Musings on casting MAME- Page 4

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 1/20/23 at 12:46pm

I'm sorry, Dollypop, I didn't realize that we had to stay in the strict parameters of your conversation rules. To answer your question, there has been mention of British actors, people suitable to play Mame, and people who have already been in musicals. Sheridan Smith fits all of these.

[cLo7]

Posted: 1/20/23 at 2:57pm

Gaga would be sensational, but I think she will probably cross into Broadway as a composer rather than actor. 
 

I was just thinking about who I would love to hear sing this score and Jennifer Hudson comes to mind. I’m thinking she could be fabulous. Hudson and Keke Palmer as Vera…

How was Hudson in The Color Purple?

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 1/20/23 at 3:56pm

Hudson was really a performer more than an actress in COLOR PURPLE: could put over a song with ease, but felt wooden and ill at ease in scenes dependent on dialogue and an emotional connection.

Frankly, for ladies of color, I'd pick Cynthia Erivo over Hudson to lead a MAME revival. But can someone explain how on earth they'd solve the quasi-offensive lyrics in the title tune today?

[PennClassic]

Posted: 1/21/23 at 7:59am

There are several good suggestions here as to who could play MAME.  However, the title number would have to be revised in today's world.  Perhaps Mame could meet a rich rancher from the West and be a "fish out of water" at a ranch locale with the lyrics of the song changed to suit that setting.  

As a Lucille Ball fan, I have watched the movie version several times.  I recall seeing it at a theater in my hometown when it was first released.  The audience really enjoyed it and applauded after the MAME number as well as at the end of the film.  I know it has received a lot of criticism but I still think it's fun and entertaining.  I read that Lucy and Choreographer, Onna White became good friends afterwards and Lucy praised her highly.  When Lucy had a stroke in 1988, Onna helped Lucy immensely with strengthening exercises.

I saw it only once on stage and that was at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera in the early 1990s with Nancy Dussault as Mame.  She did a fine job, especially when she sang "If He Walked Into My Life."

 

Updated On: 5/4/23 at 07:59 AM

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/21/23 at 8:09am

Someone in a Tree2 said: "Hudson was really a performer more than an actress in COLOR PURPLE: could put over a song with ease, but felt wooden and ill at ease in scenes dependent on dialogue and an emotional connection."

She sang beautifully but showed no acting ability whatsoever.  Shug Avery is a multi-leveled, distinctive character and Jennifer Hudson found none of that.  A huge disappointment in an otherwise fine production. 

That said, she's been fine in her musical films and she's kept her hands in the theatre world.  She could come back stronger...but the demanding role of Mame would probably remain out of her grasp.

 

[The Other One]

Posted: 1/21/23 at 8:21am

Auntie Mame and Mame strike me as shows (and a book) about very white characters, but one black actress who might have been as distinctive as Lansbury was Diahann Carroll.  I don't know what her dancing was like, but her singing and acting abilities, not to mention innate grandeur, seem tailor-made for the role.

But then again there are those Dixie references.