Megan Mullally in Anything Goes!!!- Page 4

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/21/12 at 8:49pm

I happen to really, really like Sutton and I thought she shone in this production (moreso than her last few Broadway ventures where she was good, if a bit bland). But she is clearly not in the same realm as LuPone, Merman, Lansbury, etc etc.

As much as I enjoyed Patina in SISTER ACT, I have to say Sutton earned her Tony Award this year for me. I think Mullally would be a wonderful Sweeney (and I imagine would approach the role very differently than Sutton). I hope this rumor is true.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/21/12 at 11:36pm

Having seen Angela Lansbury, Elaine Stritch, Chita Rivera, Patti LuPone, and Bernadette Peters live on multiple occasions - I can say that Sutton Foster has absolutely NOTHING on them. Besides enormous talent, those legends also have unique personalities and presence. Sutton is as bland as they come, in my opinion.

[binau]

Posted: 2/21/12 at 11:54pm

"Luckiest Chorus girl in the world" is definitely a great description of her. Although I did enjoy her in ANYTHING GOES this woman just lacks the Charisma that all of those other ladies have. She doesn't feel like a star, despite her numerous over the title Broadway star credits.

[Christoph]

Posted: 2/22/12 at 6:57pm

Would that all Broadway performers suffered from the awful lack of charisma that Foster does. When she did her cabaret show, she was warm, personable and enchanting. Honestly I can seriously see some of the posters on this board if they were around a few decades earlier exclaiming that "that Merman broad is just so overrated and has no talent or range" and "don't get me started on that lousy Verdon!" When Foster's name is on the marquee, even in an underwhelming production, you know that you are going to get 110%, which is exactly why she keeps being cast in so many roles on Broadway.

Ironically, I see some of the same people that bad mouth Foster and some of the newer and most promising talent on Broadway (like Kelli O'Hara as well) bend over backwards to make excuses when name talent underwhelms. I love Bernadette Peters (I have seen her perform a number of times), but I thought her Sally in Follies was a nightmare and did not do justice to the score, and having to listen to ardent fans rush in with excuses like "She was suffering from allergies that day...have you no heart? She is only human!" is quite a lark considering how often those same people come down like a ton of bricks on others for far less reason. Or if one suggests that perhaps La LuPone's nomination for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown might have been a stretch and smacks of them throwing her an undeserved offering every time she puts her little toe on stage, you get "Well...maybe it wasn't her best, but it is Patti. Patti deserves the Tony every year! Patti deserves the world and more. Patti, I tell you! PATTI!!!!"

On a side note to another post in this thread, I happen to like that in this production (and the London production with Sally Ann Triplett) that Reno is front and center dancing throughout the title production number. It never felt quite appropriate to me that she disappeared for large portions of it (sort of like when Dorothy Brock bitches in 42nd Street about being brought out on stage in the closing moments of a huge production number). If Megan Mullaly does step in, I hope she can do the dancing. I have seen the ill effects of when an actress cannot do even the limited steps when Leslie Uggams brought the tour of the show around many moons ago and it was not pretty - but then Rex Smith was eviscerating the score and dance steps as Billy Crocker at that time so that drew off some of the fire that would otherwise have been aimed at Uggams.

Updated On: 2/22/12 at 06:57 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/22/12 at 7:03pm

Although I did enjoy her in ANYTHING GOES this woman just lacks the Charisma that all of those other ladies have. She doesn't feel like a star, despite her numerous over the title Broadway star credits.

Truly a try hard. She always looks like she is working her hardest to make things happen, it certainly doesn't come to her effortlessly.

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 2/22/12 at 7:17pm

Interesting. My favorite thing about Sutton is that she commands the stage more than almost anyone and makes it look completely effortless. To each their own.

[Actor2]

Posted: 2/23/12 at 12:27am

It's a paradox, but the idea that appearing effortless means that you're not trying hard is stupid. If the phrase were taken literally, effortless performances would be boring, indicated, one-dimensional, phoned in, contrived, and...well...without effort.

Trying hard and putting a ton of energy and work in, while simultaneously appearing confident and naturally full of the total commitment, enthusiasm and excitement for the work, is what real 'effortlessness' looks like.



Updated On: 2/23/12 at 12:27 AM

[BroadwayFan12]

Posted: 2/23/12 at 1:49am

^Good point. The latter is how Sutton appears to me.

[sallyann]

Posted: 2/23/12 at 10:00am

Sutton's good but Megan Mullally has an incredible voice and great stage presence. I think she could totally do the role if the dancing was pared back. It looks like Roundabout need a name to keep Anything Goes doing well though. However I don't see her working with them after they let her take the rap for the failure of Lips Together, Teeth Apart and didn't dispel the false rumours going around about her reasons for doing so at the time.

[walt1896]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 1:54am

Christoph, excellent points. Also, Sutton has perfect American Songbook phrasing. Her intro on "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a perfect example of marriage of musicality and emotion.

[CONAries]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 3:20am

This whole argument is redundant as Playbill.com have confirmed Stephanie J Block as going back into the role permanently from March 15th!

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/160029-Times-Have-Changed-Stephanie-J-Block-Is-New-quotRenoquot-of-Broadway39s-Anything-Goes

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/24/12 at 8:33am

Oh, p'shaw! Let's not let FACTS cloud an otherwise fascinating discussion.

[hollaj2]

Posted: 3/1/12 at 2:19pm

This is one of the reasons that I was so surprised when Roundabout offered MM the job on Anything Goes:

"As it turns out, her much publicized departure from Lips Together, Teeth Apart was the result of the abusive nature of the show’s director, Joe Mantello. I won’t use her exact descriptor words on request, but her treatment under the director was less than desirable and reached a tipping point when he tried to pit her against friend and co-star, Patton Oswalt. Mullally and Oswalt quickly realized what was going on and she decided it was worth breaching her contract to leave the show and avoid working in such a hateful and unhappy environment. However, musical theater is still one of her great loves and will likely be in her future again sometime."

http://poptimal.com/2011/07/comic-con-2011-childrens-hospital-press-room-and-panel/#.T0_JHXniGjc