How was Audra Mcdonald as Deena? — Page 2

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

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

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.

Yeah, I read that excuse also.

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).

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?

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.

---

"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

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.

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

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.

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.