Buzz is Anne Hathaway is starring in New York, New York- Page 3

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/19/22 at 10:26pm

jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades.

[bholtzinger544]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 10:42am

She's had some pretty big movies since the early 2000s. Alice in Wonderland and Dark Knight Rises both made over a billion dollars at the box office. Interstellar also did pretty well. Wecrashed was also pretty well received earlier this year. 

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 12:32pm

pmensky said: "jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades."

Interesting. I think of the conversations that revolved around stars like Lucille Ball in Wildcat in the 1960's, Katherine Hepburn leading Coco and Lauren Bacall starring in Applause! and Woman of the Year in the '70's. Lots of talk about whether these women had adequate voices for leading a Broadway show, and that's going back almost sixty years, total.

Even with Sondheim, who generally insisted on strong vocalists throughout his career, you have Lee Remick and Harry Guardino in the '60's, Alexis Smith and Glynis Johns in the 1970's. Whenever you have someone not primarily famous for musicals in talks to lead a musical, this sort of conversation comes up.

And there's a fairly famous musical theater star who reigned from the '20's through the '50's whose vocals were always questioned: Gertrude Lawrence. In short, this conversation is as old as the hills. 

And even with musical performers with clearly superb voices, there's often a discussion of whether a role is appropriate for their vocal range or not.  For instance, Grobin's casting in Sweeney Todd, He's not in the traditional vocal range for that role, so there will be discussion about it. Doesn't have anything to do with his abilities, just about whether that role will work with that voice (short answer: yes). 

I had no issue with Hathaway's vocals in Les Mis, however, so I don't know why the conversation would come up here.

Updated On: 9/20/22 at 12:32 PM

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 12:42pm

pmensky said: "jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades."

Joevitus has already done a commendable job pointing out multiple examples of when this was very much a discussion had in decades past. As long as actors have been stepping over the line from legitimate theatre to musical theatre, or film to musical theatre, the discussion has been had.

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 1:33pm

joevitus said: "pmensky said: "jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades."

Interesting. I think of the conversations that revolved around stars like Lucille Ball in Wildcat in the 1960's, Katherine Hepburn leading Coco and Lauren Bacall starring in Applause! and Woman of the Year in the '70's. Lots of talk about whether these women had adequate voices for leading a Broadway show, and that's going back almost sixty years, total.

Even with Sondheim, who generally insisted on strong vocalists throughout his career, you have Lee Remick and Harry Guardino in the '60's, Alexis Smith and Glynis Johns in the 1970's. Whenever you have someone not primarily famous for musicals in talks to lead a musical, this sort of conversation comes up.

And there's a fairly famous musical theater star who reigned from the '20's through the '50's whose vocals were always questioned: Gertrude Lawrence. In short, this conversation is as old as the hills.

And even with musical performers with clearly superb voices, there's often a discussion of whether a role is appropriate for their vocal range or not. For instance, Grobin's casting in Sweeney Todd, He's not in the traditional vocal range for that role, so there will be discussion about it. Doesn't have anything to do with his abilities, just about whether that role will work with that voice (short answer: yes).

I had no issue with Hathaway's vocals in Les Mis, however, so I don't know why the conversation would come up here."

When I said “I miss the days when MY first thought…” I’m 47 years old and have been seeing professional theatre since the early 1980s. No, I do not recall the types of recent discussions that have been going on about competency being had in my early days of theatre going up until recently. Thanks for the history lesson, though.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 1:36pm

There was a Judy Garland biopic that was in development about a decade ago, with her starring. I would still like to see that happen - but in the meantime, will gladly rush to see this. It will be the hottest ticket in town.

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 3:29pm

pmensky said: "joevitus said: "pmensky said: "jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades."
 


Interesting. I think of the conversations that revolved around stars like Lucille Ball in Wildcat in the 1960's, Katherine Hepburn leading Coco and Lauren Bacall starring in Applause! and Woman of the Year in the '70's. Lots of talk about whether these women had adequate voices for leading a Broadway show, and that's going back almost sixty years, total.

Even with Sondheim, who generally insisted on strong vocalists throughout his career, you have Lee Remick and Harry Guardino in the '60's, Alexis Smith and Glynis Johns in the 1970's. Whenever you have someone not primarily famous for musicals in talks to lead a musical, this sort of conversation comes up.

And there's a fairly famous musical theater star who reigned from the '20's through the '50's whose vocals were always questioned: Gertrude Lawrence. In short, this conversation is as old as the hills.

And even with musical performers with clearly superb voices, there's often a discussion of whether a role is appropriate for their vocal range or not. For instance, Grobin's casting in Sweeney Todd, He's not in the traditional vocal range for that role, so there will be discussion about it. Doesn't have anything to do with his abilities, just about whether that role will work with that voice (short answer: yes).

I had no issue with Hathaway's vocals in Les Mis, however, so I don't know why the conversation would come up here."

When I said “I miss the days when MY first thought…” I’m 47 years old and have been seeing professional theatre since the early 1980s. No, I do not recall the types of recent discussions that have been going on about competency being had in my early days of theatre going up until recently. Thanks for the history lesson, though."

Actually, it turns out Woman of the Year was 1981. There were questions about Rex Smith and Linda Ronstadt in Pirates of Penzance, also '81. Seems to me there was talk of whether Karen Akers had the voice to sustain seven performances a week when she did Nine in 1983. Even over Sarah Brightman in Phantom when it premiered here (did she have the voice, or was she just married to the right man?) in 1988. That's just a few instances off the top of my head. All from the first decade in which you started going to see shows.

Updated On: 9/20/22 at 03:29 PM

[Valentina3]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 3:38pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "There was a Judy Garland biopic that was in development about a decade ago, with her starring. I would still like to see that happen - but in the meantime, will gladly rush to see this. It will be the hottest ticket in town."

Is that different from the 2019 movie with Renée Zellweger?

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 3:40pm

joevitus said: "pmensky said: "joevitus said: "pmensky said: "jimmycurry01 said: "pmensky said: "I miss the days when my first thought and concern upon hearing about the casting of a lead role in a big Broadway musical wasn’t about whether or not the performer could sing the material better than mediocrely."

We're you born in the 1920s? I think people have been debating this sort of things for decades.

No, I was not born in the 1920s, and no, people haven’t been doubting whether actors cast in leading roles could sing the score better than mediocrely for decades."



Interesting. I think of the conversations that revolved around stars like Lucille Ball in Wildcat in the 1960's, Katherine Hepburn leading Coco and Lauren Bacall starring in Applause! and Woman of the Year in the '70's. Lots of talk about whether these women had adequate voices for leading a Broadway show, and that's going back almost sixty years, total.

Even with Sondheim, who generally insisted on strong vocalists throughout his career, you have Lee Remick and Harry Guardino in the '60's, Alexis Smith and Glynis Johns in the 1970's. Whenever you have someone not primarily famous for musicals in talks to lead a musical, this sort of conversation comes up.

And there's a fairly famous musical theater star who reigned from the '20's through the '50's whose vocals were always questioned: Gertrude Lawrence. In short, this conversation is as old as the hills.

And even with musical performers with clearly superb voices, there's often a discussion of whether a role is appropriate for their vocal range or not. For instance, Grobin's casting in Sweeney Todd, He's not in the traditional vocal range for that role, so there will be discussion about it. Doesn't have anything to do with his abilities, just about whether that role will work with that voice (short answer: yes).

I had no issue with Hathaway's vocals in Les Mis, however, so I don't know why the conversation would come up here."

When I said “I miss the days when MY first thought…” I’m 47 years old and have been seeing professional theatre since the early 1980s. No, I do not recall the types of recent discussions that have been going on about competency being had in my early days of theatre going up until recently. Thanks for the history lesson, though."

Actually, it turns out Woman of the Year was 1981. There were questions about Rex Smith and Linda Ronstadt in Pirates of Penzance, also '81. Seems to me there was talk of whether Karen Akers had the voice to sustain seven performances a week when she did Nine in 1983. Even over Sarah Brightman in Phantom when it premiered here (did she have the voice, or was she just married to the right man?) in 1988. That's just a few instances off the top of my head. All from the first decade in which you started going to see shows."

Well, I was like between 7 and 9 years old during these instances, so I really wasn’t contemplating the vocal range of Karen Akers or Sarah Brightman at the time. So, yeah, again, thanks tor the history lessons. Whatever makes you happy!

[joevitus]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 4:16pm

LOL

"In all my years...of course I was just a kid, so I didn't know it was going on...and as an adult now, I'm hearing it, too...but never in all my years have heard complaints about vocal mediocrity until right now."

LOL

[east side story]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 4:17pm

Valentina3 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "There was a Judy Garland biopic that was in development about a decade ago, with her starring. I would still like to see that happen - but in the meantime, will gladly rush to see this. It will be the hottest ticket in town."

Is that different from the 2019 movie withRenée Zellweger?"

Yes.

Sometime between Anne’s first Oscar nod and her eventual win, it was announced that Weinstein was producing a Judy Garland vehicle. I believe a Broadway show was first, and a film version was announced to follow. Neither went anywhere beyond development stages, but they were going to use the book “Get Happy” as source material.

[pmensky]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 4:23pm

joevitus said: "LOL

"In all my years...of course I was just a kid, so I didn't know it was going on...and as an adult now, I'm hearing it, too...but never in all my years have heard complaints about vocal mediocrity until right now."

LOL"

You have serious problems. Grow up.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 6:33pm

joevitus said: "I'm less making a definitive case than asking a question. It just doesn't seem to me she's had enough hits or accrued enough of fan-base to be an A-lister at this point, though maybe that isn't even the definition of an A-lister, anymore. Everyone in the industry seems to want her to be a big thing, and definitely people who really care about movies single her out as a shining presence. But her name above the title doesn't guarantee box office, and she hasn't had a hit in about a decade.

I think a strong comparison can be made between her work up till now and and Angela Lansbury's film career."

A better comparison is Julia Roberts or Reese Witherspoon. 

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 7:02pm

inception said: "

 

Here's the trailer for her upcoming filmArmageddon Time. When I first saw it a couple weeks ago I was struck by the fact that she seems to be suddenly stuck with a Mom role.

 

"

oh Lord, they've got her gussied down with bad hair and a hideous sweater!  The movie's getting great reviews, though, maybe she'll get a supporting Oscar nod.  Personally, I want to forget the eighties.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 6:06am

From this general USA Today story about Lin-Manuel:

He also has a project underway with another childhood hero, the legendary Broadway composer John Kander, who has an upcoming musical, "New York, New York." Kander called Miranda and invited him to write a couple of more songs. “I was lucky enough to write a song with him called "Cheering for Me Now" for the Hamilton Mixtape, and I just heard that it’s the opening number of the musical,” Miranda shares, brimming with excitement.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 8:25am

east side story said: "Valentina3 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "There was a Judy Garland biopic that was in development about a decade ago, with her starring. I would still like to see that happen - but in the meantime, will gladly rush to see this. It will be the hottest ticket in town."

Is that different from the 2019 movie withRenée Zellweger?"

Yes.

Sometime between Anne’s first Oscar nod and her eventual win, it was announced that Weinstein was producing a Judy Garland vehicle. I believe a Broadway show was first, and a film version was announced to follow. Neither went anywhere beyond development stages, but they were going to use the book “Get Happy” as source material."

Correct - Get Happy was the source material for the Hathaway project (I have a physical first draft script from 2012) and End of the Rainbow was the source material for the Zellweger biopic. I would still love to Hathaway take a stab at it later down the line, she’s a terrific actress and has a fine voice. 

[BJR]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 9:06am

JasonC3 said: "From this general USA Today story about Lin-Manuel:

He also has a project underway with another childhood hero, the legendary Broadway composer John Kander, who has an upcoming musical, "New York, New York." Kander called Miranda and invited him to write a couple of more songs. “I was lucky enough to write a song with him called "Cheering for Me Now" for the Hamilton Mixtape, and I just heard that it’s the opening number of the musical,” Miranda shares, brimming with excitement."

Oh, the new songs with Lin aren't written for the piece? Or perhaps that first one is just a Mixtape trunk song?

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 9:10am

If Anne Hathaway was to be in this- I would get tickets the first day they were on sale- and make my plane reservations. Love her- and wold hope that the show itself was first rate.

[Ke3]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 1:36pm

BJR said: "JasonC3 said: "From this general USA Today story about Lin-Manuel:

He also has a project underway with another childhood hero, the legendary Broadway composer John Kander, who has an upcoming musical, "New York, New York." Kander called Miranda and invited him to write a couple of more songs. “I was lucky enough to write a song with him called "Cheering for Me Now" for the Hamilton Mixtape, and I just heard that it’s the opening number of the musical,” Miranda shares, brimming with excitement."

Oh, the new songs with Lin aren't written for the piece? Or perhaps that first one is just a Mixtape trunk song?"

Well the original rumor was that the entire show was going to be Kander and Ebb trunk tunes.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/25/22 at 7:40pm

This is what Lin Tweeted at the time. The exact extent of his involvement is unclear as of right now. So "a couple of" could –– literally –– mean 2, or it could be more like 5-6 and the rest are K&E trunk songs + songs from the film. I'm sure we'll learn more soon.

Don't let the headline fool you: this is a KANDER & EBB MUSICAL. Better yet, a NEW KANDER & EBB musical directed by STROMAN! Rejoice! I was happy to pitch in some lyrics on a couple of new tunes bc writing w/ John is one of the all time joys of my life. Can't wait to see it! -LMM

[Akitarent]

Posted: 9/26/22 at 2:41am

How was the draft you have? So curious!

 

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "east side story said: "Valentina3 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "There was a Judy Garland biopic that was in development about a decade ago, with her starring. I would still like to see that happen - but in the meantime, will gladly rush to see this. It will be the hottest ticket in town."

Is that different from the 2019 movie withRenée Zellweger?"

Yes.

Sometime between Anne’s first Oscar nod and her eventual win, it was announced that Weinstein was producing a Judy Garland vehicle. I believe a Broadway show was first, and a film version was announced to follow. Neither went anywhere beyond development stages, but they were going to use the book “Get Happy” as source material."

Correct - Get Happy was the source material for the Hathaway project (I have a physical first draft script from 2012) and End of the Rainbow was the source material for the Zellweger biopic. I would still love to Hathaway take a stab at it later down the line, she’s a terrific actress and has a fine voice."

 

[KJ4]

Posted: 9/27/22 at 10:14am

The guy from the tiktok, the source of the rumor. Who is he? is he famous or someone in industry? because even in my country (thailand) the local news about music abroad also mention this quote him as a source. and it's like a+ lits cast with a headline. Wd love to see her and Jeremy doing musical together.

Updated On: 9/27/22 at 10:14 AM

[bdn223]

Posted: 9/27/22 at 12:03pm

KJ4 said: "The guy from the tiktok, the source of the rumor. Who is he? is he famous or someone in industry? because even in my country (thailand) the local news about music abroad also mention this quote him as a source. and it's like a+ lits cast with a headline. Wd love to see her and Jeremy doing musical together."

No, he just reads blind items sent to him. There are times he states they are from a trusted source, but also when he is wrong he reminds people he is simply reading blind items he is sent with little editorial oversight. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 11:08pm

Beowulf Boritt is designing the set, per his interview on Peter Marks & Elisabeth Vincentelli's podcast, and he implies that it's a very large-scale musical.

[Robbie516]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 9:07am

Is Hathaway still doing this?