Hoff is PAL JOEY with Channing and Plimpton- Page 2

[B3TA07]

Posted: 6/19/08 at 10:58pm

I feel like I've been hearing about this future production since I was born.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 6/19/08 at 11:59pm

Has anyone heard Plimpton sing?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 12:37am

I'm mad at all the people who got me excited and said Cyndi Lauper would be playing Gladys Bumps.
I wish they had gotten someone other than Stockard Channing to play Vera (Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy, etc).
I'm not really looking forward to this.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 2:52am

Do we know if he can dance? Would he be hiding such a talent? And remember, he's have to be as good as Gene Kelly and Bob Fossee or Gower Champion or Tommy Tune or Greggory Hines to actually have a chance of performing the role properly.

Look at Gypsy. Merman, Lansbury, Daley and Lupone have done the role.

I don't think Laura Belle Bundy or Kerry Butler will ever play the part. We'd never suggest them (or Ziemba or Neuwirth or Verdon). Why? Wrong for the role and any of them would be a disservice to the material.

And yet here Roundabout is planning to do a production with a guy who NONE of us have EVER seen dance on Broadway (and I mean really, Greggory Hines-style DANCE.)

Where do they come off turning a dance show into just another musical comedy?

By those standards, I can't wait to see Mario Lopez as Emile de Becque.

[A Director]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 3:33am

allofmylife - If you would stop living in the past and did a little research, you would learn that Christian Hoff has been in the business since he was 11 and YES he is a dancer. Robert Alton's choreography was used in the 1940 production and the 1952 production. It was not used in the other Broadway productions of the show, so it appears that the choreography for Pal Joey is set in stone, By the way, the production with Bob Fosse closed after 15 performances.

With a new book, who knows how much dancing is in the show?

It is obvious that only a museum production will please you, Ed, PalJoey or best12bars

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 3:59am

I don't think wanting a dancer on the level of Kelly or Fosse is wanting a museum production. I think all those posters want to see the show done well.

And as for the Fosse production, that was at City Center, so my guess is that it was a limited run. And even if it wasn't, that doesn't nullify the point that you need a world class dancer for this part. We have not yet seen Hoff dance at the levels that Kelly and the others who played the role could, so I think allofmylife, PJ, and best12 are just expressing frustration that a more accomplished dancer wasn't cast, especially in such a dance centered show.

Furthermore, just because the original choreography wasn't used in every Broadway production of the show, that doesn't mean that the lead doesn't have to be a phenomenal dancer.

[mallardo]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 4:01am

I remember Christian Hoff back in The Who's Tommy where he certainly seemed to be a dancer... how good, we'll find out. It's the vocal end that would seem to be at risk in this cast.

[Princeton2]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 5:17am

Anyone know when this runs till and when tickets go on sale?

[choitoy]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 6:38am

I was thinking if I would want a cast album from this cast or not. On the one hand, any cast recording is nice (since I don't live anywhere near NY or have the chance to go out there, cast albums are the only way I get to experience most of the original casts). On the other hand, this cast may be a little "vocally underwhelming". Of course, I only have "Jersey Boys", the movie soundtrack of "Grease" (removed about 30 years), and... Plimpton hasn't been recorded singing yet has she?

Oh well, if not, I can go back to any of the first three albums released that I have...

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 6:55am

The Bob Fosse version that ran "only 15 performances" was part of series that City Center did in the 50's/early 60's. Every year, three or four musicals were done that had been done in the recent past with new casts. All were strictly limited to two weeks. So Fosse's "only 15 performances" is a misconception. Speak not of what you do not know.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 7:10am

>Every year, three or four musicals were done that had been done in the recent past with new casts.<

And YOU should speak in complete sentences.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 8:35am

Roundabout does not have a happy history in rewriting Rodgers and Hart musicals -- have we forgotten the floperoo called BOYS FROM SYRACUSE?

In addition to what seems an able, but not great,cast, the fact they are whacking apart the original book makes me a lot less than excited to see this.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 9:33am

Smaxie, will you please tell me to which "incomplete" sentence you refer?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 9:41am

All were complete sentences. (There is, however, a misplaced modifying phrase.)

Stand your ground, Ed!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 9:44am

CHRISTIAN HOFF PAL JOEY is the new PATTI LUPONE GYPSY.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 9:51am

Them's fightin' words, Pal Joey. There's a lot of LuPone devotees out there that will take great exception to that statement. You won't get any flack from me, but hope your armour's in good shape. Best. Ed.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 11:12am

My heart skipped a beat for a moment when I opened this thread, because I thought they were going to inflict David Hasselhoff (i.e. "the Hoff," WBAF) on us all again.

[Flippancy]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 12:16pm

Good lord -- does this mean we have hear S. Channing sing again?

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 12:22pm

Sorry, no hassle with the Hoffs. Either one is wildly inappropriate for the role. To say that Christian Hoff is a great dancer is pretty stuuuuupid when one looks at his resume on IBDB. Two credits. One in Jersey Boys. One as a chorus boy.

Way ta go showing off that great dancing talent, friend.

He's never, ever, ANYWHERE shown the level of dancing required to do this character justice. Sure, you can CHANGE the show to make it a role for a non-dancer but why bother? That's like changing the role of Joe Hardy in "Damn Yankees" into a non singing role just because some good looking guy wants to play the part. The character description is "handsome baritone," not "hey, awesome pecks."

Oh, and I'd give ANYTHING to see Bob Fosse as Joey. Can you just image what those dance numbers looked like?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 12:26pm

Bewtiched demands a great actress, but can be more forgiving when it comes to the vocals. I've seen the song performed by vocally weak actresses who can still perform the hell out of the song. It's like Send in the Clowns. A vocally stunning rendition can still leave you completely cold if they cannot deliver the emotion.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 1:59pm

All of this "can he dance?" talk is misplaced. He doesn't need to dance when he's lugging around a tuba. (Oh wait, wrong production).

And I still say as good an actress as Stockard Channing is, her nasal singing voice will detract from the song.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 2:03pm

I love LuPone's version of BEWITCHED. her whole performance on that recording is probably one of her most subdue performances in history, with little to none of her mannerisms.

I doubt Channing can sing it anything close to LuPone.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 2:10pm

While not advocating a "talk-sing" take on Vera, I have seen less-than-stellar vocalists make an impression with the songs -- way back, I saw Shirl Conway (not a singer by any stretch) as Vera and she was able to make it work. Although I did not see her in the part, Stockard Channing replaced Liza Minelli in The Rink, so she must have some sort of vocal credentials. Granted, that was over 20 years ago, but I think Stockard is an intelligent enough artist that she'll find some way to make it work. I'm much more concerned about the Joey being a dancer than Vera being a vocalist of the Patti Lupone calibre.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 2:19pm

Stockard Channing was in the original cast of Galt McDermmot's "Two Gentlemen of Verona" musical with the late, GREAT Raul Julia.

Oh damn, weepy moment. I miss him so much. (SGMC)

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 6/20/08 at 2:29pm

This post is largely off-topic, but Broadway Ed reminded me of the City Center musical revivals that were held every Spring. They were produced by Jean Dalrympal who would buy up the original sets, truck them to Philadelphia where storage was cheaper, and then bring them to City Center when needed! I remember seeing SOUTH PACIFIC there in the 1950's and FINIAN'S RAINBOW in the early 1960's. The revivals were well done, but I have no memory as to the names of actors involved.

I was excited when this PAL JOEY was announced, but after reading this thread I am upset at the prospects of: a less than stellar Joey, two actresses who may not be able to sing well enough, and the hacking away of the book. Good grief!