Brooke Shields in "Wonderful Town" - How bad was she? — Page 2

I saw Brooke and thought she did a great job. I also remember thinking this is not a role that a person would take on to show off their vocal prowess. It's just not vocally challenging enough that a really fabulous singer would need to be cast. So while I'm sure Donna was great, it had to be about something other than her singing.

In answer to the question: No, I did not create a profile simply to watch people bash Brooke Shields. I don't have a hate-on for her. I simply wanted to know if what Forbidden Broadway said was really true. I know that Alessandrini and company can exaggerate when they lampoon, but I wasn't aware that they out and out lied about performers' abilities. Since I didn't see either performance and only had the two audio tracks to go on, I couldn't make the judgment for myself as to singing vs. character embodiment. My mistake. Same goes for Brooke's "Grease" track. She could have been the embodiment of Rizzo, but I couldn't tell that just by listening to that one song and I wasn't particularly impressed by her voice. Just my opinion.

So to sum it up, no, I didn't have a Brooke-bashing agenda. Mea culpa for asking an innocent question. Hopefully I won't be slapped with the "pathetic" label now that I've explained myself.

Updated On: 8/10/07 at 05:34 PM

I didn't see either in the role, but Murphy seems to me to be the better fit. I saw the non-equity tour, and it seems to me that Ruth is the character that is always overlooked because of her plain-Jane status and her younger, more attractive sister. Murphy can get away with this aspect of the character. She's in no way ugly, but she isn't a striking beauty like Shields is at first glance.

I actually liked her a lot. The only time I saw the show was with her, so I couldn't compare, but she wasn't bad at all.

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She was great in the role and as Robbie posted--she's a class act. I have great respect for her.

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Sort of OT.

For those of you who got to see the rare Rosalind Russell Wonderful Town tv special clips or even Rosalind Russell live (the forbidden site used to have "100 Easy Ways" and "Swing"), would you say Rosalind was the definitive Ruth or would you give that distinction to Donna Murphy?

I adore my Wonderful Town on TV CD(I bought the TV special CD thinking it was the OBCR) and despite the fact that Rosalind Russell wasn't the best singer, I loved what she did with the material, even more so when I saw the clips on the forbidden site. I wish the clips were still there.

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I'm sure if musicals weren't so risky as they are now, someone would've written a musical around Brooke Shield's vocal range and comedic talent.

Sigh.

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Just to answer the Roz question, I would definitely say there is no comparison (now I never saw Brooks). I did not like Murphy's performance at all, but out of all the numbers I really liked her "Swing." But, when I went to listen to Roz do it it was just so much better. Roz was a true comedian and it is in Roz's nature to just get laughs with a look or a walk. With Donna if she walked a certain way, maybe to get laughs, to me it was just embarrassing.

I'm kicking myself for missing Brook for I think the comedy might come more naturally to her.

Kathleen Marshall's direction, not to mention that Murphy received raves for her performance at Encores which is what led to the Broadway mounting.

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One other thought about Brooke's being too good-looking for the role - Rosalind Russell was no slouch in that department, either.

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“Even after four years of my own series (Suddenly Susan), I’m still not taken seriously as an actress. But despite people’s and my own insecurities-and I’ve got a trunk load of them-I had to do this show (Wonderful Town). Yet the challenge of stepping into a role so artfully created by Donna Murphy scared me, but I knew it would grow me as an actress. So the pay isn’t great, but the reward of hearing some people laugh nightly is enormous and sometimes better than a big paycheck. Equally important, the work centers me. It gives me confidence, something I often have in short supply.”

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I love Brooke, but really, the only people who would think Broadway star pay is "lousy" are movie/tv stars who are used to making ridiculous money. That lack of real-world perspective is always astounding to me, though I suppose it shouldn't be.

Updated On: 8/11/07 at 12:18 PM