Posted: 6/12/17 at 4:56pm
I've been obsessed with the OBC recording of WarPaint. It makes me want to see the show again. But one of the things that is frustrating is that there is no interaction between the two women. Again, listening to the recording makes me think about a dream cast of Christine as Mame and Patti as Vera. I know it will never happen but the thought of it puts a smile on my face.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 5:06pm
Maybe if they let Lupone sing "Penny in my Pocket" to pad her part...
Posted: 6/12/17 at 5:09pm
I think Catherine Zeta-Jones would be perfect as Mame.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 5:10pm
Ebersole has already played Mame. Back in 1999 at the Papermill Playhouse. Kelly Bishop was her Vera.
https://youtu.be/OastIPgnETM
Posted: 6/12/17 at 5:23pm
BrodyFosse123 said: "Ebersole has already played Mame. Back in 1999 at the Papermill Playhouse. Kelly Bishop was her Vera."
While Kelly Bishop was fantastic, Ebersole was underwhelming.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 6:26pm
nealb1 said: "I think Catherine Zeta-Jones would be perfect as Mame.
"
The idea that Miss Zeta-Jones can sing is an urban legend.
She MIGHT be able to handle Vera.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 6:28pm
Catherine sings beautifully - I saw her in the original London production of "42nd Street" when she was Peggy Sawyer, and twice in "Little Night Music." And, of course she was in the film "Chicago."
Posted: 6/12/17 at 6:47pm
My dream would be Meryl and Glenn, maybe switching roles a la Little Foxes.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 7:03pm
A little too old, me thinks, even for Broadway. How do you explain the 15 - 20 year gap when Patrick ages. Will Mame come out in a walker?
I think Zeta Jones has the charisma to pull off the part. I am wondering if there was anyone out there who would surprise us with her singing ability, which Lansbury certainly did?
How about Amy Adams? We think of her as young, but she is older than Lansbury was when it opened, has a good singing voice, warmth, I would be shocked if she doesn't haver good stage presence.
And how about getting Anne Hathaway for a year. She can sing it, has the charisma, warmth, and glamour. She is actually the right age. Most people who have played the role have been too old for it.
If you had someone like Adams or Hathaway, Vera could possibly be a little younger, with a few minor changes, which might open up some options, like Katherine Hahn.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 7:45pm
nealb1 said: "Catherine sings beautifully - I saw her in the original London production of "42nd Street" when she was Peggy Sawyer, and twice in "Little Night Music." And, of course she was in the film "Chicago."
"
Neal, you're talking about roles crafted for Tammy Grimes and Glynnis Johns. Two non-singers if ever I've heard one. (Two excellent musical actors, as well, I'll grant you. But the point is their parts do not require singers. Neither one would have been right for Mame.)
I have CZJ on a record singing "Moon Faced/Starry Eyed" with the English Opera in STREET SCENE, but, again, it's a role written for a dancer, not a singer.
And I have it on excellent authority that her singing for CHICAGO was recorded painstakingly, a phrase at a time.
Mame sings everything from big, brassy numbers with the ensemble to a tender ballad with Young Patrick to the torchy 11 o'clock number, "If He Walked Into My Life". Zeta-Jones does not have the vocal chops, though I'm sure she could act the part and do a mean Charleston; maybe she could revive the straight play.
But in the musical, if she didn't take herself too seriously (I haven't seen it from her, but she may have it in her), she could work as Vera.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 7:54pm
I also have it on good authority--second-hand from a mutual friend--that Jerry Herman was hoping for Judy Garland when he wrote Mame's songs. (They were later unable to insure Garland, because insurers didn't think she could do 8-show weeks.) So that's the sort of singer he thought the part demanded.
Angela Lansbury obviously never had Garland's instrument. But she had learned a new way to sing for ANYONE CAN WHISTLE (discussed in Craig Zadan's SONDHEIM & CO). I can also attest--this time from personal experience--that though she didn't have the sound of a great crooner, Angela is an extraordinary musician and her belting in MAME and GYPSY was electric!
Posted: 6/12/17 at 7:54pm
Donna Murphy hands down. She has the glamour, voice, dancing chops and comedic timing. She's a dream for this role.
Posted: 6/12/17 at 7:59pm
^
Good, we got that settled! (No sarcasm. I think Murphy would be great in role, though I don't know that she's a huge box office draw.)
Now all we need is $14 million!
Posted: 6/13/17 at 12:59am
well, hopefully with Hello Dollys success, it should leave a trail of bread crumbs for some smart producers to follow, especially since Mame has a far superior score to hello dolly
Im very excited about a big revival for this show,,,,its time!!!!
Agree with others that Mame is much more about great acting and chemistry than great singing, although with these incredible songs, lets get some great singers on broadway. would rather they arent as famous as Midler so the tickets dont cost so dang much!
Posted: 6/13/17 at 2:14am
I love Donna Murphy, but I think she is already too old for Mame. She is 58. Lansbury was 41 when it opened and Ann Miller was 42 - 45 when it closed, based on varied DOBs.
Mame is not Dolly, a character who is pretty ageless. Dolly takes place over a couple of days, unless I am missing something. Mame takes place over 15 - 20 or so years, based on Patrick's aging. Maybe I am being too clinical, but I think it'd be nice to see someone young in the role. I add another name to those I have already proposed. Sutton Foster. I think she'd be terrific, and it'd stretch her a little in the process...I am not sure she has played at being sophisticated to date.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 3:25am
Miss Foster also works for me! And Jarethan's point about age is apt.
I think we have a winner!
(Jarethan, I like CZJ's sound alright, I just understand that sustaining through difficult numbers is beyond her. But who knows? David Hyde Pierce sings better now than he did in CURTAINS. Obviously, he has continued to study.)
FTR, I think singing Mame is far more difficult than singing Dolly.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 8:06am
GavestonPS said: "Miss Foster also works for me! And Jarethan's point about age is apt.
I think we have a winner!
(Jarethan, I like CZJ's sound alright, I just understand that sustaining through difficult numbers is beyond her. But who knows? David Hyde Pierce sings better now than he did in CURTAINS. Obviously, he has continued to study.)
FTR, I think singing Mame is far more difficult than singing Dolly.:
Good points. I like the idea of Sutton but I selfishly want to hear Donna sing the score.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 8:22am
I'm still holding out for a Meryl Streep and Cher revival of Mame
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:07am
GavestonPS says: Neal, you're talking about roles crafted for Tammy Grimes and Glynnis Johns. Two non-singers if ever I've heard one.
Are you serious? Were you present when Grimes BELTED "Home Sweet Heaven" in HIGH SPIRITS and brought the house down? It was only Grimes standing alone in front of a curtain singing her heart out. Have you ever played the cast album? Furthermore she released not one but two great albums on the Columbia label. I also saw her in 42nd STREET, A MUSICAL JUBILEE and ON A CLEAR DAY at the Greek Theatre. She was wonderful and sounded great each time. Grimes was often compared to Eartha Kitt in style and sound. Another great non-singer?
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:25am
Yes, GavestonPS Jerry wrote about it in his autobiography about Judy Garland. She would have been a wonderful replacement. And, the producers were right with their decision - she was too unreliable.
Posted: 6/13/17 at 10:32am
I've always wanted to see Marin Mazzie as Mame. Perhaps Nancy Opal as Vera
Updated On: 6/13/17 at 10:32 AM
Posted: 6/13/17 at 11:21am
And I want to see a Audra as Mame, with Heather as her Vera. One can hope, yes?
Posted: 6/13/17 at 5:56pm
Demitri2 said: "GavestonPS says: Neal, you're talking about roles crafted for Tammy Grimes and Glynnis Johns. Two non-singers if ever I've heard one.
Are you serious? Were you present when Grimes BELTED "Home Sweet Heaven" in HIGH SPIRITS and brought the house down? It was only Grimes standing alone in front of a curtain singing her heart out. Have you ever played the cast album? Furthermore she released not one but two great albums on the Columbia label. I also saw her in 42nd STREET, A MUSICAL JUBILEE and ON A CLEAR DAY at the Greek Theatre. She was wonderful and sounded great each time. Grimes was often compared to Eartha Kitt in style and sound. Another great non-singer?
"
I worked with Tammy Grimes on A MUSICAL JUBILEE. She was wonderful with those Jerome Kern songs and her "I've Told Every Little Star" (not to mention her brilliant "Sweet Betsy from Pike"
remains definitive to me. But she was not a singer; she talk-sang and did it very well. That's not good enough for Mame.
Listen to her shout her way through MOLLY BROWN.
As for HIGH SPIRITS, I would love to hear it, but haven't found it yet.
I don't know who compared Grimes to Eartha Kitt, but I'm not at all sure the latter could have sung Mame. "Not a singer" has a specific meaning in the theater, a meaning which is different from pop, night club, film or TV. Robert Preston was not a singer, in the theatrical sense, but he was a great musical theater star! That doesn't mean he was meant to play Curly, Billy Bigelow or any other role that requires a traditional, trained baritone or "bari-tenor".
Posted: 6/13/17 at 6:06pm
Valentina3 said: "And I want to see a Audra as Mame, with Heather as her Vera. One can hope, yes?
Awhile back, I said the Audra would be a great MAME. She has the charisma, the warmth, the voice, has proved she can dance in Shuffle Along, I am betting that she will get the comedy fine. So, now we have a number of viable candidates, including Audra, Sutton Foster, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, CZJ if she has the stamina to sing the songs night after night...all stars in the right age range.
Just need to get someone on with it.
