Funny Girl engagements in L.A. and Broadway postponed- Page 2

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:46pm

Can't say I'm surprised by this. Lauren Ambrose has neither the pipes nor the box office draw to make this a success. I'm sure the Center Theatre Group in LA will end up with a 3rd rate national tour to fill in the space or maybe they'll import something from another regional theatre. If anything, this is great news for Nice Work if You Can Get It.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:47pm

Actually if I were Center Theatre Group, I'd throw together a prodution of Doyle's 10 Cents A Dance revenue or Sondheim on Sondheim. Both are cheap to produce and will put enough butts in seats...

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:53pm

I hope they decide what they are doing soon. I've got four great seats and a small theater party ready to travel to L.A. on the 17th.

(I disagree about Ambrose's pipes, but I did wonder about her b.o. appeal.)

[Broadwayhunk]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:56pm

It seems like the casting here landed with a big thud and a lot of people scratching their heads. If ever there was a show that needs a "star" with plenty of buzz, it's this one. Maybe the right Fanny will come along when the time is right.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:59pm

Gaveston, I'm sure they'll be refunding your tickets soon. It doesn't sound like this is a situation waiting to be resolved.

I would be curious who some of the other tentative cast was, as apparently offers for the other roles had been made.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 9:59pm

On a rare occasion, you can hear the bullet whizzzzzzzz as it passes by....

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:04pm

Thank you, Michael. Two of the tix can be returned, but two were the season tix of a friend that I agree to buy. Of course, I could now refuse, in theory, but that doesn't seem right, not after she was kind enough to sell them in the first place.

But thanks for the suggestion.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:12pm

Gaveston, that's very considerate to your friends, but I don't think it's a sleight to not feel obligated to buy tickets for a show that isn't going to happen. If you agreed to buy a friend's car and it stopped working, you wouldn't feel obliged to follow through with the transaction, would you? Just my $0.02.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:21pm

Thanks, AC. I'm sure my friends will agree with you. But I agreed to buy two tickets for that night and sort of feel a deal is a deal.

Who knows? Maybe they'll substitute something I want to see. Or something my friend wants to see and she'll really want her tickets back.

It's not as if I didn't know that "pre-Broadway tryouts" are sometimes cancelled.

[Overkill]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:29pm

I'm not going to doubt Lauren's box office draw - When I told people Lauren Ambrose was playing Fanny, no one knew who I was talking about. I had to say "The red head from Six Feet Under", and then only half of them knew after that. Hell, I didn't even know who she was when it was announced, but after watching her sing in youtube clip after youtube clip, I was DYING to see her as Fanny.

I think it's really unfair to say someone doesn't have the pipes for a role when you haven't any evidence otherwise. Those clips show that she's clearly a singer, not just an actor who sings. It was very bold and inspired casting, IMO.

[jovie27]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:55pm

100 bucks says that between now and February they announce that Funny Girl will open the CTG season come fall and Lea Michelle will star after-all, because Lauren Ambrose schedule now conflicts!

[I'm still here]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 10:58pm

Ohhh, you sound very bitter. Got cut from the audition????

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:11pm

Did anyone honestly not see this coming?

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:25pm

I daresay the Shubert Organization didn't see it coming.

But sure Jimmy...what do THEY know?

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:42pm

Perhaps they should have learned from history. Past attempts at getting this revived landed with a thud out of town. A big star with a big voice was needed to get this to work. The Shubert Organization sure as sh*t should have seen this coming. I guess when it comes to Funny Girl, they don't know much.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:45pm

So because past attempts "landed with a thud out of town," they should have know this production would be cancelled before it even went out of town?

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:51pm

By the end of the weekend I suspect either Nice Work announces they got the theater or Follies does.

[binau]

Posted: 11/3/11 at 11:55pm

All these hindsight "it was obviously going to happen" type comments are interesting. Maybe I'm oblivious but there really didn't seem to be predictions on this forum that both the out of town and Broadway productions would be canceled..

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 12:35am

They need Leslie Kritzer. The girl is a star and will get insane reviews, and get asses in those seats.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 12:45am

Sure hope it's Follies but who knows...wouldn't be surprised if Nice Work or one of the other shows gets it.

But it's also a season with A LOT of great women and great revivals...We shall see....

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 1:42am

Utterly and totally dissapointing news, on so many levels.

First and foremost, this was shaping up to be a 'must-see' heck, we were two months away from the show opening...i feel bad for the stagecraft folks, the actors, the orchestra, the box office, the producers, the director - but i feel bad for us...this is such a strong indication of the shape of things for National Theater in 2011 - and its not good.

Also, as an Ahmanson subscriber, I don't know how theyre going to get a proper production on that stage in just under two months - the last time this happened at The Ahmanson, they replaced whatever show cancelled (does anyone remember what show it was going to be?) with this awful 3 little one act musicals - one of them directed by Hal Prince...it was really mediocre stuff.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 1:42am

Utterly and totally dissapointing news, on so many levels.

First and foremost, this was shaping up to be a 'must-see' heck, we were two months away from the show opening...i feel bad for the stagecraft folks, the actors, the orchestra, the box office, the producers, the director - but i feel bad for us...this is such a strong indication of the shape of things for National Theater in 2011 - and its not good.

Also, as an Ahmanson subscriber, I don't know how theyre going to get a proper production on that stage in just under two months - the last time this happened at The Ahmanson, they replaced whatever show cancelled (does anyone remember what show it was going to be?) with this awful 3 little one act musicals - one of them directed by Hal Prince...it was really mediocre stuff.

[Idiot]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 1:51am

Being in Los Angeles, I am a little sad about this.

That said, if investors want to put 12M into a show, I'd strongly prefer it was a new work -- not a revival.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 2:43am

I can't imagine where that $12 million was going...

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/4/11 at 3:47am

^ Same here... This must have been a huge production they had planned.