How was Audra Mcdonald as Deena?- Page 2

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 12:40am

I actually really love the concert recording, warts and all. Even if you hate the three girls, which I know may make for a painful show, I think Billy Porter defines Jimmy Early.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 1:49am

Wonderful, what can I say but, Wonderful
She sings the sh*t out of it
Better than anyone, including that Beyonce thing,
who's voice is so weak

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 1:59am

You know how you say, "I bet if that person were sick, they would still do an amazing job in that role."

Yeah. Well, Billy Porter as Jimmy Early is an example of that.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 1:59am

Since we all know the role of Deena Jones was really written for Ethel Merman...

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 2:02am

I thought Ethel Merman was supposed to be Effie but quit, saying, "What! I'm not in Act Two!? Do you know who I am? I am Rose. Do ya hear me! ROOOOOOOOSE!"

And speaking of DREAMGIRLS - some woman was just singing AIATYINGBCGYRHDSJF on Showtime at the Apollo.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 2:21am

I wish there were a legal video recording. Is there any type of recording for the Sunday concert? I would love to hear it as it's one of my favorite shows.

[HumATune]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 7:22am

CurtainPullDowner, not that I’m a champion of Beyonce or anything, but she purposefully held back vocally to play Deena.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 7:35am

Yeah, I read that excuse also.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 10:51am

I think Beyonce is pretty perfect in the film vocally. Even with restraint she has a lot more vocal power than Diana Ross - and ain't that the point?

[ggersten]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 10:59am

I love the concert recording, because they are all good. Yes, Audra is miscast as Deena because her voice is too good, too perfect for the role. But her acting chops show Deena's progression as a character. Headley's "Well, then, shut up" to Effie brings down the house. White is terrific as Effie, even if not as terrific as Holliday or even Hudson (of course, we don't know how many takes Hudson got, or even if what we hear is from one or multiple takes). The "acting" you get in the Concert puts it over the top. Curtis is damn charming in the beginning - instead of snaky in the movie -- And, the Concert brings tears to my eyes at the end - and the movie didn't.

There's also the audience factor. That audience was pumped and primed for the concert - because it was Audra, because it was White, because it was Headley, because it was Dreamgirls and because it was just days after 9/11. The audience interplay just enhances the recording for me.

My wife and daughter got hooked on the show from the Concert. The OBC, because of its changes and truncations, just never captured the magic for me. (I have yet to buy the new enhanced version).

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 12:24pm

CurtainPullDowner-Beyonce's vocals were perfect for the material. Audra's were not.

[TennesseeTwang]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 10:12am

I'm shocked to read some of these comments. I thought the 11th commandment was "Thou shalt not think Audra's performances are ever anything less than perfection."

Btw, are there any theater performers who are adept at singing in both the classical and pop music styles?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 10:42am

I think Beyonce's singing in the film totally enjoyable, but it bothers me that she doesn't do the "come on, big baby, come on" parts in One Night Only with much attitude. I wonder if she was directed not to.

Also, I would've loved to have heard her do the "Shine, Deena, Shine" part in When I First Saw You.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 1:02pm

I thought Beyonce was miscast, also.
And she can't act.

The "She can't sing like I can" excuse doesn't work in the movie. In the very least, it made sense on the concert recording.

And Curtis' "I chose you because your voice had no personality" line in the movie, I thought was poor, especially considering it is Beyonce, and her voice has plenty personality.

Too bad her acting didn't have any.

In any case, yes, Audra was miscast, but I listen to the recording for the fun atmosphere, ridiculous riffs of White and Porter, and for the extremely well acted scenes.

Posted: 1/1/07 at 1:24pm

Who were the lead/supporting actors in the concert?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 1:35pm

"And Curtis' "I chose you because your voice had no personality" line in the movie, I thought was poor, especially considering it is Beyonce, and her voice has plenty personality."

Something that Jamie Foxx said in an interview kind of explains that line:

"It’s like the ugly guy who landed the good-looking girl. You don’t know why he landed her, but if you heard the conversations at home: ‘You know you’re really not that pretty, right?’ That’s where I got Curtis from. I didn’t get him from Berry Gordy, I got him from the executives I have met over the past couple of years. That’s what they do – they get the artists thinking about something that has nothing to do with his art in order to manipulate him."

Updated On: 1/1/07 at 01:35 PM

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 1:47pm

I thought the no personality line really caught me.
especially when contrasted to "Listen" it was a great moment in the movie.

Having never seen the show and having only listened to the other recordings recently I have to say that I thought the movie was incredibly well crafted and dramatic.

I really can't imagine the show without Listen, and I can totally see why Aint No party was cut for the film, it's a book song if I ever heard it, although I wish Anika Noni Rose had more to do, because I think she's incredible.

On the Audra issue, I think she did a great job and actually made the part far more musical. Riffing is obviously a incredible talent, but so many people do it poorly, and while her Vibrato is wider than most R&B singers, I think she does an incredibly job considering that it's not what she does regularly. She's an excellent, excellent interpreter.

[eb412]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 2:00pm

i love audra but her performance shows that even a multiple tony award winner isnt right for everything. i think beyonce is great as deena partly because of her strong resemblance to diana ross. i didnt think the line about her voice having no personality was weird. Deena is never played by someone who cant sing at all....just someone who isnt as soulful and gospel rooted as effie. I think deena is supposed to be talented but not the true star of the group. She is the one who just happens to have luck because otherwise she is too similar to so many performers to ever make it. Diana Ross was talented, she just might not have been the most. I think Listen would make more sense if it wasnt in the recording studio cuz Beyonce really sings out on that one. But even so it still makes sense cuz she says she was just doing what he wanted all along and now she can show what she can do. I liked Beyonce in the role because Deena did not become a villain, she had an innocence.

[Kringas]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 2:18pm

You know how you say, "I bet if that person were sick, they would still do an amazing job in that role."

Yeah. Well, Billy Porter as Jimmy Early is an example of that

I can't tell if you are being facetious or not. I think Billy Porter is wretched on the recording, and much more miscast than Audra.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 3:01pm

Not to rehash the Dot thing, but I deserve to defend myself.

My problem with her as Dot had nothing to do with race, considering it was a concert. There have been posts before where we had long discussions about why Audra was wrong for Dot. Dot is a character of the lower class, she is uneducated, etc. Many feel Audra never got that aspect of the character. Not to mention that she just sounded too classical for the role. Dot should have a raw belt, like Peters, and Jenna Russell.

Sorry, it was just a little insulting to be called a racist, because of a comment on a message board. To Fenchurch..

back to Dreamgirls. I don't know how Heather Headley's acting was. But she sounds awful on some parts of the recording. Especially on IT'S ALL OVER.

including that Beyonce thing

- I can't stand the ignorance. You don't have to like her, but she's a person, not a thing. You would be b*tching and moaning if someone called Audra a "thing."
Updated On: 1/1/07 at 03:01 PM

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 4:26pm

If the middle ring finger fits, buddy.

That's not what was said, what was said was the Dot (a fictional character) was white and therefore Audra was wrong for the role.

That makes whoever said that a racist.

End of story

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 6:01pm

Sorry, I assumed you were talking about me. I take the finger back, lol.

Anyway, I'm atleast glad I got it out there that my problems about Audra as Dot, don't have anything to do with race.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 6:48pm

"Btw, are there any theater performers who are adept at singing in both the classical and pop music styles?"

I can sing various styles of music.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 6:54pm

Many performers were trained classically and can still sing pop. I know that Shoshana Bean definitley has the soprano to sing classical stuff, but look at what she mostly does.

[iliketheater]

Posted: 1/1/07 at 7:14pm

Well said ggersten.

Ya know, we could argus this miscast thing forever. I could argue that her voice worked well, because it had more cross-over appeal. Or that it didn't work at all, because it was to legit for the show.

But for me it's more about the concert being a full-recording of a show I love. I think Audra captures Denna wonderfully in the scenes, and her singing dosen't bother me at all (but then again, I love everything she does). I think Headley was a hystrerical and spunky Lorrell, and yes, "Aint no party" was to high for her (but honestly...it's Heather Headley, I'll allow her one bad song).

I actually love this recording. It's full of actor/singers I admire, and as someone else has said, it's very fun and very moving to listen to.