How come Jodi Benson doesn't do any theater work anymore?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:09pm

Has she been on Broadway since Crazy for You?

I read somewhere that she's one of those nutty far-right Christians. Is that true? If it is, it makes sense why she doesn't work in NY much.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:19pm

I recently heard that she was ONLY in Crazy For You BECAUSE of the hype of Little Mermaid. That show was intended for Karen Ziemba, but it was given to Jodi to increase visibility of the project. Luckily, Ziemba was eventually able to perform this role and (IMHO) you could TELL the part was taylored to her talents.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:20pm

She believes her role in The Little Mermaid was ordained by God.
What's nutty about that?

[JOak]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:20pm

She was on the 1998 revival of Joseph and the etc.

[willheim2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:28pm

She might just be busy being a mom, she had a kid awhile back. I worked with her on a bunch of stuff. She and her husband are so amazingly talented and sane. They could sight read stuff off the page and be ready to record in almost real time.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:29pm

Well, that interview certainly makes her seem a bit nutty.

Shame.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 3:36pm

Leave Jodi and her home schooling ways alone!

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:30pm

Maybe she prefers voice work? She was hysterical as Barbie in the 3rd Toy Story.

Updated On: 3/12/11 at 04:30 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:35pm

She was good in Enchanted on film. She was great in Smile, but that was pre-Mermaid.

[D2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:45pm

Benson wasn't very good in CRAZY FOR YOU. The first time I saw the show was about 6 months into the run, and she was still uncomfortable with the choreography. You could see her watching her feet, counting her steps, and in the finale when she and Harry Groener were dancing on the rising disk she was visibly nervous and tense.

The second time I saw it was about two years later, after Karen Ziemba had taken over. It was a completely different show - the role fit her like a glove and she was fearless, fun and funny. She and Groener were an exciting team, as he didn't have to hold anything back to accommodate a nervous co-star anymore and they matched each other step for step. Marvelous.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:54pm

I saw Benson in Crazy For You and had NO CLUE who Karen Ziemba was. Then I went to see AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND and was introduced to what a true stage start Ziemba was. She makes EVERYTHING appear effortless. Not too long after seeing ATWGR, I was at FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE and Ziemba was in the audience. I talked to her at intermission and said "YOU should the the star of CRAZY FOR YOU." She smiled and said 'THANK YOU!!! That's such a great compliment.' It wasn't too much longer that she was touring in the role, took over on Broadway and I saw her in the role . . . . TRUE MAGIC!

I was just the other week that I found out the role REALLY should have been hers from the beginning.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:58pm

She played the Queen in a concert version of "Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" last year in Nashville.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 4:58pm

I only saw Ziemba in the role when it played Los Angeles, and she was fantastic in Crazy For You. I kept thinking she would have won the Tony if she had originated it. They went for a higher-profile name, I guess.

I do remember that both Benson and Groener were signed to run-of-the-play contracts. It's the last time I've ever heard of that happening, because the show became a big hit and started to run much longer than anyone (including them) thought. Benson in particular (but both of them, as I recall) BEGGED to be let out of their contracts. Jodi was "hot" at that point for other work (film, TV, more VO work), and she was stuck in the show and couldn't accept anything. Maybe that experience soured her. Who knows?

They finally agreed to let both of them out. Harry stayed a bit longer (probably with a pay hike) when Ziemba took over, but I don't know of any actor, especially in a musical (since it has the potential to run for years now), that has signed a run-of-the-play contract. It would be nuts.

Updated On: 3/12/11 at 04:58 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:22pm

B12B, why wouldn't an actor (or at least one that is not a star or "hot") want to sign a run-of-the-play contract? Jodi's situation was obviously different, but I'm sure your average actor would want to keep his or her job as long as possible. I know I would!

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:49pm

Nutty, huh? As ever, the tolerance and openmindedness around here are just plain heartwarming.

I saw Benson and Groener in "Crazy for You" -- my first Broadway show -- and thought they were both amazing. Such a fun show.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:50pm

Is BWW's tagline "Tolerant and Open-Minded"?

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:55pm

I thought it went without saying.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:57pm

She homeschools her kids and believes her role in the The Little Mermaid was ordained by god. That's nutty in my book.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 5:59pm

Religious people generally do believe that God directs their steps. And there have been millions of such people throughout history, many of them exceedingly intelligent. If belief in God's direction alone makes a person nutty, you're going to have to declare a major percentage of the human race -- including Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of many other faiths -- insane.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:06pm

Pretty much

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:09pm

So, by that logic, God has something against those other women who auditioned for the role and didn't get it?

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:12pm

Yes.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:17pm

My biggest problem with Benson in CRAZY FOR YOU was her pitch problems. She seemed to have difficulty hitting some notes square -on.

I agree that Karen Ziemba was much better in the role.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:25pm

When shows ran 1-2 seasons, run-of-the-play contracts were common. But when musicals started to run 6, 7, 10, 15 years, they became unrealistic.

Ask most actors if they want to be locked into playing the same role in a stage production for 15 years. There are a few exceptions (very few), but most would say no way.

I guess that's hard for some people to understand.

EDIT: Bottom line --- they don't do ROTP anymore, and there's a reason.

Updated On: 3/12/11 at 06:25 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:29pm

I'm pretty sure God wanted her to sign that contract.