Broadway Star Joined: 12/8/03
Got a chance to watch it today after being there for the taping and I have to say that even thought there is nothing like being there, the taping was actually quite good compared to some I've seen (and it made me cry just as much) Besides which, getting to see close ups of Paulo was well worth it :)
I'm watching the Carnegie Hall concert with Reba McEntire and they just did the Honey Bun reprise at full speed.
Eris, is that something that is available on dvd somewhere or do you just have an old copy?
Edit: nevermind, I just answered my own question. Might have to order it on Amazon right away!
Updated On: 8/23/10 at 01:31 AM
Glad you found it. Any time I find a recorded production of a musical I get it for my sister.
I wish I had a brother like you!
You wouldn't want a brother like me. But I do think you'd want a sister like me
Question....why did they make a big deal out of Kelli cutting her hair for the role if she was wigged anyway?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
I knew Andrew Samonsky reminded me of somebody....
He's So BUTCH!!!
Who made a big deal about her cutting her hair for the role? Her hair is definitely shorter than Laura Osnes' so it clearly would have fit under the wig.
Didn't they make a big deal about cutting her hair before they made the decision to go with a wig?
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
Who is the "they" that made such a big deal? I don't remember hearing about it. In any case, there was no decision whether or not to wear a wig (or actually, two). It was absolutely necessary if she was to actually get her hair wet during "Wash That Man..." which sort of has to happen or it looks stupid. She has to wear what amounts to a tight-fitting shower cap to protect the mike, and that had to be covered by a wig, which was replaced immediately after with a dry wig. Otherwise she'd have her hair wet the rest of the show.
Before previews of the show began, there was a video of Kelli on Broadway.com getting her hair cut, to be more period appropriate. I seem to remember she (and Lincoln Center Theatre) making a big deal about this.
The "they" I was referring to was that Broadway.com video that showed Kelli and Barlett Sher going to a salon to have her hair cut. But that makes sense about them ultimately deciding to go with a wig so she was able to get her hair wet.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
There was a whole article with photos (in the NY Times, I think)of her going to the salon to get her long hair cut off.
As I watched her do "Honey Bun", I kept wondering why it seemed so "off" - not at all funny. Then I realized - isn't Nellie supposed to "act' like a guy? They introduce hwe as Ensign "Butch" Forbush. What's the point of putting her in a man's sailor suit and having Luther in drag if she's going to look and sound just as "girly" as she does in the rest of the show?
Maybe it only works if you have someone like Mary Martin, who's naturally butch.
Is there any way I can get a copy of the show?! I was SO excited to watch it, had my Tivo set and then found out, my local PBS wasn't showing it. I need to see it one way or another! Let me know! PMs are welcome! :)
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
Not wearing a wig was never truly an option, though. No way does Nellie not get her hair wet during that song. The hair-cutting to-do was for publicity, then. Got it. Thanks.
Though after "Wonderful Guy," she disappears for a good amount of time while Emile is pitched the mission, refuses and Cable goes to Bali Ha'i and meets Liat. It would be a pain and very quick, but they maybe would have had time to dry and re-style her hair, but it probably would have been cutting it close every night and would have taken a toll on her real hair.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
Like I said - not an option. Makes sense that they'd want to get press out of the hair-cutting, though. It's certainly easier to put a wig over short hair than long.
I'll agree that Aaron wasn't the best person. However, I really liked him after his opening scenes. The opening, though fine, felt a little too cocky. After a while he was fine. I liked him. Whoever mentioned Robert Westenberg, it was kinda like that. Robert's voice is amazing, but he is stiff. Aaron was stiff at first, but that melted away as it went. I was fine with him.
Andrew, not Aaron.
Wow, that's what I get for reading the post, then not referring back to it while typing. I even bloody looked up Robert's name! But not his! Struggle, struggle, struggle.
Stand-by Joined: 8/20/04
My sister claims that Mary Martin had a crew-cut in the original show. How did she wash her hair during the shower scene with a crew-cut. Maybe she just pretended to. Sadly, I was too young to see the original production.
Mary Martin didn't have a crew cut, but she had very short hair for the run of the show. And she did wash her hair "live" on stage for every performance. According to an on-camera interview I've seen with her, she used Prell shampoo, primarily because it created a big lather, and she didn't have to use much. She would hold a (fake) oversized bar of soap in her hand, then when she was standing in the shower stall, she'd squeeze out a small drop of the Prell and let it create the suds.
It was her own idea to actually wash her hair during the song. Rodgers, Hammerstein, and Logan all thought she was nuts to suggest it. "You realize you'll be doing it seven or eight shows a week, right?"
She insisted it would "make" the number. And she was right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5DiQsKpEkc
Mary Martin Washes Her Hair, London 1952
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
Mary Martin kept the short hairdo for the rest of her life. It became her trademark. Without it, she might never have been cast as Peter pan!
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