Posted: 8/1/16 at 12:36am
It's a one-hit song, iconic role. You don't have to like it, but the role and the song "Memory," as contextualized in the show's premise, decidedly have an iconic status. Ask mesdames Paige and Buckley, and the people appearing at their concerts.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 7:35am
everythingtaboo said: "Patti LuPone FANatic said: "Are the reviews for Leona Lewis similar in scope with the reviews that Elena Roger received in "Evita"? I was at Evita's first preview.
"
Leona was always gonna get sh*t on. Theatre critics were upset when she was first cast because she wasn't American. Probably some of those same critics are going to be as harsh to her now simply because she's not Elaine, Betty, or Laurie. Same as when the critics (and a lot of folks in the States) got Elena instead of Patti.
While people were disappointed with the performance of Elena Roger (myself included) I don't think anyone expected Patti LuPone to headline a revival of Evita. Roger's problem was that she could. Not. Sing.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 7:55am
"Was he bitching when London took Patina Miller or Heather Headley?"
Those comparisons aren't even remotely apt. Those women were hired because they are trained theatre actresses who were the best for those roles and had a hand in the development. Patina was in Sister Act in Pasadena pre-London and was promoted to the lead role because she made such a strong impression. She was the best for the role (a role that was created in the U.S. and taken essentially on the road to London before coming back here). As for Heather in The Bodyguard, she was involved in the development of that show as far back as 2008 before it premiered in London in 2012. The intention was always for her to come with the show back to Broadway, but then she got pregnant, delaying the transfer.
Leona Lewis has absolutely no ties to CATS or Andrew Lloyd Webber at all. She wasn't cast for her theatrical prowess, she was cast for her name. And that's what Jason Robert Brown and many others take issue with.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 8:21am
From that paragon of theatre criticism, Jesse Green:
"Seeing it 34 years later, in a Broadway environment that has recently produced the likes of Hamilton and Fun Home, is to experience something milder and less dangerous than it once seemed."
"Dangerous?" For real? He actually used the word "dangerous" to describe ...... Cats? Welcome to theatre criticism, 2016.
How comforting it must be to know that due to the tireless efforts of people like himself, the assorted affronts and screeds that set their hearts aflutter have now been successfully entrenched on Broadway, rendering shows like Cats less "dangerous" to the likes of them. Otherwise, imagine the worry that would be besetting them right now!
And as for the rest of the theatregoing public? A song title from Seesaw accurately sums up their luckless lot: "Poor Everybody Else."
Posted: 8/1/16 at 9:24am
Jesse Green is the finest of all the major theatre critics writing today. Level-headed and smart. Many people agree with me on this. I love Brantley too.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 9:28am
After Eight, as someone endlessly bemoaning the loss of tradition, decorum, and propriety in every facet of life, surely your writing "chomping at the bit" in your previous post was the result of a typographical error. The correct phrase is "champing at the bit." We'll let you slide this time, but please be more careful in the future. Remember -- the day you cease being BWW's comtock is the day you lose your identity here altogether.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 9:57am
the Leona stans went rabid on me on Youtube when I criticized her "acting". lol, OK
Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:17am
"Jesse Green is the finest of all the major theatre critics writing today. Level-headed and smart. "
As shown in the comment I cited, right?
"Many people agree with me on this."
I do not.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:22am
Somebody asked this early in the thread but I didn't see the answer. Was the original production well reviewed?
Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:34am
New York Times review, 1982.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/08/theater/theater-lloyd-webber-s-cats.html?pagewanted=all
Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:32am
As much as agreeing with After Eight about anything causes me little pleasure, the only thing anyone found remotely dangerous about CATS when it first opened on Broadway was its then-staggering $45 top ticket price.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 12:45pm
TheatreFan4 said: "Leona was always gonna get sh*t on. Theatre critics were upset when she was first cast because she wasn't American.
What the f**k? I mean Cynthia Erivo was lauded to high heavens and you want to throw out "They didn't like her cause she's not American!" about a production of a British show. That was Composed, Written, Designed, Costumed, & largely choreographed by Brits? This is such a stupid statement that I question your objectivity on really anything.
It couldn't just be that people weren't hot on Leona Lewis? Like many people on this board who have been saying it for weeks?
"
NEW: British pop star Leona Lewis will star in Cats because apparently no Americans can sing https://t.co/GsHbEZVLVb
— Adam Feldman (@FeldmanAdam) May 26, 2016
Another example.
Updated On: 8/1/16 at 12:45 PM
Posted: 8/1/16 at 2:34pm
A Director said: "Anyone who thinks the character makes a statement about older women has been watching too many Lifetime movies.
"
May just be my animal loving heart, but I always took the song as a (kind of) metaphor for people only loving young kittens and puppies, and then becoming disinterested with them as they get older. You know, the obvious point of the song is nostalgia, but I've always thought of that, in the context of Cats at least, as the poem isn't part of the Practicle Cats collection.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 2:40pm
I agree with those who have chimed in and said that the first major revival of a show like this is damned if you do and damned if you don't. You completely re-imagine the show and people will say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". If you stay true to form then "you're not being creative, and why do we need a regurgitated version of the original?". Like Les Miz before it, this revival will survive just fine for a while despite some of the reviews stating what half of the theater world already feels. It's not a popular show to love with many hard core theater people, and for those of us who always found it charming, fun, or a dancers dream-we'll go see it again.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 3:58pm
Wasn't some of this backlash due to the fact that after Nicole dropped they still auditioned several actresses and then ended up casting Leona?
Posted: 8/1/16 at 4:55pm
Well, after all the naysayers, all the critical response, guess who will be going out on stage tonight to open herself up to us and sing?
Leona. Leona Lewis will, that's who.
With impossibly big shoes to fill, Betty, Laurie, Elaine just to name a few, Ms. Lewis will once again apply her makeup and don her costume and go out there and sing to us.
I hear her every night. Leona is hardworking and consistent and her performance is growing each and every time.
Bravo to her and to the entire cast and crew of CATS. Well done, folks!
Updated On: 8/1/16 at 04:55 PM
Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:50pm
trpguyy, thanks for posting Frank Rich's review of the original production. I think he nailed it. I agree with others, though, that there were much better choices than Leona Lewis (who I like) for this show. I don't really think she means much here in the States and ALW was blinded by her UK fame...
Posted: 8/1/16 at 10:54pm
Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:09pm
I hate when people say "her performance is growing everyday." It's BROADWAY. Girl should be there on opening night. It shouldn't take her 6 months to get comfortable in the role. Plus the role is easy.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:13pm
RippedMan said: "I hate when people say "her performance is growing everyday." It's BROADWAY. Girl should be there on opening night. It shouldn't take her 6 months to get comfortable in the role. Plus the role is easy.
"
WORD.
ugh.
I'm seriously so sickened by the fact that a well-trained theatre actress/ singer lost out on such a role because A Lewd Webber the pervert wanted to cast Leona. ugh. I like Leona, but SHE DOES NOT BELONG IN MUSICAL THEATRE. nope. this is about as bad as Toni Braxton being cast in BaTB
Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:15pm
Lena Hall would have made me buy a ticket. I'd love to hear her rip into Memory.
Posted: 8/1/16 at 11:20pm
Growth during a performance indicates that the artist isn't phoning in the work.
All really great artists grow during their tenure in a demanding role.
Please tell me this isn't the first time you've heard this concept.
Updated On: 8/2/16 at 11:20 PM
Posted: 8/2/16 at 2:23am
Buffalo Bill,
Absolutely a performer should/will grow more into a role as a run goes on, but they should also be able to start the run giving a performance at a certain level. Unfortunately, Leona is far from the level that she should be at given she is the lead name in a high profile revival of one of the most famous shows in the musical cannon.
Your argument of her "putting the work in" is a bit flimsy seeing how that isn't something that should be applauded; it should be expected.
Also, calling Grizabella a "demanding" role is a huge stretch. She is on stage for less than fifteen minutes and has one song to sing right before the end of the show.
