Examples of miscasting that damaged a show- Page 3

[newintown]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 1:35pm

Mark Hamill, Harrigan 'N Hart; he had the voice of a strangulated frog, and the charisma of Gollum.

Betsy Jocelyn, A Doll's Life; she tried her best, god love her, but Nora Helmer is a role for a real actress, even in a bad sequel.

Ben Vereen, Grind AND Carol Burnett, Moon Over Buffalo; casting stars in supporting roles can be a recipe for disaster, when the stars demand more material and throw the work off balance.

Peter Allen, Legs Diamond; he was just embarrassingly ghastly to watch.

Marc Anthony, The Capeman; the theatrically inert material needed a less theatrically inert performer.

David Turner, In My Life and On A Clear Day; I'm sure he's trying his hardest, but unfortunately he tends to come off as a bad gay joke.

Hugh Panaro, Lestat; pretty voice, pretty face, but not enough to wake the audience up from the boring material.

Will Chase, High Fidelity and Story of My Life; not a sufficiently compelling actor to overcome bad material.

Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment, American Buffalo; painfully amateurish.


Of course, it should be acknowledged that many of the above pieces may have been unsalvageable with even the most adept performers; but the casting that happened certainly didn't help enough.

[karen24]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 2:13pm

What about Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham in the last Guys & Dolls revival? I did not see it, but I recall that reviews singled them out for being awkward in their roles and not well-cast. Of course, I also recall that the whole of McAnuff's production came in for some criticism, so maybe the show's problems can't be wholly blamed on those two.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 2:53pm

"Look no further than Henry Goodman in The Producers. Even though he was a replacement, it killed the show and they eventually ended up with Tony Danza!!"

Henry Goodman gets a bad rap. He was actually quite good. His crime was not being a carbon copy of Nathan Lane, which Brad Oscar (who replaced Goodman), was, to all intents and purposes. In any case, Goodman hardly "killed" the show. It ran for another five years. Lane himself torpedoed Goodman from the stage mid-performance shortly before he left the first time. Failing to get a laugh one night, he sniped at the audience "just wait til that British guy gets here and see how fvcking funny he is".

Tony Danza was a last desperate resort to keep the failing show open at the end of the run. Before him there were a lot of great replacements. Alan Ruck and Steven Weber were both outstanding Blooms.

If we're adding replacements to the list, the first mis-casting that comes to mind for me is Mario Lopez, as Zach in A Chorus Line. Disastrous.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:34pm

For those who don't believe that John Davidson agrees he was miscast, please take the time to read this article. It's by one of my favorite writers here at BWW--and perhaps the world!
article

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:40pm

It's ironic that Two's Company was written for Bette Davis, as she could neither sing (listen to the recording), dance, do comedy well nor just about anything else that was required for a musical comedy review. The score's not all the bad -- except when Bette tries to sing.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:40pm

Ugh!

Who said they didnt believe it? Noone else mentioned his feelings on the matter. I just stated that I found him charming in the show.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:51pm

You didn't say that, doodle. Another poster did.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:58pm

No, someone said it was interesting that he continued to do the role after he felt he was miscast...it's not the same thing. I assume you just wanted everyone to read that article from your favorite writer.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 3:59pm

Dollypop is referring to me, but I didn't say that I didn't believe it, either. I said it was funny, since he continued to play a role he felt he was miscast in for years on the tour and regional circuits. Perhaps he needs a lesson in reading comprehension.

Updated On: 10/23/12 at 03:59 PM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:03pm

yep...we posted at the same time AC.

[Kev]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:10pm

Also, the Grease revival in the 90's was ripe with mis-cast "names" as characters. Debbie Boone, Linda Blair, Jasmine Guy as Rizzo? Jon Secada, Rex Smith, Adrian Zmed as Danny? Heck, Rosie was hired to be a "name" above title... but her stint as Rizzo was the Broadway equivelant to nails on a chalkboard.

Eh, I wouldn't say that stunt casting damaged the show. In fact, I found a few of those names (despite being too old, obviously) to be excellent in their roles.

What about Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham in the last Guys & Dolls revival?

Woof. Yes karen24, Platt did nothing to help that already misguided revival.

[binau]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:13pm

Was Bernadette Peters MISCAST in FOLLIES, or did many people simply dislike the choices she made in the part?

Her "Betty Boop-isms" seem rather perfect for a character who is stuck in 1941.

Maybe somebody needs to define "miscasting." Actors can give bad performances without being miscast.

Good point. She looks and sounds {from the libretto} "petite, pert, sweet-faced" and is "still remarkably like the girl she was thirty years ago". On paper she is a perfect fit. Perhaps her voice was not the most appropriate for a song like TOO MANY MORNINGS, but it was fine for the other songs (particularly "In Buddy's Eyes").

Updated On: 10/23/12 at 04:13 PM

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:15pm

Phylicia Rashad in August: Osage County

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:32pm

The best example I can think of is Lauren Ambrose in the latest revival of Funny Girl. She was so poorly miscast, the investors got scared and started to bail and no one had any confidence to invest in the show with her as the star. It couldn't raise the funds after that.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 4:46pm

I don't think we can judge Lauren Ambrose as Fanny Brice without anyone having seen her in the part. That investors decided she wouldn't sell tickets is another matter.

...Adrian Zmed as Danny?

I assume the objection is to Zmed playing Danny in the 1990s' revival, because he was an excellent Danny back in the 1970s, when he was a replacement in the original run. I saw him several times.

Updated On: 10/23/12 at 04:46 PM

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 6:37pm

Lauren Graham was pretty decent in Guys and Dolls. She had a nice voice and lots of charm, but it wasn't the right role for her. I'd love to see her back on Broadway in something more fitting. She'd actually be a great Baker's Wife.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 6:45pm

Graham COULD have been a wonderful in Guys and Dolls. It was very clear (and confirmed through various sources) that she did not get along with Platt and I believe Des as well. It seemed as if she were directed to be "gritty" and "real" when the show is a cartoon. She seemed to constantly be fighting her instincts and play grounded, hurt moments instead of going for the laugh. It seemed she was not ever having fun on stage. That could be mood and tension or flat out nerves, I have no idea. I doubt we'll see her back soon which is a shame, as I found her overall charming.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 6:49pm

It wasn't Bernadette's voice that worked against her, in my opinion, or even her age, for that matter. It was that the second she appeared in her first entrance that she was playing where Sally ends up instead of where Sally started. She had absolutely nowhere to go with the character throughout the show, because she was all flustered, dewy-eyed, teary and fragile from before she said a single word. Of course, I didn't think she sunk the show, just that she was wildly inappropriate for it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 6:59pm

Sean Hayes - Promises, Promises
Lauren Bacall - Waiting in the Wings
Faye Dunaway - Master Class
Laura Bell Bundy - Legally Blonde
Jerry Lewis - Damn Yankees
Roger Bart - Young Frankenstein

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 7:03pm

Laura Bell Bundy reminded me of MAD TV's Nicole Sullivan doing a Reese Witherspoon impression.

[Owen22]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 7:40pm

Congrats Mister Matt on nominating Laura Bell Bundy. Talk about someone just being "okay" in a role. A somewhat insipid part that needed what Reese Witherspoon brought to the character in the film. I always imagined what Elle would have been like if the Chenowith of fifteen years ago had played her.

I didn't see her but I guess the Brits got the casting right with Sheridan Smith (who I did once see and loved in an absolutely horrible production of "Little Shop" in the West End.) Because of Smith I think the show ran three times longer in the West End than it did on Broadway (where it had help from a casting show on MTV!)

[EdHopkins]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 7:45pm

Whereas I am constantly amazed by her talent on every level (Truly, God blessed this kid as the ULTIMATE threat, and she harkens us all back to the Golden Days of Broadway when stars were truly stars), I cannot help but think that Sutton Foster's casting as Jo in LITTLE WOMEN was a mistake. Not a fatal one, because she was great in the role, just not "right'. I think the show, which so beautifully weaves the tale of the March sisters into a fun and lively fantasy, would have had more success if they had cast someone else in the role. Amy Adams, perhaps?

[PTOPhan]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 8:54pm

I don't know why My Fair Lady seems to be prone to miscasting Henry Higgins, but I can think of at least two examples. Richard Chamberlain played the role in a touring production. Although I didn't see it, I heard terrible things about the performance. I also saw a production at the Kennedy Center a few years ago, again a tour, starring a gentleman named Christopher something, who has since passed away. He was in his 60s and overweight and just didn't look the part. There has to be simmering sexual tension between Eliza and Higgins,and a 20-something is unlikely to go for someone that old. Whom would I love to see play Higgins? Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, or Daniel Craig.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 10:17pm

I didn't see her but I guess the Brits got the casting right with Sheridan Smith (who I did once see and loved in an absolutely horrible production of "Little Shop" in the West End.)

I saw both productions and it was night and day. Bundy was okay, though cartoonish, but she just lacked the star power and range to make an impression. Smith was fantastic and it was a true star turn performance.

I don't know why My Fair Lady seems to be prone to miscasting Henry Higgins, but I can think of at least two examples.

That reminds me...Jonathan Pryce in the London revival. The single flaw in an otherwise perfect production.

[zamedy]

Posted: 10/23/12 at 10:45pm

Daphne Rubin-Vega in Les Miserables

I'll never forget seeing the revival with my friend and her mother, who is a Broadway aficionado. She absolutely HATED Rubin-Vega in the part; so much so that when her character died, she APPLAUDED feverishly. I felt like the whole theatre was suddenly looking at my row of seats. At that moment I too almost died.

Updated On: 10/23/12 at 10:45 PM