibly talented, but most aren't 'divas'.

some of the definitions of 'diva' from the dictionary:
• a female singer who has enjoyed great popular success : a chance to create a full-blown pop diva.
• an admired, glamorous, or distinguished woman : the former director of the association is still a downtown diva.
• a haughty, spoiled woman : she's such a diva that she won't enter a restaurant until they change the pictures on the walls to her liking.


So, in reality, what IS a diva? Does talent really have anything to do with it? Is it just a glamorous, crazy bitch?

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 10:36am

Where's Bernadette?

Eden? Karen?

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 10:36am

Where's Bernadette?

Eden? Karen?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/8/08 at 10:42am

To me "diva" implies a certain grandeur--of personality as well as talent.