Eliza? - My Fair Lady Revival 2018 — Page 22

Im going to love this no matter what. And I can't be more excited.

I hope the delay means LCT is in hot and heavy negotiations with someone in Colin Firth's league. If they cast someone in, say, Robert Sean Leonard's league, it'll be as close to a kiss of death as you can get.

Yes, that's ( Firth) pretty much the reason for the delay, from what I've been told. Hoping Bart really knocks this one out of the park with casting. The suspense is "killing" me.

Firth has turned the project down completely, according to a source who is close to the production.

Firth has been a name associated with MFL for a while. I'm not completely shocked he turned it down, but it's a shame. Now that he's out, I'm expecting this elusive casting to go even longer. Poisonivy and JIMG3, has anyone else been in the running?

Well that's that then. Hopefully we'll still get someone great. Jefferson Mays would be absolutely brilliant in the part, but he's definitely not a big name and would be a bit of a predictable choice. Maybe he'd be a great Pickering. What about Patrick Stewart? He's a bit up in years, but Ambrose is 40 herself, so maybe they would balance each other out a bit.

GreasedLightning said: "When did these big classic LCT revivals start requiring big names to run?"

For. Real.

Also, Jefferson Mays would be fantastic, come to think of it! I'd assume Sher has him on his radar, given they've just worked together.

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Why is Firth playing so hard to get? He's already had a hugely successful film and television career, is a household name in two continents, and has a friggin' Oscar. He has nowhere to go in Hollywood but sideways.

The only reason why I can think he'd choose yet another movie over MFL when he is being begged to do it is because he's afraid of being compared to previous actors in the role."

That's the only reason you can think of? He'd have to live in NY and figure out his family situation. There are demands to doing a live show 8 times a week that are very different from being a film set. Now there's a pressure to stage door and probably do a lot of press. It's a big commitment and it's tiring. There are a ton of practical things to consider.

I sometimes think that MFL is one of those musicals where the OBC was maybe too great for the show's own good. This started almost immediately -- Audrey Hepburn found that out the hard way when she played Eliza in the film.

I can see how an actor might be scared off taking on Henry Higgins.

MadsonMelo said: "And yet that Oscar that Harrison received was not deserved..."

Well that's because Peter Sellers' performance in Dr. Strangelove is easily one of the top 10 greatest film performances of all time ...

This production has been anticipated for years, it would be a shame if it turned into a mess.

Oh yes, it's going to happen. I can assure you.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to see big name A list stars on Broadway, especially when ticket prices are as high as they are. I'd rather not pay $200 to see an actor with a couple of regional theatre credits and maybe a couple of minor roles on Broadway play Henry Higgins. People need a reason to shell out that much money to see a show live. Why pay that much money to see some random people do My Fair Lady when I saw my community theatre's production last year for $20? People think like this. LCT is going head to head with Rudin's Carousel which has a brilliant cast of seasoned professionals, they need to show up with a great cast.