CAMELOT Returns to Broadway - Reviews Thread — Page 4

Count me as one of those who aren't thrilled about Sorkin. I didn't see Mockingbird, so I have no idea what he did there, but I dislike his tendency in much of his TV and film work to make all the characters into little Sorkin clones. I hope he can restrain himself a little here, but I don't know.

I'm interested in seeing if this can be a success for Sorkin, taking him out of his comfort zone.

Mockingbird is an admirable adaptation, but his 3 most recent film scripts have really deteriorated in quality –– and he also happened to direct all 3 of those movies. He's a much, much better screenwriter when someone else is directing, and he probably needs to the collaboration of a David Fincher or a Danny Boyle or a Scott Rudin. I hope Sher can be a great collaborator who helps bring out better work from him.

Amen. EVERY writer embellishes the plot when it's BASED on a true story. EVERY ONE.

Last Stars in the House, Seth Rudetsky seemed pretty sure Jordan Donica was continuing with this soon on Broadway, with no comment from the man himself on the matter.

ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure said: "Last Stars in the House, Seth Rudetsky seemed pretty sure Jordan Donica was continuing with this soon on Broadway, with no comment from the man himself on the matter."

It seemed Seth had an inside scoop. I would not be surprised actually given that Bart uses people again and again.

jagman1062 said: " What role did Donica play in the benefit concert a few years ago?"



Donica played Lancelot

I was planning to go to Mexico this December, but if Jordan Donica is cast in this I may have to think about changing my plans for the time I've already got scheduled off from work. ;p

Are there any casting rumors for CAMELOT beyond who played the roles in the workshop?

I didn't love Donica in MFL and thought he sounded just okay with "Proud Lady" and "Finishing the Hat" on Stars in the House. For me, he's the poor man's Josh Henry or Ben Davis or Ramin Karimloo.

I love most of Bart Sher's productions, but it can almost be guaranteed that at least one actor won't be up to the vocal challenges of their particular role. Matt Morrison struggled with the high notes of South Pacific, Conrad Ricamora & Ashley Park (& Watanabe) in King & I, Jessica Hecht & Perchik in Fiddler, Ambrose & Donica in MFL. He's very much a director who wants actors who can also sing...but sometimes what he sees in the audition room doesn't translate to the stage.

The "singers who act" problem is especially prominent in replacement casting. They're not working with the original director and are being directed by an associate director & stage manager to fit into a mold created by someone else, generally in a shorter rehearsal period without previews.

The harsh truth is pretty much nobody is going to be equally strong as an actor and singer (and dancer). This isn't a new phenomenon –– it was probably worse in the Golden Age. The vocal performances live on in our minds through cast albums and it's easy to enhance the memory of an acting performance in your head if the vocal is good and memorable....or to assume the acting was good if you never saw it in the first place. (And opinions of how "great" a performance was can also vary depend on your seat.)

inception said: "I enjoyed how he performed "Proud Lady." Is that what is meant by "singers who act?" That he acted it out? This is a serious question"

When I talk about "singers who act," it's referring to people whose main talent is singing, but can also act, just not as well. But my problem with Donica is that I don't find him terribly compelling as an actor or singer.

When I talk about "actors who sing," that's referring to people like Richard Burton and Elaine Stritch –– people whose primary skill is acting; they can carry a tune and sell a song but few people would call their voices "beautiful."

RippedMan said: "Agreed with you there. I just don't want to pay Broadway prices to watch a non-singer "search" for the notes or in the case of My Fair Lady strain to hit the notes. I know there are capable people out there. Don't know if that is casting or director, but c'mon on now."

It's ultimately on the director. The casting director is merely a facilitator who gets people into the room.

It can be easy to "settle" for someone if certain aspects of their performance blows you out of the water, even if they're not flawless. I would never call this laziness –– but casting is a jigsaw puzzle and there's more to a performance than the way someone hits one note. If a director is searching for perfection in every role, they could easily drive themself crazy...or never get the show off the ground.

Unless it's a one-note role. If you're doing LES MIS, you had better make sure Cosette sings the final 16 bars of Heart Full of Love flawlessly in her callback; the Star-to-Be in ANNIE had better be a fierce belter!

(Don't let Twitter see this conversation, they'll complain about the "transphobia" of people wanting certain vocal ranges in musical theatre.......)

Updated On: 5/31/22 at 12:31 AM

I disagree with Donica being weak, though to bring up a years old performance that nobody cares about, yes, Mathew Morrison was whiffing those high notes and it really sticks out when the rest of that score was pretty much perfectly done.