J-Lo Damn Yankees

[mitchern]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 11:24am

A reliable friend says she was approached about leading the production's transfer, which I think is brilliant but unlikely. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 11:29am

Nah. 

[BJR]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 11:53am

Would love that but I doubt she does. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 12:07pm

Not a chance.  Cancellation of her tour plus b.o. disaster of SPIDER WOMAN has shown that her name means very little at the box office.  

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 1:49pm

no thanks 🙂‍↔️ 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 2:10pm

I feel like this was discussed in the Arena Stage message thread, but not a chance. They couldn't afford her even if they wanted her.

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 2:43pm

I don’t think she could humble herself long enough to actually do a Broadway run where she doesn’t have as much creative control as she would likely want and would be doing 8 shows a week.

Plus, since the Megan Thee Stallion casting for MR, there is also a bit of teeth gnashing going on right now about casting non-theatre celebrities into roles that could’ve gone to experienced theatre actors, but instead choosing the cash grab.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 2:48pm

mitchern said: "A reliable friend says she was approached about leading the production's transfer, which I think is brilliant but unlikely."

I wouldn’t be opposed to this. 

This production won’t recoup, but at least with her there’s a chance.

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 3:05pm

Plus, since the Megan Thee Stallion casting for MR, there is also a bit of teeth gnashing going on right now about casting non-theatrecelebrities into roles that could’ve gone to experienced theatre actors, but instead choosing the cash grab."

Make that "since ________ casting for _______ for decades...choosing the cash grab"

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 3:17pm

I can't be the only one who thinks that the situation with the tour and the reception of THIS IS ME and SPIDER-WOMAN makes it MORE likely that she would do a Broadway show next. 

Hey, I'd see it!

[Kad]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 3:36pm

quizking101 said: "
Plus, since the Megan Thee Stallion casting for MR, there is also a bit of teeth gnashing going on right now about casting non-theatrecelebrities into roles that could’ve gone to experienced theatre actors, but instead choosing the cash grab."

Always interesting to see which people and productions get a pass for star casting and which don't.  

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 3:41pm

Scarywarhol said: "I can't be the only one who thinks that the situation with the tour and the reception of THIS IS ME and SPIDER-WOMANmakes it MORE likely that she would do a Broadway show next.”

THANK YOU Scarywarhol for truly understanding how the Broadway industry works for the most part — reclamation projects and rehab sessions for celebrities perceived as has-beens. 

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 9:58pm

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/2/26 at 11:21pm

I’m sure she has been approached. I bet she’s been approached for a lot of roles over the years. Whether that means anything or not is a whole different matter. This one at least has a direct connection because of Sergio.

I’m not a JLO hater and I think she could be very good in a number of different musicals and plays. But at the moment I have a hard time seeing her do 6-8 shows a week for 9-12 months, which would be needed to make the numbers work. Start with a play or a Hollywood Bowl concert production and work her way up. But weirder things have happened.

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/3/26 at 12:41am

She can be coached, but she always looks coached. Nothing feels or sounds like it comes from within. She was the worst element in "Kiss of the Spiderwoman".

In the video above, the wind machine and her back-up dancers are creating the mood/emotion (imagine that they are not there and focus only on her). She is just standing there letting them carry the song. She gives absolutely nothing when she speaks, "You fool". 

In the choreography that follows, she hits all her marks as choreographed, but her ability to pose and hit her marks seems to be all she has to give.

When she and the shirtless male dancer walk downstage as the violin plays, look at the difference between his walk and hers (rewind it and give all your focus to him, then re-wind again and focus only on J-Lo). Look at how he uses his whole body as he glides from one point to the next, compared to how she (literally) drags her toes along the floor. She's executing the choreography (and she's certainly no slouch), but it doesn't seem to flow from within as it does with her dancers.

That's not Lola.

Maybe her Vegas residency will help prepare her for the rigors that ErmengardeStopSniveling mentions above. But she just made an attempt to fill Chita Rivera's shoes in "...Spiderwoman". I don't think she was up to that task (i.e., I don't think she understood at all why she was singing, "Where You Are". If she did know, it didn't show in her performance). 

I think it would be a mistake to try and follow-up in a role made famous by Gwen Verdon. J-Lo's strongest skills (IMO) are different, and lie elsewhere.

Updated On: 3/3/26 at 12:41 AM

[Melissa25]

Posted: 3/3/26 at 6:17am

I’d love to see her back on Idol. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/3/26 at 6:29am

JSquared2 said: "Not a chance. B.O. disaster of SPIDER WOMAN has shown that her name means very little at the box office."

Then again, we've seen in recent years how at the movies, celebrities aren't relevant when it comes to the box office as much as they used to be. These days, there's many of them who aren't consistent with delivering good box office numbers. The most a celebrity attached to any project can really do is getting it financed for production.

When it comes to Broadway, audiences are paying more to see celebrities in person. So that's a different story.

[John Adams]

Posted: 3/3/26 at 7:26am

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "When it comes to Broadway, audiences are paying more to see celebrities in person. So that's a different story."

True. That is a different story, but wouldn't there also be an inevitable comparison between her and Verdon? (i.e., it took less than 10 posts for both Rivera's and Williams' names to be mentioned in the Lopez Spiderwoman thread.)

To perform a role made famous by another actor, I think he/she has to be as good as, better than, or creative enough to make it their own. I don't feel like J-Lo has show she could accomplish that.

Updated On: 3/3/26 at 07:26 AM

[BJR]

Posted: 3/3/26 at 10:54am

Agreed. Laughable to suggest she wouldn't be a stage draw.