LAUREN BACALL IN "GYPSY" ? — Page 2

I was implying more that Applause and Woman of the Year were bad _shows_ (the former because of its terrible score, the latter because of its horribly dated gender politics), that, apart from Bacall being Bacall in the book scenes (and a good supporting performance here and there), didn't really have much of anything going for them. Even Woman of the Year really only had one song of any consequence. And when you combine the poor quality of the vehicles she was given, and the fact that she clearly had no business attempting any kind of singing career, you kind of get the feeling that a Musical Theater with no Bacall might have been a better, happier Musical Theater all around. Let her stay in the spoken drama that was her natural home, and let her shine at what she was she was genuinely good at, but leave the musical vehicles to the people who were actually qualified for them.

And yes, I think she was a great actress. A great actress with a narrow range, perhaps, but there's no shame in that. She was certainly amazingly good in the kind of characterization she specialized in, and gave a number of legendary-class performances in her career. I'd argue that justifies the superlative 'great actress', even if her thespian versatility gets called into question. It's the equivalent of calling George Abbott a 'Great Director'...on the one hand, he was relatively unadventurous and never achieved the innovations of a Hal Prince or a Bob Fosse, but on the other hand, is anyone actually going to argue with the title?

I don't think being a great actor necessarily means that one has impressive range. To me the gravamen of great acting is neither prodigious range nor vivid personality (though I admire both in actors). Rather, it's truth and the ability to share it.

Example: when I first saw Edward Norton, in Primal Fear, I had no idea what this actor's range was (how could I? the marked range he brought to the role itself wasn't exhibited until much later in the film.... long after I had formed a very strong impression of Norton's talent), nor did I identify a particular personality other than the character's (which certainly wasn't Norton's, notwithstanding that Norton like all great actors knows him/herself well and uses the self).

But trust me, I knew from the very first that here was a great actor.

Updated On: 9/24/14 at 11:26 AM

I'll never understand people calling Barbara Harris a non-singer

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Yes, but Preston, Harris and Lansbury were all _listenable_ singers, which Bacall really wasn't.

Point taken. And that's what I get for jumping to the most famous examples.

Instead I should have referred to Katharine Hepburn, Richard Burton and Tammy Grimes. None of them sang in a particularly pleasant way, but each of them ran a show for a year or two on sheer star power.

It's part of the "razzle dazzle" (Gwen Verdon couldn't sing either, but, damn, could she dance!) of our musical theater.

Updated On: 9/26/14 at 10:17 PM

Wait, did you get to see Barbara Harris onstage? In CLEAR DAY? Please tell.

I'm willing to consider "great actress with narrow range," but not readily with Bacall. I'd resist the term, until I land on Audrey Hepburn. She fits the description in a way Bacall does not. And her body of work makes the case, as Bacall's generally fails to do.

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^^^^^^
She was actually dubbed in a movie or two she did in the '40s. The Harvey Girls I think was one of them.

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It may have been Nancy Dussault you saw in Clear Day. She toured in it and did several stock productions. And Bacall would have been swell in Gypsy if not for the score. Her voice worked for the couple of musicals she did but would not have worked for Gypsy.

I'll bet she was terrific!

^^^^Well, if we're going to define the word "singing" THAT loosely, we're all Anna Moffo!

Angela herself is quoted in SONDHEIM & CO. on having to rebuild her voice for ANYONE CAN WHISTLE. I've forgotten the name of the voice teacher, but all of the leads were sent to him. (Elsewhere, Sondheim says Guardino refused to be trained and lost his voice out of town.)

As for "How'd Ya Like to Spoon With Me?", set in the right key, Lauren Bacall COULD have sung that!

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Wilimington, it is was the summer of 1970. I wouldn't have known Nancy Dussault back then, so it could have been she. I'd have been happy to see Linda Lavin as well, but I knew her from the TV production of DAMN YANKEES three years earlier and would have noted her presence.

Frankly, there was no much commotion in an outdoor theater (the sets themselves rose higher than the proscenium and were visibly moving between and during scenes; peanuts and hot dogs were sold in the aisles as at a baseball game, etc.)) it took Cullum's booming baritone to hold the stage.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 10:34 AM

Speaking of Linda Lavin, I'd kill to watch her perform Ladies Who Lunch.

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Personally I think Lauren Bacall would've made a brilliant Desiree in A Little Night Music.

^^^^Thanks ggersten.

Just as I said above: except for the first mention of "I've had your husband", the audience is laughing at Coopie's delivery, not the lyrics themselves. Even in the encore, you can't hear the punchlines because the audience is laughing so hard at Coopie's deadpan "What's so wonderful?"

Marilyn Cooper was one of the funniest women on stage (and one of the kindest off) I've ever worked with. Her Tessie Tura (Lansbury production) had people rolling in the aisles!

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 10:27 PM