City Center's 24-25 Season: Ragtime, Urinetown, LaChiusa's Wild Party, Love Life- Page 7

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/8/24 at 5:23pm

No Joaquina in this ad –– which could have been approved for printing prior to her being signed, OR it could align with a certain sweaty person who claims she's no longer doing it and has been replaced by Nichelle "The Wiz" Lewis.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/9/24 at 10:46pm

Saheem Ali, originally announced to be directing WILD PARTY, has been quietly removed from the website. He's directing GODDESS at the Public (which he's been developing for years) and that begins previews one day before WILD PARTY. Did I miss an announcement about his departure?

Now, the sweaty one is alleging that the production may be cancelled or postponed, and replaced with Donna Murphy in WONDERFUL TOWN. Which feels very out of left field, and strange that they'd put WP on sale for single tickets if it isn't happening...but I'd love to see it!

Updated On: 10/9/24 at 10:46 PM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:17pm

Nichele Lewis is now Sarah. Great voice. But spends way to much time doing vocal acrobatics and certainly not an acting upgrade based on what I saw from The Wiz. Hoping that's just that Schele Williams sucks and Lear can get a better performance out of her. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:20pm

jkcohen626 said: "Nichele Lewis is now Sarah. Great voice.But spends way to much time doing vocal acrobatics and certainly not an acting upgradebased on what I saw from The Wiz. Hoping that's just that Schele Williams sucks and Lear can get a better performance out of her."

The manner in which you all talk about performers on this board is quite appalling. Give the girl a chance, and remember she didn't cast herself. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:22pm

Ensemble1698878795 said: "jkcohen626 said: "Nichele Lewis is now Sarah. Great voice.But spends way to much time doing vocal acrobatics and certainly not an acting upgradebased on what I saw from The Wiz. Hoping that's just that Schele Williams sucks and Lear can get a better performance out of her."

The manner in which you all talk about performers on this board is quite appalling. Give the girl a chance,and remember she didn't cast herself."

Appalling? Oh, Mary.

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:24pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "jkcohen626 said: "Nichele Lewis is now Sarah. Great voice.But spends way to much time doing vocal acrobatics and certainly not an acting upgradebased on what I saw from The Wiz. Hoping that's just that Schele Williams sucks and Lear can get a better performance out of her."

The manner in which you all talk about performers on this board is quite appalling. Give the girl a chance,and remember she didn't cast herself."

Appalling? Oh, Mary."

Thrilled you can read. 

 

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:39pm

jkcohen626 said: "Nichele Lewis is now Sarah. Great voice.But spends way to much time doing vocal acrobatics and certainly not an acting upgradebased on what I saw from The Wiz. Hoping that's just that Schele Williams sucks and Lear can get a better performance out of her."

Joaquina is also reads too old on stage to play Sarah and her scream singing does not suit the score 

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:40pm

I don't know Nichelle Lewis and haven't seen her perform, but it's a bummer this keeps getting recast. I so wish there had been a way for Joy Woods to do it even thought Gypsy starts soon. I know that would probably be an impossible burden, but I would LOVE to see her take on the role of Sarah some day.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:43pm

I’m hearing they want to make this a quick transfer, so they’re recasting to make sure they have as many of their principals in place as possible. Joaquina is likely booked shortly after the City Center run.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:49pm

ColorTheHours048 said: "I’m hearing they want to make this a quick transfer, so they’re recasting to make sure they have as many of their principals in place as possible. Joaquina is likely booked shortly after the City Center run."

Who are the lead commercial producers attached? Seaview? ATG?

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:56pm

This recasting is a bummer. We go from Joy (who has proven herself over and over) to Tony Winner Jaoquina (who has been proving herself since Wild Party at NYCC) to Nichelle who became TikTok famous and then was terrible in The Wiz. Maybe she’ll prove me wrong, but nothing about her performances so far makes me think she had the acting ability for Ragtime.  Yes she has a technically impressive voice, but if there’s no acting behind the eyes or acting motivating the vocals it results in a boring performance. No matter how high you sing or how much you riff…

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 12:58pm

That Wild party rumor is a MASSIVE bummer if that's true. I was really looking forward to seeing LaChiusa's glorious mess of a show with a high-level cast.

As for Sarah...I agree that Joy Woods would have been ideal, I thought Kulakungo was kinda miscast, actually, and Lewis...will be fine. Who knows, she might surprise us; there's a big difference in terms of the demands of Sarah and Dorothy in the Wiz (Sarah has next to no dialogue, for one thing), and I doubt she will be asked to just riff away. We should also be aware that the Wiz had the artistic misfortune to tour for a year before making it to New York, which means that those performances got frozen in amber before they could even think about making it to Broadway. 

Updated On: 10/10/24 at 12:58 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:04pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Who are the lead commercial producers attached? Seaview? ATG?"

I'm gonna assume at least one of the lead producers is Tom Kirdahy, Terrence McNally's widower & estate executor, who has been the only commercial producer of his work the past decade and also has a longstanding relationship with Ahrens & Flaherty.

I really don't know how this would do on Broadway. The last revival shuttered very quickly, this a huge show (39 in the cast, 28 in the orchestra), the show itself obviously has no name value to the general public, and nobody in this cast is a comparable selling point to Ben Platt or Sara Bareilles or even Sutton Foster.

I love the show and wish them well but it feels like a money-loser waiting to happen. (If it actually transfers.)

Updated On: 10/10/24 at 01:04 PM

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:13pm

Joy and Joaquina were really exciting to me- Nichelle is anything but. She's no Stephanie Mills and she is certainly no Audra. I wonder what Tiffany Mann was up to, she would've been sensational.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:18pm

Fwiw, the transfer is only in the cards if this concert is well-received. It’s not a done deal.

Also, if it ends up being true that Wild Party may be cancelled, I’ll riot. That and Urinetown have been the only two shows I’ve wanted to see Encores present, and with the underwhelming Urinetown casting, I just don’t think my spirit can take it.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:18pm

Phillytheatreguy10 said: "I wonder what Tiffany Mann was up to, she would've been sensational."

She's already in it as Sarah's Friend (aka the Till We Reach That Day soloist).

I don't recall her ever demonstrating something close to a soprano or mix + the vulnerability that the role requires.

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:28pm

Nichelle may be able to do the Soprano notes, but Sarah needs power behind her voice, not just vulnerability. Nichelle was definitely more Diana Ross and less Stephanie Mills in the Wiz and either the mix was bad or she didn’t have the power, but the night I saw her, she was lost in the group numbers in the Wiz aside from being a very green actress, Sarah also needs to paint with many colors of her voice and tell her story because as someone mentioned earlier, she has very little dialogue. I’m not one of those higher, louder, riff off people either, I just don’t think Nichelle has the vocal power necessary nor is she a brilliant actress as Joaquina or Joy. I’m willing to be proven wrong, and I hope I am, to me Joaquina is one of the most thrilling actresses to watch work and coincidentally the last Wild Party at Encores was when I discovered her when she replaced Ciara Renee. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 1:54pm

Do we need to transfer every single one of these? I fear we lose out on a truly gorgeous revival of RAGTIME by moving over this which will have a reduced orchestra from the Encores production and most likely no true set.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 2:26pm

ChairinMain said: "That Wild party rumor is a MASSIVE bummer if that's true."

 

Care to elaborate?   I, too, will be crushed!

 

I cannot see this (Ragtime) having a trajectory to Broadway - it makes no financial sense given the show's track record.  (And I adore this show.)

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 2:28pm

dramamama611 said: "ChairinMain said: "That Wild party rumor is a MASSIVE bummer if that's true."
Care to elaborate? I, too, will be crushed!"

Pasted from above:

Saheem Ali, originally announced to be directing WILD PARTY, has been quietly removed from the website. He's directing GODDESS at the Public (which he's been developing for years) and that begins previews one day before WILD PARTY. Did I miss an announcement about his departure?

Now, the sweaty one is alleging that the production may be cancelled or postponed, and replaced with Donna Murphy in WONDERFUL TOWN. Which feels very out of left field, and strange that they'd put WP on sale for single tickets if it isn't happening...but I'd love to see it!

[Dolly80]

Posted: 10/10/24 at 2:40pm

“Scheduling conflicts” … yeah sure babes.

[Ke3]

Posted: 10/12/24 at 7:52am

IdinaBellFoster said: "Do we need to transfer every single one of these? I fear we lose out on a truly gorgeous revival of RAGTIME by moving over this which will have a reduced orchestra from the Encores production and most likely no true set."

I doubt we’re losing out on anything. The climate is incredibly risk averse and as a result nobody wants to do traditional productions of shows as large as Ragtime. There’s no money in it. 

[BJR]

Posted: 10/12/24 at 11:23am

ColorTheHours048 said: "I’m hearing they want to make this a quick transfer, so they’re recasting to make sure they have as many of their principals in place as possible. Joaquina is likely booked shortly after the City Center run."

It was obvious from the start this would be hoping to transfer (two other Lear shows did, after all). Why wouldn't they have cast someone available after from the start (or rather, after Joy).

[Kad]

Posted: 10/12/24 at 11:29am

Kalukango may have had something arise in the meantime that conflicted. 

Updated On: 10/12/24 at 11:29 AM

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 10/12/24 at 11:47am

Kad said: "Kalukango may have had something arise in the meantime that conflicted."

A standby perhaps ? 

Updated On: 10/12/24 at 11:47 AM