Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre

[Smaxie]

Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#1

Posted: 5/22/09 at 5:11pm

Running in Sunday's Arts & Leisure. With a great photo.



Eight women experienced at working the New York stage: standing from left, Janet McTeer, Harriet Walter, Jane Alexander, Allison Janney and Alice Ripley; seated from left, Tovah Feldshuh, Angela Lansbury and Liza Minnelli.
Forget the Ingenues, Cue the Grown Ups

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Updated On: 5/22/09 at 05:11 PM

[TalkinLoud]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#2

Posted: 5/22/09 at 5:13pm

Links not working, but that's a wonderful photo.

[Smaxie]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#2

Posted: 5/22/09 at 5:18pm

Should be working now.

Also, there's a terrific related Women on Stage audio slide show.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/05/24/theater/20090524-patricia-cohen-women-on-broadway-multimedia/index.html

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[Wanna Be A Foster]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#3

Posted: 5/22/09 at 8:30pm

Wonderful article, with valid points about the lack of worthwhile roles for older women in Hollywood.

"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad

"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)

[aliciag]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#4

Posted: 5/23/09 at 12:02am

That was a great article, and really got me thinking about how great it has been to have all these wonderful actresses on Broadway. I hope the trend continues.

Thanks for the link!

[givesmevoice]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#5

Posted: 5/23/09 at 12:11am

this was definitely an interesting article, but I wish they'd even gone back a few years to talk about, like, Margaret Johnson in Light in the Piazza and the Edies in Grey Gardens as fabulous new roles for women over 40. this is definitely a trend that's getting stronger, though. thank goodness.

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

[Smaxie]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#6

Posted: 5/23/09 at 1:14am

Incidentally, the laughter in that photo happened after Harriet Walter had finished telling a story about an elderly patron at Mary Stuart with an infrared hearing device saying very loudly to his wife, "THIS ISN'T BLITHE SPIRIT! WHERE THE HELL IS ANGELA LANSBURY?"

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[Gothampc]

re: Good NY Times article about roles for women 40+ in theatre#7

Posted: 5/23/09 at 2:13pm

Once again, I have to wonder who writes these articles? Obviously nobody with a sense of theater.

How can an article like this be written and ignore Marian Seldes? Seldes was in the Guiness Book of World Records as being a performer who had performed the most continuous performances in a show (was it 4 years straight?). I think she was 50 at the time. While not currently on Broadway, she is in an off-Broadway show based on some Dorothy Parker writings. I think she's somewhere around 80.

I realize that they feel these articles need to be sexy and describe big names like Sarandon, Lansbury, etc. but the article also ignores the work of many other over-40 actresses.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.