Kevin Kline Interested As Franz — Page 2

Ok...Nicole Kidman is not bad. You may not like her. You may loathe her even. But she is not bad. Tawny Kittane is bad. Rob Schneider is bad. Nicole Kidman is a very good actress whom you do not like. Big difference.

As for the role of Ulla, it KILLS me what people come rushing to this role, defending it's artistic integrity like it's Medea. It's a chorus girl role bloated up to a supporting one. Maybe Nicole Kidman can't sing it 8 times a week. She only needs to sing it once...ONCE (if the song...which isn't that great...is even in the movie) and then the guys with ProTools can get their hands on it.

As for Broadway as the land of artistic fulfillment, the landscape has changed not just in the time I've been seeing Broadway shows, but even since I've been working here in NYC. All I ever wanted was to be on Broadway and lately, I'm thinking of departing for LA. You can actually make a living as both a regional theatre actor AND an extra.

And let's be very clear about both URINETOWN and CAROLINE, OR CHANGE. A beautiful, wonderful man named John Clancy was the one who took the first chance on URINETOWN and George C. Wolfe is the one who took the chance on CAROLINE. It's amazing what great buzz and great reviews and press will do to open the purse strings.

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Updated On: 3/17/04 at 10:36 AM

Well...sorta kinda.

Let's go with the 'Nicole Kidman is bad' scenario. Now...we need to have both a standard of bad and a standard of good. For arguments sake, let's use Meryl Streep (a universally acknowledged 'good' actress) as the standard of good and Pia Zadora (a universally derided actress) as the standard of bad. Now, I would argue that Nicole Kidman falls somewhere in between those two standards, right? I mean...she's not a joke...a terrible actress like Pia Zadora, right? Nor is she one of the finest living actresses of our time (yet). She has some talent, and she uses her instrument pretty effectively in conveying emotion and thought. You're not confused by her acting. Your not laughing at it (are you?). There's just some sort of quality about her that irks you.

Let's do the same for '..Got It, Flaunt It' (henceforth known as GIFI). As a standard for a brilliant comic song, let's choose 'Getting Married Today' from COMPANY. As the standard for awful comic song, let's choose 'Red Hot Lava' from SECRETS EVERY SMART TRAVELLER SHOULD KNOW. Now, GIFI may be fun and give an actress a chance to do her stuff, but, as written, it does not meet the standard of the great 'Getting Married Today', nor does it sink to the stupid, non-sensical lows of 'Red Hot Lava.' It's a pretty good song that does it's job. Hence, my reasoning that it's 'not great.'

In the end, is this all opinion? Yes. But we HAVE to have standards in theatre (and film) on which to compare the artistic merits of a piece. Saying Nicole Kidman is a bad actress deflates your point because we all can recognize what a truly bad actress is. Just saying you hate Nicole Kidman is actually a stronger point, because that is a personal feeling that no one can argue with. Disagree with? Yes. But people can't tell you how to feel.

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Updated On: 3/17/04 at 06:25 PM

I actually think this was a lovely discourse and I must say I've enjoyed posting w/ you, nystate.

And just to clarify one thing, my whole diatribe was actually in response to the entire board, and not necessarily you specifically. I think it's best that we always strive to judge theatre in the most specific and knowledgable terms possible. There's a lot of 'This is great' or 'That sucks' without much context or appreciation of history. The more we can set standards and discuss shows (and performers) in terms of those standards, the more sophistacted our tastes will become (I believe, at least).

I also want to acknowledge that sometimes, there's no explaining a dislike for a performer or show. Sometimes all I can say is 'I CAN'T STAND HIM/HER/IT!' with no real solid reasoning to back it up. So, though I may not agree with how you feel on Kidman, I certainly understand it and respect those feelings you have.

I'm off. Have a lovely night. And I look forward to posting more with you.

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I can't take credit for this. It's Barry's idea.

But he flippantly sugested the 'ideal' Ulla.

And ya know...it's not a half bad idea - and it's better than Kidman.


Courtney Love.

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I can just picture Kidman's first scene during her number. She says, "Now--Ulla belt." And the just proceeds to whisper-sing louder, just as she did in Moulin Rouge

Updated On: 3/19/04 at 11:48 AM