Is Andrea Martin still leaving Pippin in the fall?- Page 2

[ethan231h]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 5:22pm

I don't want Andrea to leave the show. She is amazing in the show!
but Jackie Hoffman would be a wonderful Berthe!


Updated On: 7/16/13 at 05:22 PM

[Starship]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 5:23pm

PM me, too!

And Jackie Hoffman, Stephanie J. Block, Allison Janey, Mamie Parris, and are my four options. Bizarre, yes, realistic, most likely no.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 5:27pm

Oh gosh I feel like SJB would burst into tears if she was approached to play this part. She's not that long in the tooth yet.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 7:54pm

*** SPOILER REQUEST ***

I've seen a lot of terrific comics play Bertha, from Martha Raye to Dortha Duckworth (not as well known, but stopped the show nightly in the national tour).

So what is Andrea Martin doing that is so legendary? (I'm not skeptical; I think she's a genius. I'm just curious as to what makes her Bertha so special?)

TIA

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 8:10pm

I've a Xanadude as much as the next person, but Jackie wouldn't work. What works about Andrea not only her sass and doing that thing she does, but also the warmth, love, self-reflection and wistfulness she manages to slide in between everything else. It's become a very deep performance that is more than her tricks.

That said, if it's the Weisslers, they'll probably bring in Barbara Walters.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 10:25pm

Lovely answer, taboo. Thank you (whether or not you actually meant to answer me).

Updated On: 7/16/13 at 10:25 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/16/13 at 11:12pm

May I be the first to go on record to say that for me Andrea Martin's performance and staging trick are both being wildly overpraised. Yes, she was warm and yes, she was funny but frankly we found her Bertha utterly unsubtle and full of bald mugging to milk the laughs. As for her heralded trick, it was much too much todo about nothing for us.
We can't believe all the hewing and crying we've been hearing about those blessed ten minutes she's onstage as Bertha.

Believe me, the show has great, great sequences in it, which will still be there with or without Andrea Martin. You who get to see the show after September are still in for a treat.

[morosco]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 12:10am

I want to see Andrea Martin as Edith Prickley as Berthe.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 12:16am

sorry, but considering Martin's age, her "trick" is damn near stunning. most people half her age couldn't, nor wouldn't, do this "trick".

[Kelly2]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 12:48am

Maybe Martin's trick would be more exciting and surprising to those in the theatre if everyone wasn't constantly going on about how amazing and spectacular it was all the time. Once something gets so hyped, it's very hard to live up to it.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 1:20am

^ Bingo. Precisely.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 3:53am

I agree. I saw the show a while ago and her bit was amazing, and I'm sure it still is. The way that people keep going on and on about it constantly makes me think, "Okay, it was good, but damn. Shut up!"

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 12:20pm

Updated On: 7/17/13 at 12:20 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 6:12pm

A poster was kind enough to PM me and explain the "trick". I very much appreciate it.

I really like this board and the posters who come here!

[goldenboy]

Posted: 7/17/13 at 7:29pm

Maybe Ann Miller can do it and they can put in a tap number!


she is??
oh.
Never mind.

[WestCoastActor/Director]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:08pm

Updated On: 7/19/13 at 05:08 PM

[WestCoastActor/Director]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:08pm

Just heard Tovah Feldshuh will be playing Berthe.

[WestCoastActor/Director]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:08pm

Just heard Tovah Feldshuh will be playing Berthe.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:16pm

Alls I know is I find her very unimpressive on the cast recording. Very boring. Irene Ryan is a million times better.

[brldisteach2]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:19pm

I just saw Pippin last week, and I have to see even with all the hype, I was still very impressed with her performance. The trapeze part of the act was impressive regardless of her age, but yes that makes it even more so. On another note, I think Charlotte D'amboise's performance of Spread a Little Sunshine is incredible. It's great to see Andrea Martin getting the praise she deserves for the role, but I would have liked to see Ms. D'amboise get the praise she deserves. Up until I saw her perform it, Spread a Little Sunshine had been one of my least favorite songs in the show, but her performance of it totally changed my opinion of the song.

[Queen of the Night]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:49pm

Totally agree about Charlotte. I liked her a lot in this show. Her dancing is stunning as always and the slightly understated cattiness which she brings to "Spread a little sunshine" does make the number work very well. She was sexy and sly without really taking much of the limelight. A Lady Macbeth slinking around in the background--which I suppose makes her all the more dangerous. It's like they say, "it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for".

[jetts7]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 5:53pm

Jackie Hoffman would be hilarious in this role!

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 7/19/13 at 6:48pm

I agree about Charlotte, her performance was great and I love what she did with the character. Also, could she look any younger in her costume? Goodness gracious!

[54thstreet]

Posted: 7/23/13 at 10:54pm

maybe Bebe Neuwirth or Beth Leavel but please do not let this happen

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 7/23/13 at 11:53pm

Very recently, I was listening to Seth Rudetsky on Sirius XM on Broadway. He was talking about Andrea Martin and how she was scheduled to go on vacay in the near future. Seth said something about the buzz in town on someone who would fill in for her during Andrea's vacation time. I got the sense he knew more, but didn't want to reveal anything else. Hmmm?