MY FAIR LADY Revival Back On For Next Spring? — Page 15

CarlosAlberto said: "Kelli O'Hara is 41 years old. She is simply way too old to be considered for the part of Eliza Dolittle in MY FAIR LADY - and I'm not trying to be insulting it's just a fact.

She's more appropriate for the role of Lili Vanessi in KISS ME KATE.



The part of Eliza Doolittle in the original production of Pygmalion in 1914 was originated by an actress named Mrs. Patrick Campbell, who was 49 at the time. I personally feel that on stage, Kelli can still play this part. She looks beautiful, youthful, and also has the maturity and strength that the part requires no matter how old the actress is. People forget that the role of Eliza is NOT your typical pretty little ingenue character at all- She's loud, rude, obnoxious, multi-dimensional, and strong. Age doesn't matter as much with the role in my book, as long as it's not too big of a stretch. For a character like Julie Jordan, that needs a young actress with natural naivete and innocence to play convincingly, I'll say (and have already said previously) that Kelli is wrong for the part. But for Eliza, no not yet.

Ha Ha, I love that BakerWilliams! If it wasn't enough in 2015 to have Chita, Kelli, and Kristin all competing in the same category! That most certainly was an embarrassment of riches! And if Sutton Foster gets in the mix, it'll be crazy!

Updated On: 4/17/17 at 02:43 AM

Has Bartlett Sher ever done non-traditional casting in any of his productions before?

Broadwayfanboy44 said: "Maybe this is just me, but I would love to see Aaron Tveit play Higgins and Annaleigh Ashford play Eliza

Dear Jesus why lord please he knows not what he says

BakerWilliams said: "Can someone even imagine a spring with Kelli O'Hara in Kiss Me, Kate, Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady and Jessie Mueller in Carousel? The college theatre gays and old show queens would all collectively die."

Let's not forget there's a rumored Sweet Charity transfer with Sutton Foster, and there were definite talks about a Kristin Chenoweth (and Jennifer Holliday) led Best Little Whorehouse revival coming in 2017-2018. Whoever they find for Once Upon A Time revival is likely going to be a primary contender as well. Unless I'm mistaken, there was some interest in bringing back Secret Garden as well after last year's concert production but I doubt that's happening since we haven't heard anything since.

Updated On: 4/17/17 at 01:49 PM

There's a video up of Lisa O'Hare singing 'Wouldn’t it Be Loverly' promoing their run starting soon in Chicago! https://t.co/Oj7fTMERCV

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Lisa-OHare-and-Richard-E-Grant-Take-the-Stage-in-MY-FAIR-LADY-at-Lyric-Opera-20170428

Photos released from the Chicago production! Lisa O'Hare looks stunning!

and video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_nSKIz7Y

Updated On: 4/29/17 at 01:09 AM

That production looks magnificent and Lisa O'Hare looks and sounds stunning.

As much as I love the idea of unknown actresses getting chances, I just think that there will be more power to the production if a young seasoned stage veteran who knows how to command a broadway stage were cast. Look, I know that Julie Andrews was an unknown, but good luck finding another Julie. That woman was born with stage presence. Laura Benanti, Phillipa Soo, Ashley Park, and Lisa O'Hare would all be stunning and would stand on their own in way that would be entirely different and independent from Julie Andrew's performance. I feel like if they find a new actress, they will constantly be promoting her as "the new Julie Andrews" a la this Miss Saigon revival with Eva Noblezada. It makes it almost impossible to live up to the hype.

That being said, please cast Bryce as Freddie on Broadway. He's just far too perfect for the part.

Amélie is inching closer to closing, which means Phillipa Soo will be available at some point. Just saying.

elephantseye said: "While I love Phillipa Soo and think she would play the part beautifully, there's something unbelievably unsettling about the idea of an older, presumably white man teaching a woman of color how to be 'civilized.' Same thing goes for Denée Benton.

Yeah I've always thought this. I think Soo would be alright because she's kind of ethnically ambiguous to a certain extent, but yeah, I am a bit skeptical as to how it would seem to have a woc being "civilized" by the white man. It may produce some unsavory and problematic themes.

Updated On: 4/29/17 at 01:57 PM

Valentina3 said: "Unsavory, yes. But isn't that sort of the point? The original material always made me question what makes "classy" classy. The show exploits our societal ideas of "civilized" and "class", adding race here would potentially make for a more current interpretation if done by a strong team.



"

Yeah. I definitely see your point. It might actually create some interesting commentary the more that I think about it.