I Finally Get It!!
I Finally Get It!!
#1I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 7:20amI could never understand why people got so hung up on original cast members from Broadway shows. I have a friend who loves Wicked but will never see it again unless Idina comes back. I have always thought she was crazy- I mean if you love a show who cares who's in it. I have always gone to shows to see the show itself and never cared who was in it. That is until Xanadu! I was looking at photos yesterday of the touring cast and it was just weird. What I mean is, to me Xanadu will always be Cheyenne, Kerry, Mary, Jackie, Tony, Kenita, Marty, Andre, Patti and Curtis. I'm sure the touring cast is great but they're just not Xanadu to me. I finally get what people mean when they say there's nothing like the OBC. Any thoughts on your favorite original casts?
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#2re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 7:46amIt can cut both ways .... ask anyone who saw Jill Haworth as Sally Bowles in the OBC of CABARET.
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jordangirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/1/06
#2re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 7:46am
For me it's really only been one person ~ Alice Ripley in Next to Normal. To me she IS Diana. I love all the other cast members dearly, but when they were casting for Arena, Alice was the only one I was all "They HAVE to get her back!"
Aaron Tveit is close...but I'd be willing to try it with someone else in Gabe's part.
Now, the interesting thing... I had thought Dan would be hard to replace for me, even though I knew they were going to have to since Brian d'Arcy James is in Shrek. I am THRILLED to report that IMHO, J Robert Spencer has totally won me over in the role ~ and dare I say I like him BETTER in the role! He's pretty close to ranking up there in "Can't imagine anyone else in the role" status...not quite there yet, but darn close.
Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
DefyGravity777
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/28/08
#3re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 8:40amThe only OBC I ever saw was The Little Mermaid. I only saw it once. I don't think I can really answer this thread to be honest since I have only seen it once.
Don't believe everything that you hear! Only the peeps involved know the truth!
#4re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 9:45am
I thought the same thing when I saw Dirty ROtten Scoundrels but then John Lithgow left and Jonathan Pryce took over and boy was he good (and I hate to say it but even a little better).
so, it is possible to love an OBC so much that you don't think that anyone else could be better, but have an open mind. you never know.
<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.
-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
There's a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world full of dreams. Sometimes we're not too certain what's false and what's real. But we're seldom in doubt about what we feel.
~Curtains~
It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known.
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
burnsy
Stand-by Joined: 8/3/07
#5re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 9:51amTo me Xanadu will always be James Carpinello, Kerry, Mary, Jackie, Tony, Kenita, Andre, and Curtis.
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#6re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:14am
I agree about Xanadu -- there will never by anything like that original cast.
Several others in my years of theatreoing:
Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz
Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (sorry, I saw others do it -- it just wasn't the same show)
Zoe Caldwwell in Master Class
The Lunts in The Visit.
All great, irreplaceable performances, IMO.
BroadwayEd
#7re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:40am
I felt the same about Michael Crawford in Phantom and Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp in Rent.
Updated On: 12/11/08 at 10:40 AM
#8re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:50amI totally agree--I posted when I saw the touring company that it was like looking at photos of people impersonating my family. I wish them all the best, though, in a show that I love.
The last vampire is the mother of all vampires and that is the vampire of despair. It'll wake you up at 4am to say things like:
Who do you think you are kidding?
You look like a fool!
No matter how hard you try, you'll never be good enough!
Why is it that if some dude walked up to me on the subway platform
and said these things, I'd think he was a mentally ill as-h-le,
but if the vampire inside my head says it,It's the voice of reason!
DIE VAMPIRE, DIE--[SUSAN in tos]
Madcap Maisie
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/08
#9re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 5:51pmRENT!!! (with the exception of Joanne)
"You know what really makes me mad? When girls think they can sing just because they are on the Disney Channel."
#10re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 5:58pmI also think for a lot of people, it's not about the original performer; it's about who you see first. Actors other than original cast members can still make impressions that deep.
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#11re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 5:59pm
Actors other than original cast members can still make impressions that deep.
No, only Idina!
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#12re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 6:00pmI forgot to include the exception: "unless they're in Wicked."
#13re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 6:00pmCurtains..........well I know not a lot of change happened.. heh
Herbie: "Honey, Don't you know there's a depression?"
Rose: "Of Course I know, I Watch Fox News"
-(modified)Gypsy
Broadway Schedule
December 5th- Hamilton, On Your Feet
December 19th- Noises Off, Edith Piaf Concert at Town Hall
Rose: "Of Course I know, I Watch Fox News"
-(modified)Gypsy
Broadway Schedule
December 5th- Hamilton, On Your Feet
December 19th- Noises Off, Edith Piaf Concert at Town Hall
DefyGravity777
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/28/08
#14re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 6:07pmI love Wicked(yes I said that) and I don't care for the OBC at all.
Don't believe everything that you hear! Only the peeps involved know the truth!
WishingOnlyWounds2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/25/08
#15re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 6:16pmI love Xanadu's original cast but I think that's simply because it was cast so well. Some OBCs such as Wicked's I hate.
2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5
May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot
#16re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 6:48pmI think it depends if the show is selling tickets based off of whose cast, or another reason ; Sondheim, popular title musical. People will see Lion King regardless whose in it, but if Patti was to be out sick one night of Gypsy, people would get a refund. I know I would. However I don't think I could see anyone else play Robert in Boeing-Boeing Mark Rylance was just that good.
I'll have them clawing at eachother, like drag queens at a wig sale"
#17re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 7:01pmI saw the drowsy tour and it was really good... but without Bob and Beth and Sutton et all it was just not the same
It's the music and I'm its hapless victim
#18re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 7:04pm
The Drowsy Chaperone's OBC was just such a perfect fit! It's a shame they started to leave so soon.
And I agree with Curtains.
Also with Young Frankenstein, the OBC was amazing together! [Sutton Foster, Andrea Martin, Megan Mullally, Christopher Fitzgereld, Roger Bart ... AMAZING!]
abominableerror
Swing Joined: 4/30/08
#19re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:17pm
I agree in some cases. Take Wicked for example, although Idina "is" Elphaba to me, I like Kerry Ellis SOO much more...actually, I don't like Idina at all really.
But, yeah. The OBC of [title of show] is it for me. Like no one else can play Jeff, Susan, Hunter, and Heidi except Jeff, Susan, Hunter, and Heidi. Call me crazy, but I guess its just my taste.
#20re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:28pmOn the subject of Wicked, I've seen several different casts over the years including the OBC. The only cast member who surpassed their OBC counterpart was Deedee Magno Hall as Nessarose. Lisa Brescia and Katie Rose Clarke are better than Idina and Kristin in the acting department, but Idina and Kristin still win overall.
homeimp
Leading Actor Joined: 10/2/08
#21re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:28pmI think one of the best examples is the OLB of Into The Woods. There just can be no other Red Riding Hood than Danielle Ferland, no other Jack than Ben Wright, and no one but Bernadette will do as the witch. Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien cannot be replaced as the Baker and his Wife. Right down the line. I am so glad I saw this cast with all present and accounted for. Perhaps they even made the show a little better than it is. Well, no, that's impossible, isn't it?
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#22re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/11/08 at 10:47pm
Sorry, but I absolutely loved the original production of HELLO, DOLLY! (Duh!) and was crazy about Carol Channing's performance.
However, I saw each and every one of the replacement casts and found that each new Dolly brought something special to the role.
Ginger Rogers was grace personified. Martha Raye was hilarious and an incredible singer. Betty Grable was as cute as the girl next door. Pearl Bailey was, well...Peral bailey. Phyllis Diller gave an excellent performance and proved that she could carry a tune. Ethel Merman was in a class by herself. On the road I saw Mary Martin, Eve Arden and Dorothy LaMour. None of this would keep me back from seeing Carol Channing play the role one more time, though.
Yes,replacement casts can be quite enlightening.
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#23re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/12/08 at 1:36amMy experience more and more has been that the replacements are better than the originators. For example I saw Bebe Neuwirth in Chicago and she was good. Later I saw Ute Lemper in the same role and she blew me away! What an amazing performance. I love Bebe but Ute really defined the role for me. I have seen both Stephanie Block and Kerry Ellis in Wicked and they were both much better than Edina Menzel. I also saw Jane Houdyshell as Madame Morible. She gave Carol Shelley a serious run for her money! In general, the tour of Jersey Boys I saw here in Dallas last summer was far and away MUCH better than the original cast in New York (which I also loved). I thought the tour of Avenue Q was much better than the original cast in NYC. When I was a kid I saw Twiggy in My One and Only on Bway. I then saw Sandy Duncan in the tour. She wasn't better just very different. Twiggy played it more as a vamp and Sandy Duncan was very spunky and quirky. I also remember seeing some AMAZING understudies in the revival of Into the Woods, Namely the understudy who was on for Laura Benanti. I think it was Melissa Dye. I think we should always remember that there are a lot of talented folks out there who are just as good, usually BETTER than they big name stars the producers employ to sell tickets and get butts in seats. Lets hear it for that AMAZING understudy who works really saves the stars butts when they don't have the chops to go on 8 shows a week.
#24re: I Finally Get It!!
Posted: 12/12/08 at 7:31amWhen I saw In The Heights, Lin-Manuel was out and Shaun Taylor-Corbett was in. Sure my friend and I were disappointed at first but we stayed and saw the show. I have to say Shaun was fabulous-IMO.
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