How come Jodi Benson doesn't do any theater work anymore?- Page 2

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:31pm

Oh, I certainly understand it from an artistic standpoint, but not from an economic standpoint. I know if I had a role on Broadway, I would want to keep it as long as possible- even 15 years. There are ways to keep a role fresh, but not as many ways to get another role on Broadway.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 6:32pm

It's also one thing if you choose to stay with a show that long. It's another if you have no choice.

If either of them were getting enticing offers, that would only have made matters worse. And I understand they both were and had to turn things down.

(This from a mutual friend at the time.)

Updated On: 3/12/11 at 06:32 PM

[siny]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 7:06pm

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

She is doing it again this year. It's a benefit for Steven Curtis Chapman's religious ministry "Show Hope". Maybe she is only doing religious stuff now.

[genius2]

Posted: 3/12/11 at 7:10pm

I can't remember whether it was before or just after "Crazy For You" but I saw her in "Chess" at Casa Manana..

She was great at the time..

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 3:01am

There are people like George Lee Andrews and a few of the "Cats" were in their shows for ages and were happy. But, I guess it's different if you're just supporting or in the chorus and not the one who's name is selling tickets.

Back to the topic at hand: I saw her in the "Joseph" tour and waited at the stage door to have her sign my "Smile" Playbill and a "Joseph" for a friend of mine who lives in Wisconsin. She signed both "God Bless, Jodi Benson". After I sent the one to my friend, he emailed me: "Now that I have Jodi Benson's blessing, I'm sure that when I die I'll go STRAIGHT to Heaven!"

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 3:11am

A few years ago I sat in on a talk back and it was mentioned that all of the ensemble members had "run of show" contracts. They made it sound like it was pretty standard through the industry.

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 5:24am

All this talk of Crazy For You... Now that's a show that could use an A+ revival. Great music, feelgood show and amazing tap-dancing with the right cast.


I still remember seeing Jim Walton at Papermill as Bobby. He was simply stunning.




BN

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 12:13pm

As long as Stroman is around she is the only choreographer I would want to see touching a major revival of Crazy for You. Her work on that show was amazing and I can't imagine any of the current crop of choreographers being able to touch it, let alone top it.

[Jon]

Posted: 3/13/11 at 2:07pm

Stroman's choreography for C4U is all documented in a book (similar to Robbins' staging for Fiddler and West Side Story). When licensing the show for regional/amatuer/school productions, you have the option of paying an extra fee to use her staging, or creating your own.

Therefore, a revival could be done with the Stroman staging, even if she herself was busy doing something else. An assistant could teach all the coreography.

[joeychris]

Posted: 3/14/11 at 9:20pm

I saw Jodi Benson two days ago in concert with Gary Mauer and she was AMAZING. She does 1 concert a month around the USA and in October she is doing a concert in Canada. In the week she is homeschooling her kids and travel in the weekends to make concerts. In April she had the Cinderella Concert and 1 concert in Disney World etc.

[PitPro2004]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 3:41pm

"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?"

Absolutely true!

I had the good fortune of working with Jodi and her husband on the Euro tour they did right after she left CFY back in 1994. She told us many stories (most of which I can barely remember to save myself).

To the best of my recollection; she really didn't want to do CFY, her bread and butter was voiceovers (natch!). Boy you can bet Karen was miffed when she got passed over! She had a few problems trying to nail down Stroh's choreography (well, gee whiz, considering how technical the first act Finale of CFY was, who can blame her?) I remember her saying how hard it was to finally learn the dance she did with Harry when Bobby woos Polly in the first act...the back step part she had to do while he sashays towards her. Took her forever.

She mentioned something about a vacation she finally earned while she was Polly; flew to the Bahamas and while there, the producers of CFY frantically called her to come back to the show. Apparently, the understudy had had a nervous breakdown and they couldn't get a replacement in time. Oy vey.

She also mentioned a time when poor Harry Groener got food poisoning so bad they had to stop the show and hold the curtain for his understudy to jump in. Yikes!

Jodi was always gracious to me. Yeah, the Christian part of her was a bit extreme sometimes and we don't keep in touch, but considering out of nowhere she bought me a birthday cake and left it sitting on my dressing room table when I didn't even think she knew I was alive speaks volumes. I am very happy to have known her.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 4:05pm

I think Jodie is happy living in Atlanta and Los Angeles raising her kids and making bucoup bucks doing voice over work. I honestly don't think don't she's turning roles because of her religious beliefs - over the years she's played all kinds of naughty girls - she was an especially wicked Ado Annie in OKLAHOMA and was a lot of fun as downtrodden Bunny ("The Lady is a Tramp") in BABES IN ARMS out in LA
Updated On: 3/15/11 at 04:05 PM

[Moneyspider]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 4:35pm

I always thought it was cute they got her to voice Aquagirl some years back.

[Almira]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 5:12pm

I saw her as Ado Annie.

Voice over work suits her best.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 6:18pm

"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 God directs their steps and they are so intelligent, then why do these millions of such people feel the need to shove their beliefs down other people's throats? Just accept the Sky Bully is moving you towards your destiny and keep it to yourself. Change the conversation, because it is getting old. Like mildewy. /rant

And, please, I totally believe Jodi's connection to Menken through SMILE had NOTHING to do with her being cast as Ariel. /sarcasm

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 6:40pm

You're right, it had nothing to do with her being cast as the voice of Ariel, since Menken had nothing to do with "Smile." The music for "Smile" was composed by Marvin Hamlisch.

It was her connection to lyricist/director Howard Ashman that got her the job. He called her in personally for it. They listened to a ton of submissions (several hundred, from celebrities to no-names), but Ashman was dead set on Jodi for the part.

It's discussed in great detail by Benson, Menken, Katzenberg, and others, on the new "Beauty and the Beast" Blu-ray Disc. They spend a lot of time talking about how they went from "Smile" to "Mermaid" in just a couple of years. It's a great tribute to Howard Ashman, too. They all single him out as that rare genius that comes along once in a lifetime, if you're lucky.


EDIT: Benson actually jokes in her interview that she got the job because she could deliver every single note, phrase, nuance, and line delivery, exactly as Ashman wanted it.

Paige O'Hara said roughly the same thing. Apparently, he "micromanaged" all details about the performance where his leading lady was concerned. He tried to do the same thing with the animators, but with far less luck. They fought him and challenged him more often, and compromises were made and suggestions taken by Ashman.

Still, they all give him credit for being a genius and the main guiding force behind those projects.

Updated On: 3/15/11 at 06:40 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 6:59pm

Howard's talent was immense. He is missed greatly.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 7:49pm

"If God directs their steps and they are so intelligent, then why do these millions of such people feel the need to shove their beliefs down other people's throats? Just accept the Sky Bully is moving you towards your destiny and keep it to yourself."

I don't get any sense that Jodi Benson is shoving anything down your throat. I see nothing wrong in her discussing her faith to an interviewer from a Christian website. It kind of makes sense. If I went to a movie website run by Christians, on which they are running interviews with actors who have a strong Christian background, I'm going to expect that God is going to come up at some point in those interviews.

[Moneyspider]

Posted: 3/15/11 at 11:33pm

Look, any performer of faith who believes in any sort of intervening god will think god helped them get the part or set that challenge before them as part of a divine plan.

[KylieS]

Posted: 3/16/11 at 12:54am

Exactly... and will believe that God had other, not necessarily lesser, plans for the competitors who lost out on the role. Incidentally, homeschooling her kids doesn't make her a nut either. There's lots of possible reasons to homeschool. Some parents just like being more involved - and a woman I know who homeschooled her kids sent them to MIT at ages 15 and 14, respectively. Homeschooling was a better education for them.

I feel like I should say here that I am adamantly no fan of extremist or fundamentalist religion. But she just doesn't seem that crazy to me, from her quotes. Her religion doesn't seem to be tainted by hatred or excess judgment.

(That said, I had major babydyke crushes on both Jodi-the-actress and Ariel-the-character as a kid, and it makes me sad to think she'd probably be weirded out by that and think of me as someone who's not living "God's will".)

Posted: 3/16/11 at 3:02am

I admit to often being less tolerant than I'd like about religious "nuts"--ie when I hear stuff about God's plan I do role my eyes. But with Jodi (and to be fair most performers who feel that way) it doesn't bother me. She was outspoken about AIDS fairly early on, and has never seemed to be judgemental in her beliefs. So my take on her is more just whatever works for her. (and really, read the bios for the chorus in a big musical and more often than not you'll see at least a good 1/3 have a little message to God thanking them for getting there--I especially noticed this in shows with a big Black chorus like Show Boat and Ragtag... *is hoping *that* statement won't get him in trouble*)

Disney wanted her for Belle in BatB but I believe it was Ashman who fought against it arguing Belle should be more European, whereas for Ariel they wanted someone who sounded like an "all American teen". (I admit her performance in the Bluth/Barry Manilow animated mess Thumbelina is a guilty pleasure of mine--of course with Barbara Cook and Carol Channing also singing on the soundtrack).

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 10:32pm

BUMP

I have been seeing trailers for the upcoming Blu-Ray Diamond edition of 'The Little Mermaid' lately and something came to my mind again recently. In 2011, adamgreer revealed that Jodi was Catholic around the time she became a Disney Legend, but she's not fire and brimestone. I hope that no one was bothered by this because I've always found to be one of the most classiest and sincere people in the entertainment industry.

In the political world Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are Roman Catholic, but I have not heard anything negative about them on here. So, I hope people are not disappointed with Jodi's choice of religion.

"But with Jodi (and to be fair most performers who feel that way) it doesn't bother me. She was outspoken about AIDS fairly early on, and has never seemed to be judgemental in her beliefs. So my take on her is more just whatever works for her."

I'm glad to know feel that way about her.





Updated On: 3/20/13 at 10:32 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 3/20/13 at 10:38pm

She makes mad bank singing those Mermaid songs a few times a year. She doesn't have to bust her hump on a Broadway stage anymore. It's not about religion. She has a great life.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 12:30pm

To hell with Jodi Benson, I wish Harry Groener would come back to Broadway.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/21/13 at 1:26pm

Hopefully, not to reprise his role in The March at Steppenwolf. One of the most tedious and dull plays I ever tried to watch.