It's Time For Ellen Greene To Come Back To Broadway

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:38am

It's been 21 years since she's been on Broadway and 32 years since she's been in a musical on Broadway. And I, for one, think that's totally unacceptable.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:48am

Seconded. I adore her, and her Audrey is hands-down one of the single greatest musical performances.

[AnthonyB]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:49am

She was performing in London (off West End) a few years back in a musical called Betwixt! that (if truth be known) despite having potential, wasn't very good. in fact, she was the only reason that i went and saw it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:56am

Here she is a year and a half ago singing. And she sounds pretty much exactly like she did 30 years ago.
Somewhere That's Green

[newintown]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:58am

Why stop with La Greene? How about

Janie Sell
Barbara Harris
Carol Channing
Barbra Streisand
Elliott Gould
Lesley Ann Warren
Shirley MacLaine
Robert Redford
Stephanie Mills
Lola Falana
Barry Bostwick

But maybe none of them want to work that hard, at their age and all...

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 10:58am

Can we give a name to that consonant she sings in place of the "r" in "green"?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:00am

There was a quick little reference to "Suddenly Seymour" on "Suburgatory" last night that put me in mind of Ellen Greene.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:03am

Thank god for the Pushing Daisies soundtrack, which gave us her version of "Morning has Broken" and her duet with Chenoweth on "Birdhouse in Your Soul."

[tazber]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:08am

She's also fantastic on the Weird Romance cast recording.

Stop and See Me and Someone Else is Waiting are just stunning.

[theaternut]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:14am

Well, I saw her in Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl and in her cabaret act at Key West...... Neither was particularly memorable. Maybe there is a reason she doesn't get hired? Or maybe she doesn't want to do it?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:31am

I think Ellen Greene is great and she needs more work like Pushing Daisies. I think it's tough to find where she would fit into a Broadway show. There aren't that many roles for aging innocents with a gospel belt. I'm struggling trying to think of a role that she could play.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:35am

I also cherish her Audrey in Little Shop. That performance is as iconic as they come. Sadly, her Adelaide was one of the least good things about the Hollywood Bowl Guys and Dolls. Sounds like perfect casting, right? But there should be a real person underneath Adelaide's comedy that Ellen Greene wasn't able to find. Maybe it was the short rehearsal time, maybe it was seeing the '92 revival with Faith Prince (another iconic performance) that makes it hard for anyone else to replace in our eyes.

Still, Ellen Greene will always have Audrey as her own.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 11:50am

Ellen is an anomaly. If you're measuring by Laban standards, Ellen is a total "Float". Yet she has that gospel belt. She's like Megan Hilty was trying to play Marilyn. I think if Wicked had been around years ago, Ellen could have been a great Glinda.

By Laban standards Adelaide needs to be a "dab" "flick" or a "wring". "Float" just doesn't work for Adelaide.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:03pm

She'd be a perfect Mrs. Tottendale in Drowsy, though the role wouldn't utilize her vocals at all.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:10pm

Can she still sing like she did 30 years ago? Depending on the source you trust, she's at least 63 or 64 (officially). Not many women hold on to their power belt that long.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:12pm

Click that link I posted above and listen to her sing from 1 1/2 years ago.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:13pm

I doubt she can reach the vocal heights of her "Suddenly, Seymour"- and I assuming that's why the music she's been singing has less vocally challenging.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:17pm

But her voice still sounds phenomenal.

[Patash]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:28pm

Trying to sort out the original post. Wasn't her last Broadway musical appearance Threepenny Opera -- which was 37 years ago -- not 32 years ago?

[newintown]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:34pm

I'll grant that she's always... utterly fascinating, but don't you have to admit that she's having a really, really hard time with the high notes in that link? I'd fear that eight shows a week might do her harm.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:35pm

Perhaps it's her reputation for being difficult that keeps her from work? I remember this story about the making of this HBO movie she was in in the 80s and it didn't paint a flattering picture of her. I think she's a marvelous performer, though.

[bwaydude22089]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:45pm

A few years ago, I thought she would have been an excellent replacement for Katie Finneran's character in Promises, Promises. They went ahead with Molly Shannon, who was definitely enjoyable, but I still think Ellen would have been a better choice. It's a perfect role for her. That voice! The comedy, the song... Everything about it.

[JRybka]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 12:59pm

She could easily go into Pippin. Or even Miss Morrible in Wicked.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 1:02pm

PIPPIN is actually a really fantastic suggestion.

[darquegk]

Posted: 5/8/14 at 1:36pm

She played a small but serious role in Heroes too, during the same storyline as Jayma Mays, who other than not being a singer reminds me a lot of Ellen Greene.