Lead Roles for Jackie Hoffman

[Alex M]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:10am

After seeing her in Charlie (best part of the show) I began to think of what leading characters she may be able to do in a revival. Any ideas? 

[Valentina3]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:20am

Leading? I don't think there's a single show she can or will even want to play the lead in. She doesn't like being tied to stage choreography and a tight script. I can see her do one-woman engagements, but she is no genuine leading lady. My Follies 2025 revival dreamcast has her as Hattie.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:22am

She was actually a great Winnifred in Transport Group's otherwise tepid Once Upon a Mattress.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:28am

Kad said: "She was actually a great Winnifred in Transport Group's otherwise tepid Once Upon a Mattress."

I was so excited for that production and walked away so upset. She deserves a true, fully-realized production. The direction seemed to just be "walk in and uh...i guess say your lines."

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:30am

I could potentially see her doing Rose in Gypsy. Might be interesting. 

[Kad]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:35am

nasty_khakis said: "Kad said: "She was actually a great Winnifred in Transport Group's otherwise tepid Once Upon a Mattress."

I was so excited for that production and walked away so upset. She deserves a true, fully-realized production. The direction seemed to just be "walk in and uh...i guess say your lines.""

Yeah, it was a major letdown of a production- cheap and devoid of wit or ingenuity- that Hoffman carried on her back.

 

[brendasugarbaker]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:36am

Not necessarily a leading lady role but for years now, I'd kill to see her as Miss Hannigan. Or even as Joanne in "Company", I could see her bringing a comically bitter interpretation 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 10:55am

I love Jackie Hoffman, and think she's underused talent. 

However, it's pretty clear that she prefers shows where the script is more of a suggestion. Remember after Addams Family she claimed Jerry Zaks told her he'd never cast her again because of her antics? Now, Hoffman says a lot of things and it's often hard to tell with her sense of humor when she's being truthful. 

I think she needs a really strong director that's not afraid to reign her in if you want to put her in a show like Gypsy. 

Miss Hannigan is a brilliant idea and would even lend itself to more of her "antics."

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 11:01am

Fade Out - Fade In?

[morosco]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 11:01am

She would be a hoot as Dotty in NOISES OFF.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 11:29am

The thought of her in a Broadway lead is ludicrous.  Maybe in some little off-Broadway theatre filled with her fans, but a Broadway theatre!!  She would ruin it.  

A thousand years ago, Zero Mostel (who is certainly a greater performer than Jackie Hoffman) was bored in Fiddler, and he would start ad-libbing during the show, throwing off other members of the show, etc.  Some audience members loved it, but it had nothing to do with the show, and really hurt it for people who wanted to see Fiddler.

Jackie Hoffman is no Zero Mostel.  And 'Annie' is titled 'Annie', not 'Miss Hannigan'...she would ruin it for anyone who does not get her schtick, like me.

Updated On: 6/1/17 at 11:29 AM

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 11:30am

Gypsy?  really?

 

 

I can see her as Miss Hannigan in Annie.

 

Generally she is a phenomenal supporting player who likes to 'off-road' a bit - let her do that and I will pay over and over again.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 11:52am

She is certainly capable of sticking to the script- she did so in Mattress, with one or two points clearly carved out to allow for some schtick . It is a question of her having a role and a show she connects to.

 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 12:07pm

It would need to be an old fashioned musical comedy to play into her improv skills. What's her vocal range? Could she do a Merman vehicle like "Call Me Madam" or "Happy Hunting" at Encores?

A Nancy Walker role like the leading lady in "Do Re Me?"

She could put a new spin on "Bells Are Ringing" though Faith Prince sank when she tried that.

 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 12:24pm

She would have been a terrific Dotty in the last Noises Off revival. As fun as it always is to see Andrea Martin, I felt like her performance was a little tentative.

This could be a spectacular failure, but I would be fascinated to see her play Nora in A Doll's House, Part 2. She could easily be too broad, but I think her performance could be really fascinating. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 12:26pm

She is 100% capable of sticking to a script. In a big show full of purposefully schticky bits like Hairspray, Xanadu, and Addams she adlibbed as much as Harvey and Nathan did. I know in all three of those there were specific moments she was allowed to go for it. 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 1:05pm

Mamacita the Musical.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 2:28pm

I would love to see a lead role written for her.  Something that would allow her enough room to play around without harming the script.  She's such a talent and she deserves her own lead to originate.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 2:36pm

Oh I just thought of another. Ms. Tweed in "Something's Afoot." An off Broadway burlesque of Agatha Christie. Ms. Tweed is the Ms. Marple role and has been played by Tessie O'Shea and Jean Stapleton. It's not a good show per se but it's a guilty pleasure. A possible fit for Encore's Off-Broadway series.

[C.Jack]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 4:24pm

Pennywise in Urinetown?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/1/17 at 7:22pm

Berthe in Pippin, obviously. Trapeze work being optional.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/2/17 at 12:14am

I think her Mrs. Lovett would be fascinating 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 6/2/17 at 12:11pm

She'd be the weirdest Lovett ever...

Anyway, I've often heard that Winnifred (and Dauntless) should be played by older actors like Jackie. Adds a different level of urgency to the plot. Anybody feel this way?

[Steve C.]

Posted: 6/2/17 at 1:06pm

I saw JH in Mattress down on Henry St. too and yes, she really was the "main event" in that production. I like John Epperson but imo he was trapped in a script and show that was not her/his own, and it showed. I'm still so happy I saw her do it though.

Jackie would probably be a good Jack's mother, or maybe even an Ursula (but after seeing Titus Burgess doing Ursula that should be a no-brainer). And who knows? Who are they going to get to cover Dolly on Donna Murphy's day off? 

[newintown]

Posted: 6/2/17 at 1:13pm

"Anyway, I've often heard that Winnifred (and Dauntless) should be played by older actors like Jackie. Adds a different level of urgency to the plot. Anybody feel this way?"

I don't think "urgency" is necessary in a cartoon like Once Upon a Mattress; treating it as anything but a silly romp results in the kind of bomb that Sarah Jessica Parker and Gerry Gutierez gave us in '96.

I like the few people above who have called for a new work created for Hoffman; I'd rather see that then an attempt to shoehorn her into someone else's role as a novelty. What are some sources that you think could be adapted for her? How about a musical version of Dear Heart with Hoffman as Evie, adapted to make it more about her than Harry?

On further thought, though, Hoffman's talents really are more suited to supporting than leading roles. But it would be interesting to see her grow into a non-comic role. I think she could bring a lot of pathos to a female Marty kind of character.