My Fair Lady closing July 7- Page 3

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 10:51am

magictodo123 said: "If you're a big Laura Benanti fan I hope you get to see her before July 7th, but if you can, try to see either of her understudies! Kerstin Anderson was absolutely incredible in the role, and I'm spacing on the name of the other understudy but I've heard good things!!



I'm also very sad the show is closing. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and incredibly well done."

Love Kerstin.

Just my very personal opinion:

Kerstin Anderson is the BEST among all three Elizas (Laura, Lauren, Kerstin) I've seen.

[Plexsis]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 12:01pm

Since Kerstin has gotten so many positive notices on here (consistently as well), I’m really hoping she tours as the main Eliza. Would love to get a chance to see her.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 12:03pm

I hope this opens more doors for Christian Dante White. I thought he was incredible as Freddy.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 1:15pm

poisonivy2 said: "I hope this opens more doors for Christian Dante White. I thought he was incredible as Freddy."

 

White has a lovely voice but I preferred the original actor. White was pushing at times, lagging in his vocal numbers rather than propelling them forward and came across a bit silly where the original actor was very grounded and sexy.

 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 1:36pm

Christian plays it sillier than Jordan, that is just his take on the role.  I adored them both but was astounded by Jordan, he sounded like someone you would hear on Broadway 50 or 60 years ago. Incredible job by both men.  

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 1:54pm

SmoothLover said: "poisonivy2 said: "I hope this opens more doors for Christian Dante White. I thought he was incredible as Freddy."



White has a lovely voice but I preferred the original actor. White was pushing at times, lagging in his vocal numbers rather than propelling them forward and came across a bit silly where the original actor was very grounded and sexy.

"

Freddy is supposed to be silly. I thought Jordan Donica played him as an insufferable prig, and couldn't picture him and Eliza being happy together. White played Freddy as a silly likable young man and I thought he and Eliza would be happy in their own way.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 2:25pm

I didn't love Donica. I thought he was scary. The script seems to describe him as goofy and childish, while Donica was dark, imposing, and scary. He was also consistently flat on the top notes of the song. Another instance of bizarre casting in this revival.

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 3:22pm

I plan on seeing this production one more time before it closes ... most likely on Kerstin's last performance as I really enjoyed her interpretation of Eliza. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 3:42pm

CDW is enough for me to go back and see this a third time. I was happy to finally see Laura live, and she did a great job, especially with the comical bits/scenes. I also loved Danny Burstein. I was hoping for a bit more from the set but the design aesthetic in general is simply beautiful.

Congrats to everyone involved on a good run.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 5:12pm

GeorgeandDot said: "I didn't love Donica. I thought he was scary. The script seems to describe him as goofy and childish, while Donica was dark, imposing, and scary. He was also consistently flat on the top notes of the song. Another instance of bizarre casting in this revival."

Nothing about him as scary unless you're scared of tall, black guys. What an incredibly bizarre thing to say. Listen to him on the Cast Recording, he is incredible.  

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 5:24pm

Scary sexy maybe!

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 5:35pm

He's certainly sexy and he's a talented performer, but he has a very dark, deep, rich singing voice that doesn't match the role at all. He has a very strong, grounded presence that really doesn't match the part and makes him seem like an overpowering force. Christian Dante White (who is also a tall black man, so that's definitely not the problem) seems lighter, brighter, almost a bit more whimsical and goofy, which I think is what the part requires. There's nothing bizarre about me saying that Donica plays Freddy like he's playing Javier. And yes, I heard the cast recording. He's still ever so slightly under that high note.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 5:38pm

LuPita2 said: "Nothing about him as scary unless you're scared of tall, black guys. What an incredibly bizarre thing to say. Listen to him on the Cast Recording, he is incredible. "

 

I enjoyed his performance more so than anyone else's. I had listened to the OBCR for this revival before seeing the show and absolutely fell in love with his version of On The Street Where You Live. Absolutely gorgeous voice! And he’s definitely not scary. 

 

Updated On: 5/16/19 at 05:38 PM

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 5:45pm

Not scary at all.  My jaw dropped to the floor when he opened his mouth. His voice is just something you don't hear anymore on Broadway. I cannot wait to see what he does next, what a talent!

Updated On: 5/16/19 at 05:45 PM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 7:20pm

EllieRose2 said: "My jaw dropped to the floor when he opened his mouth. His voice is just something you don't hear anymore on Broadway. I cannot wait to see what he does next, what a talent!"

 

Such a powerful and magnificent voice on this man...

https://youtu.be/6kX3PZ_ynss

 

Updated On: 5/16/19 at 07:20 PM

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 7:27pm

Arguments about which actress was better in a role should be fun but this wasn't.

Some said that they saw Lauren give a performance where she seemed to be completely unattached to everything going on around her.

I'm sure that this was true, and this interview in the Times right after she left the show explains I hope.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/theater/lauren-ambrose-my-fair-lady.html

What was the hardest part of the show?

I dropped out of a few performances when my dad passed away about a month ago. The show was something that my dad was so very proud of. He was at opening night, even though he was very ill. To get to come back to the show and be surrounded by this amazing group of beautiful, feeling artists as I started the process of grieving and dealing with this new phase of life was really a gift, even though obviously incredibly challenging.

Updated On: 5/16/19 at 07:27 PM

[Plexsis]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 9:12pm

Ambrose was phenomenal when I saw her at the end of her run. Its so unfortunate she had to deal with health issues and the death of her father during her run.

The performance I saw was wonderful and nuanced and her voice was in top form. She brought some new shades to Eliza and her chemistry with all of the other actors was real and compelling. I’m so happy I got to see this show before she left, and with most of the original cast as well. Makes the cast recording even more special for me.

I’m also happy that every actress who has played the role in this production seems to have left their own unique mark on the role, guaranteeing each audience a wonderfully experience each night. Kudos to Benanti, Anderson, and the various understudies.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 5/16/19 at 11:18pm

GeorgeandDot said: "I didn't love Donica. I thought he was scary. The script seems to describe him as goofy and childish, while Donica was dark, imposing, and scary. He was also consistently flat on the top notes of the song. Another instance of bizarre casting in this revival."

This is one of the most bizarre comments I have ever read on this board. It sounds racist to me.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 12:59am

SmoothLover said: "GeorgeandDot said: "I didn't love Donica. I thought he was scary. The script seems to describe him as goofy and childish, while Donica was dark, imposing, and scary. He was also consistently flat on the top notes of the song. Another instance of bizarre casting in this revival."

This is one of the most bizarre comments I have ever read on this board. It sounds racist to me."

First of all, I am black.  Second of all, there's nothing racist about it.  He's a tall, large, imposing, masculine figure, with a deep, dark, also beautiful singing voice.  None of those qualities match what the text says about Freddy.  Donica is very sexy and a very talented performer, but he was a tad too serious and stern in his interpretation.  I just don't think it was a good match of actor to character.  Nothing bizarre or racist about it.  He's just not really a good choice for the part.  Christian Dante White is.

 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 1:10am

Not large or imposing. And just because you're black doesn't mean you cannot be racist. And yes, I do agree your language is extremely racist.  He is a tall, skinny dude who was perfect for the part.  Once again, his voice was something from 1940s Broadway.  Since My Fair Lady is set about a hundred years ago, he worked for the part. Obviously considering all the people they saw for Freddy, he was the number one choice.  

"Imposing". Hahahahahaaahaha

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 1:33am

"Just because you're black doesn't mean you cannot be racist."

Well I can certainly tell you're not black.

He's a tall man with a deep voice and a serious demeanor. It's been mentioned on here numerous times before. Nothing racist. He's not imposing as a person, but he was in the role. His demeanor matched with his tall stature made him so. You wouldn't want to see Steven Pasquale play Freddy either. I would call him scary and imposing in the part as well. He's a kind and talented guy, that's for sure, but he was scary as Freddy and not as he's described in the text.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 2:51am

GeorgeandDot said: ""Just because you're black doesn't mean you cannot be racist."

Well I can certainly tell you're not black.

He's a tall man with a deep voice and a serious demeanor. It's been mentioned on here numerous times before. Nothing racist. He's not imposing as a person, but he was in the role. His demeanor matched with his tall stature made him so. You wouldn't want to see Steven Pasquale play Freddy either. I would call him scary and imposing in the part as well. He's a kind and talented guy, that's for sure, but he was scary as Freddy and not as he's described in the text."

Well at least we got off the topic of Ambrose verses Laura which seems to invade every MFL thread. I do not think that Donica decided to round out his character by being scary and imposing. His character made no attempt to frighten other characters in any of the scene work. You just did not like the way he looked. I think you are confusing My Fair Lady with King Kong.

 

Updated On: 5/17/19 at 02:51 AM

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 2:19pm

^HOLLA^

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 2:39pm

One thing about Donica's interpretation I disliked was when Eliza was walking around Covent Garden he looked visibly disgusted, as if his perfect trophy wife turned out to be not so perfect. I don't think that;s supposed to be the point of that scene. I think Freddy's family is probably very priggish and snobby but Freddy himself isn't. I couldn't picture any world where Donica's Freddy would marry Eliza after finding out about her past. Whereas with Christian Dante White he came across as so sweet and ebullient that I could picture him and Eliza together.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 5/17/19 at 2:42pm

My issue wasn't so much with his appearance, but with his voice and demeanor. As I've said now for the fiftieth time, his deep voice paired with an almost sullen demeanor made him feel like he was out of a Tim Burton film. Perhaps his performance has evolved since the early performances, but I found him to be far too serious and scary to be the childish, good for nothing Freddy that Higgins says he is. This has nothing to do with "big black man scary" because him being black had nothing to do with it. Had he been paired with Denee Benton, I would've felt the same way. I have no doubt that he's a sweetheart in real life, but Freddy is a bit of a stalker and having a large man with a deep voice and a serious demeanor, made his character scary.

It's amazing that any sort of criticism of any of the actors in this, frankly, misfire of a production is met with personal attacks of some sort and an immediate attempt to discredit the opinion, is ridiculous.