Jean Smart - I guess it is not Annie.- Page 3

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 2:16pm

Speaking of...Beth Leavel would be marvelous! from rC in austin, texas

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 2:55pm

Love her but would much rather watch her back on TV or in a better show than this annoying over sentimental rubbish (i am not a fan of Annie, can you tell?)

[Smaxie]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:04pm

It's a shame you feel that way. I was a Sondheim kid growing up, but recognized what a wonderful show Annie was when I saw it in 1978. It still stands out to me, 35 years later, as one of the most lovingly performed, staged and designed musicals I've ever seen - a perfectly realized entertainment. (And as I've said before, that original production has not been equaled by any movie, national tour or regional or amateur production I've seen). There's something to be said for doing an old-fashioned, commercial musical and doing it well. It's what Broadway used to do on a regular basis. I hope the new production is strong enough to illustrate what a great show it really is.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:25pm

^ Hear, hear!

That said, if they're not casting big marquee names, I want Beth Leavel for Hannigan.

Updated On: 5/22/12 at 03:25 PM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:29pm

Katie Finneran would be my number one choice, but it's hard to complain about Beth Leavel.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:42pm

Also, for those who think Annie is pap written for children, Tom Meehan was recently interviewed at ArtInfo and addressed what inspired the three original authors to turn their attention to a story like Annie in the mid 1970s. (And the plot and many of the characters in Annie, apart from Annie, Daddy Warbucks and Sandy are Tom Meehan's invention).

A highlight:

"'Annie' wasn't written for children, it was written for adults. There's an awful lot of politics in it. The Great Depression, the scenes in Hooverville, and the founding of the New Deal. We wrote it in 1972, three liberal Democrats responding to our deep dislike of Nixon. We thought, "Let's write a musical about a President who cared about the country." That was FDR [Franklin Roosevelt], and we put that in the context of the comic strip. Adults came to see the show and then brought their kids to it".


Tom Meehan, Art Info interview

Updated On: 5/22/12 at 03:42 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:45pm

I really, really hope they take this approach again.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 3:52pm

Dame, I wonder what musical she was referring to. Now that her name was brought up, it would have been very interesting to see. I'm still in either the Beth Leavel or Mary Testa camp.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 7:36pm

Kalimba I wish I could find out. A revival of Annie is nothing that is on my radar of interest. But between her talking of going to broadway with a musical and all the Annie talk going on here I immediately went to some wishful thinking. What else could it be?

[Kalimba]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 7:40pm

That was a great conclusion, as I haven't a clue either.

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 7:52pm

I'm all for Mary Testa or Katie Finneran.
I've never loved Beth Leavel quite as much as some on here, but she'd do the part well.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 8:03pm

A replacement Mrs. Harcourt in Anything Goes, maybe?

[DAME]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 8:20pm

Anything Goes won't be around much longer. And Jean Smart is too good and too special for such a nothing role. I imagine it is a new production.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 8:42pm

Here's a thought, if it's not Miss Hannigan, what about Letitia Primrose in On the Twentieth Century (if that's even happening)?

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 9:25pm

OMG DOTTIE THAT IS BRILLIANT

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 9:29pm

Thanks. Maybe MildredPlotka's avatar worked its way into my subconscience (pardon my spelling, not sure if that's correct).

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 11:06pm

Remember, folks - this is James Lapine directing. He's not going to let some no-talent in his show. I am sure they will have a very good Hannigan and a very good cast.

[smurftoo]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 11:49pm

Don't worry, just have "Faith"

[TheRyanOConnorShow]

Posted: 5/22/12 at 11:53pm

"Don't worry, just have "Faith" - smurftoo

Raul Esparza as Hannigan? I don't see it.

[smurftoo]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 12:11am

do you see raul as rooster? or my c@#% in you?

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 12:14am

It must be Faith Prince.

I would have been more interested in seeing Katie Finneran or Beth Leavel.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 12:21am

Finneran would have been brilliant but Prince has the potential to be really great, it makes sense that it's her given what people have been saying. I think she could be fantastic.

[TimesSquared]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 5:23am

Best 12, I don't remember where I read it, but the new creative team is very much committed to the original adult focus of the show. That's what has me excited about this revival.

Which reminds me: a few months into the run of the last Annie revival, they decided to pare down the show to make more intermission time for bathroom lines and merch selling. So they cut "Hooverville" and other "political" scenes since they decided that kids didn't understand them anyway. I was shocked that they were willing to sacrifice the smartest parts of their own show.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 7:26am

Faith Prince? Boring.

Beth Leavel would have been a much better, more fun, idea.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/23/12 at 7:33am

I don't see Faith Prince as being unhinged enough to play Hannigan.