Donna Murphy, Come out wherever you are...- Page 2

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 5:14pm

I was fortunate enough to see the show with Murphy and Shields and while this thread is not about comparisons, I can say that both performances were magnificent and that they each made the role their own. In defense on Shields, Ruth is not supposed to be a great singer-think Russelin in Gypsy-so while Murphy sang the hell out of the role, that's not how Ruth was first conceived.
Anyways, I didn't know Murphy had attendance issues in "The King and I" but still she has given Broadway three very powerful performances and she deserves more chances. I think she'd make a great Charity and I'd love to see her in about 5 years in a Gypsy revival as Momma Rose.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 5:33pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=5397

There she is! (Back to your debates.)

Updated On: 10/15/05 at 05:33 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 5:40pm

OK, if someone does go please ask her what she is up to and tell her that we all need her back on Broadway.

[Avigdor]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 5:46pm

It seems a significant number of you want to blame Ms.Murphy and neglect to mention the long standing "monster like" reputation the producer's fran and barry have. for the last 10 years i have heard nothing but horror stories about these two..never a kind word from anyone i know has been uttered. is it possible..just maybe they were the problem...or and this might be a stab in the dark..that the press was exploiting a situation they only had little fact bout.
could be? yes.
bottom line...ms. murphy is a tremedous talent. any producer in their right mind would be lucky to have her. her versatility speaks volumes about her. so lets take a page from the book of "not blowing it out of proportion" and hope she comes to broadway again soon.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 8:36pm

"She pushed the show so much, she begged, and she fought with all of her might and she got it and blew it."

Could you elaborate on this? I don't know what you mean my pushing the show and begging. Also, it's true that Donna missed a quite a few performances, due to personal matters. Anyone know about this? Was she ill?

[Fan2]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 9:00pm

Here's a website for her:

http://www.butterflyofbroadway.com

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 9:16pm

wow,i feel really lucky to have seen her in wonderful town now...
shes great, and i love her "horror movie" scream in spiderman 2...very classic :)

yay donna

[newsieboy23]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 9:19pm

avigdar,
Fran and barry must be monsters. Noone wants to work with them. Interesting how all these celebrities who could get other work elsewhere choose to.
How many people have thrown themselves at the Weisslers feet to be Roxie, or Velma?... Not to mention Billy Flynn, Charity, Herman, Ruth.... or how 'bout people like Janine LaMana (and many, many others) who have performed in multiple Weissler shows. You can see Grease, Wonderful Town, Annie Get Your Gun and Chicago in many of the same bios. They must be monsters. Noone ever works for them again...

Maybe Donna had reason not to be at the theatre everynight (maybe she didnt?!) but I think Fran and Barry are the last to blame.

Either way, they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank, no?

Also.... didnt they even put one of the "fired" girls (Helene? Nikki?) from the out-of-town Charity into Chicago when Charity didnt work out? Updated On: 10/15/05 at 09:19 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/15/05 at 11:59pm

Solange Sandy went (almost directly) from Sweet Charity to Chicago (the musical) where she plays Annie.

[PJ]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 12:10am

Donna's absenses could be excused, not forgotten, if she would have issued an official statement saying why she was out more than she was in. I realize it was a "personal" problem, but you think after the slaying she took in print for missing she would have just made a press release to save her name. This woman lost much of her credibility in the business because she never offered a "why". Instead, she just missed, and missed, and missed. If it was a deeply personal problem, she could have made it known, no matter how hard it would have been, and the community would have been behind her, supported her, and felt bad for her.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 12:20am

On the Brooke & Donna thing.

Ruth is one of the easiest singing roles for a female in Musical Theatre. Donna ofcourse sang MANY optional notes, which worked.

But I honestly feel Brooke had the better voice type for the role. Not saying Brooke is a better vocalist (which is obviously not true) but when I think of Ruth, I don't think of an amazing singer/belter. Brooke's voice fit the character so perfectly. Just like Roz Russell. Brooke sang it in a style similar to Roz, and she even took some optional notes that Roz didn't sing. I consider Ruth a nice speak/sing role, and I feel Roz defined that style with her Ruth - and Brooke followed in her footsteps. Updated On: 10/16/05 at 12:20 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 12:26am

I agree about that but I still think Murphy's performance was seamless-Brooke's was too in a different way-and I still don't think she deserves to be bashed because of her "Wonderful Town" misbehavior, I do think that she should've released a statement now that you mention it but I'm sure she had her reasons, she doesn't have the diva attitude.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 1:47am

omg, PJ, I can not say that I agree with you at all.

I find it extremely laughable how some of you wax eloquent about this situation as if you were right up in the middle of it---reading BWW, All That Chat, and the NY Post doesn't put you in the middle of it. And why should Murphy feel the need to respond to message board and news rag gossip?

PJ, I will be delighted to let Ms. Murphy know that you hold the key to her being forgiven and excused for the entire Broadway community and audiences. I'm sure she will issue a press conference immediately to inform to you the very personal issues she was dealing with. Before, it was a matter of privacy, but I think now she will be much enlightened after your oh so "inside" comments.

[PJ]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 1:51am

haha

Okey dokey, old man.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 1:54am

EXACTLY. Who's gonna know more about what happened at the Hirschfeld? A 31yo usher/doorman AT the theatre or an 18yo who wasn't even living in the city at the time?

I'd go with the OLD MAN.

[PJ]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 1:59am

Congratulations, you were an usher! Whoop, whoop.

Don't act like you were at Donna's side during her absenses nursing her back to health. You know what you know from what you heard at the theatre.

And my posts were not bashing. I was just simply saying that she should have given some sort of explanation, even if personal, as to why she was out so much.

Calm down and go back to petting your kitty.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:05am

And you know from what you have heard on BWW, ATC, and the NY Post--bully for you.

[PJ]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:05am

Your kitty is lonely, jrb.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:07am

So, is your wit.

[PJ]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:12am

This is too funny.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:36am

OK, guys, calm down. JRB, I didn't read PJ's comment as bitchy or mean, I think that he only meant that she should've confronted the problem so that people would have been supportive instead of speculating and being mad at her for missing so many performances. It's not about getting to know about her private issues but about offering her some help and understanding instead of accusing her which is what most people did. I agree that at least she should've faced the issue but at the same time I think she's such an amazing performer that she deserves to prove everyone wrong in a new show.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 2:39am

That would be all well and good except that PJ is clearly on a mission in this thread. I'd be thrilled to know why.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 12:30pm

Wow this thread got interesting.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 12:53pm

I'm lost...

I do agree that Murphy should have said something. I'm not saying she should have written a press release delving into her personal problems, but something like, "I am experiencing problems of a very personal nature, and I cannot continue to perform in Wonderful Town" would have won her a lot more sympathy than the disappearing act.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 10/16/05 at 1:03pm

To defend Ms. Murphy (as I will continue to do), she does not need to 'explain' herself to anyone. She has stated in the past that her health issue is a very personal one, something that she is sensitive to and she wishes to keep it that way. It is something that SHE chooses to keep private and obviously doesn't care what others think (though the comments might hurt her, as she has also commented). Donna is and always will be a very talented individual. What she chooses to do with her talent is UP TO HER!

Updated On: 10/16/05 at 01:03 PM