Donna Murphy in Hello Dolly — Page 2

Almira said: "H

Murphy was a MARVEL. She wasn’t just a larger than life personality... she was a big hearted woman wanting to love again and on the way help others love too."



What a load of crack. I still don't get the one vs the other comments. They are meant to dig. But if you must.. give me a larger than life personality as Dolly Levi any day. The truth is Donna is wonderful in this. But in no way does she even begin to touch what Bette does with this show.

Updated On: 8/21/18 at 12:57 PM

ColorTheHours048 said: "SmokeyLady said: "I still don't get the one vs the other comments. They are meant to dig. But if you must.. give me a larger than life personality as Dolly Levi any day. The truth is Donna is wonderful in this. But in no way does she even begin to touch what Bette does with this show.



"

Let me get this straight: you came on a thread specifically about Donna Murphy’s performance after a few posters raved about how much they loved her portrayal on the day of/the day after her final performance to tell us not to make comparisons, but then proceeded to tell us we were wrong and that Bette is better than Donna? Am I reading that condescending post correctly?

It’s not really a matter of wrong or right anyway. It’s an opinion. I am of the opinion that each actress who played Dolly brought something unique and exciting to the table. As far as sheer laugh-a-second hilarity, Bette was certainly wringing our every laugh she could and it was glorious. But as a full, beginning-to-end performance, Donna was still my favorite; not just because of how funny she was (and she most definitely was), but because of the depth and ease with which she made Dolly a human being."

YEP. I read all the Dolly threads. I love the show so much. But when I read a comment meant to divide like that "larger than life " dig..... I will comment.

Updated On: 8/21/18 at 01:54 PM

BroadwayConcierge said: "I had the privilege of seeing Donna’s Dolly for a second time earlier this summer and she was indeed pitch-perfect in the role. Easily my favorite of all the Dollys (infinitely surpassing Bernadette, IMO), and truth be told, one of my favorite stage performances of all time. She could not have been more incredible in this role."

Sublime, absolutely sublime. I won't get into "best" or whatever, but Donna was my favorite of the three women who took the stage as Dolly. Last night's show was insane and one of the best crowds I've ever experienced. The energy in the room was absolutely explosive, and the cast were giving it their all to give Donna a good send-off (or that's how it seemed to me!). She was clearly emotional by the end too; it made the final scene between Dolly and Horace so much more touching to me. But then, as Dolly would say, I'm partial, since she's one of my favorite actresses.

Special shout-out to Christian Dante White, who was fantastic as Cornelius. I really want to see more of him on Broadway; he brought a younger, different charm than Gavin Creel or Santino Fontana did, and it was really neat to experience.