Catherine Zeta-Jones would be beyond perfection in this role. If the show weren't so niche, I'd love to see her and Rob Marshall reteam for a movie adaptation or a first-rate revival on stage. Really the kind of movie star Molina describes in the novel and the musical is a glamorous diva who exudes sexuality, allure, and she should be someone you can't quite peg down since she's acting in all these parts, we don't know the actual Aurora. I imagine someone like a combination of Rita Moreno and Rita Hayworth. The only two actresses that I think would be beyond genius in the part are Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, neither of whom have expressed interest in appearing on stage (I'll never get over the missed opportunity of having Salma Hayek continue with WOMEN ON THE VERGE). Jennifer Lopez has no class, and don't even get me started about that Nicole Scher-what'shername, the opposite of class, sophistication, and mystery. Audra is great but she lacks the sultriness and the mystery; in her performances she is giving and present, the opposite of what I think Aurora should be. At the end of the day Audra is Audra though.
How much do I wish we'd get to see a Latino cast as the three principals: Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz as Aurora, Robin DeJesus as Molina, and Raul Esparza as Valentin (I know I mentioned him for Molina earlier, but he's more right for Valentin). A pipe dream if there ever was one.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
