Hathaway/Firth for MY FAIR LADY?- Page 2

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/19/13 at 11:33pm

Anne Hathaway doesn't have the greatest technique, though. She can hit those notes but her vibrato indicates that her breath support isn't great. I'm not sure her voice would hold out for 8 shows per week.

She has the natural soprano range but does she have the training? I'm not sure she does.

[Caring Soul]

Posted: 2/19/13 at 11:52pm

I seriously doubt that Hathaway would deign to come to Broadway with her burgeoning film career. Firth would be so very good, though, if he could be persuaded to take the role. As for Eliza, isn't there a fresh-faced ingenue that Davis could make a star?

[The Josh]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 12:41am

I'm still holding out hope for Laura Benanti.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 2:08am

Me too, The Josh! I can't imagine Anne Hathaway would choose to make her Broadway debut in such a vocally challenging role right after winning an Oscar. She is pretty good about picking roles she's capable for, she has been very picky about stage appearances up until this point (and clearly she's been at the top of the list for all the roles for a star her age) so I don't see how that will change.
Benanti needs to either do this or Anna in THE KING & I, hopefully both.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 2:30am

Actually, if she wants to come to a Broadway in a classic musical, Anna in THE KING AND I would be a much better choice for Anne Hathaway than MY FAIR LADY. It would certainly be a more comfortable fit vocally.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 6:41am

I wouldn't be surprised if she stars in a Broadway show in the near future. I think she can handle it. She's a very disciplined performer.

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 9:06am

If this combo happens that would be star power and box office. I think they could actually sell this title in a big way.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 9:53am

Colin Firth is an inspired choice, and I love, love, love the idea of Geoffrey Rush as Alfred Doolittle.

Anne Hathaway would only last about 6 performances a week, tops. That score is brutal (read Julie Andrews' bio to find out how brutal it is). I don't feel she could sing that score eight times a week. They will have to get an alternate for the matinee performances, I guarantee it.

(I also think Hathaway is starting to read a little old for Eliza. She's supposed to be 21-25. I think Sierra Boggess could be brilliant-and more likely could handle the demands of the role.)

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 9:58am

Sierra sings her vowels so oddly that it may fit in this role. At least the first half of it.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:10am

I like Sierra's voice and I happen to think she's a very good actress. She'd be perfect for the role.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:15am

I personally think they'd have a better chance at getting Hugh Grant or Hugh Bonneville than Firth.

I know he's busy shooting Arrow in Vancouver, but what I would give/do to hear Colin Donnell sing "On the Street..."

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:30am

Heck, I'd love it with Hugh Bonneville!!! Sign me up! Just keep Hathaway far away. She isn't quite right for the role. (The suggestion of The King and I is much better.)

[emida]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:43am

EDIT : Just saw that it was for Broadway and not a movie remake...

I like the idea of Firth, but not sure he would be able to do it 8 times a week. Hate the idea of Hathaway for Eliza. I have doubts about her being able to sing the material.

Laura Osnes or Sierra Boggess would be perfect for this.



Updated On: 2/20/13 at 10:43 AM

[suestorm]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:49am

i think Anne would def want to do it. shes very ambitious and seems to want to liked an awful lot.

DREAMIN, SB can do no wrong in my book either. she would be perfect.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 10:53am

and seems to want to liked an awful lot

Yeah, I got nothing, darion. What is that?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:02am

Eliza needs to be a true soprano. Julie Andrews, Martine McCutcheon and Melissa Errico all had vocal problems while playing the role.

I wonder if Anne could get away with doing a six show week, much like Evita, Phantom and Miss Saigon didn't require their stars to do eight shows.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:04am

Wouldn't it hurt ticket sales to cast a name and only have them for six performances out of eight? The alternate's two would be so under-attended.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:06am

But the show would do excellent business for the other two-and, if they get Colin Firth as Higgins, you might not see too significant of a drop.

I'm against Hathaway in the role-she doesn't have strong enough pipes to withstand the rigor of the role.

I say get a young opera singer to play the role (or, as I suggested, a proven entity like Sierra Boggess). I don't know why Eliza NEEDS to be stunt cast if they have an A-lister as Higgins and perhaps one as Alfie.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:06am

MichaelBennett, Hathaway would be sublime as Anna and I'd love to hear her sing those songs. She'd be lovely.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:23am

But it's not the high notes that kill people's voices in the show. I mean...the role isn't all that high. It's the first half of the show that kills actresses. Producing those harsh tones as the 'guttersnipe' Eliza is the problem. You have to be able to be rough on your voice for the first half of the show, then magically produce rounded tones and beautiful high notes in the back half. That's what makes it taxing. Not hitting a G a couple of times.

Hathaway trained for months to be able to sing I DREAMED A DREAM in one take with a camera right up her tits. That may sound like nothing, but watch every other performer in the movie and you see them making facial contortions to hit certain notes. Hathaway's face is completely open and natural. She spent months sobbing through the song so that, when it came time to film, it would be as natural as possible. She spent time singing the song on a goddamn trampoline so that her face would relax completely. Do we really not think that, were it to come to pass, she wouldn't train like a marathoner to be able to perform this role?

[Wynbish]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 11:24am

Yeah, Eddie Redmayne was a highlight of the film to me, but he had a bad case of "I'm currently singing!" face.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 12:07pm

I could live with that casting, but as others have said, I'm not sure Hathaway would want to take so much time out of her movie career for it.

LOVE the thought of Firth and Rush together again, though.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 12:09pm

I don't doubt she'd train very hard, but I have questions as to her vocal sustainability as Eliza. It is a very tough role to sing-let alone eight times a week. Singing a couple of takes for a camera is wildly different from performing live eight times a week. I think Hathaway is better suited to Anna anyhow. I'd prefer a young unknown as Eliza with big names as Higgins and Doolittle.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 12:14pm

^ I don't disagree with the fact that Hathaway would be an ideal Anna. More ideal than she'd be Eliza (at this point, I have more of a problem with her age than her vocal abilities).

But we shouldn't minimize how just mind-numbingly awful it can be on a film set for many hours a day. The thing about doing eight shows a week is that you have 4-5 weeks of rehearsal time to get the show into your body, and once you open, you show up at 7-ish and leave by 11-ish. That's not to minimize performing eight shows a week, either. It's just to say both are taxing in their own ways.

[dreaming]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 12:15pm

I was going to mention her age (Eliza is supposed to be 20-25).