Kelly Bishop, A Chorus Line

[jewishboy]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:15am

This is going sound like I'm being ver naive, but was Kelly BIshop a very good dancer? I have listened to the OCR of A Chorus Line forever and I started watching Gilmore Girls a couple of years ago, but it wasn't until recently that I noticed she played Sheila in the original production.

Anyway thanks for any info about her dancing.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:17am

Why two threads on this?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:20am

She won a Tony for her performance. Wasn't her original name Carole Bishop then she changed it to Kelly? I didn't realize she was on TV. I'm glad she's still working.

[zzannahk]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:20am

I wasn't born yetm but she won Broadway's 1976 Tony as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for her performance as Sheila in the original production of "A Chorus Line."


and dont forget that clever line in dirty dancing when Baby is on the stage

"I think she gets it from me" lol to Jerry Orbach

She plays the Grandmother on "Gilmore Girls"

Updated On: 8/1/06 at 01:20 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 1:42am

Bishop was a very good dancer -- as was every member of the OBC of ACL. Bennett wouldn't have had her on the stage otherwise. Perhaps, not as elite as McKechnie, but first rate nonetheless.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:09am

Yes, she was a great dancer. I was watching the behind-the-scenes documentary of the Gilmore Girls, and she was talking about her life as a dancer (though she didn't talk about ACL). It was pretty interesting. I think it's cool and I'm glad she's still working. They sometimes even make fun of it on the show. "Where do you think your grandmother got those killer legs? She's not exactly a stairmaster gal."

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:23am

I saw her a few years ago at the Papermill Playhouse. She played Vera to Christine Ebersole's Mame. As any good Vera, she stole just about every scene she was in (just like she steals just about every scene in Gilmore Girls).

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:39am

Bishop was a good dancer, but also something of the more classic model of "show girl" -- before ACL, she danced in Vegas and in the chorus of a few Broadway musicals, having a featured spot in GOLDEN RAINBOW playing - a Vegas showgirl.

That background, of course, played directly into her character of Shelia Bryant who questions at the end of the show how long she can continue to be a "chorus cutie" at age 30.

It is probably worth noting that while Bishop was a fine dancer, the character of Shelia, I think, is a very lazy dancer. She only dances about half of the opening combination correctly, and I suppose somebody could look at that and assume Bishop must have been a weak dancer, but she really wasn't.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:43am

Love Kelly Bishop. Not only was she a great Sheila, she was also a great Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separation.

[once a month]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:46am

She was my favorite Sheila of the four times I went to ACL in NY. She's nearly always working, and has been. Remember her cameo as the shrink in An Unmarried Woman? I was thrilled to meet her one year at the annual flea market/auction. We had a picture taken together and she was extremely gracious as I blabbed on about how she and the 'Line' changed my life, lol.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:46am

She is very good, always was. I enjoyed DIRTY DANCING I have always liked her.

Updated On: 8/1/06 at 08:46 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 8:46am

"Can the Adukt's smoke'?

[Pemily]

Posted: 8/1/06 at 10:48am

After all I've read, she was a very good dancer, critics said so and collegues. Bennett supposedly grabbed her butt once and said sth. like "Talent turns me on"

Edited 'cause of the forum rules... so, if you want to have a glimp on her dancing abilites and judge yourself, just follow the link in my sig:)

Updated On: 8/1/06 at 10:48 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 9:50am

Kelly didn't play the shrink in An Unmarried Woman, she played Erica's friend Elaine. What was great about it was the Mazurky filmed Kelly's big scene when she breaks down as an improvisation. Kelly was incredibly moving as she spoke about Elaine's issues with self-esteem. When I later interviewed Kelly, she said her one regret about the experience was that as her first film she didn't know anything about LIGHTING and that
is why she looked so bad. The shrink was played by real life shrink Penelope Russianoff and Clayburgh's scenes were improvised as well. An interesting bit of trivia for New Yorkers: Russianoff's son is president of the Straphangers, the watchdog group for New York City subways.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 11:33am

I'd love to see her Vera in MAME. She has the perfect timing for it, and such glamor as well. Recent trends have been to put "names" in both roles, even if the interplay of the characters might be affected adversely.

[Pemily]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 4:49pm

There's even a tape of Mame in the Lincoln Library, and though I'd prefer it to see Kelly live in it, it'd be great if the library finally would allow everyone to have access.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 5:21pm

is it one of those videos they hold where you have to get the written permission of some of the artists involved to view it?

[Pemily]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 5:47pm

I don't know, sorry. All I know is that there's this tape and that 'ordinary' people don't have access. Which I find kind of odd, 'cause the library says, it's trying to obtain great performances - whom for, if no one is allowed to watch them?

[Jon]

Posted: 8/8/06 at 5:53pm

Don't forget her role as Hoard Stern's mom in PRIVATE PARTS.