J-Lo Damn Yankees
mitchern
Broadway Star Joined: 5/7/03
#1J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
JSquared2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
#4J-Lo Damn Yankees
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
Broadway Star Joined: 6/3/18
#6J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#7J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
#8J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
#9J-Lo Damn Yankees
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"
#10J-Lo Damn Yankees
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!
#11J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
#12J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
#14J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
#15J-Lo Damn Yankees
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.
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