Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
NathanLaneStalker
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#1Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:40pm
This is a thought I have always wondered about since last year, but I haven't posted it on here, in defense of being bashed. lol.
But, does anyone else think that Mrs. Lovett could work with a man in the role? I saw a production of Once Upon A Mattress where Winnifred was played by a man to show how a gay relationship could work in a case like that. I know they are two completely different musicals, but it made me think.
I'm not saying get a drag queen to play Mrs. Lovett. I'm saying change the gender completely.
It's just a thought. Please don't chew me out. lol.
#2re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:41pmIt's been done. It worked in London.
NathanLaneStalker
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#2re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:42pmReally? Any pictures or anything?
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#3re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:42pmSo was Lucy also a man or was Sweeney bisexual?
#4re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:45pmHarvey Fierstein (someone was bound to do it)!
#5re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:51pmWell, now I'm not sure. Wasn't she played by a man in Doyle's original London staging?
#6re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/22/07 at 11:56pmI think it was just a woman who looked like a man.
sondhead
Broadway Star Joined: 10/25/06
#7re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:02am
The John Doyle London production had a female Mrs. Lovett.
It could probably work but why? What would that add to the piece?
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#8re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:02amActually the woman's name is MANN. Karen Mann.
neddyfrank2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/23/05
SweeneyPhanatic
Broadway Star Joined: 1/4/06
#10re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:07am
According to the booklet with the new cast album, the only gender change was having a woman play Pirelli and Fogg in London, though she played them as men, not as female characters. There's no mention of a male Lovett, nor do I recall having seen anything about one.
It would be interesting (strange), but the biggest question I have is "Why?" I can understand stripping a show down to its bare essentials to create a certain effect with a production, but unless it's for the sake of ensemble parts in the vocalscore, I don't get why you would change the gender of a major character (which is NOT what was done with Pirelli/Fogg. That was a female playing a male character as a man, not changing the gender of the character completely, to balance out the vocals during ensemble parts).
To me, it's the same thing as making Tracy Turnblad a fat gay guy. Sure you can stir up some interesting points with it, but why do it? Please don't get me wrong. I'm all for the reinterpretation of material, but there's a point where reinterpretation becomes rewriting, and then you're not serving the authors of the play as they would have wanted you to because you are not getting THEIR message across in the performance, but YOURS, and most audiences don't give a damn about what you have to say.
NathanLaneStalker
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#11re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:12am
Why? To be honest, I have no reason. I would just like to see it. lol.
toomeytwopiece
Featured Actor Joined: 1/30/06
#12re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:12am
I think that if people are ever curious about changing the gender of a character, then it should be attempted. Theater is the place for that kind of risk-taking.
Of course, I might be a little biased 
I, for one, wish that there were a theater company here in NYC that cross-cast everything. OR cast plays as they were cast in Elizabethan times. It would be interesting. No camp, no comedy inspired by the cross-gender casting, but real committed acting of the opposite gender.
Julian2
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/10/06
#13re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:15am
"No camp, no comedy inspired by the cross-gender casting, but real committed acting of the opposite gender."
I've often really been intrigued by this concept, espcially considering there are quite a few female roles I would rather take a crack at.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#14re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:15amJust men playing women's roles or women also playing men's roles?
#15re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/23/07 at 12:22am
Actually I have heard that Sondheim has in the past closed a production of Company that had the women "love"-interests played by men, which was intended to suggest, obviously, that Bobby is gay.
The reason was apparently that such liberties with the casting stray from the concept Sondheim and Furth had intended to be the focus of the experience for the audience, or at least, stray from the creation the two artists intended, in a dramatic enough way that it is no longer a production of their work, but something else.
While I like the idea of challenging the audience by changing the genders of the characters we know so well and experiencing how we view things differently according to those gender shifts, I think that Sondheim--relatively recent genius that he is--should be left to reflect Sondheim's art and not someone else's (ie a director, casting agent, producer, etc.).
#16re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 2:33amdouble post. Updated On: 5/25/07 at 02:33 AM
#17re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 2:34amYet he was all for Billy Porter replacing Vanessa Williams as the Witch in the Into the Woods revival.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#18re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 2:46am
Well if that's true (is it or just rumour) the Witch is a diffewrent character--her gender doesn't change the sexuality of other characters. He prob wouldn't have gone for Cinderella falling for a royal princess.
That production of Company was in Seattle--I do agree that it's almost as big a change as those productions I've heard of that tried to do Merrily in forward time structure...
As for Lovett I also have to echo the question "why"--and then add "Why Lovett">? Is it because she's a slightly comic character and portrayed (usually) as a bit of a grotesque? I mean why not turn Joanna into Joe?
E
#19re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 2:50amBecause Joe isn't a three syllable name to fit the song. Duh.
#20re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 2:52am
Quote: "It's been done. It worked in London."
Margaret Thatcher can sing?
Updated On: 5/25/07 at 02:52 AM
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#21re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 3:12amLike Toomeytwopice, I have always wanted a company that legitimately produces musicals and plays with gender binding casts. I believe in some situations it could work wonderfully. I'd kill to play Cassie in A Chorus Line. Its funny, but its the truth!
#22re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 4:17am
I've always thought that the people in charge of Broadway Backwards should actually mount stage concerts of popular shows and have male actors play female roles and vise-versa or just go for gender-blind casting. It'd be interesting to see how these options actually affect a show instead of speculating whether it would work or not, and it would give actors who would never be able to play certain roles the chance to show what they could do in roles that go beyond their genders.
I'd love to see Donna Murphy play Bobby from COMPANY, or see how Norm Lewis would play Caroline in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, etc.
philcrosby
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/04
#23re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 12:54pm
A production of COMPANY here in Richmond (VA) cast Bobby as Bobbi, and one of the girl friends as guy, making the lead role a bi-sexual woman. However, no one but the cast and crew ever saw that version, because word got to Sondheim about the plan (he was just up the road in DC at the Sonheim Festival), and he sent a cease-and-desist. So they recast the two roles and opened later that week in a "normal" production.
It appalls me that someone would think it was OK to do that.
#24re: Could Mrs. Lovett work as a man?
Posted: 5/25/07 at 12:59pmI personally don't think it could work/should work. You guys jsut want a crack at one of the better female roles in musical history. Why don't you just make Bobby a woman while you are at it? It's just not right.
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