Do you think we'll see a 100th anniversary SHOW BOAT on Broadway? - Page 2

[rg7759]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 11:39am

I'm not holding my breath for any anniversaries if they managed to completely flub the rent 25th

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 1:55am

Fosse76 said: "HeyMrMusic said: "Since Julie is a Black character, she should be played by a Black actress. I think a Black director would make the show feel fresh and seen from a different perspective. So much of the forward action depends on the Black characters and how they are treated, so it really needs to be handled with care. All that aside, I’d welcome a large-scale production. It was so ahead of its time, and in ways, it still could be with some deft direction."

The Harold Prince revival cast black actresses as Julie. I personally think it's the definitive version of the show"

John McGlinn's work on restoring the original overture and orchestrations, augmented by a discovery of songs never used and old orchestrations in a Secaucus warehouse, led him to try to put together the original production seen on opening night, in conjunction with the Houston Grand Opera. That production made its way up a short stay on Broadway in 1983. Lonette McKee played the part of Julie in this production and received a Tony nomination for her work.

Lonette was the product of a Swedish mother and an African American father. She reprised the role in the Harold Prince production that spent a year in Montreal before coming to Broadway, and received strong notices.

The cast members are never less than personable, and the starchy Elaine Stritch is, for all her gruff manner, positively endearing as Cap'n Andy's wife, Parthy. But if the singing is magnificent on nearly every front, it is the crushed-blue-velvet alto of Lonette McKee (Julie) and the volcanic bass of Michel Bell (Joe) that best express the production's brooding concerns.  Times, David Richards

MR. PRINCE'S HAPPIEST choice: Lonette McKee, who, as the doomed Julie (the role she also had in the Houston Opera Company's revival, seen in New York in 1983) plays and sings like a bluesy dream. Her first-act "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" is one of the show's highlights   Times, Vincent Canby

That is of course Lonette in the video above.

 

 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 9/24/22 at 3:52am

BIG BALONEY said: "I don't think this idea for a revival is a good plan because I see little interest in actual paying customers."

No what would make you think that? The Prince revival played just short of 1000 performances before taking off on a long tour. 

Show Boat has legs because of its music. "Ol' Man River" is an anthem recognized by everyone. The song "Bill" also has a loyal following. Most of the other major songs are known partly because the 1951 MGM film was so successful, as MGM's second highest grossing film of the year. The songs were covered by many and the clips passed along through other programs including MGM's "That's Entertainment" series. In the film, Marge and Gower Champion did two extended dance numbers, which fed the familiarity of the songs. Some must have seen Anna Kendrick's cute performance of "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" backed by the Kit Kat Girls from Cabaret.

The show's future investors, however, appreciate your concern.

 

[Globefan]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 11:14pm

If there's ever another film adaptation, Dove Cameron and Ariana DeBose should play Magnolia and Julie. 

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 10/1/22 at 11:31pm

OlBlueEyes said: "BIG BALONEY said: "I don't think this idea for a revival is a good plan because I see little interest in actual paying customers."

No what would make you think that? The Prince revival played just short of 1000 performances before taking off on a long tour."

That production (and its tour) were not the sell-out hits Garth Drabinsky tried to convince the public they were. The Broadway production played to half-empty and heavily papered houses while Mr. Drabinsky fudged the books. It only played those 1,000 performances because of fraud, so I don't think that's good evidence that another revival would be a hit today.

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 10/2/22 at 2:14am

Would love to see Amber Gray win her first Tony Award for playing Julie. Perhaps a bit of an unconventional choice, but one of the only choices that particularly stirs me. I'd also love to see Solea Pfeiffer in this role someday, though I feel she's too young right now/would still be too young in 2027.

[Globefan]

Posted: 10/2/22 at 5:38pm

Danielle Brooks as Queenie and Derek Klena as Ravenal