Kelli O'Hara as Eliza Doolittle- Page 2

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 6:00pm

Personally, I haven't had a chance to see Ambrose in the role. So I can't comment on the show or her acting. I have listened to some audio recordings and she has a very nice voice. I think actually the reason she comes across as quiet is that the score sits extremely low for a soprano and from what It sounds like she's probably got some crazy good upper notes and naturally that's probably where her voice blooms more. Also, of course, I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine that she hasn't sung legit music in quite some time so that might affect the quality of her voice overall. Singing is a muscle. I'm not mad that Ambrose was cast. I'm mad at hearing that Bart Sher told Beanti and O'Hara they were "too old" when Ambrose is similar in age. 

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 6:18pm

Oh, I fully hope to eat my words come September and Ambrose blows me out of the water. I just don’t think this recording will ever be one of my favorites (and I’ve basically replaced the South Pacific OBC with the revival, great though the OBC is). Some performances don’t translate to record: some people rave over Tyne’s production of Gypsy, I would rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than listen to her recording. I fully expect to love the upcoming recording of Carousel - with that full orchestra and those voices. The production will never stay with me as anything other than a total misfire.

[EdEval]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 7:39pm

I am a big fan of Kelli and she has done a spectacular job in all the roles she has done so far and will in the roles awaiting her now BUT not My Fair Lady.  She is too mature now to do that role.  Eliza should be done by someone in their late teens or early twenties like Jackie Evanco or Charlotte Church.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 7:41pm

Jackie Evanco?!?!? LOL

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 7:55pm

EdEval said: "I am a big fan of Kelli and she has done a spectacular job in all the roles she has done so far and will in the roles awaiting her now BUT not My Fair Lady. She is too mature now to do that role. Eliza should be done by someone in their late teens or early twenties like Jackie Evanco or Charlotte Church."

LOLOLOLOL. Both of those girls have ruined voices from the whole "child opera prodigy" thing. Dont get me started on how bad that **** is. And honey you do know the current Eliza is 40 years old? You need to have several seats.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/2/18 at 10:52pm

I never heard of Jackie Evanco. Should I look her up?

BTW, this thread made me watch Benanti's "Vanilla Ice Cream" on YouTube like a thousand times. And I don't regret it.

Updated On: 6/2/18 at 10:52 PM

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 12:34am

Kelli is a little long in the tooth folks.....

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 1:49am

SmoothLover said: "Kelli is a little long in the tooth folks....."

And Ambrose is a spring chicken? Just saying....

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 2:55am

An older Eliza should not be frowned upon- I think O'Hara would have been truly wonderful. I wish she could or Benanti could step into the role at some point, but that most likely won't happen. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 8:42am

Here are some stills from the production. In typical Google image page fashion, the first four rows
are all 2007 MFL, but by the fifth row Lauren Ambrose shows up.

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1496&bih=748&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=QtgTW-HkEMHc5gLot7bQCA&q=kelli+o%27hara+2007+my+fair+lady+images&oq=kelli+o%27hara+2007+my+fair+lady+images&gs_l=img.3...13460.15430.0.16281.7.7.0.0.0.0.72.405.7.7.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.yBnAA72Y7GE

This Eliza/Higgins pair looks about a generation older than the current one. I'm surprised at the strength of her reviews, especially since this was before South Pacific. Looked for more clips without success. The New York Philharmonic site has an enormous archives still under construction. You can find the 2nd oboe part for the score used for those performances, but not a single photo. 

Here is Bartlett Sher on Kelli O'Hara:

1. What is it about Kelli O’Hara that inspires you as a director?


Kelli is special because she has an extraordinary and uncommon amount of gifts. She is not only the most

glorious singer you’ve ever heard (with the most pure,beautiful sound which makes you cry every time you

hear it), she’s also extremely gifted in her acting skills and in her intelligence. Aside from her being a

naturally gifted actor, she studied very hard to be a better actor, and she’s enormously intelligent. She

pushes me every day in the rehearsal room in terms of having better ideas to make the work better.

She has an uncommon ability to put together the human experience of the character

she’s trying to make sense of with the reality of her life today and who she is as a person.

So, you have this innate beautiful combination of skills and talents with the enormous

intuition and heart of a great artist.

Updated On: 6/3/18 at 08:42 AM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 10:06am

I hated the original film of MFL, not won over by the original cast recording, but dropped tears the moment Ambrose started singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly. Her I Could've Danced All Night alone was worth the 300 dollars ticket, and her "I will not feel alone without you. I can stand on my own without you." made me feel alive like never before. I'm sure O'Hara or Benanti would've given some fine performances if they got the role, but I just don't see the show move me half as much without Ambrose's grounded humanity.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 10:27am

Dancingthrulife2 said: "I hated the original film of MFL, not won over by the original cast recording, but dropped tears the moment Ambrose started singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly. Her I Could've Danced All Night alone was worth the 300 dollars ticket, and her "I will not feel alone without you. I can stand on my own without you." made me feel alive like never before. I'm sure O'Hara or Benanti would've given some fine performances if they got the role, but I just don't see the show move me half as much without Ambrose's grounded humanity."

"Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 11:23am

poisonivy2 said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "I hated the original film of MFL, not won over by the original cast recording, but dropped tears the moment Ambrose started singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly. Her I Could've Danced All Night alone was worth the 300 dollars ticket, and her "I will not feel alone without you. I can stand on my own without you." made me feel alive like never before. I'm sure O'Hara or Benanti would've given some fine performances if they got the role, but I just don't see the show move me half as much without Ambrose's grounded humanity."

"Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye."

It's quite ironic that you used the word "fangirl." First, I don't think I've revealed my gender to you. Second, you can tell who sounds more like a "fangirl" from the tone alone. Third, even if I'm a "fangirl," I'm glad I'm not one of the original cast recording. 

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 11:47am

poisonivy2 said: 
"Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye."

Get your gatekeeper fandom cr@p out of here.  It doesn't make you look cool, it makes you look like a jerk.  

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 11:48am

Dancingthrulife2 said: "poisonivy2 said: "Dancingthrulife2 said: "I hated the original film of MFL, not won over by the original cast recording, but dropped tears the moment Ambrose started singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly. Her I Could've Danced All Night alone was worth the 300 dollars ticket, and her "I will not feel alone without you. I can stand on my own without you." made me feel alive like never before. I'm sure O'Hara or Benanti would've given some fine performances if they got the role, but I just don't see the show move me half as much without Ambrose's grounded humanity."

"Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye."

It's quite ironic that you used the word "fangirl." First, I don't think I've revealed my gender to you. Second, you can tell who sounds more like a "fangirl" from the tone alone. Third, even if I'm a "fangirl," I'm glad I'm not one of the original cast recording."

If you show contempt for the original cast recording that means you show contempt for Lerner and Loewe, who handpicked the original cast, and Moss Hart, who directed MFL to make it the legendary Broadway success it was. Such ignorance and contempt for a musical's history is idiotic. 

And your encomiums about Lauren Ambrose are just dumb. I saw Ambrose twice and while she had some very charming lovely moments she's not anywhere in the league of Julie Andrews in terms of range and vocal ability. Grow up.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 11:54am

poisonivy2 said: "Grow up."

A person only grows up when he/she/they realize(s) that other people can and have the right to like things they dislike and hate things they love. And also the fact that the English language makes it hard to be gender neutral.

Updated On: 6/3/18 at 11:54 AM

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 11:59am

poisonivy2 said: "Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye."

This was really obnoxious and not called for.

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 12:08pm

poisonivy2 said: "
Grow up."

Shut up.  

 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 8:55pm

Did anybody see Kelli do it?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 12:56am

I think this is one of the roles that doesn't need an age limit. I don't care if she's 40 or 19. If she's great in the role, she's great. Just because you're 40 doesn't mean you look it, or act it. 

I can't imagine EVER that Sher told someone they're "too old" for a role. But, and I love O'hara, I don't think this is the role for her. She's got such a regal quality to her that I don't see her playing a down-in-the-dumps girl. Same for Benati. I'm seeing Ambrose next week and I'm excited. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 1:17am

I did not. I didn't even see her in Carousel although I was at Avery Fisher that night. I had decided to try a left tier box, and the show was staged so far to the right that no one in our box could even see the bench, much less the actors. Everyone in my box was incredulous. Next day I called and they apologized and said they had goofed. No refund.

When they finally released the DVD I saw it, and as I already commented, Kelli just didn't look mousy enough to play poor, retiring Julie. (I can't say she looked too old for the role since I once had a whole thread removed for suggesting that Kristin Chenoweth might be restricted from playing certain roles due to her age.)

Looking at those stills from My Fair Lady, looks to me like they shrunk the age difference by aging up Eliza. In the current production more like aging Higgins down to Eliza.

I'm a little surprised that her singing in Cosi Fan Tutte was so noticeably inferior to the others. I didn't get that impression from the two or three reviews I read. But as I think about it, there was no great praise of her voice. In between the lines I suppose they were saying in a flowery way that her voice was adequate.

I went down to the Sheen Center last year, near the East Village, where Kelli submitted to a 90 minute, very frank interview by a priest, punctuated by four songs. I don't think she turns down any invitation. The biggest revelation from the interview was that as a preteen she was plump, plain, and as a Catholic ostracized by the other mainstream Protestant girls.

The priest asked her to sing for one of her songs what she had sung at Madison Square Garden for the Pope's mass. So in this small 250 street theater she stepped away from the mike to sing The Lord's Prayer in full classical unamplified a cappella. She blew us all away with the power of her voice. In a very small theater.

So now they are rehearsing The King and I in London. I guess the musical itself for a week or two will take a back seat to the Ruthie Ann story, if she is able to perform.

 

 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 1:37am

Oh, The King And I looks as exquisite as always. It'll be exciting to see Kelli do a show in London- I wonder if this will open up more opportunities for her in the future. 

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 3:42am

poisonivy2 said: ""Not won over by the original cast recording?" Then you understand nothing about this musical and are just a stupid fangirl. Bye."

Hey, mods. Surely this counts as a personal attack, no?