#1
Posted: 6/6/03 at 9:54am
NOT ROSE'S TURN By MICHAEL RIEDEL
#2
Posted: 6/6/03 at 10:55am
I think Mikey is right on with his Tony predictions. It will be Hairspray's night.
Although I think he's taking much to much GLEE in the fact that Bernadette will likely lose the Best Actress award to Marissa. If Bernadette does happen to win the plus side may be that Michael Riedel would have a coronary attack!
Although I think he's taking much to much GLEE in the fact that Bernadette will likely lose the Best Actress award to Marissa. If Bernadette does happen to win the plus side may be that Michael Riedel would have a coronary attack!
My perfect day would begin at on the beach in Hana, Maui and end at a Broadway Musical.
#3
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:27am
Riedel is SUCH a jerk. I hope the voters side with Mr. Brantley on this one and give it to the real winner, Bernadette Peters. I know if I were voting I just wouldn't vote for Marissa because of Riedel's ridiculous remarks about Bernadette. But he is right about one thing. The whole award is based on whether or not you liked Bernadette, not on the talent of Marissa. To whoever he claims said (I'm sure it was Riedel himself) "She is terribly miscast, and if that performance wins a Tony it will discourage me from working in the theater forever," all I have to say is if that annoying hokey bundel of giggles "wins a Tony it will discourage me from working in the theater forever." Voters call her "adorable" and "fun." I'm sorry but the words "adorable" and "fun" shouldn't even come into play when voting for a Tony. Bernadette gave a performance of a lifetime, while Marissa accomplished playing the most simple minded and hokey part ever written for musical theater. BERNADETTE- I LOVE YOU!!!
Oh and I will throw a party if Movin' Out beats Hairspray. Artistry over Entertainment!!
Oh and I will throw a party if Movin' Out beats Hairspray. Artistry over Entertainment!!
Updated On: 6/6/03 at 11:27 AM
#4
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:40am
Personally, I'd like to see Marissa win.. and I have a strong feeling she WILL. Bernadette, as talented as she may be, IS terribly miscast as Mama Rose. She blows you away with her voice (when she CAN get the belt out) but she doesn't embody the role the way you'd think she would. I hope Tony voters saw this and voted accordingly.
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
#5
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:44am
I haven't seen Gypsy yet so I am very much looking forward to hearing Bernedette's Rose's Turn to at the very least hear what all the fuss is about!
Andrew
Andrew
#6
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:46am
Her Rose's Turn is indeed wonderful. I just wish I could say the same about her overall performance.
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
#7
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:48am
I'm going to leave whether or not I get tickets for Gypsy up to her Tony performance. I'm sure that I'm not the only one.
Andrew
Andrew
#8
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:57am
Hopefully her performance on the Tony's will put a positive reflection on both Bernadette and Gypsy. I know it hasn't been "selling out"... but selling well.
Maybe they put the wrong show at the Ambassador
Maybe they put the wrong show at the Ambassador
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
#9
Posted: 6/6/03 at 11:58am
I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you CJR. The woman was wonderful. Her take on the role was refreshing. Of course I saw her in top shape only a week ago not when she was sick. She was wonderful.
Updated On: 6/6/03 at 11:58 AM
#10
Posted: 6/6/03 at 12:01pm
Who said I saw her when she was sick? I never said that. I have seen her/heard her perform on several occasions. And only once or twice has she truly blown me away... and that was only with Rose's Turn. She *was* miscast as Mama Rose -- but there's your typical 'we want a big name' casting again. (you also seem to be very biased -- you *did* exclaim Bernadette - I love you! Not saying that I'm not biased in my own right, but I can admit when the people who I am biased to have given a less than stellar performance. And yes, I have seen it happen) Not jumping down your throat, so don't take it the wrong way. Just stating the blatantly obvious.
CJR
Not saying that I'm not biased in my own right, but I can admit when the people who I am biased to have given a less than stellar performance. And yes, I have seen it happen) Not jumping down your throat, so don't take it the wrong way. Just stating the blatantly obvious.CJR
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
Updated On: 6/6/03 at 12:01 PM
#11
Posted: 6/6/03 at 12:24pm
I really don't have any opinion on Bernadette's performance because I have never heard her do anything from Gypsy. That being said, I still think Reidel's a jerk. Why doesn't he pull that stick out of his a**?
#12
Posted: 6/6/03 at 1:09pm
I think Marissa will take it.
Bernadette has two obsticals in playing Rose. Aurthur Laurents and Ethel Merman. You alsways here how no actor can be be truly perfect for a role. Marissa is perfect as Tracy, but back to Peters. Rose is Merman. Merman is ROse. The role was written and taylored to fit perfectly onto Ethel Merman and no one else. Every subsequent Rose has been in many ways similar to Ethel, but they haven't been her, so it is kind of like trying to stick an oval peg into a round hole. Bernadette, however, is completely 100% different from any former Rose and she has to play it with the exact same script so it is like sticking a square peg into that same round hole. You can push, shove, and struggle all you want to, but it will never fit and eventually if you push hard enough, that square peg is going to splinter around the edges.
Bernadette has two obsticals in playing Rose. Aurthur Laurents and Ethel Merman. You alsways here how no actor can be be truly perfect for a role. Marissa is perfect as Tracy, but back to Peters. Rose is Merman. Merman is ROse. The role was written and taylored to fit perfectly onto Ethel Merman and no one else. Every subsequent Rose has been in many ways similar to Ethel, but they haven't been her, so it is kind of like trying to stick an oval peg into a round hole. Bernadette, however, is completely 100% different from any former Rose and she has to play it with the exact same script so it is like sticking a square peg into that same round hole. You can push, shove, and struggle all you want to, but it will never fit and eventually if you push hard enough, that square peg is going to splinter around the edges.
#13
Posted: 6/6/03 at 1:48pm
What do you mean? There are many interpertations to a role and believe me there have been far better Roses than Ethel Merman. It was Arthur Laurents himself who said that Ethel could sing those songs better than anyone else but when it came to the character the woman had no layers, there was no life or depth in her performance. Many times it has been said that Ethel never did understand Rose's Turn. It is the moment where eveything goes, where she cracks, and just like Ethel Merman would she made it a meer song to show off her powerhouse voice. Several lyrics were cut from Sondheim's original score because Diva #1 didn't want to come across as a mean person, she wanted the audience to love her. No one, in my opinion, can compare to Angela's performance of Mama Rose. And Tyne Daly acted the part better than anyone I have ever seen. But Bernadette Peters brought a whole new meaning to the role, for me. She is extremely haunting. Mama Rose was finally sexy and she used that the way the real Mama Rose did to get her kids across. Bernadette found a way to make it her own. She isn't trying to fit into any hole broadwayguy2...shes creating something new and interesting, insteed of the same old dull interpertation. And as far as Marissa being perfect...well in the words of Marissa- I am like so like honored like by all this- I think I'll like go and bedazzle my dressing like room! ohohoh!
#14
Posted: 6/6/03 at 1:52pm
i didn't say marissa was a perfect person. i said she is perfect as tracy. and bid deal, so the girl hasn't transformed into a diva bitch...... good for her.
#15
Posted: 6/6/03 at 2:05pm
Rose is a great role. A great role should be subject to any number of interpretations. To say Bernadette is 'miscast' is not necessarily true. She's only miscast in Riedel or CJR or someone else's eye who wants to see the role played in the style that Merman played it. And really, it's pretty stifiling to the creativity of the theatre and theatre artists to say a role like Rose can ONLY be played the Merman way, and anyone who doesn't adhere to the Merman style is thereby "miscast". That's a knee-jerk response that doesn't begin to explain much of anything.
Miscast, in my mind, is when someone's abilities are woefully inadequate to the demands of the role. In my experience, Bernadette has the pipes to sing the score, a wealth of 40 years of stage experience to land the comedy, and the sexual component that none of the Broadway Roses have ever been able to bring to the role. Bernadette is also generally underappreciated as a fine actress. She's great in Pennies from Heaven, great in Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods (all performances for which she was either snubbed for the Tony or ignored altogether). And I was fascinated and thrilled by what she's doing in Gypsy. Perhaps the Bernadette backlash was inspired by her less than stellar performances in Annie Get Your Gun and The Goodbye Girl. Who knows. Watching her performances over the years has given me a lot of pleasure, and I think she deserves some respect for sticking with the theatre for over 40 years, instead of pinning her hopes on film and television success. She's dabbled but she has always come back.
By accounts, Merman was brash, vulgar and lovable in the role, a force of nature. Bernadette's performance is something different: she's softer, more vulnerable, and certainly shows us a woman who knows how to use sex to get what she wants (making you understand for the first time why Herbie sticks around). You like her. Her behavior is less broad and appalling, as previous Roses have played her. So when she cracks, like in the Grantziger scene, the Omaha terminal, the burlesque dressing room and "Rose's Turn," you see a woman you've grown to like making bad, desperate choices in her life, but not being able to help herself. And THAT'S devastating. I've never gotten that from any other Rose, and Bernadette moved me more than any previous Rose.
Marissa gives a sweet, bubbly performance. I enjoyed her a lot. But it doesn't hold a candle to what Bernadette is doing on that stage. I'm afraid that a loss for Bernadette on Sunday will be one of those epic bad decisions that the Tonys always seem to manage every year. But whenever a show or a performer is REALLY doing something interesting, you can count on the Tony Awards and the theatre industry to ignore it, not comprehend it or pick it to pieces.
Miscast, in my mind, is when someone's abilities are woefully inadequate to the demands of the role. In my experience, Bernadette has the pipes to sing the score, a wealth of 40 years of stage experience to land the comedy, and the sexual component that none of the Broadway Roses have ever been able to bring to the role. Bernadette is also generally underappreciated as a fine actress. She's great in Pennies from Heaven, great in Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods (all performances for which she was either snubbed for the Tony or ignored altogether). And I was fascinated and thrilled by what she's doing in Gypsy. Perhaps the Bernadette backlash was inspired by her less than stellar performances in Annie Get Your Gun and The Goodbye Girl. Who knows. Watching her performances over the years has given me a lot of pleasure, and I think she deserves some respect for sticking with the theatre for over 40 years, instead of pinning her hopes on film and television success. She's dabbled but she has always come back.
By accounts, Merman was brash, vulgar and lovable in the role, a force of nature. Bernadette's performance is something different: she's softer, more vulnerable, and certainly shows us a woman who knows how to use sex to get what she wants (making you understand for the first time why Herbie sticks around). You like her. Her behavior is less broad and appalling, as previous Roses have played her. So when she cracks, like in the Grantziger scene, the Omaha terminal, the burlesque dressing room and "Rose's Turn," you see a woman you've grown to like making bad, desperate choices in her life, but not being able to help herself. And THAT'S devastating. I've never gotten that from any other Rose, and Bernadette moved me more than any previous Rose.
Marissa gives a sweet, bubbly performance. I enjoyed her a lot. But it doesn't hold a candle to what Bernadette is doing on that stage. I'm afraid that a loss for Bernadette on Sunday will be one of those epic bad decisions that the Tonys always seem to manage every year. But whenever a show or a performer is REALLY doing something interesting, you can count on the Tony Awards and the theatre industry to ignore it, not comprehend it or pick it to pieces.
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
Updated On: 6/6/03 at 02:05 PM
#16
Posted: 6/6/03 at 2:11pm
I never said I wanted to see it played by Merman over Peters.. I just didn't find her suiting for the role. I'm too young to have seen Merman play Mama Rose live :)
In addition, she is also miscast in the eyes of other people who are not looking for another Merman Mama Rose.
In addition, she is also miscast in the eyes of other people who are not looking for another Merman Mama Rose.
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
Updated On: 6/6/03 at 02:11 PM
#17
Posted: 6/6/03 at 2:19pm
I hope that Marissa wins the Tony this Sunday night. I have nothing against Ms. Peters, but I haven't seen her performance in Gypsy. I have seen HAIRSPRAY - twice - and can't wait to see it again. As a friend said, "I haven't felt that kind of theatre rush in quite a few years."
I think it is a gutsy move for Peters to perform Rose's Turn at the Tony's. As someone else said, whether they go see the show may hinge on her performance. I think that is tough, because in many ways Rose's Turn is an experience that the audience has to "work up to" in the context of the show, which makes her job that much more difficult.
I saw the other two Tony award winning Mama Rose's on Broadway - Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly (Merman did not win the Tony). For my money, Lansbury was the best.
I think it is a gutsy move for Peters to perform Rose's Turn at the Tony's. As someone else said, whether they go see the show may hinge on her performance. I think that is tough, because in many ways Rose's Turn is an experience that the audience has to "work up to" in the context of the show, which makes her job that much more difficult.
I saw the other two Tony award winning Mama Rose's on Broadway - Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly (Merman did not win the Tony). For my money, Lansbury was the best.
Ray is the author of the Brad Frame mystery series, and two suspense novels. He is also the author of a one man play based on Ben Franklin. http://www.rayflynt.com
#18
Posted: 6/6/03 at 4:41pm
It's his opinion.
He has an outlet for his opinion.
Does'nt mean it's right or wrong.
If he praised Peters to the sky there would still be people who felt that it was undeserved and they would be complaining about that.
He has an outlet for his opinion.
Does'nt mean it's right or wrong.
If he praised Peters to the sky there would still be people who felt that it was undeserved and they would be complaining about that.
#19
Posted: 6/6/03 at 4:43pm
RagtimeRay,
P{eter's doesn't get to pick her number.. the producer's do. If I was her, I'd be ######## in my pants. Having to do that number when her voice isn't strong enough???? Good luck.
P{eter's doesn't get to pick her number.. the producer's do. If I was her, I'd be ######## in my pants. Having to do that number when her voice isn't strong enough???? Good luck.
#20
Posted: 6/6/03 at 4:53pm
Let me try taking this further, CJR and others here: you say she is miscast. Explain how and why.
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
#21
Posted: 6/6/03 at 5:02pm
I think, in fact, I'm positive Peters had SOME input as to what would be performed that night...
When they start putting legendary in front of your name even when your miscast..I'm sure you have SOME input..
..and besides, it makes sense...if she pulls it off..she silences nay-sayers...NATIONWIDE!
Gutsy!
Of course, if she sucks.............
When they start putting legendary in front of your name even when your miscast..I'm sure you have SOME input..
..and besides, it makes sense...if she pulls it off..she silences nay-sayers...NATIONWIDE!
Gutsy!
Of course, if she sucks.............
#22
Posted: 6/6/03 at 5:06pm
Yes, in all likelyhood Bernadette did get a say so in the number, but ultimately the producers of Gypsy and the tonys have final say. bernadette isn't stu[pid. She knows that her voice is faultering and why would she want to risk bombing the number?
I honestly can't think of spesifics as to why she is wrong. It is more of an overall thing. It just doesn't 'fit'.
I honestly can't think of spesifics as to why she is wrong. It is more of an overall thing. It just doesn't 'fit'.
#23
Posted: 6/6/03 at 5:14pm
The following quotation by Samuel Johnson seems very applicable when reflecting on Michael Reidel's mind set:
"Nothing has more retarded the advancement of learning than the disposition of vulgar minds to ridicule and villify what they cannot comprehend."
"Nothing has more retarded the advancement of learning than the disposition of vulgar minds to ridicule and villify what they cannot comprehend."
My perfect day would begin at on the beach in Hana, Maui and end at a Broadway Musical.
#24
Posted: 6/6/03 at 5:25pm
Broadwayguy2 wrote:
"I honestly can't think of spesifics as to why she is wrong. It is more of an overall thing. It just doesn't 'fit'."
How doesn't it fit? Can you not see sweet little Bernadette playing a mean or deluded woman? She doesn't sing the songs or land the jokes to your satisfaction?
"I honestly can't think of spesifics as to why she is wrong. It is more of an overall thing. It just doesn't 'fit'."
How doesn't it fit? Can you not see sweet little Bernadette playing a mean or deluded woman? She doesn't sing the songs or land the jokes to your satisfaction?
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
#25
Posted: 6/6/03 at 5:43pm
What else did you possibly expect from that leach who pretends to be a critic? I know the race between Bernadette and Marissa is tight, but I really think he's worn out his opinion. I wanted Bernadette to win because I think she deserves it; now I really want her to win just to spite that moron!
Either way: If she loses, he'll gloat....if she wins, he'll continue to attack her and talk about how it was just her name and not her talent that won the Tony (NOT TRUE!).
Either way: If she loses, he'll gloat....if she wins, he'll continue to attack her and talk about how it was just her name and not her talent that won the Tony (NOT TRUE!).
"It's the little things; the details, that distinguish the Barbra Streisands from the Rosalyn Kinds."~Gilmore Girls~
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