No thank you. I don't believe she has the acting chops and I'm skeptical that she has the voice. She also reads as being far too young to play Mama Rose.
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
I think Idina is terrific. And I also think she's totally wrong for the part. And I hope after this next revival, Gypsy doesn't come back for another 20 years. I am absolutely burned out on Gypsy and Sweeney Todd.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
5377brian said: "icecreambenjamin said: "The role of Mama Rose requires acting and singing that doesn't sound like a cat in a blender, so no she wouldn't be perfect.
Sorry just not a fan.
Well when I saw her with 18,000 other people at the Hollywood Bowl later year, she was flawless.
And no blender. Just 18,000 folks that paid good money to see her. And she thanked her voice teacher, who she still sees on the weekly. So she definitely has the chops.
Was your last show at the Hollywood Bowl sold out?
Thought not. Find another bridge to troll under, she's fabulous.
" Well I'm sorry that so many people love the sound of a cat in a blender. Like I said I'M not a fan, and I find her voice to be screechy, and I'm sure that her teenage fans would flock from every corner to come see her sing a score that she has no business singing. I'M not a fan, no problem with anyone else who loves her, but I'm allowed to hold my opinion a$$hole.
Also, I'm training hard to maybe sell out a concert someday which I'm sure is more than you can say for yourself. Try expressing your opinion without personally attacking some else's next time.
Um... Your whole reason for being in this thread troll was for you to attack someone, so if you can't take the heat, go find another bridge to get under.
"I don't think she takes good enough care of her voice to be able to do the show eight times a week."
I so, so hate when people say this about her. Is her voice specific and polarizing? Yes. But that there is this baseless misconception that she "doesn't take care of her voice" is infuriating and patently untrue. Look at her recent role in If/Then, for example. She carried that show on her back, belting no less than what could be considered three 11 o'clock numbers, eight performances a week. And on that Sunday show, she sounded just as clear as a Tuesday evening.
It is absolutely fair not to be a fan of her sound, but to say she doesn't take care of her instrument is just idiotic.
Being able to screech out notes does not constitute having a "range" in voice, much less acting; and this role, is absolutely beyond the minimal taltent she has been given. Therefore, I would suggest that anyone who expresses an ill-fated desire to see this casting come to fruition, kindely not take anymore risks in casting ideas, especially trying to place Adele Dazeem, Noxema Wazzem, or whatever pseudonym used, in any future broadway musicals.
I'm not a teenager, but thanks for degrading my opinion, whomever you were; I can't be bothered to credit you. Also, fun fact! Her core demo is 18-34, not "teens" in the sense that you are implying.
For anyone who cares - here's her "Everything's Coming Up Roses."
With this youtube posting you made the case for absolutely not letting her near the role - that vibrato can steer herds of sheep in the wrong direction and to the slaughter - Tyne Daly was not the best singer, but her singing did not resemble razor blades of sound. That voice can peel the paint of a structure 100 miles away.
I'd also like to point out the vitriol which she consistently inspires on these boards. It's bizarre to see the theatre's most impassioned audiences (those of us here who post) so resentful of Idina's success. The flat out meanness is unwarranted and just unnecessary.
I'll be honest, I was on the fence about it, but now I am all aboard for taking any means necessary to have her in the role just out of spite for the absolute vitriol that has been spewed so far by her haters. Now I want her to do it, and for it to sell out by the boatloads while all her haters cry and soil their diapers over someone they personally don't like is being loved and successful.
I completely agree that she has the vocal chops for the role. Seeing her in If/Then she was absolutely fantastic and her voice was pristine. She is a human being and of course she is fallible and all, but she's shown that she can deliver. I think in a few years she should give the role a try.
At least the show might have a chance of making money this way. Her vocal style is quite inconsistent with anyone who has played the role in the past - I'd be curious to see but I don't know if it's a vocal style I'd want to see applied to this score.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
TFMH18 said: ""I don't think she takes good enough care of her voice to be able to do the show eight times a week."
I so, so hate when people say this about her. Is her voice specific and polarizing? Yes. But that there is this baseless misconception that she "doesn't take care of her voice" is infuriating and patently untrue. Look at her recent role in If/Then, for example. She carried that show on her back, belting no less than what could be considered three 11 o'clock numbers, eight performances a week. And on that Sunday show, she sounded just as clear as a Tuesday evening.
It is absolutely fair not to be a fan of her sound, but to say she doesn't take care of her instrument is just idiotic.
"
I stand by my suggestion. It is apparent that she is frequently straining her voice to hit her big notes. It is not healthy, it will very likely cause vocal nodes, and will likely require surgery. One only has to listen to her struggle through Don't Cry for Me Argentina, or the final notes of either of her two signature songs to hear that she has these troubles. It is not idiotic to point out that she clearly strains her instrument. It is not idiotic to point out that repeatedly straining can cause vocal damage. Because she is obviously straining her voice, it is not idiotic to suggest that she is not taking proper care of her voice.
Judging by the number of productions of Gypsy, Mama Rose can be ANY type of vocalist.
Isn't she supposed to be a frustrated performer who never 'made it big' so lives out her fantasies with a troupe of 'would bes if they could be'---like herself?
A little bit like Sally from Cabaret--she isn't supposed to be a great singer either so all types of vocalists can attempt either roles--and success or failure depend on the audiences 'ears' as to which sound they prefer to listen to.
Gypsys' songs, again like Cabaret have been sung by the great and the audience gets used to hearing them sung 'properly' . Objections start to arise when a different style of vocalist produces their own interpretation.
The discussion re Idina-her well proven 'voice of our time' would bring a raw, very down to earth quality to a meaty role that encompasses a wide range of emotions from a ruthless stage Mother to maybe lover to a totally over the top finale.
Sure she could do it, not just yet, but why not?
My 2cents worth and I don't even like her voice but would certainly pay to see what she does with the role.