Laura Benanti to replace Lauren Ambrose in MY FAIR LADY- Page 7

[noracharles89]

Posted: 8/28/18 at 12:14pm

Oh my God. The "hard pass" was clearly a *joke.* Benanti's campaigning for the role has been part of her comedy schtick for years.  

[Plexsis]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 10:30am

I have tickets for Lauren’s last weekend. Seems that the only cast member scheduled to be out is Harry Hadden-Paton (how I wish he’d make a surprise early return). How are his understudies doing? They’ve had a lot of practice at this point so I’m sure they’re great.

[steven22]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 10:52am

I saw this Saturday night and absolutely loved it. Lauren was fantastic. I may have to go back and see Laura.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 1:30pm

NYadgal said: "I need to seeLauren Ambrose one more time. Her performance was so nuanced and glorious - and I hold her, as a performer who has been thrust into so much nonsense,in very high esteem.

It appears there’s a small window of dates to see her with HH-P, and the other leads.

Laura Benanti would be better served to stay quiet, and focus ongiving aperformance that lives up to this production. I have no doubt she will, but she has big shoes to fill.

"

NYadgal: Can it be true that Lauren and Harry will still appear together?

On Telecharge they show Harry returning on Tuesday, October 23, the same date on which Laura will debut.

But Telecharge is not official.

[Plexsis]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 1:57pm

OlBlueEyes said: "NYadgal said: "I need to seeLauren Ambrose one more time. Her performance was so nuanced and glorious - and I hold her, as a performer who has been thrust into so much nonsense,in very high esteem.

It appears there’s a small window of dates to see her with HH-P, and the other leads.

Laura Benanti would be better served to stay quiet, and focus ongiving aperformance that lives up to this production. I have no doubt she will, but she has big shoes to fill.

"

NYadgal: Can it be true that Lauren and Harry will still appear together?

On Telecharge they show Harry returning on Tuesday, October 23, the same date on whichLaura will debut.

But Telecharge is not official."

That comment was made in August before Harry left for his extended absence mid-September.  Unless announced otherwise, he won’t be in the show during Lauren’s last weekend, sadly.  

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 10/2/18 at 5:12pm

Thanks, Plexsis

Guess I'm starting to have trouble reading fine print.

I saw a preview with Lauren and Harry's understudy and at the time I didn't think that it took much away from the show. Are audiences biased in wanting to see the understudy do well or is there just not that much difference in the talent levels of principal and understudy? (Major stars excluded here.)

Since then I twice saw Harry and Lauren, in their prime, firing back and forth at each other in the second act. I'd like to think that I would not be as impressed with the understudy now, as I would rather think that I had seen great acting performances from the two stars that were not easy to reproduce with an understudy.

[AllThatJazz2]

Posted: 10/5/18 at 1:59pm

Is Laura still scheduled to only perform through mid-February? I see tickets are on sale through April 14th at the moment. 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 10/5/18 at 3:27pm

Ambrose's departure seemed to be announced as a temporary leave to film her new TV show. I imagine the plan is to bring her back in February, but who knows. 

[bwayboy22]

Posted: 10/5/18 at 7:16pm

Nothing from the limited press release read to me as Laura being a temporary replacement. I feel like this will be the last we'll see of Lauren in the role. 

(It might just be me hoping they film it with Laura, though.)

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 10/5/18 at 11:31pm

I saw the show for a 2nd time this past Wednesday. Lauren still amazes me, my mom adored her portrayal as well. Still unsure why she gets so much hate but she was my favorite performance of the season! Her voice is simply beautiful. The understudy for Higgins was fantastic; we also had an understudy for the colonel, who was equally impressive.

Had a great time and even managed to score premium seats at regular price! Got dead center orchestra row E. Couldn’t have been any better.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 4:43pm

laurensambrose said: "Wasn’t there also a rumor she and Kelli O’Hara were automatically turned away at first because they looked too old? I’m confused where this sudden post of acting like she was one of the first choices but turned it down because of Ella."

I think of the O'Hara - Sher relationship as more like friends and colleagues than casting director and auditioner. They were each a key to the other's success. Roundabout jointly honored them two years ago.

But since Kelli publicly stated that she would love the role but feared that she was too old, and Bart hired two women for the role about the same age as Kelli, it would have been entertaining to see how the subject was broached.

If anyone is unsure, Lauren Ambrose's last performance will be the Sunday matinee on October 21st.

Confirmed by the producers to the head of customer service.

Updated On: 10/9/18 at 04:43 PM

[Allen S Bishop]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 6:07pm

Saw MFL Saturday matinee on OCT 6th.  Thought Lauren was wonderful.  What a beautiful portrayal, strong, yet so much subtlety and restraint.  I saw Katrina Lenk in TBV before the Tony's and was so mesmerized by that performance that I was rooting for her, but after seeing Lauren Saturday I would not have been surprised or disappointed if she had won.  You could sense the entire audience falling in love with her.  And I heard there was a "moment" at the end but I avoided spoilers.  Wow, powerful, and awesome choice by Sher.

I'm sure Laura will be great in the role, but she'll be so different.  I'm concerned that she'll be more hammy, but I guess there's room for different interpretations of Eliza.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 6:11pm

Laura will be playing Eliza from October 23rd - Febuary 17th per the NYT and herself on social media.  

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 10/10/18 at 9:31am

I'm glad some of the more recent reviews of Ambrose have been so positive now that the Tony race and the anger about someone like Benanti not doing the role have subsided.

Updated On: 10/10/18 at 09:31 AM

[AntV]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 4:54pm

When can one buy a second linctix? To see Laura.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 5:48pm

After Scotty's last post a made a rather inane comment that people here should get ready for the war that was about to begin between Lauren fans and Laura fans. Blood will be spilt.

When I came back later and didn't see it, I thought I had made the rather common mistake, for me, of previewing it but never posting it. I typed it out again and posted it.

When I came back and found it missing again I realized that I had been guilty of warmongering and gently corrected by the powers that be.

Seriously, though, I can't think of any other situation like this where there were likely to be very strong opinions on both sides. The Kelli vs Kristin Tony dispute was lengthy, but really without malice towards either actress or her supporters.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 7:54pm

I for one am a huge Benanti fan and believe she'll be absolutely amazing in the role. And I was in love with Ambrose in the role, especially when I saw it the second time in July. My post had nothing to do with preparing for some sort of fan war. I don't think Ambrose has enough fans to even have one. I was just saying it was nice to see positive reviews of Ambrose, some of them mentioning not understanding why there was negativity towards Ambrose. So it did exist. I honestly think once Benanti takes over, it'll just be mostly positive. Maybe a snide comment about Ambrose here and there, but nothing negative about Benanti.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 8:37pm

Well, I have tickets to see Benanti. I'm sure I'll enjoy her. She'll be very different from Ambrose but I'm curious to see what she does with what she admits is her dream role. I guess things have a way of working themselves out don;t they? 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/11/18 at 9:26pm

Unrelated, but are the two Higgins understudies just alternating in the role until HHP comes back?

[Plexsis]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 7:27am

The Distinctive Baritone said: "Unrelated, but are the two Higgins understudies just alternating in the role until HHP comes back?"

Definitely curious about this.  Most word I’ve seen on this board about he Higgins understudies have been positive.  I scored LincTix for Lauren’s final weekend, so interested to hear who illl be seeing as Higgins.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 8:19am

Poisonivy2 said Well, I have tickets to see Benanti. I'm sure I'll enjoy her. She'll be very different from Ambrose but I'm curious to see what she does with what she admits is her dream role. I guess things have a way of working themselves out don;t they?

I totally agree.  I have tickets to see Benanti too and am also really looking forward to seeing her and the show again.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 9:23am

Scotty, I was not singling you out as one of the first to be sending nasty comments to the backers of one actress or the other. In fact maybe I’m wrong and only a handful of people will comment on the subject.

But I don’t think that I’m wrong. And there’s nothing wrong with comparing the two performances as long as it stays civil.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 9:47am

AntV said: "When can one buy a second linctix? To see Laura."

Back to the topic at hand. Does anyone know if I can get another LincTix to see Laura?

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 10:25am

Valentina3 said: "Does anyone know if I can get another LincTix to see Laura?"

For THE KING AND I they offered a second round of LincTix, but it was towards the end of the run when the show wasn't selling well. If there is a second offer, I feel like it's still months away. Though the show has been at TKTS, and there was an email coupon the other day with $97-$137 tix through Jan 6 or $77-$117 after.

[AntV]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 11:36am

Plexsis said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "Unrelated, but are the two Higgins understudies just alternating in the role until HHP comes back?"

Definitely curious about this. Most word I’ve seen on this board about he Higgins understudies have been positive. I scored LincTix for Lauren’s final weekend, so interested to hear who illl be seeing as Higgins."

I was there last night and Tony Roach was on. He was quite good. Also, the other understudy was out of his usual ensemble part.