Jane Krakowski & Andrea McArdle

[inthejungle]

Posted: 10/30/12 at 11:59pm

Am I the only crazy person who sees an intense similarity between these two ladies? Something about their appearances, their voices, their whole "vibe"... Not identical or anything, but very similar. To me it's like they could be sisters or something. They should have brought Andrea on to 30 Rock to play Jane's competitive sister or something.

Anyone?

(it could just be me)

[lupone76]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 12:48am

No offense, but I fail to see any similiarity between these two talented women. Apart from both appearing in Broadway musicals. Jane exudes sex appeal, while Andrea is far from sexy. There performance styles are also totally different.

[inthejungle]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 1:11am

No offense taken, lupone76, but I'm not sure I'd agree that Jane "exudes sex appeal." I see her as more of someone who is putting out a very forced and self-conscious, almost desperate and comical "I'm being sexy, aren't I?" vibe... which sometimes borders on silly, like she's the girl in high school who is trying too hard to get the boys to like her and would sleep with them to make them like her, and she has sort of turned that into a shtick which has been going on since Ally McBeal. It's almost like that's all she can do. I'm not denigrating her, I like her as a performer (saw her in Starlight Express a loooooooong time ago).

I also wouldn't say that Andrea is completely lacking in sex appeal. Obviously in her Annie days that wasn't a factor, but if you've ever seen her cabaret show, there is something sexy about her. I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder.

But my comparing of the two transcends sexuality... it's more about the sandpaper voices and some indescribable vibe I get from both of them. Oh well, it very well may be just me.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 1:20am

Yes, "Call From the Vatican" was definitely "forced and self-conscious." Same with "Two Lost Souls". So desperate and comical.

Jane plays what you described extremely well (I feel like you are talking about Jenna Maroney exclusively honestly), but to put her in that box is a little far-fetched in my opinion.

I think that Andrea is much harder in a lot of aspects. I sort of see something similar in their voices, but not really enough to draw a direct comparison. Interesting nonetheless.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 7:53am

I haven't seen everything McArdle has done, but from what I have seen: great voice, no sense of humor.

I know others will disagree, but I'd say Krakowski is nearly the opposite: adequate voice, brilliant comedienne.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 8:11am

I remember when they were both in Starlight Express together on Broadway, and I would see photos of them and mistake one for the other. There is a definite similarity. At least I used to think so back then.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 8:18am

I've never seen them at the same time. I certainly take best12's word for the resemblance.

[AC126748]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 8:48am

Julia Murney already played Jenna's half-sister on 30 ROCK, in a very funny parody of an Oprah-type talk show.

I pretty much agree with Gaveston. McArdle has no feel for comedy, as was evidenced in her terminally unfunny performance as Penny in URINETOWN. Krakowski is deliriously funny on 30 ROCK and her humor has served her well in certain stage roles. McArdle's voice, to my ear, hasn't aged as well as Krakowski's.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 8:55am

I don't think they've aged the same, and my impression of them being similar is from (almost) 30 years ago now. Back then it was mostly physical: round faces with sharp chins, large beautiful eyes, and even similar body types Now McArdle is leaner and Jane more voluptuous. I still see what I saw in them then, but for others, they wouldn't have that memory or reference.

Just like I don't think people would be quick to cast Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner as twins now, but back in the day, with the wigs and makeup on, it was uncanny.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 11:53am

Jane as Dinah (centrer) and Andrea as Ashley (far right)

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 1:10pm

Um hello...did you not see McArdle's interview with Paul Wontorek? Horrendous.

[inthejungle]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 1:31pm

BB you hit the nail on the head about the physicality of the two. What you described is definitely a factor in why I see a similarity. Not just back then but today still.

Also (for everyone) keep in mind that Andrea is a good 5-6 years older than Jane, and for women, the 40s is a decade where a lot of changes tend to take place, in body and voice. So we'd have to fast-forward 5-6 years to have a valid comparison. I'm getting too technical but, oh well.

By the way, I've never agreed that Andrea has no feel for comedy. The videos I saw of her Penelope Pennywise performance were adorable AND funny. And I know this is a teensy-tiny blip of time, but if you fast forward to 2:05 and catch the few seconds of this one song from the Air Supply reading back in June, it's hard for me to see this person as someone who is completely unfunny. I'd gladly watch an entire performance of this and I'd bet it would be a hoot.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=382427

But thanks all for indulging my post! : )

[Aunt Pearl]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 2:11pm

The resemblance is purely physical. The basic shape of the face, and most notably, the large, somewhat sleepy doe-eyes they both have. Other than that, it's like comparing apples to auto parts.

[inthejungle]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 4:36pm

bwayto, I didn't mean to imply that the "forced sexy" thing was Jane Krakowski as a person. I meant to imply that, as a performer, it seems a shtick that she has taken on. And I'm not just talking about 30ROCK. She played similar in Ally McBeal, does the same in those Orange Juice endorsement commercials she does on TV, and she did it (maybe not so famously but I remember it) years ago when she sang the national anthem for a pro baseball game using the same forced sex kitten characteristics, for which she was roundly booed by the crowd. I also recall the first time I saw her, back in the 80s in a TV ad for a board game "Stop Thief". I only remember it because I knew one of the other actors in the ad. She played the floozy sidekick. Anyway, I am not bashing her. I like her and i think she's brilliant on 30ROCK. Bashing her was never my motive. But I don't think I've seen her do much else. Not that she hasn't, but I haven't seen it.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 6:03pm

I've never met either woman, but enough of my friends have worked with Krakowski that I feel confident she doesn't act the sex kitten in real life. People who know her absolutely rave about her warmth and kindness.

[darquegk]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 6:20pm

I've heard she's quite nice in person as well- but her media character as performer and as celebrity, is of "comic sex kitten" meets "young Norma Desmond."

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/31/12 at 6:23pm

What else are blondes allowed to play after 30?

***

inthejungle, I watched your link and thought the funniest thing was the phrase, "the hitS of Air Supply". I would certainly call McArdle a good sport, but that isn't quite the same thing as being funny.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/1/12 at 12:00am

Jane's slutty act started WAY before Ally McBeal.
National Lampoon's Vacation

[inthejungle]

Posted: 11/1/12 at 2:15pm

well GavestonPS, I suppose it really does come down to opinion. I've always liked Andrea but I wouldn't think she was funny just because I like her. I will say that it seems as though she had the audience (which was just a reading, with very little time to rehearse) cracking up through her bit. So I'm not alone in my assessment that she can indeed be funny (as you are not alone in yours).

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 11/1/12 at 6:11pm

I shouldn't have said, if I did, that McArdle is NEVER funny. I just don't think she has the sense of play about her work that Krakowski has. At least not in my experience.

bwayto, I saw Krakowski play Mabel Normand in LA. I didn't think she was the best Mabel I'd ever heard (I didn't think her vocals lived up to what is Herman's best score), but she certainly didn't play the role as an overwrought sex kitten. You are correct that Krakowski is a talented character actress; it probably isn't her fault that the industry often hires her to play the same character.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 11/1/12 at 6:31pm

Krakowski is indeed a brilliant comedienne and while not known mostly as a singer she's a very fine singing actress; and I found her to be in exceptionally good voice when she played Amalia in the Roundabout's She Loves Me concert; her harmonizing with O'Hara on I Don't Know His Name was outstanding. I completely disagree with Inthejungle on many points. For instance I certainly find Krakowski to be as genuinely sexy as she is superb at lampooning a sexpot. On the other hand, I also see a marked similarity physically between McArdle and Krakowski. They have many distinguishing features but they do look alike and could persuasively be sisters.

Updated On: 11/1/12 at 06:31 PM

[inthejungle]

Posted: 11/2/12 at 12:37am

henrikegerman, it's so easy to be misunderstood on a message board. I don't think I ever said Jane isn't genuinely sexy. Indeed I think she is. Yowza! youtube vid of one of her songs in NINE. I agree with you that she can be genuinely sexy AND be great at lampooning the sexpot type. The two aren't mutually exclusive in my mind. Heck, wasn't Marilyn Monroe doing just that throughout most of her career (i.e. lampooning sexpot while also being truly sexy)? I'm only commenting on the type of character I am used to seeing Jane play.

I just wanted to clear that up : )