Laura Benanti: To Good For NINE?- Page 3

[PigletH13]

Posted: 6/10/03 at 7:05am

Stella,

You don't have to...Mickey was my father;s best friend for many years so I knew exactly what he was like then and probably now. I will tell you that he called here when I was about 15 (20 yrs ago) and hung up on me after he asked for my father. I took great offense to that and complained to my father who subsequently told Mickey. I had said that I didn't care one iota who he was or is, I am a human being who deserved to be treated as such. ( I also said something about what he knew about horses vs. what I knew...but lets not go there!!!) When my father came home that night, he was carrying a Hawaiian Lei of fresh Orchids that Mickey had received from one of the cast members at Sugar Babies. He said that Mickey had felt completely terrible about how he treated me and would never do it again. So far so good!

Hey, every person needs a dose of reality at some point...it keep them grounded! Lord knows I have needed doses over the years!

You can PM me if you would like to tell me what your friend said to you!

PigletH13

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 6/10/03 at 1:50pm

want to clarify three things:

Benanti's background---if I'm not mistaken, she is the daughter of singing actor Martin Vidnovic, so there is some chance she should know a little about the business, even at 23. She also has had a lot more experience quickly, which is both a qualifier and an excuse.

The song/role---even though "Vatican" is written as a showstopper, and made Anita Morris famous (plus won her the Tony as well I believe), "Unusual Way" is probably the most "lifted out" song/duet of the score. It is a lovely ballad, wonderful to act, and the scene is one of the most direct and lengthy of the libretto. Perhaps reducing it to "one song" is a simplification that Benanti wisely chose to overcome. She does it very well in the show. All that being said, personally I would have given the Tony to Mary Stuart Masterson over all the ladies. Her voice is strong and supple and a new gift to musical theatre. Her timing was incredible. She managed to elicit applause at my matinee for her second act "Move On" despite the underscoring and scenework continuing...one look back as she climbed the spiral staircase and my crowd was ready to stand up for her, but settled for an ovation instead. May there be many musicals in her future.

The "niceness" discussion: perhaps it has been overstated and also simplified into "you rock" and "you're the best." Posters are simply civil here. It is true that negative things are said, but please bear in mind that most negatives are about people who chose to put themselves in the public eye, and not about private people expressing a personal opinion. Most of the negative comments on performers and shows are qualified and carefully worded, often constructive; attacks on posters here and the Broadway.com board often are not. It is far too easy to fall into the competitive "I will call them out on this" mode, and sticking to topic and writing reasonably is much harder. Just food for thought...

Updated On: 6/10/03 at 01:50 PM

[JamieMcG]

Posted: 6/13/03 at 12:33pm

I usually am not a fan of responding to gossippy messages, but I really have to step out here for this one. Laura is a great person and if youlook at the roles she had played previously, and what she had become known for on Broadway, it would be clear to you why she had second thoughts about pursuing this role in NINE. She was nominated for tonys twice before for stopping the show in Swing!, for being one of the strongest performers in Into The Woods, and when she took over for Maria in Sound of Music, she was quite clearly the talk of the town. I was living in Ohio when that happened, and people were talking about it there!

If I were her and had gone from tht track record, I would also have second thoughts about playing a role with one song. And from the quote you put there, it's VERY clear that what was most important to her was working as a team. If she came off differently in the morning show...keep in mind that she probably had to be up at 5am to be there, after a performance or two the previous day, and probably had a week straight of that prior to the Tony awards...I can tell you I wouldn't come off very chipper either.

[WSS2]

Posted: 6/14/03 at 1:43am

Ummmmmm............and Chita has one song. Chita is a Broadway legend. And she's not bitching. Makes ya think, huh?

I missed this. Did someone put a gun to Laura's head and say "Do this role or else".

Something tells me she accepted it knowing full well what the role was and what she was going to do on stage. So she made her decision and now decides to play the "I'm too good" card. I could care less if she was the original Mama Rose or in the community theater chorus. Bottom line: She accepted a role knowing full well what was expected. She didn't get the public
spotlight she wanted (Jane walked away with that) and so now we're unhappy.

Beautiful example for the kids. Bring the family.