Examples of miscasting that damaged a show

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 7:53pm

Hey folks, I'm currently working on an article a UK theatre site about actors who were miscast in shows and in turn did damage to the shows success with critics or audiences. I would love to get some examples from you guys (I have many UK examples already). Thanks

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:28pm

Gina Gershon (and John Stamos to a lesser extent) was poorly miscast in the Birdie revival. It didn't help.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:31pm

One that comes to my mind immediately is Peter Krause in AFTER THE FALL. An otherwise well-cast revival (Carla Gugino, Jessica Hecht, Candy Buckley etc) really dragged down by a weak central performance.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:33pm

OT: I think Stamos SHOULD have been wonderful. I blame the entire Birdie fiasco on the director.

Updated On: 10/23/12 at 08:33 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:37pm

The casting of Madonna in Speed-the-Plow was disastrous to the play, but it didn't harm ticket sales.

Going back much further, Helen Traubel was completely miscast in Pipe Dream, but the show itself was weak as well.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:38pm

If stunt-casting counts, look no further than Chicago - Melanie Griffith, Christie Brinkley, and probably many more.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:42pm

Going back much further, Helen Traubel was completely miscast in Pipe Dream, but the show itself was weak as well.


Traubel has always seemed out of place on the PIPE DREAM cast recording (and perhaps miscast on paper), but wasn't the role of Fauna written specifically for Traubel? (At least, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Fauna was written for Traubel, not Steinbeck's)

[willep]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:44pm

But those don't seem to have damaged Chicago, which is still running.

[Idiot]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:44pm

It's an iffy conclusion perhaps, but I think that Sherie Rene Scott was miscast and largely ruined WOMEN ON THE VERGE. The iffy part is, she wasn't really 'miscast' because she should have nailed it.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:46pm

^Funny, I guess I'm one of the few who never thought Scott was well-cast as Pepa. A blonde farmgirl from Kansas who's more acerbic than fiery playing an emotionally damaged Latina? Never worked for me, on paper or on stage.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:51pm

willep, perhaps they haven't damaged the show business-wise - but they have indeed damaged the integrity and quality of the show (it could be argued).

[DAME]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:53pm

Linda Lavin in Gypsy.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 8:57pm

Bernadette in Follies. Never seen a performance polarize these boards like that.

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:11pm

^Agreed. Don't want to start it up again lol, but that role should've been Victoria's from the very start. Would kill to have a recording with her

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:18pm

This is slightly off-topic, but with the talk of Traubel and Pipe Dream I pulled out Not Since Carrie and reread the blurb about the show.

I was struck by this:

Perhaps indicating some doubts about their new show, Rodgers and Hammerstein had lifted their ban, in effect since 1946, on theatre parties, and Pipe Dream opened with more than seventy performances sold to groups.

Does anyone know what R&H would ban selling tickets to groups? Doesn't seem to make much sense. Were they just opposed to selling at bulk rates or were there other reasons?

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:44pm

Like it or not, last year's revival of Follies wouldn't have happened without Bernadette. I personally don't believe she was miscast, but I know many disagree.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:50pm

Elena Roger and Ricky Martin in Evita. I own pretty much every recording of the show, even the Korean cast (which inexplicably is all on one track), but I refuse to get this latest revival because of them. It's bad enough I have the London revival, which I never listen to, anyway. I wasn't going to waste my money on another dreadful Elena recording.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:54pm

I don't think Ricky is so much miscast as just giving a bland/safe performance.

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 9:55pm

The Into the Woods revivals, particularly 2002.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 10:55pm

Whizzer, in my opinion, Martin's performance wasn't band or safe, I think it just had to do with the directions and the toned down fell of this production.

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 11:00pm

Ashley Brown- Mary Poppins. her performance has always been too cartoony, and Disney has seemed to always cast much stronger replacements for the role.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 11:06pm

uncageg, I agree that the direction plays a part in Martin having a toned down performance. I say it is bland and safe based on his singing rather than his acting. Either way, I don't think there's anything "miscast" about Martin. Physically he seems right for the role, and it's not like he can't sing the part- I just didn't find anything vocally exciting/interesting about his interpretation.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 11:33pm

Kristen Chenoweth as Fran Kubelik in the Promises, Promises revival, which, in all other respects was a first rate production.

[willep]

Posted: 10/22/12 at 11:44pm

Ah, fair point, Jay Lerner-Z, I wasn't thinking of the OP's question in that sense.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 12:05am

Does Ally Sheedy in Hedwig count since she was a replacement? I mean, it was a noble failure but a big one.