Laura Marie Duncan is going on as Nellie in SOUTH PACIFIC tonight!- Page 2

[laboychanning2]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 7:47pm

Very well said BrodyFosse123!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 7:53pm

South Pacific is no longer in previews. The show has opened.

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 7:58pm

laboychanning2, from what I just read, it doesn't seem like anyone was accusing Ms. Duncan of being unprepared, people were just asking how a situation like this happens. Someone asked, "Why hasn't [she] had any rehearsal time?" Not, "Why didn't she take it upon herself to rehearse?" And you, among others, answered. There was no need to be smart about it. No one said she did a poor job, the worst stated was that she seemed nervous.

That being said, thank you for the information, and kudos to her work this weekend and best of luck to her in upcoming performances.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:04pm

I'm sure she was fantastic, considering the circumstances.

She was FANTASTIC as Christine in the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tour.

[aliciag]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:07pm

Glad to hear she did well this afternoon! I'm sure there was a lot of pressure and I can only imagine what it would have been like... so props to her!

[laboychanning2]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:21pm

Point taken broadwaybaby086!
You're right I did get a little rude.
Sorry.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:52pm

Glad to hear the great notices and praise as usual. I'm not at all surprised that she pulled through with a "show must go on" mantra.

And I suppose kudos also goes to Kelli for finishing the matinee despite being fairly hoarse.

[Parks]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 9:05pm

I saw her 3 times in DRS. I thought she was wonderful.

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:44am

Where was Kelli? Wife and I went yesterday (Sunday 3pm, April 13), were surprised Kelli was missing (only reason I bought tickets). Laura was good, but I think Kelli's voice is much better. Hopefully she's doing OK....

Ken

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:49am

Probably just all the stress of opening the show and all that. It is 3 hours long after all.

Hope she gets better by the 30th when I have tickets.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 7:52am

This reminds me of the situation with LCT's Carousel revival in the 90s when Michael Hayden wasn't able to go on as Billie Bigelow. If memory serves me correctly, the understudy wasn't ready, but for some reason they pulled Marcus Lovett from Phantom of the Opera and he more or less learned the role in 24 hours. Even the NY Times reported this.

The Show Must Go On

Updated On: 4/14/08 at 07:52 AM

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:05am

Considering how little practice she had, she was great.

Is Kelli sick or saving her voice? If she's sick, rest and get better soon! I definitely missed her voice yesterday, but Laura did a fine job acting. Standing O at the end.....

Ken

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:35am

Alright folks -

Apparently, Ms. O'Hara's voice wasn't treating her too well toward the end of last week. She had planned to plow through (as she is well-known for her incredible attendance record). However, after making it through about half of Saturday afternoon's performance, her voice began to give her difficulties. She managed to get through the show sounding quite good, but upon receiving a huge ovation at the end of the performance, pointed to her throat and shook her head incidating that she didn't deserve the applauds (reported by someone who was in the audience).

Laura Marie was pulled out of that show halfway through. They began rehearsing her on the more difficult numbers so that she would be ready for that night.

From what I understand, understudies were not rehearsed until the day after opening.

She performed Yesterday afternoon, as well.

I will write a review of her Saturday night performance in just a bit.

As for Kelli - she took the two days off so that she would be solid for today's recording.


Updated On: 4/14/08 at 08:35 AM

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:47am

Just my bad luck then... Many people were disappointed seeing that in their Playbills (about Kelli being out).

Laura did do an outstanding job though, considering that she hardly had any practice!!! I didn't even realize that!

Ken

[Steve2]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 8:52am

broadwaybaby086, thanks for making your point. Many of us here just were interested in information on how an understudy would not have been completely prepared and not commenting on the quality of her performance under such short notice.
Updated On: 4/14/08 at 08:52 AM

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 9:53am

As an individual who has lucked into seats at South Pacific a total of 5 times, I feel relatively comfortable commenting on the overall quality of the production.
I saw 3 previews (including the first), opening night, and Saturday night’s performance with Laura Marie Duncan in as Nellie Forbush.

Please note that I am by no means some random shill pumping “O’Haran” propaganda into the veins of BWW – nor am I an understudy fanatic working to get recognition for the unsung heroes of the Great White Way. I am just a guy (a performer myself) who loves this show and wants people to be well-informed.

Random rumors as to the state of Ms. O’Hara’s voice and/or the quality of Ms. Duncan’s performance do not aid in the overall “health” of this forum. Truths are what I’m looking for and what I hope to, in the end, provide.

That being said, here is a review of Ms. Duncan’s performance on Saturday night:


Understudies fascinate me. Namely because they are often hired to function as doppelgangers – clones of their primaries who sit in the wings sweating it out hoping both to go on and to not go on. More often than not, they end up being quite the opposite. They develope into completely different representations of the character.
Often times they are severely under-rehearsed.

It seemed, at first, as though nerves would get the best of Ms. Duncan. Her opening scene seemed a little stilted, and while she could not be blamed for this, it distracted from the scene and the chemistry between she and Mr. Szot.
Although, one could also argue that this stiltedness provided her Nellie with an energy that served the overall arch of the character quite well.

In any event, this nervousness was short-lived, as by her second scene that reserved, cautious characterization had all but vanished. In its place a strong-willed, hick-ish, energized individual - whose style harkened back to the qualities of Ms. Martin more so than Ms. O’Hara - had surfaced.

Ms. Duncan presented a less refined Nellie – a country girl with the accent to back it up.
Her over-the-top spunk coupled with a facility for comedic timing drew more laughs from the audience than Ms. O’Hara’s depiction – though one could point out that the latter’s Nellie brings more pathos.

Ms. Duncan’s best work (imho) was during the “revelation” scene (POSSIBLE SPOILER) when she discovers Emile’s secret. Her decision to play up Nellie’s drunken state allowed for a wonderful arch – her supreme vulnerability giving away, suddenly to a sharp sobriety upon her discovery that these children were indeed, Emile’s. Her acting in this scene was quite good.

Duncan’s “Honey Bun” was also worth note. Her performance was less polished than Ms. O’Hara’s and as a result, somewhat more believable.
Ms. O’Hara’s Nellie never quite struck me as the type of girl who would be willing to act like an ass in front of thousands of soldiers. Duncan’s however? – quite the opposite.
She threw herself into a choreography that, for her, is quite fresh. She popped the movements, and tossed herself around with such abandon that I fell in love with Nellie all over again.

Now, while I find it slightly unfair to critique a person’s weaknesses when they are so new to a role, one cannot help but notice that Ms. Duncan’s voice is not as suited to this role as is Ms. O’Hara’s. Ms. Duncan’s power-house belter style is not highlighted in the least and while Ms. O’Hara faces similar difficulties (being a high lyric soprano) she has had the time to discover vocal nuances that distinguish the role as her own. Unfortunately, Ms. Duncan has not had the time to do so. Thus her voice does not ring out with the same glory as Ms. O’Hara’s.

To sum it all up? Ms. Duncan plays with this role with abandon. While the role is still half-wrapped for her, she managed to wring a newness from it that was refreshing to those who had seen O’Hara’s performances.
By all accounts, her Sunday performance was 10 times stronger. Apparently her singing was stronger and her timing was even better, causing the audience to laugh in places that had never elicited such response in the past.

I think that it is safe to say that she will only get better…that is if O’Hara is ever out again. I could be wrong, but I think that this is the first time Kelli has ever called in which is pretty spectacular.

One last thing - it should be noted that several swings went on this weekend, as well as Laura Marie's cover Wendi Bergamini.



Updated On: 4/14/08 at 09:53 AM

[aliciag]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:00am

Thanks for your review. It's great to hear that she did well and I have so much respect for her for going on like that. And it's good to hear that she was able to put her own spin on the character, maybe unintentionally, to make it her own.

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 10:52am

Thanks for the review - now I have more of a feel of the differences between the two since I didn't get to see Kelli.

Ken

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 11:30am

No problem, folks.

Kelli is amazing and if the stars are aligned just right I wouldn't be shocked if she got the Tony for this (yes...I know that it is unlikely).

Laura Marie is quite good and you can see how, with time and energy, she could really make something out of this role. For now, it's a burst of energy that while untethered, affects the audience nicely.

They are very different, but both something to experience.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:01pm

broadwaybaby086 ~ I tried to respond to your PM, but it says you don't accept them.

[kissmeimirish]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:16pm

Did laura marie wear a blonde wig or did she use her own hair? I had the pleasure of seeing her when she went on for Sherie R Scott in a very early preview of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and she was superb. I guess Laura is no stranger to filling in at a moment's notice. Good for her!

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:20pm

Looked like a wig to me - was wondering about that though during the hairwashing sequence......

ken

[jrb]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:26pm

Wig - which they re-fit for the second show so that it sat more comfortably and looked more realistic.

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 12:29pm

Thanks, jordangirl, it's on again. I hate how mine turns itself off.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 4/14/08 at 4:35pm

2 more great reviews from ATC!

"I'll certainly go back to see Kelli in the role, but Lisa Marie gave an impressive understudy performance. Her voice was warm and natural. She was able to use her nervousness to convey the bashfulness and disorientation she felt finding herself unexpectedly "in love with wonderful guy!"" (Lisa Marie??)

"aura Marie Duncan's second only performance (on Sunday) as Nellie Forbush was an absolute delight. She has a real look for that period...reminiscent of the very young Joan Blondell...a sexy, fun woman with deep, mature emotional responses to life. Her bashful exhilaration with DeBecque in the opening scene was detailed, fully physicalized, immediately disarming. Her voice has a creamy sound to it, like a front singer from the Big Band era, and her authenticity throughout was spellbinding..notice especially how she as Nellie "chooses" her sung words, ("bromidic," for example; this actress doesn't skate over anything). It was my first time to see the show, and I had no idea, despite all the posts here and the newspaper raves, how deeply affecting the show is and was. Tears were running down my face over and over and over. DeBecque's vulnerability, his ingenuous, simple heroism (coupled, this goes without saying, with his triumphant vocal chops) anchored the entire show and especially made me believe that he and Nellie were indeed cut from the same cloth. We all know the score is sumptuous and the lyrics (which were all perfectly articulated and audible) infinitely precise, but, oh my goodness, the book is superb, and the places where the play speaks beyond itself, about the responsibilities of America to any third-world culture, about the range of perspectives about any kind of war, and about how equally important one's personal life is to anything global...WOW! What direction, too. But, back to my point, whatever it was that made the perceiver from Saturday night think Laura Marie Duncan was nervous....she was like strawberry shortcake on Sunday afternoon...absolutely dreamy. And heartbreaking."

I'm so happy she's receiving such great notices!